Hello, Indigenius Society!
We're overdue for a personal story, aren't we? If you’re reading this email, it means you've signed up for our email list or made a purchase, and WOW... *cue the happy tears THANK YOU.
Real quick intro - I'm Nane, the brand owner of Indigenius Society. I'm a passionate advocate for individuality, self expression and aligning with our true selves. I'm grateful for the opportunity to use this avenue to express authentic stories and style, influenced by my experience as a first generation Tongan American.
Alright, this week's personal story is about my yearly reflection (Part 1). The above photo is the first page of my 2023 vision journal, conveying the intention I welcomed this year with: “I am spending all of 2023 coming home to myself.” But what does that mean exactly? Let's dive in!
Well, first, I had to get honest about what it means to be authentic. “To be authentic is to first tell myself the truth and then live based on that truth,” said the brilliant mind of Dr. Thema Bryant. That second part, "and then live based on that truth," okay, I might not have journaled it word for word, but you get the gist.
I realized my actions, habits, environment, daily routines, and basically, how I spent my time, energy, and resources were out of alignment with the burning desire deep in my soul. I just couldn't ignore it anymore. I don't know if it's because I kept facing the same painful patterns in my life or if entering my 30s flipped a switch within me. Likely both, but it sparked a serious change within.
I spent the end of 2022 to regulating my nervous system and committing to the internal work. I knew the programming and wounding that kept attracting the same patterns in my life. These were the blocks I needed to heal in order to OWN my power.
So, the minute 2023 arrived, I became aggressively intentional about continuing the inner work and taking the aligned action to commit to “living” in my authenticity. Truth be told, I could also credit the little fire inside that never went out, just flickering and burning me into alignment.
But let me be clear—did I numb myself by running away? Yes. Did I distract myself with every available external thing? YES. WHY?! I was scared. Confronting these truths meant the life I was looking at was going to change.
You know the saying, if you want to achieve something, you must become the person who already has that something. Which means leaving behind a version of you that your loved ones are attached to. They don't know this new version of you and may even resent who you're becoming because you're killing off the version they love, adore, and are aligned with.
For me…it felt SO sad….no I’m lying LOL because actually - it was about damn time! Where has all this courage been the whole time?!! About time I shed the people-pleasing and external validation nonsense! It was about time I started to HONOR Thy SELF first and nurture the creative child within.
Make no mistake—it took life-changing growing pains to reach this kind of maturity and security, and my testimony is this truth:
If you don't listen to that inner voice the first time, it will burn you down to ashes until you finally stop ignoring it and surrender.
For me, “coming home to myself all year long” and “being authentic” meant knowing the truth and then LIVING that truth. 2023 was ALL about taking the aligned action towards something I had known for a long time. It's December 12, 2023 (12/12/23), and it feels SO good to be on the other side. “Coming home to myself all year long” and “knowing and living in my authenticity” was rediscovering who I've truly been, breaking free from the beliefs we were conditioned to believe and reconnecting with my inner soul.
Here are some of the habits I left behind to come home to myself and live in my authenticity:
- The need to “perform”
- The need to “prove”
- The need to “be liked”
I spent my glorious 20s exploring, traveling, making new friends, losing friends, trying many new things, quitting some and overall plenty of trial and error moments. It was a period of living my best life, and now it's time to build my best life. Grateful for the fruits my 20’s have brought me, because of it I am now building with conviction, wisdom, and experience.
I hope these few words somehow inspire you all to look within and start that journey to become more of YOU!Oh, and I've cut this short and saved the second part for the next newsletter! There, I share details about my inner creative child as a result of “coming home” and “living in authenticity”. I also go into detail about manifestation, your subconscious, mirrors, how healing wounds attract your aligned desires etc…