What do you think?
Rate this book
Showing Up Naked: Peeling Away the Layers to Your Authentic Self
We come into this world naked, innocent, the very essence of love. Granted a brief amount of time to revel in and enjoy this state, it isn’t long before we are being groomed to fit in and play by the rules. Suddenly, societal expectations have us looking outside of ourselves for validation, acceptance, and love. And with all the judgment and modeling to which we are exposed, it isn’t long before we don a social mask. Now, we move around inside of our lives bumping up against other social masks, and the ability to experience a true, deep, honest connection with ourselves and others is all but lost.
This is a book about breaking free of the social conditioning, becoming comfortable in our own skins, liberated from the need to ask for permission to be ourselves. This is a book about complete and total self acceptance, and living without guilt or the need to apologize for who we are.
From cover to cover this book will challenge you to let go, layer by layer shedding that which is not true until all that is left is the same naked, innocent, loving presence you always were—buried beneath the layers of inauthenticity you were taught you needed.
This is a book about breaking free of the social conditioning, becoming comfortable in our own skins, liberated from the need to ask for permission to be ourselves. This is a book about complete and total self acceptance, and living without guilt or the need to apologize for who we are.
From cover to cover this book will challenge you to let go, layer by layer shedding that which is not true until all that is left is the same naked, innocent, loving presence you always were—buried beneath the layers of inauthenticity you were taught you needed.
341 pages, Kindle Edition
First published December 19, 2011
5 people are currently reading
24 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
February 20, 2021
I really had no idea how to rate this. I personally found it rather dull, but there was nothing actually wrong with it and I imagine for many people it could be very inspiring and freeing. So I'm going for an ambivalent middle of the road three stars.
I think my biggest issue with this is that it is just LONG. I feel like the author goes over the same thing again and again (I'm sure some people need to hear some of this multiple times, but for me it was snoozy). The chapters are pretty well organized, although some of the sections wander a bit from the stated topic. There are stories thrown in here and there that don't seem to relate directly to the topic at hand.
The only chapter I actually disliked was the one on forgiveness. I just feel that the author doesn't do a good job with it. For example, she tells a story about a client who doesn't want to forgive his father because that would be like saying what the dad did was ok. This is a common problem with forgiveness and one that absolutely needs to be addressed, yet the author really doesn't respond to the concern at all. She kind of talks around it and then quickly moves on. It was disappointing. She does focus on the idea that forgiveness is something we do for ourselves and for our own freedom, which is a good concept that I am happy she considers.
There is a whole chapter on "letting go" which covered a range of topics (did I mention that she wanders around a bit?). One big topic is emotional clutter. The author states that "meditation is the most effective and powerful way to clear mental and emotional clutter..." I personally disagree with this strongly. There are so many great ways to deal with emotional baggage these days including EFT, EDMR, Matrix Reimprinting, and more. The author's experience focuses on yoga, meditation, and hypnotherapy. These are all excellent therapies and have helped many people. However, statements such as the one quoted above are frustrating to me because it eliminates a whole world of other practices simply because the author hasn't experienced them. There is no way to know what is "the best" therapy out there because everyone has different needs, experiences, paths, etc. What is "the best" for the author may not be "the best" for me. Reductive statements such as this drive me nuts.
So I suppose that encapsulates my frustration with the book in general. Nothing here was bad, some was frustrating, the rest was just a bit repetitive and dull. I think that an editor could tighten the book up by 100 pages and still have basically the same light, fluffy, love-focused book.
I think my biggest issue with this is that it is just LONG. I feel like the author goes over the same thing again and again (I'm sure some people need to hear some of this multiple times, but for me it was snoozy). The chapters are pretty well organized, although some of the sections wander a bit from the stated topic. There are stories thrown in here and there that don't seem to relate directly to the topic at hand.
The only chapter I actually disliked was the one on forgiveness. I just feel that the author doesn't do a good job with it. For example, she tells a story about a client who doesn't want to forgive his father because that would be like saying what the dad did was ok. This is a common problem with forgiveness and one that absolutely needs to be addressed, yet the author really doesn't respond to the concern at all. She kind of talks around it and then quickly moves on. It was disappointing. She does focus on the idea that forgiveness is something we do for ourselves and for our own freedom, which is a good concept that I am happy she considers.
There is a whole chapter on "letting go" which covered a range of topics (did I mention that she wanders around a bit?). One big topic is emotional clutter. The author states that "meditation is the most effective and powerful way to clear mental and emotional clutter..." I personally disagree with this strongly. There are so many great ways to deal with emotional baggage these days including EFT, EDMR, Matrix Reimprinting, and more. The author's experience focuses on yoga, meditation, and hypnotherapy. These are all excellent therapies and have helped many people. However, statements such as the one quoted above are frustrating to me because it eliminates a whole world of other practices simply because the author hasn't experienced them. There is no way to know what is "the best" therapy out there because everyone has different needs, experiences, paths, etc. What is "the best" for the author may not be "the best" for me. Reductive statements such as this drive me nuts.
So I suppose that encapsulates my frustration with the book in general. Nothing here was bad, some was frustrating, the rest was just a bit repetitive and dull. I think that an editor could tighten the book up by 100 pages and still have basically the same light, fluffy, love-focused book.
August 29, 2017
Lovely. This book has shown me there is a way to find happiness by just looking into our hearts. I really recommend this book to anyone who feels lost in his or her life.
December 25, 2019
This is a very good and insightful book. Well written.
June 13, 2012
So far, fantastic!
August 14, 2017
Wonderful book that teaches how happiness can be found within ourselves. Even though it is written in English I could completely understand every single word and get the message. It has inspired me in writing books thanks to its teachings.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews