another repost… yea…
Do You Radiate Self-Confidence? Here’s How You Can
If there was one thing that stood out about Jesus of Nazareth, it was his total self-confidence.
It’s reflected in the way he again and again said, “I am…,” going on to make some definitive statement about his role in life.
With Jesus there’s a total absence of I “might be,” I “hope to be,” I’m “trying to be,” or I’m “getting there.”
As I say in Your Forgotten Self:
Jesus was able to chart his own course in life with boldness. His confidence came from within, without requiring the validation of anyone else. He didn’t need his mother, his brothers, or his disciples to confirm his decisions. He didn’t need anyone else’s opinions.
The key to Jesus’ total confidence was that he knew himself to be grounded in the divine source from which the entire universe has sprung. Because he realized he was one with God—that God, who is formless, was being expressed in his form—he spoke with the full backing of the divine.
For instance, after the Sermon on the Mount as Matthew records it, we’re told that people were amazed by Jesus because he spoke with an authority that the scribes and Pharisees of the time couldn’t muster.
This unapologetic confidence and unwavering authority of Jesus is a characteristic that anyone who is grounded in the divine—who knows themselves to be a self-manifestation of the creator—can enjoy. That’s because Jesus is a reflection of our true being—a mirror of who we really are, awakening in us our own sense that we are divine offspring like him.
This doesn’t mean we become loud, bombastic, dogmatic, a show-off. These are all marks of egoic insecurity. We puff ourselves up because we inwardly feel small.
There’s nothing egoic about the self-confidence that comes with knowing ourselves to be grounded in God. Quite the opposite, there’s a flow, a gentleness, an easiness, and a humility.
By humility, I don’t mean a self-effacing attitude or apologetic behavior. Rather, there’s a calm, quiet, peaceful confidence.
In other words, we have a sense of personal power that causes us to radiate presence.
Authentic presence is powerful, authoritative in and of itself, without us having to try to push something or appear assertive or strong.
It’s the opposite of what we see in so many politicians, who often can’t make the right choices because they are afraid to be seen as “weak.” They have to be “strong on crime,” for instance, which sometimes leads to the innocent being condemned. Ego rules, not presence.
Ego is something we push, force, cultivate. Presence is something we relax into. It’s a natural characteristic of our true self, requiring no effort.
As you read about Jesus’ complete self-confidence, which was a quiet knowing, allow it to awaken the same quiet knowing within yourself. Then your presence will be felt whatever you are doing and wherever you go.
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I also liked what Michael Brown had to say about Confidence. “Maybe you simply have no clue what confidence is? It is definitely not “being in control of your emotions”. Confidence comes through being at ease with our vulnerability.”
To read the whole post: http://presenceprocessquestions.blogspot.com/2009/10/i-dont-want-to-lose-my-confidence.html
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