INSIGHT | COLUMNS & GUIDANCE Walking Our Authentic Path Living with Attention | by Kate Sciandra Last month, I wrote about the peace that can come from allowing yourself to be open to finding and following your Authentic Path. The Authentic Path is a way of living that involves allowing yourself to interact with life's flow. By recognizing that being attentive to where you are in that flow, here and now, you can open yourself up to a life of making best use of your strengths and strengthening your weaknesses. It is related to the Taoist concept of wu wei, which says that if you have a square peg, look for a square hole. If you use the analogy of life as a river, the Authentic Path is a way of living that neither resists, nor entirely surrenders, to the rush of life's current. It is being attentive and following it through and around the natural features surrounding it, and thus allowing yourself to adapt to its changing and unpredictable nature. There is a great appeal to this approach. It has a sense of flexibility and ease, which is refreshing. How do you recognize that you are, in fact, in the flow? It may even be a relief to those who have been "living Intentionally." The Authentic Path is much more about living with attention rather than intention. We receive constant feedback on our place in relationship to our true path all the time. The difficulty tends to be in the interpretation of the information we are receiving. Due to the non-linear nature of the patterns inherent in nature, there can be no codebook, no rules. There are some clues, some guidelines. By being attentive to the information that is available to you, you will be more skillful in reading the river and deciding on the appropriate movement that is appropriate to where you are in the great river. Truth The sense of authenticity is the sense of being on the path of truth. It is not, inherently, the easiest path, but it has moments that can give you a great sense of exhilaration. Making a choice that gives you this sense of authenticity may mean that you are on a path that may be filled with hard work and may even be uncomfortable. In fact, it can be very stressful. But one way of recognizing that you have found a path that is true for you -- a path that is addressing your circumstances in a way that follows the flow -- is an increased immune response. Usually, being under stress creates a poor immune response. Stressed people get sick. But when you are moving forward in a constructive direction, you can often see the reverse of this. Following your pattern is healthy. Not following your pattern creates resistance. Challenges vs. resistance Resistance is what happens when you do not follow your pattern. Resistance results in expending energy unproductively. In contrast, a challenge is a chance to be working with and developing strengths. Interpretation becomes very important when encountering resistance. Is this a pattern of resistance or a challenge? The goal is to tell the difference. There is definitely a difference between them. Does this feel like a growth opportunity, a road that is difficult to walk but has a worthwhile destination? Is it more like banging your head against a wall? The natural response to continued resistance is uncontrolled expansion. In other words, the more you resist, the more likely it is that the very thing you are resisting will eventually manifest, and do so forcefully. The more you move against the pattern and into resistance, the greater the forces of resistance grow. The more you face challenges and embrace them, the more you grow. Positive feedback Positive feedback can be defined as information or events that confirm or reinforce our instincts. It may seem like there are a million crackpot ideas that float through your head in a week: "I want to go to Kurdistan...I am going to dress exclusively in magenta from now on...I should take up the clarinet." Most of these ideas are fleeting and easily dismissed. Some of them will recur. Pay attention if you begin to be on the receiving end of events that reinforce these ideas. This feedback is often very subtle. It might be a news story on the radio, followed by noticing a magazine article at the dentist's office or a conversation with a stranger on the bus. Be aware of recurring themes that seem to appear as you go about your daily business. Themes have variations, so be open to new directions for your thoughts to follow. You may be aware of incidents, ideas and new interests that seem unrelated to each other or to other things that may be going on in your life. Consider them jigsaw pieces, for you may not see where they fit in right away, but once enough pieces have collected, the picture begins to appear. If you feel that you are not getting any of this sort of reinforcement, you can look at two possible solutions. You may need to be less dismissive of your "crazy" ideas and let them float in the backwaters of your brain a little longer than you have. Or you may need to increase the amount of feedback you receive by increasing your exposure to sources. Explore different types of reading material or go to places you haven't been before and open yourself to other new sources of information. Unexpected opportunities I would divide these into two basic categories. There are opportunities that play to your strengths, and opportunities that appeal to you strongly, but play to your insecurities. Perhaps you attend an exhibit in a gallery and are struck by a display of pottery. You become so absorbed that you think you'd like to learn to make pottery, but you've never felt very coordinated or artistic. In fact, you are generally very resistant to any activity that requires a display of visual discernment. A couple of weeks go by, and you meet someone at a party who, you discover, is a potter. She's about to start some classes in her studio a week later. She also mentions that she's looking for someone to set up her bookkeeping system and is interested in bartering for services. This is an opportunity that challenges your insecurities and can foster personal growth. It's surprising how often people turn down these gifts. Those situations that play to our strengths can be just as surprising. You may know you have a great speaking voice, but it never occurred to you to audition to make a voice-over tape until you enter into a circumstance that allows you see the possibility. Increased options People frequently have a tendency towards dichotomous thinking. Everything seems to be an "either/or proposition." This thinking is very limiting and is generally not true to your Authentic Path. A clue that an action is one that follows the Authentic Path is that it opens up options; it gives an opportunity to be inclusive rather than being divisive. The exception to this is the situation that narrows your path in a manner that helps delineate your direction more specifically onto the Authentic Path. The difference is that this circumstance is one that does not promote a dichotomy. Excitement Feelings of excitement resulting from your actions are an indication that you may be following your Authentic Path. This sense of excitement can take the form of a sense that you are about to give birth to something. You know that you are going through a process that is going to facilitate your bringing about something productive, even though you don't know what it is. There is also the excitation that comes from curiosity. It is like the feeling you would get if you came upon a secret passageway. It may be dark, it's destination uncertain, and it feels intimidating, but allow a sense of excitement and adventure to govern your actions. Peace The Authentic Path is not always simple, but the feelings that it elicits can be. Flowing with the river's twists and turns can result in a feeling of peace. There is a sense that by attentively following life's offerings, we can enjoy ourselves and grow stronger -- intellectually, physically and emotionally. There is a "click" that you can feel when you make a move that follows the stream. It is all the inner logic of your finely tuned intuitive sense putting the square peg in the square hole, without rationalization or angst. A list of landmarks can be helpful, but only if you decide to be attentive to them. Allow your awareness of your reactions to be present for you -- not only in your mind, but in your body. Does your breath quicken or does your stomach turn in knots? Do your shoulders climb toward your ears or does your step lighten? You have all the information you need to feel your way on the Authentic Path. Step out. Kate Sciandra works in South Minneapolis helping people integrate their consciousness, body, mind and spirit, through Ortho-Bionomy® bodywork, flower remedies, energy work and herbs. She can be reached at (612) 822-1673. Copyright © 2001 Kate Sciandra