Laws of the Universe: Discovering Self-Acceptance
Do you struggle with trying to lose weight? Do you devote time to building muscle, improving your appearance, or changing how you look in some manner? It seems we are constantly reminded about the need to be thinner, look more beautiful, increase our attractiveness or masculinity, and if we do so, our lives will somehow get better. There are endless advertisements on television, in online publications, and within print magazines as well, which show us there is an ideal image in our society which we should be all striving to achieve. This is designed by marketers to create a need within us to purchase whatever product is being advertised, to help us achieve the goal we all are trying to chase after, whether it is related to looks, wealth, or success.
For many people, this creates an internal sense of struggle and conflict. There may be an attempt to purchase and use the next magic supplement, diet plan, piece of workout equipment, or cookbook to some degree of success. But more often than not, most purchases seem to gather dust over time, when instantaneous results do not seem to happen. This only further amplifies the feeling of failure, especially if a person is not thin, or highly successful, or extremely wealthy, or all these factors combined. It can be quite exhausting living in a society which is always sending out visual cues that remind us of who we are supposed to be, especially when there are just as many other visual cues seen on television, which tempt us with over-size food proportions to be found at our nearest fast food restaurants.
I have to admit I was on this roller coaster ride for quite a long time and yes, it all started or originated as a child. I was the fat kid who was teased mercilessly at school because he was overweight, liked to eat, and detested gym class or anything involving sports. It seemed I ran away from a chubby fat kid for many years. Occasionally I gave in and stated to myself, "who cares", only to gain a lot of weight and then feel guilt and shame. The lack of caring attitude did not solve my problem, and losing weight helped to regain a sense of control but it did not resolve the inner natural turmoil.
I have read many techniques about being body consciousness and how a person is supposed to recover from this state of mind. One method involves looking in the mirror and gradually accepting each part of your body, showing self-love for each area that you might deem to be a flaw or imperfection. This seemed to be okay, as long as you can look at yourself and not feel the internal sense of dislike. So what then caused a shift in my mindset? It was a matter of simply stating: This is me! That was as simple as it could be in terms of a solution. I finally just looked at myself without judgement or any emotion other then kindness and stated those three words. It was a simple act of self-acceptance, without attaching any conditions to it. I didn't state: This is me as long as I can accomplish something. The phrase was just: This is me!
Understanding self-acceptance from this perspective has taught me a great deal about myself and helping others. You just have to reach a point where you no longer want to put yourself down or wait for certain conditions to arrive before you can like or love yourself. This is when you can release negative energy and cause a shift in your thinking and how you feel about your life. It doesn't mean you no longer care about how you look or feel, but now you act from a new perspective, one that is out of love and care for yourself, rather than dislike, disgust, or internal conflict.
I realize now that self-acceptance is a powerful form of energy and I wanted to learn more as I was attuned to Collective Consciousness and higher order Universal Wisdom. I will share with you now what I have learned about the energy of self-acceptance.
A universal truth is this: Look around at the life contained on this planet, other than the humans. How many varieties of plants can you identify? How many trees can you name? Do you know the name of every type of animal roaming across the lands? More importantly, do you think of these living beings as grotesque or in need of change in some manner? For trees and plants, humans marvel at the beauty as they explore new blooms or go out in nature and experience the vast growth of trees reaching far up into the sky. And when man experiences wildlife, it is often with a sense of awe and wonder, at the magnificence of such creatures and how they seem to survive on their own, out in what appears to be the wilds.
Yet these are all living, energetic beings. These beings are nurtured by the energy of life. While these living beings may not carry the memories that humans do, memories which go into the Collective Consciousness of mankind, these beings do in fact have a connection to the source of life energy. Through the operation by the Collective Consciousness, these beings are an intelligent energetic form of life. This allows these beings to grow, to be nurtured, to be sustained, or be neglected, and according to its design, eventually end a lifecycle.
These life forms serve a purpose, as do all living things. These living beings exist without judgement or negative energy. It is human beings who carry memories and contribute to the Collective Consciousness who are the ones existing with positive and negative energy, necessary to balance the energy source of life. And the negative energy can take on many forms within a human being.
The Bondage of Negativity
For many humans, negative energy is similar to putting on shackles, or self-imposed restraints. Humans, through generations of conditioning, find that focusing on negative elements or aspects of life is much easier to do. A person can trap themselves into a cycle of hurt, pain, and self-doubt for so long they never know any other life but a negative one. This prevents them from ever truly breaking free unless they can learn to tear down self-imposed habits which have become practiced and accepted as truths. This requires help, guidance, and coaching from someone else more experienced.
