This is a great comment, and a great question, @zullyscott ! Many of us, myself included, thought I was 'being real' for a long time, when in actuality, I was not. So how can we tell? How can we know?

The answer is one most people don't like: practice.

Practice, practice, practice.

Practice involves 'getting it wrong', and 'making mistakes', and 'failing' a lot. But the more practice we get, the better we become. So we all must practice asking ourselves "is this who I really am?" We all must practice tuning into our feelings, assessing them, expressing them truly. Even if we get it wrong.

The thing is, most people AVOID this practice, or practice only once in a while.

Food for thought, thank you. 🙏