The Cost of Authenticity

This is an article for the members of The Odyssey of Self, within The Library of Light, a growing library of distilled information and guidance taken from the work of Dr. Michael Lincoln, Messages From The Body. Join for only $8/mo. and learn the connection between beliefs, behaviours, and the body. Take a look inside with a 7-day free trial.

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Last week, I received news about a prominent figure in the self-healing space, a widely known influencer, being scrutinized by several countries over his claims, raising serious questions about the safety of his methods and the validity of his teachings.

I won’t go into the specifics of this controversy here because the focus of this article and podcast is not on the inevitable backlash pioneers face when offering new paradigms. Instead, I want to speak to what happened to me as a result of finally stepping fully into my own voice.

For years, I have watched, listened, and participated in rich, nuanced conversations about health, human potential, and the inherent tension between entrenched systems and unconventional, often more effective approaches to healing and transformation.

If you’ve been with The Odyssey of Self for some time, you know I believe deeply that we are only beginning to uncover the vast capacities of self-healing and the truth of who we are beyond the limitations of conditioning and fear.

But last week, I was sent information that struck a chord. Not from a place of anger, but of conviction. It stirred something dormant, something that had been simmering beneath the surface for years, and it rose with clarity.

In a raw and unfiltered recording, I sat in my car and spoke. I spoke of the patterns of suppression and silencing that run through our collective story.

And when I finished, I felt a rush of liberation.

For the first time in years, I felt free.

I didn’t overthink it as I used to. I didn’t exhaust myself with take after take. I didn’t delete it in a wave of self-doubt, as I’d done countless times before. This time, the words flowed. I didn’t care how I looked, how I sounded, or who agreed. None of that mattered anymore.

I uploaded the video to YouTube and let it go where it needed to go with zero expectations.

At first, supportive comments poured in from people who understood and resonated. The next day, the video spiked in views with no slowing down in sight. 10k, 30k, 60k and climbing…..

And then came the other voices.

The projections. The anger. The criticisms of tone, of details, of delivery, anything but the larger truth I was speaking to.

Although I was proud of how I navigated the criticism, something in me shifted. My body felt it, as if an electrical current of fear, exhilaration, and exposure was running through my system.

It struck me then. How easy it has been to create content that is safe. Informational. Neutral.

But speak your truth, and you will face the full spectrum of humanity.

Speak your truth, and some will punish you for it.

Speak your truth, and some will fear it.

No wonder the world remains silent. We have been conditioned to do so.

When you stand in authenticity, you become a mirror, and what others see reflected back can either inspire or terrify them. Those who have suppressed their own voices may project their fear, their pain, their judgment onto you. Because purity and realness awaken old memories of punishment.

In this episode, I share what unfolded after speaking my truth, how my body expressed the toll through hair loss, and the deeper work I did to not shrink back but to evolve through it to shine even more brightly than before.