Know Thyself

I go on Sundays to a Monastery, Holy Archangel Michael's in Cañones, NM. On Sunday the Abbot spoke about knowing one's self.
It is very hard to know one's self, and to be authentic to who we are, without the hang-ups of ego, pride, judgement of others etc.  jumping into the picture. Our minds are a swirl of thoughts.
While waiting in line for breakfast, on the bulletin board was posted a quote from St Theophan the Recluse, a noted Russian Elder and writer of many books, which boiled down to, my paraphrasing, 'If you descend to the heart rather than making judgements in the mind, you escape the thoughts which run rampant in the head and poke and pinch you with their insistence.
The authentic you is in the heart. Thinking about it, I can feel the difference. Thinking of someone you love truly, or something you love to do, you feel that in your chest.  Thinking things out takes you up into your head, as do judgements etc. as part of brain work. Our thoughts are very active, sometimes negative. Feel the difference. 
​ Love is the basis of who God is. Heart being is what God has created us to be. If we learn to live there, we are authentic to ourselves as God's Creation.