To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.
- William Shakespeare
February 11, 2011 – Be True to Self
February 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment
An Article on Self Awareness
November 16, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Henry M. Piironen -
When one neuron in our brains has the capacity to produce thousand connections with other neurons, the amount of possible connections is more than the universe has atoms. As you can imagine, in this complexity the self-awareness cannot be too simplistic to be expressed as being composed of only one factor, but from many.
1. What is self-awareness? Self-awareness is commonly seen as something that is separate from the thoughts that emerge to our mind. It has also been considered as the area where we are aware of our own existence. And, when the content of our awareness is the substance of our conscious existence, we cannot separate thought, emotion, reason, or innate instincts from the domain of our self-awareness. It is also the area of our being where we reflect the set of our personal beliefs of existence. After our births, we gain these beliefs from the modern content of this realm, and yet, these beliefs can originate from thousands of years from the past. You can reflect your self with the standards of the society, or expectations you have created for you. The self-awareness is also characterized as the experience of our continual being in constantly exceeding present time. In essence, the transient experiences of our self and the experiences we go through.
2. What is representational self-awareness? We have the tendency to reflect our own being with such representations as what we consider as heroic or what we admire. It is useful to identify self with good characteristics when we are still growing, since they are then more probable to grow into us. Howard Bloom, for instance, who has been compared with Einstein, Newton, Hawkins, and Buckminster Fuller, said that one of the reasons for his genius is in that he held various intellectual giants as his role models. This caused him to mirror, or in his words, to ape their behavior as he considered them as the A-packs. These reflections can however cause anxiety because the person identifies himself or herself with negative self-reflections. And it is only natural, since one is seeing images that are far from being pleasant. They can be hypochondriac in content, caused by all the millions of details of psychological well-being taught to an individual by the media. And if such a state becomes chronic, it is learned behavior, from which one must relearn away. We can also be self-aware in fantasized content and live through fantasized roles in life. We can identify our self with fantasized beings, or identify our self with the fantasized character that has existence only in our own domain, similar to dreaming. The representational self-awareness is what we reflect our own self in the content of representations.
3. What is emotional self-awareness? There is not a moment when you would not feel any emotion. They appear also in such forms as instinctively sensing that something is good, or there is something wrong. They appear in the form of needs we often base our choices. Being self-aware of emotions intensifies the experience of them. In contrast, if we are in the state when time seems to pass rapidly, focused for example to writing, we are less self-aware of our emotions as our attention is directed elsewhere. The emotions tell us when everything runs smoothly as they should. We experience that we are conflicted with something, causing us to settle or solve matters between others. Emotions and instincts are also something we should trust our choices with, despite the modern tendency to say the rational decisions are the best decisions. The rational decisions have their time and place, but the capacity of the subconscious can be compared with a standard late 20th century computer and a modern supercomputer in processing capacity. Being too self-aware of one’s own emotions can also intensify the negative emotions, causing a cycle of intensifying anxiety, leading to anxiety attacks.
4. What is semantic self-awareness? Semantic can be defined in simple terms as a meaning of something. We can become self-aware of what we are by giving ourselves a variety of different meanings. They depend on the circumstances, actions we have taken, or when we are expressing ourselves with language or intuitively understanding different meanings of what we are through reflections. In both, positive and negative content. We also gain semantic self-awareness from the opinions of others about ourselves again in both, positive and negative.
5. What is a physiological self-awareness? Focus your attention to the middle of your right arm, and sense what you feel from it. That is what physiological self-awareness is all about, how we sense our physiology in all its extent. Various relaxation records use this in that they make people self-aware of various parts of the body, and speak on how it begins to relax, thus using suggestion. This may result in effect, if not resisted consciously, to the spoken area to begin to relax. Coordination of the body is based on similar control we have over our body. We can increase this capacity by exercising yoga, martial arts, survival training, dancing or for instance different sexual techniques in adult life.
