Recent threads have dealt with finding meaning, vulnerability and Maslow's hierarchy. What follows is an agglomeration of links to articles and a video I have previously posted in threads with similar topics. The authors use different terms and have somewhat divergent views on how to get where they think we should go. Nonetheless, I find similarities of thought abound.

The Secret to Being Authentic You – Authenticity, Part 1
Five Essential Steps to Authenticity – Authentic You, Part 2
Brene Brown: The power of vulnerability:

Dare To Be Yourself: http://www.psychologytoday.com/print/21307
The Path to Unconditional Self-Acceptance: http://www.psychologytoday.com/print/1752

There is a lot to read and listen to. I found the time spent well worth it. I will end with Dr. Athena Staik's response to a comment:

Stabby
I like this a lot, I have kind of know this for a long time but only partially made progress with it. Things are rolling along slowly but smoothly.

One nit-pick, do we really want to love the terrible parts of ourselves? Wouldn’t a better idea be to accept them as parts of ourselves so as to better deal with them, but still regard them in a negative light so as to banish them?

Athena Staik, Ph.D.
Excellent question, Stabby. When it comes relating to our painful emotions, it works similar to the old adage “make friends with your enemies.” It is not easy, it takes courage, yet the process strengthens, grows and stretches us out of old comfort zones. In truth, the cultural view of painful emotions as “negative” and something we want to eliminate or “banish” is actually at root of the problem. It causes us to think or “interpret” painful emotions as weaknesses, defects, or indicators that there is something wrong with us or a loved one. Thus we miss valuable data and signals. Essentially, painful emotions are there to teach us and to guide us to living a fulfilling life. More so than pleasant emotions, they are like compasses that inform us where we are in relation to where we want to be. While they will never cause fuzzy feelings inside, it’s so important to learn to get “comfortable” and tune in to see what is going on inside. It may be, for example, that the hurt feelings we feel are telling us to change a limiting belief we hold, such as “I’ll never get this right.” Thanks for commenting! http://blogs.psychcentral.com/relati...-authenticity/