“Be your authentic self” is a phrase that’s currently often applied in business, psychology, social media, and other areas. It suggests that individuals have developed a facade, unlike their natural self. Similarly, Shakespeare wrote, “To thine own self be true.” He continues, “And it must follow, as the night the day, / Thou canst not then be false to any man.”
How can we find this true selfhood? What is our authentic self? One dictionary defines authentic as follows: “Having a genuine original or authority, in opposition to that which is false, fictitious, or counterfeit” (Noah Webster, American Dictionary of the English Language, 1828).
Christian Science further explains: “Man’s genuine selfhood is recognizable only in what is good and true. Man is neither self-made nor made by mortals. God created man” (Mary Baker Eddy, Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 294). Each of us expresses our authentic self when reflecting the genuine original—the good and true divine source of us all, God—and rejecting the opposite or counterfeit view.
