This is Optimal Living Daily episode 1666, the ABCs of Mindful Living, Authenticity, Balance,

and Compassion, and Mindful Teaching. Both by Ira Israel of IraIsrael.com,

and I'm just a malloc the guy that reads to you every single day of the year, including weekends

and holidays, to be living a more meaningful and positive life. Two posts today both from Ira

Israel, so let's get right to them as we optimize your life.

The ABCs of Mindful Living Authenticity, Balance, and Compassion by IraIsraelofIraIsrael.com

Tell people understand what it means to live mindfully? I've broken it down to ABCs.

A. Authenticity. The definition of authenticity is elusive.

Provocatively and paradoxically, I was taught that people can only be authentic when

to crying their own inauthenticities. Thus one cannot authentically say,

I authentically love you. But one can say, I was inauthentic, passive and aggressive when I told

you to go to the movies alone, I apologized. The reason that authenticity is so difficult to define

is that language itself is a cage, according to Wittgenstein, that we are all trapped in,

particularly if you only speak one language or do not possess an expansive vocabulary.

So it could be argued psychologically that 100% authenticity is impossible because we all have

prejudices, likes and dislikes, tastes, biases, and according to both Freud and the Buddha,

our minds persistently attempt to maximize and cling to pleasure and minimize and avert pain.

So experiencing phenomena in the present moment with as little biases, prejudices,

and expectations as possible plus taking responsibility for previous inauthenticities

would be a good start at defining authenticity. However, I also believe that authenticity implies

a certain honesty and awareness, a certain mindfulness, a raised consciousness and ability to

observe thoughts, feelings and actions, as well as the reactions they evoke and others

...