The quandry and the solution

Is being authentic actually being inauthentic? Hear me out on this before you take me to the nearest mental asylum! The journey of my meandering thoughts lead me to a space which I wanted to share. So here's my two-bit 'aantel' theory....

I started with the thought that being authentic might perhaps mean acting as per your words. But words are authentic when they are true to your thoughts and feelings. However the actions ensue at another point of time. If human beings are moving through time wouldn't their thoughts and feelings move through time as well? And in that case isn't there a possibility that when the actions are to take place, the thoughts or feelings would have moved to a different point? So when you are being authentic by acting as per your words, you are possibly being inauthentic to your thoughts and feelings at that point of time.

An interesting solution to this is a worldview which I experienced during my Landmark Curriculum for Living. As per this point of view the world is created through words and hence only words can bring things to existence. Internal thoughts and feelings in this scheme of things would not hold any ground till they are given birth through words. Hence my whole issue of inauthenticity towards thoughts and feelings is taken away in one clean sweep. I love a simplistic and definitive approach like this which forces the little voice in my head to shut up.

"Huh! Living in denial is a fool's privilege."

That was my little voice. My life partner doesn't like being ignored....(Sigh.)

Note: Date-30th Oct 2008

Ok here's the recent development on this line of thinking....My brother who is currently delving into some learnings from Buddhism and Vipassana technique of meditation told me that if you are able to view thoughts and emotions as guests who come and guests who leave (some perhaps a bit later than others) then the whole issue of identifying yourself with your thoughts goes. If you are able to identify these thoughts and emotions and in some cases even name them it helps to create the awareness. Beyond that what you do with the thoughts and emotions is a separate issue. Obviously once you've spoken, you have given birth to the thought or emotion. So actions need to follow the "word" and not necessarily the current thoughts or emotions. This ties in beautifully with my earlier distillation of Landmark philosophy which essentially talks of the "word" bringing things to existence in this world. Thus there is no dilemna of "inauthenticity" with regards to actions not as per current thoughts/emotions.