***Purpose: Are You Living Your True North?

"This above all: To thine own self be true; and it must follow as the night the day, that thou canst not then be false to any man." - Shakespeare

Have you ever known anyone who is seemingly doing well and expresses that there is something missing in for them in life? Even with a good job, a happy relationship and a good income, they just don't seem to be happy? Why is that?

What I've learned is that many of these people are not living the 'who" they are meant to be. They have taken a personality detour. They have disconnected from their Inner Wizard.

Everyone is born with a specific set of traits (their nature). Environmental influences (nurture) can then mold or alter nature. Individuals who are raised in a positive environment, one that encourages their individuality, grow up to be confident, self assured adults who are comfortable with who they are. They freely express their Inner Wizard and life is exciting, engaging and joyful.

Those raised in environments that expect them to be different than they are, or require them to continually self-adjust in order to adapt to their circumstances, may grow up to be insecure, confused or even hostile adults who don't feel comfortable with the person they have become. They developed a strong Inner Critic to help them cope – stay safe – in that environment which they recreate over and over again as their comfort zone. These people, unfortunately, live lives of either quiet desperation or restless agitation.

The development of the Inner Critic through negative conditioning takes many forms. Societies have established "gender roles" that indicate what is "proper" behavior for males and females. School systems reward certain behaviors inherent to some personality types and discipline or even medicate for behaviors natural to other types. Parents and other significant authority figures may disapprove of certain behaviors and require children to modify their natural personality in order to "behave properly". Even spouses may have expectations that cause their adult partners to abandon their nature in an effort to "get along". This is equally true in the workplace where "getting along" may mean the difference between keeping or losing a job. All of these factors, and more, can lead to incongruent or opposing profiles.

When a person tries to move away from nurture and toward nature, an inner pulling often takes place. As she moves out of the comfort zone she has created within her nurtured state, the first thing she hits is the negative or mid-zone traits of their nature. This is often very uncomfortable and even downright scary at times.

The Path of Personal Awareness is one of self-discovery, which can guide you through the maze of conditioning, socialization, and other personality and lead you to your true, authentic self – your Inner Wizard. From that place of authenticity you will gain new clarity, increased energy levels, a greater sense of happiness , contentment and direction, and along the way, you'll learn a lot about the other people in your life. With this new awareness, you can better understand and relate to everyone you encounter thereby improving all your relationships, both personal and professional.

The place to begin your personal journey is with a clear understanding of who you came into the world to be. If you are not completely satisfied and content with yourself, it is likely you do not yet have that essential piece of information.

Unless you are completely satisfied with yourself and the direction you see yourself going in life, chances are you don't have a clear enough image of who you really are and what exactly will bring you happiness and contentment in life. You are out of touch with your Inner Wizard and are living life expressed through your Inner Critic.

Many years of research consistently confirms that people who have a clear image of themselves generally have a distinct sense of the direction their life is (and should be), going and they tend to describe themselves as happy and content. They also tend to be very effective in their work and relationships.

If you feel you currently fall within the group that is still searching, you have plenty of company. That is true of the majority of the population. But it need not continue to be true for you.

Your Inner Wizard hasn’t gone anywhere. He is still there with you waiting for you to reconnect and return your personal power to where it belongs – with that part of you that knows who you really are, what makes your heart sing and what you dream of. Your Inner Wizard will guide you to turn these dreams into reality!

©2008 Valery Satterwhite. International Association for Inner Wizards™. All Rights Reserved.