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I have to say that I don’t really see it operating in the realm of food and whatever other shoulds oughts and conflicting hedonistic pleasures might arise (like smoking, or getting drunk and out of it) all of which are generic human behaviours and not specifically related to or arising from a sense of unique authenticity (only my understanding of it of course.)Big misunderstanding here - my analogy was poorly stated. I meant only to compare the 'idea' of eating food with the 'idea' of finding authentic self. In no way did I mean that one's authenticity was found by what kind of food one eats.
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I guess what I was trying to say in my incredibly verbose and vague way
(just like now in fact
), was that you don’t necessarily have to be ‘good’ or do the ‘right’ thing, to be authentic. That being authentic has nothing to do with external morality or taking care of yourself physically, which is how I read your food analogy.
The morality resides in being true to your own needs, wants and values and they may not be in any given moment what is seen by society as good or right or even acceptable. That’s where being authentic gets fraught and risky and can cause problems. When it clashes with other people’s perceptions of what is ok and not ok, or even if it clashes with your own perceptions of what is ok/not ok (think of the ‘dark side’, the Jungian shadow self…). We have a vested interest in not being ‘not ok’ and so it’s no wonder that working out what it is to be authentic is not the easiest thing in the world.
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Originally Posted by feralkittymom 
I actually think feelings can be more deceptive. I find my rational mind is a better indicator of authenticity, and the feelings are easier to see as congruent or not. When they're not, I can usually figure out that they are being imposed upon the present from the past.
This is so interesting. My T struggles to get me to access my feelings because she says they point to an authentic part of myself. I can analyze and 'think' nonstop. Give me an assignment and ask me to present conclusions in triplicate and I'm thrilled. YES, LET ME ANALYZE!!! Somehow or another, I suspect my thinking process is not the complete avenue to my own authenticity. Not sure though - thanks for your unput.
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Sky you and me both, good with the intellectualising and understanding everything on what ends up being essentially, a pretty meaningless level. Satisfying and useful, but only takes us so far. I can see why feelings can be seen as deceptive, but only in the sense that they are not necessarily an accurate reflection of external reality. They ARE most decidedly, an accurate indication of one’s own truth, and one’s own truth is where authenticity resides. In that sense, both feeling and thought come together to give the experience that level of meaning that I take to be ‘just knowing’. Authenticity is never a guarantee of reality or certainty or external truth. Hm looking back over what I’ve written, I think I’m seeing authenticity as very much stemming from our emotional reality, not from the rational logical mind which is developed by and within the context of other people’s opinions values and beliefs. But then I also see authenticity as being who you really are, as distinct from who you are perceived to be or perceive yourself to be as an object in other people’s eyes.
LOL what I mean to say is, this is what I believe and it’s obviously based entirely on my own experience not on empirical reality. I couldn’t cite you research or anything, it’s just what I came up with when I thought about what you'd written. So though it sounds like I’m speaking from a know-it-all position, I don’t mean to say it like I’m telling some global universal truth. It’s just true for me.
Interesting topic too, hope you have some more thoughts on it
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Torn