I remember hearing about this fascinating study a few years ago that stopped me in my tracks.
It was about how we begin to unconsciously think and behave like protagonists in novels we read.
Researchers refer to this as experience-taking.
And it happens when we're able to forget about ourselves while we're reading.
And then we begin to act like the characters that we're reading about.
And this made me think of times I've heard people talk about losing themselves.
Times when I've felt
like I've lost myself have been times when I've ignored my needs and yearnings from within.
They may have been urges to move my body or get some quiet alone time or commune with people who share my values.
There have also been times when I've found myself participating in gossip about people in my life when I knew better.
It left me feeling like I let myself down, like I forgot my values and principles in that moment.
One of my favorite workshops to lead is on creating a personal mission statement.
This was often a months-long process where we identified our values and thoughts about the things in life that truly brought us joy and gave us meaning.
I invited participants to read this mission statement daily and place it somewhere in their house where they would see it every day.
Meditation itself is another way to practice authenticity.
We often see the pings of the day.
the things that we said or that others said that didn't resonate with our values.
In our meditation, we can inquire without any pressure,
asking ourselves questions, and then just watching what emerges without assessing it.
One simple question I like to work with is, how are you?