Self esteem – Soul Needs

‘Self-esteem’ takes a knock!

self-esteem-kitten-lion

Much is read and written about self-esteem. The Rowntree trust has published a report. They say;

Low self-esteem has come to be seen as the cause for a wide range of personal and social ills, from crime and drug addiction, to educational failure and suicide attempts. For these reasons much effort is invested in raising self-esteem, particularly among young people. But can high self-esteem really be the magic bullet this effort assumes?

Through a comprehensive review of the available research evidence, this report examines the case for this assumption. Separate sections of the report look at:

the popular image of high self-esteem as an all-purpose social ‘vaccine’, and scientific attempts to define and measure self-esteem;

what is known about the links between low self-esteem and a range of problem behaviours;

the origins of low self-esteem;

the relative effectiveness of different kinds of interventions intended to raise self-esteem.

The report raises serious doubts as to the value of investing in programmes to enhance self-esteem, given the very limited impact such programmes are likely to have on most problem behaviour.

Go HERE to get a four page summary.

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Either we see it – or we just don’t ged…

Either we see it – or we just don’t geddit!

usaflag-magic-eye (source)

Often I feel that I can see too many connections.

Consequently every now and then I get around to re-focusing on what really is most important to me – I try and sort the most important from the important.

Successful people seem to have been focused during the time that they were becoming successful – but I suspect that there were earlier stages.

I suspect that before they have the ability ‘stay focused’ they have to become focused, and there must have been a pre-condition to becoming focused.

The pre-condition is the possession of such qualities as the desire to move forward and the confidence that things will come into focus, and a sense of purpose will announce. We can make our sense of purpose concrete as a visualization. With a visualization we can see with purpose and have purpose in our seeing.

Of course many of us have a nagging voice of self-doubt – from which we have to learn to become detached. With or without the help of others we have to integrate within the whole that is us the source and the messages of that nagging negativity.

As with the ‘magic eye’ pictures it is a matter of relaxing – until things come into focus.

As an inspiration here is a quotation from a spiritual source;

So long as the thoughts of an individual are scattered he will achieve no results, but if his thinking be concentrated on a single point wonderful will be the fruits thereof.

One cannot obtain the full force of the sunlight when it is cast on a flat mirror, but once the sun shineth upon a concave mirror, or on a lens that is convex, all its heat will be concentrated on a single point, and that one point will burn the hottest. Thus is it necessary to focus one’s thinking on a single point so that it will become an effective force.

Abdu’l-Baha – http://reference.bahai.org/en/t/ab/SAB/sab-74.html

Another nice piece of artwork on the theme of focus;