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Authenticity is said to be the hallmark of a good teacher/speaker, since it fosters connection between the

listener and the you of who you are. So, do I lift the curtain to reveal the whole enchilada me? And is

authenticity really nothing more than take me as I am?

Conversely, what about the not-so-nice aspects of otherpeoples personalities? Do I put on a fake smile

and endure it, or, in honoring my authenticity, do I tell them exactly what I think, hoping they will admire

my honesty and be grateful for knowing where they stand? I am taking a course called Teaching ForTransformation, given by Dr. Maria Sirois at the Wholebeing Institute. And I learned that authenticity is

not a be-all and end-all concept; rather it is one prong of three (authenticity, integrity, and

servant/leadership) that comprise a state of wholeness.

Thus, wholeness is not a disconnected and self-centered state of being. It is a unifying force based on

connection and interconnection. So while we can manifest and lead from any aspect of ourselves, even the

negative ones, and still be within the parameters of authenticity, wholeness asks us not to do that.

Authenticity tells us to look within. Wholeness asks us to consider the bigger picture and the external

impact we are choosing to make.

Authenticity acknowledges multiple authentic and sometimes incompatible realities. Wholeness asks us to

choose which of those realities we want to make operational in any given moment.

In this weeks Torah portion, Shemos, Moses famously encounters the Burning Bush:

The angel of the Lord appeared to him in a blazing fire from the midst of a bush; and he looked, and

behold, the bush was burning with fire, yet the bush was not consumed. So Moses said, I must turn aside

now and see this marvelous sight, why the bush is not burned up. When the Lord saw that he turned aside

to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here I

am.

Some commentators focus on the fact that it was a lowly thorn bush, thus emphasizing the attribute of

humility, marveling that God would appear in something so inconsequential. Others interpret the

blazing fire that does not consume, to mean that even when our enemies try to destroy, obliterate and

burn us, the Jewish people will never be totally consumed by the fire of hatred.

These views focus on one aspect or the other of the Burning Bush. What I find most fascinating, however,

is the paradox of it, the exquisite harmony of totally incompatible realities a burning bush - that is not

being consumed. Walt Whitman said, I contain multitudes. And thus, we are all burning bushes. We all

contain within us the paradox of multiple and incompatible realities that form one holistic whole. Said

Peter Parker, In certain circumstances, truth is not found by splitting the world into either-or but by

embracing it as both and.

If you are only a bush or only fire, then you are acting from only one perspective, and you are missing the

wholeness of being a burning bush. Some situations call for quiet humility and some for blazing fire. It is

all one authentic you, but the point is to know when to be what, and how you can act from your highest

self. It is the prong of integrity

Moses wanted to serve God and, at the same time, he was also terrified that he was not up to the task. He

had two authentic selves going on, two choices to make. Moses embraced his fear, acknowledged its

authentic truth and then acted from the self that wanted to serve God. That is when he stepped into his

ultimate power as servant/leader.

And so authenticity is not about being an open book. Nor is an excuse for causing pain and suffering.

Authenticity, says Scott Edmund Miller, is the act of openly and courageously seeing what needs to be

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seen, saying what needs to be said, doing what needs to be done, and becoming that which you are intent

on being.

So be authentic. By all means, be who you are in your full paradoxical multitudinous self. But remember,

that in the who of who you are, there is always a choice. In your quest for authenticity be guided by

integrity and be inspired by servant/leadership. Be mindful. Be kind. And be whole.