Henry M. Piironen is the author of “The Power of Transiency (How Thoughts Can Harness the Power of Life, the Universe and Everything).” To purchase this definitive book, visit Amazon Kindle Store now! Already read it? To purchase his other books, click here.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Henry_M._Piironen
http://EzineArticles.com/?An-Article-on-Self-Awareness&id=3957956
Six Keys to Self-Confidence
October 7, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Terry Wisner -
A young lady approached me after a recent customer service seminar and expressed a need to improve her self-confidence. She believed her career prospects were limited by her personal insecurity. Furthermore, she asked if the Partnering Process would work for her. As those of you who are regular readers of this publication know, Partnering can help any two people become more successful at whatever they want to do. The good thing is that she is aware she needs to improve and has the desire to improve. So I, of course, told her to use the process and focus her plan on these keys to enhancing self-confidence.
Leave the past behind. Don’t get hung-up on past failures and disappointments. Often people rehash past failures and predict they will fail again. The question everyone needs to answer is: What would I do if I knew I couldn’t fail? A person cannot redo what they did yesterday, however, they can change what they will do tomorrow.
Remember the wins. As people progress towards their personal improvement goals, they need to look at the little successes and celebrate them. Obstacles will impede progress, as they are overcome, they will encourage greater confidence. It’s a good idea to keep a daily journal of accomplishments to visit when it feels like little progress has been achieved. It is experience, both good and bad, that builds confidence.
Gain knowledge. One of the best ways to bolster confidence is to equip oneself with knowledge. The more knowledge acquired… the stronger the self-confidence. Learn more about the profession you have chosen, more about your company’s products and services, more about the people that surround you, more about your customers, and more about people in general.
Hang with the eagles. It’s probably easier to soar like an eagle when surrounded by nothing but turkeys. However, if a person spends time with people that are more confident than they are, it is quite likely they will improve their own self-confidence. Like many folks, my scores on the golf course are better whenever I golf with players that are superior in skill. Maybe I concentrate more. Maybe I focus on my game more. Or maybe I just try harder.
Go for the low hanging fruit. When building self-confidence, look for opportunities to succeed. In the planning process, set attainable short-term goals to help boost confidence. It is important to steer away from uncertainty. For example: a person that wishes to enhance their presentation skills and overcome their fear of speaking might want to do some one-on-one presentations before trusted friends. The second step might be to join Toastmasters or enroll in a Dale Carnegie class. After developing their skills, then they may ask if they could do more presentations before customers or leadership teams.
Start each day off well. I will be the first to tell you this sounds a little ridiculous, but it works. Begin each day with positive affirmations about how confident you are becoming. And believe it! Literally look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that your self-confidence is improving. These positive declarations will reinforce the other actions you have taken to enhance your self-confidence.
The Earl of Chatham, William Pitt, in 1766 said that “confidence is a plant of slow growth.” Self-confidence cannot be attained easily or rapidly. It requires determination, a well thought-out plan, and a Partner to provide support, feedback, and encouragement. Share these six keys to enhancing self-confidence with others who may grow and improve through Partnering To Success.
Terry Wisner, the “Partnering Pro,” International Speaker, Consultant, and author, shares his experience and knowledge through energetic, entertaining, and enlghtening presentations and seminars. Do you want to experience improvement in; Customer Service, Teamwork, Leadership Skills, Communication Skills, or simply Self-Improvement? Then, visit Terry at http://www.terrywisner.com or http://www.p2s.us and learn more about Partnering and how it can help you and your organization succeed.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Terry_Wisner
http://EzineArticles.com/?Six-Keys-to-Self-Confidence&id=280569
=
Create a New Self Image – Expand Your Life
October 4, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD -
Everyone has an image of themselves. That image is what people form their perception of you. Your image of yourself is how people will treat you, because you teach them how to treat you by your beliefs and actions. Your image of yourself is a compilation of your indoctrination, adaptations and experiences.
In order to bring a greater vision into your life, your image of yourself needs to become larger than it is now. You can no longer view yourself and your universe as limited or scarce. You need to see yourself and your universe as limitless and abundant. You can only bring into being that which you believe you deserve.
