Rediscovering Your Authentic Self: A Journey to Freedom and Joy

From the moment you are born, you are your purest, most authentic self. Free from programming, pain, trauma, or the expectations of society. As a baby, you are driven purely by curiosity, joy, and instinct. You haven’t yet experienced the conditioning that shapes your thoughts, behaviours, and beliefs throughout life. But, as you grow, external factors—like the voices of authority figures, societal standards, trauma, and emotional experiences—begin to cover up that authentic self with layers of learned behaviours and coping mechanisms.

The process of rediscovering and reconnecting with your authentic self is a journey of peeling back those layers, shedding the conditioning, and returning to your core essence—the person you were always meant to be.

Uncovering Your Authentic Self

To begin the process of rediscovering your authentic self, a great place to start is by identifying your core values—the deep, unchanging truths that guide you at your core. A powerful activity for this can be found on Dr. Demartini's website, where you can explore what truly matters to you. By identifying these core values, you can begin to make decisions and live a life that aligns with who you really are, rather than who you were programmed to be.

Processing Emotional Layers

One of the most transformative tools in uncovering your authentic self is through Emotional Release Technique (ERT). Emotional clearing allows you to peel back the emotional layers that have built up over years of societal conditioning, childhood programming, and trauma. These emotions get stored in the body and can cloud your ability to hear your intuition. They can create false narratives about what you should do, who you should be, and how you should live.

In my own practice, I've seen countless clients undergo profound breakthroughs after clearing these emotional blocks. When you free yourself from those deeply ingrained layers of fear, shame, and doubt, you can finally hear your authentic inner voice—the voice that has been guiding you all along.

Living Based on Programming vs. Authentic Goals

There's a significant difference between living your life based on subconscious programming (fear, societal expectations) versus living from your authentic values and goals.

When you’re operating from fear, your decisions are often based on avoidance: avoiding failure, avoiding rejection, avoiding judgment. Fear pushes you away from what you don't want. The problem with this is, the further you get from the thing you fear, the less motivated you become, because the fear is no longer driving you.

In contrast, when you're living authentically, you're driven by goals and values that pull you in. You're not running away from something, but instead, you're moving toward something meaningful and true to you. When your actions align with your authentic self, you stay energised, motivated, and fulfilled because you’re continually moving closer to your true desires.

Example: One of my clients had spent years in a career that looked great on paper but didn’t fulfill her. She was constantly motivated by fear—fear of financial insecurity, fear of judgment from her family, fear of being seen as a failure. But once we worked together to process her emotional layers, she realised her authentic passion lay in a completely different field. Shifting her focus to her true goals brought her more joy and ease than she ever thought possible. It no longer felt like she was pushing a boulder uphill because she was now aligned with her authentic self.

Living authentically brings ease, joy, and energy. Living in alignment with your authentic self isn’t just about feeling good—it’s about being free. When you're true to yourself, life feels lighter, more joyful, and more energising. You're no longer constantly pushing to be something you're not. Instead, you flow effortlessly toward your goals, surrounded by authentic relationships and opportunities that resonate with your true self. This doesn’t mean that every one and every thing in your life has to be in perfect alignment with your authentic self, that just isn’t possible and not necessary. You can have relationships or events in your life that don’t match perfectly with your core values, however, these must be and happen in conjunction with aligned events and relationships.

The Power of Authenticity in Relationships

A perfect example of this process can be found in an Instagram post by one of my favourite people to follow: "My Best Advice for Making Authentic Friendships" by @camillejulia. The post highlights a simple yet profound truth: the key to forming authentic relationships is to be authentic yourself. When you share your true self, even the quirks and imperfections that might repel some people, you create space for the right people to connect with you.

As the post mentions, "The outer world (ie. potential friends) can only see the parts of your inner world that you express." This means that when you put yourself out there as you truly are, you may not attract everyone, but you’ll attract the right people—those who resonate with your genuine essence.

One mantra from the post that truly stands out is: "It’s always better to be rejected for who I am than accepted for who I am not." This couldn’t be truer. Inauthentic connections will always feel hollow, but real ones, founded on truth, are the relationships that bring joy and fulfillment.

Rediscovering your authentic self is a journey that takes time, patience, and emotional work, but the reward is a life of deep fulfillment, joy, and alignment.

If you’re ready to begin peeling back the layers and start living in alignment with your authentic self, consider joining my weekly ERT sessions. Together, you’ll work through the emotional blocks that keep you stuck and reconnect with the inner voice that’s been guiding you all along.

Let’s journey back to the real you.