The Worth of a Person

Pretty heady stuff. Enough to make you feel both proud of your inherited endowments and sober at your responsibilities. Yet this message is at the heart of the Edgar Cayce readings, as well as the core of humanity's spirituality. It is also the basis of self-esteem.

When the California state legislature created the Task Force on Self-Esteem it paid official recognition to the fundamental importance of this personal attribute. It declared self-esteem to be the psychological equivalent of clean air and water. It defined it as "the appreciation of one's own worth and importance and having the character to be accountable to oneself and to act responsibly toward others." After years of study, the task force concluded that the absence of self-esteem is the root cause of violence, drug-addiction, greed crimes, and many of the other social ills plaguing society. On the other hand, it also concluded that every person needs to respect the value of their creative inner resources and that it is a necessary part of human experience to nourish the spiritual dimension of our being. Not a luxury, but a necessary ingredient to healthy living as a responsible, contributing member of society, self-esteem finally found its place in the sun with the report of the California task force.

It is also easy to recognize in the task force's conception of self-esteem Edgar Cayce's vision of the human as a spiritual being. Who could have anticipated that a legislative body, by honoring such an ordinary aspect of human existence as self-esteem, would thrust the ideas expressed in the Cayce readings smack into the news media. Nevertheless, it's happening. A particularly fine self-help book, for example, one of the best on the subject of self-esteem to pass across my desk, is so remarkably similar in its main points to the major lessons in the Cayce readings that it could easily be an A.R.E. publication. It is living proof that in many ways the Cayce philosophy has become mainstream. The book is Claiming Your Self-Esteem: A Guide out of Codependency, Addiction, and Other Useless Habits (Celestial Arts). The author, psychotherapist Carolyn Ball, presents the issue of self-esteem affirmatively:

"Each person is unique and special. All of us have our own gifts to give as we pass through life on this planet. When we are in touch with ourselves--who we are, what we feel, what we need, what we love and enjoy--then that special gift can be expressed. When life is full of 'have-tos' and 'shoulds' and trying to measure up to external standards, it is impossible to be in touch with ourselves or that inner gift. They become obscured by the busy-ness of trying to be different from how we are. But, by honoring ourselves exactly as we are, the bad with the good, that inner gift is brought back to the forefront and is allowed expression. The net effect is the same whether our perspective is from a psychological framework and is called self-esteem, or from a spiritual framework and is called Higher Self, Higher Power, or the God Within."

In referring to the 12-step tradition, which contributes to the author's approach, she points out that it is no accident that the single greatest mental health movement in the country, a self-help organization with no financial backing or professional practitioners, is spiritual at its core. Spirituality is the core of self-esteem. Spirituality is living the recognition that there is within us a power higher or greater than our ego-selves. Given this foundation to self-esteem, here is the essence of Ball's teaching, which she presents in a plain manner, combining the realistic, empathic approach of the counselor with the vision of the spiritual teacher.

Realize first that your thoughts will create your reality. What you believe is important. The place to begin, therefore, is to change what you believe about yourself. It is important to learn to know oneself, to discover what subconscious beliefs and attitudes are undermining your sense of self-worth, what demands you make upon yourself, conditions you place upon granting yourself respect. Make a commitment to replace negative thinking with positive thoughts.

"Man is a creature of habit," she writes, "unless he applies his will, and chooses to live by the power of his choices rather than the force of habit." How do we go about making these changes? By self-acceptance. It's a hard lesson to learn that self-acceptance is the beginning of change. To develop this kind of acceptance she advocates learning two skills: meditation and listening.

Meditation is good for developing the accepting attitude, "It's OK," which gives one the patience to gentle encourage growth rather than to force change. It also is good for tapping into the Higher Self and the reality of love as a creative energy, which will be a major force for change within the context of self-acceptance.

Listening to one's inner self and one's Higher Self helps us in self-knowledge. It also provides the basis for establishing more fulfilling relations with others. It is deep within us, not at the tips of our noses and elbows, that we are the most profoundly connected with one another. Respecting your own feelings, even when others don't, is a good measure of self-esteem. This ability also allows you to listen to and respect another person's feelings even when yours are different. Carolyn argues that from the higher self we become a channel for love, first for oneself and then for others as oneself. The Great Commandment requires, therefore, that self-esteem be the basis of the worth of a person

Buy Claiming Your Self Esteem: A Guide to Codependency, Addiction, and Other Useless Habits now!