Negativity as a Society
Humans not only embrace negativity individually, they do it collectively and as a society. In today's society, it is not uncommon to see faux groups banded together in the name of change, but the only real purpose is to perpetuate a cycle of negativity. This continues on into society. Negativity dominates news and even advertising. The reason a person needs to act now and buy something is to prevent a future condition which could be potentially life-threatening, or so they are led to believe.
Idealized Image and Conformity
This negativity has taken another subtler form as well, the idealized image of beauty in America. There has always been idealized imagery, from a housewife wearing pearls in the 60s, to the ideal image of a perfect size male and female as seen today in television, magazine, and online ads. It is a pressure exerted on society as a whole, a negative pressure, one that is related to conformity.
It is expected that a man and woman should look fit and be of a certain shape, get married at a certain age, be employed in specific types of careers, and have children - if they are considered to be happy, successful, and deserving of the best in life. This relates to the idealized or standardized image of who can hold hands in public, even though marriage laws in the United States have changed. Part of the reason for the persistent clinging to the old, idealized standard is the engrained negative belief structure held onto for so long by society, and reinforced by religious institutions. This is a negative energy and is one which runs as a current through society and mankind.
Yet all of this continues, the negative energy streams, and somehow positive energy still exists. But to a person who is less than, which means someone who is less than perfect, less than the ideal standard, or less than in any way, how can they ever find acceptance in this world?
Finding Acceptance Among a Negative World
This is the primary problem: Trying to find acceptance in this world, or in this society, or in the external environment itself. No person can control any of these factors. There is only one form of self-acceptance. Once that can be found, it will not matter what society or religious institutions, or the world itself thinks, as a person will know true freedom.
So what is self-acceptance and how does a person learn to embrace it? There is no amount of effort alone which can make this process occur and that is why the fad diets and gym plans do not work in the long term. Anything associated with additional negative energy, such as guilt, shame, must do, should do, or something similar, does not produce lasting change or self-acceptance. A person changes by learning to attune from within, and for many, this is a process which may take time.
Learning acceptance may likely take setbacks, frustrations, and challenges, as there must be events which wake a person up and cause them to examine their beliefs. When a person has gone on for so long, believing they are inadequate or unlikeable or unlovable, because of who they are or how they look, this creates deeply engrained thought processes which must be examined and changed. The way to do that is when something causes a time of reflection, often with challenges or frustration. When a person can begin to look within, after never having fully accepted who they are for whatever the reason may be, what usually happens is that they cannot find justification for feeling this way. Then they are mentally able to set themselves free.
If you have not yet reached this point in your journey, now is the time for you to think about why it is you feel the way you do. Yes, you can point to society or other external factors. But what is really holding you back from looking in a mirror now and fully embracing yourself, an energetic being in a physical form?
You created this life before you arrived. You designed this magnificent being. Could you really imagine a world where everyone looked all alike? What if every flower looked the same, how would you feel? The variety is what makes life interesting, exciting, fun, fresh, beautiful, and you are part of this now. You did not intend to be a clone. So what is preventing you now from accepting who you are and how you look?
Learning to Live: Some Hopeful, Some Not
Self-acceptance requires making a conscious decision. It is not something a person tries to do and then decides to forget. By the time someone has reached a point where they are aware of how negative their belief systems have become, they will want to change.
But for some people, the change is not towards happiness and acceptance. Some people attune to the negative spectrum, which is when a person gives into depression, despair, or hopelessness. This person cannot accept who they are, or how they look, or care about who they are for any other set of reasons, and they cannot find anything positive to focus on. There is no sense of hope or they cannot find someone to help them, which means they cannot find a way to question the beliefs they are now holding.
Most people will have planned a life with challenges which prompt them to awaken from the negative beliefs they are holding at some point in their lives. When a person begins to accept who they are, how they look, or where they are at in life, true awakening can begin to occur. Acceptance is a positive energy and this is why it is associated with hope, love, renewal, and faith. It is also during this time of awakening that attunement brings greater clarity as the connection to the Collective Consciousness of mankind and Universal Wisdom becomes stronger, which means you are receiving new insight and guidance. You are feeling more positive, you are better focused, and you are more attuned to Universal Wisdom.
When you accept yourself, all of yourself, without the need for justification or the need for change, you open yourself to love, positive energy, and receiving wisdom from the inner voice which has been silenced for too long. Now you are beginning to live. Now you are alive.
Dr. J's mission is to teach, write, and inspire others as an educator, author, writer, mentor, and teacher.
Dr. J writes blog posts, articles, and books to inform, inspire, and empower readers.
To learn about Dr. J's work with Laws of the Universe and the free resources available, please visit: https://readandbelieve.blog
Article Source: Laws of the Universe: Discovering Self-Acceptance