Dillard - Discover your authentic self: be you, be free, be happy

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

Discover Your Authentic Self: Be You, Be Free, Be Happy 2016 by Sherrie Dillard.

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First e-book edition 2016

E-book ISBN: 9780738748696

Cover art: iStockphoto.com/43014680/karandaev
iStockphoto.com/50074314/karandaev

Cover design: Ellen Lawson

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Names: Dillard, Sherrie, 1958- author.

Title: Discover your authentic self : be you, be free, be happy / by Sherrie Dillard.

Description: First Edition. | Woodbury : Llewellyn Worldwide, Ltd, 2016. |

Includes bibliographical references.

Identifiers: LCCN 2016002865 (print) | LCCN 2016012246 (ebook) | ISBN

9780738746401 | ISBN 9780738748696 ()

Subjects: LCSH: Self--Miscellanea. | Self-knowledge, Theory of--Miscellanea.

| Authenticity (Philosophy)--Miscellanea. | Spiritual life. | Occultism.

Classification: LCC BF697 .D585 2016 (print) | LCC BF697 (ebook) | DDC

158.1--dc23

LC record available at http://lccn.loc.gov/201600286

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publishers website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Acknowledgments

I am so grateful to the hardworking and dedicated people at Llewellyn for their wisdom and encouragement. Without their never-ceasing efforts to bring a unique and enlightened voice to the marketplace, this book would have not been possible.

I would especially like to thank editor extraordinaire, Angela Wix, who suggested this topic. Through her support and acceptance, I have been able to find a comfortable and creative space to be me. Thank you, Andrea Neff, for your editing voice of reason and for your support and encouragement. I am very grateful. Thank you to Alisha Bjorklund, for your concise and accurate descriptions, and much gratitude to Kat Sanborn, for tirelessly raising the Llewellyn flag each and every day and promoting these words, visions, and ideas.

I would also like to extend appreciation to my many teachers and guides, both in the physical and the spiritual realms, who have helped me to perceive and accept the gifts and blessings that have come my way on this sometimes rugged but always interesting journey to the authentic self.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to my sister Sandee Washington, who taught me at a young age that it is all right to defy authority and be yourself. Through her example, I also learned that at times it may be necessary to run like hell.

Contents

: You Are Who You Are Looking For

: The Invitation

: Reclaiming What Was Lost

: The Call to Transformation

: Lifting Off the Layers

: The Intuitive You

: Relationships: Mirror of Self

83. What to Do When Unexpected
Change Comes Your Way

: Spirit Mentors, Power Animals, and Guides

: Embrace Your Passion

: Your Spirit, Essence, and Energy

: Your Archetypal Gifts: Living Your Purpose

: You Are the One

Introduction

You Are Who You
Are Looking For

The journey to discovering your authentic self promises to be the most rewarding adventure of your life. When you know yourself, you are free. You have a power and presence that radiates from deep within and shines out confidently into the world. You did not come into this life to suffer, to be manipulated and denied. Whatever binds you and keeps you from living your truth is false and can be shed. It takes courage to embrace your authentic self and live life on your own terms. Yet to be uniquely you, to listen within and love yourself for all of your vulnerabilities and missteps, is what your soul longs for.

Not being true to who we are is like living with a tight cord wrapped around our heart. No matter how hard we try to squeeze the love and joy out of life, an inner pressure stifles our attempts. We have all, at one time or another, stuffed away and denied our truth, smiled with complacency, and protectively guarded our dreams and hopes from the criticism and judgment of others. When we continually do this, we live in the world as a stranger, adrift, with no anchor. Yet as detrimental as it can be to deny and hide our truth from others, it is even more dangerous when we hide it from ourselves. Without awareness of our truth, we live without true power and presence. We are empty, and a resounding hollowness that can never be filled echoes through our soul. Yet our truth can never really leave us. Although it unhappily rumbles around within when it is denied, once recognized and acknowledged, it enthusiastically springs forward. Despite attempts from the world and from ourselves to quiet and ignore its existence, our truth is our compass. It is always present, humming away and broadcasting its presence.