The journey into authenticity draws us into a world of love that heals our darkest fears. It is a journey upon which we slowly discover our original potential and find genuine happiness. There is no arrival, no full achievement of authenticity - but as we withdraw from ways of inauthenticity, we come in touch with the reality of both our inner goodness and our outer giftedness.The Wisdom of Authenticity has three main focuses: right intention, emerging awareness, and the fire of love. The way of attention gives one's journey to wholeness its energetic momentum, engendering a keen connection to our lived experience. Indeed, self-awareness is crucial, and develops from a quality of self-presence and self-understanding. It is directed towards the inner befriending of self and a deep communion with others. True human potential finds expression in unlimited generosity, boundless ingenuity, and unconditional love. How do we best respond to the inner restlessness that resides in the tension between what is and what is yet to be? For each of us, an epic journey of learning and loving unfolds out of life's endless summons to transformation - the invitation to live more consciously, more creatively, more compassionately. Obedience to that summons brings us into the blissful experience of human authenticity.
Stephen K. Sims is the founding director of the IASIS Foundation - an awareness education project that has, since the early 80s, developed a far-reaching dialogue on themes related to the wisdom of personal transformation. The work of this foundation seeks to empower self-discovery, encourage the enlargement of consciousness and compassion, and foster physical wellness, emotional literacy, and spiritual potential. Over a span of more than three decades, Steve has led vision quests, support groups and small interactive learning circles to stimulate self-enquiry and authenticity. Wilderness adventure outings have been an integral part of the IASIS project - Steve himself is an ardent canoe enthusiast. After graduating from university in the late 60s, Steve taught in schools both in Canada and Australia, and travelled extensively through Asia. In the early 70s, he worked as a paramedic with the sick and destitute dying at Jesu Ashram in the Darjeeling region of northern India. Returning to his native Montreal, Steve assumed the role of a lay chaplain at Concordia University. This preceded his appointment as program director of the Spera Foundation, a drug rehabilitation centre - his work in addiction led to the establishment of the IASIS dialogues. At a later stage, he served as director of a hospitality house for the homeless. In the mid-90s, Steve went back to India where he initiated similar dialogues with educators and community development workers throughout the Eastern Himalayas. This cross-cultural experience was the catalyst for his first writing project, as well as for the establishment of the Padua Dialogue - an interdisciplinary wisdom forum exploring the healing arts, the transformational sciences, and the teachings of different spiritual traditions. His other community involvements have included youth outreach, prison support groups, visitation to the elderly, and palliative care for the terminally ill. The Wisdom of Authenticity, Steve's second book, gives us a glimpse into the interactive dialogue circles that he has been facilitating over the last 33 years. River of Awareness, his first book, was published in 2009 with a variety of thematic reflections that make reference to his wide range of life experience.
