Have you ever been overly critical about yourself? Not liking what you see in the mirror, thinking about going on a diet, not liking your image, etc.  Do you entertain thoughts like "I don't like what I look like", "I hate who I am" for example.  These thoughts are all too common, and they imply that there are more than one identity involved.  There is the "you" who is looking and the "you" who you do not like.  To put it a better way there is "the  judging you" and the "you being judged".  That creates a dilemma of trying to figure out who the real "you" is.

Spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle says that it was just such a perplexing thought that woke him up out of a deep depression and started his spiritual journey. His despairing thought was: "I can't live with myself any longer," and it thrust him into discovering  "who" was this person that he couldn't live with. The question raised by such self-critical thoughts is: "Am I one person or two? And, if I'm only one person, why can I not  accept myself as I am?"

These self critical thoughts usually come from a standard that we are judging ourselves by or a standard we have set up in our minds that we are supposed to meet.   These standards are usually based on how others view us.  We want to fit in and want to make good impressions so we automatically compare ourselves to the culteral ideal.  Are we thin enough?  Do we dress in the right fashion? Are we successful at what we do? If the answers are no to these questions, our ego's critical voice will chime in and we can hear the lament of "I cannot stand myself" or some other deprecating remark to prod us into doing what we think is expected of us.

The reality of life is that we truly only are "one" person but we have many voices.  We are constantly talking to ourselves about life, our experiences, and most of the time we take what we are saying to be the truth but often it is not the truth but just our perception at the time.

What we say is frequently a judgment based upon uncritically accepted standards of thinness, beauty, or success. If we can learn to look past these judgments -- not take them so seriously -- perhaps we can find our way back to our True Self.

We truly need to look at what we are saying with a critical eye and like Byron Katie suggests in her "Work" define what truth we are really looking at.  Our perceptions are fashioned by our environment and mostly by the media such as television, news reports, magazines etc.  Every time we critically assess ourselves we need to basically ask ourselves....Is this the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth or....is it just my perception based on the programming I have received in the past and through the media.  Do I really feel what I am saying reflects the truth about me?  Do some positive critical analysis and stop the inner voice from dragging you down into depression.  If you get a yes answer to some of your questions then critically analyze what you can do to change and make steps to do so.

We all need to practice self-acceptance and tolerance.  Look to our bodies and look from your heart.  Be kind to yourself as you are kind to others.  We are unique pieces of God and the way we see ourselves does not necessarily reflect who we truly are.

Take time to love and cherish yourself today and see if life does not look better tomorrow.

Many blessings to all you lovelies! Rosie

Tags: Self Help Motivation Metaphysical