What do you deserve? Make a list of all the things you deserve. Unless and until you believe, without doubt, that you deserve them, your ability to create them will allude you. Unless you root out the belief of undeserving, positive thinking is for naught.
Building an image of a higher possibility can be tricky. There are a myriad of indoctrinations you believe to be true. Such as: Girls aren’t good in math. The sky is the limit for boys. Girls need to be conservative. Attractive men are more successful. Beautiful women are sought after in business and social circles.
While these general indoctrinations are less prominent for Generation X (1965 – 1980) and Generation Y also known as the Millennials, (1981 – 2001) the stereo type is none-the-less alive, albeit the negative indoctrinations were instilled in different ways.
When you become one with your desires – believing that you deserve – the image of yourself and your life expands to bring in what you desire. This is scientific, it is the Law of Abundance and Attraction, popularized by ‘The Secret.’ It is immutable and it works.
This moment is the first moment of the rest of your life, become one with your desires – believe that you deserve what you desire. As you believe you deserve what you desire, your image of yourself and your life expands.
Enjoy the journey of rooting out false beliefs, bringing in new beliefs and expanding your self image and life.
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD, Life Coach – Certified Hypnosis Practitioner, Author and Speaker. Dr. Dorothy facilitates clearing the blocks, fears and limiting beliefs, then, you can live the life you deisre. She brings awareness to concepts not typically obvious to one’s daily thoughts and feelings. http://www.drdorothy.net
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorothy_M._Neddermeyer,_PhD
http://EzineArticles.com/?Create-a-New-Self-Image—Expand-Your-Life&id=4651532
Self Concept – Your Personal Truth
September 29, 2010 By Leave a Comment
By Christopher Kabamba -
Your self concept comprises a set of the beliefs you have about yourself with regard to self identity, self image and self worth; your ideas concerning the talents, abilities and what you think you are capable or incapable of achieving. It is an all encompassing notion that you have about yourself. It is an impression; a resultant of your knowledge and your experience of life and the meaning you have attached to those experiences.
Every human being born soon develops a concept of self. You are the author of the theory you have about self. The story however does not end with you developing a self concept; no sooner do you form a notion about yourself than it begins to shape you into the man or woman consistent with that idea. This soon becomes your personal truth; the law of your being – your actual experience of life. As an ideal, it takes hold of you and gives color and meaning to your life. It literally becomes your life. Like habits, you first form a concept of self and then, your self concept shapes you. This becomes a self calling, sustaining and perpetuating loop.
Right now, as you read this article, everything that you see in your life and in the world around you is defined with the context of your self concept. The quality of your life in all its bearings is the quality of your self concept. The theory you have about yourself is what manifests the events of your life and the meaning you attach to those events; this becomes your true experience of life; your personal truth. Someone said that experience is not what happens to you but what you do with what happens to you.
Henry Ford understood self concept vis-à-vis personal truth when he said that “whether you think you are can or cannot; either way you are right.” According to your faith, it will be done unto you. The impression you have about yourself is the ceiling for your potential and the creative determinant for your success or failure in life; it determines the height of your aim and the length of your reach. The results that you get epitomize the opinion you hold about yourself. It determines your level of contribution; it influences the life you chose; all your decisions in life have their root in the theory you have about yourself. Your self concept is what is driving your life.
Do you think that you have an empowering perception of self? In what areas can you improve the quality of the thoughts you hold about yourself? What negative self impressions clog your mind? These and many other similar questions should be subjects of deliberation for every seeker.
You will not be able to achieve the dreams of your life if your self concept denies the attainment of those dreams. This is assuming that your self concept is the kind that even allows for a conception of a bigger vision for your life. It is the negative identity and mental images that you have about yourself and about your place in the grand scheme of things that are hindering you from truly living a more abundant life.
Sit down; write on a piece of paper what you want in your life. What belief changes can you bring in your life that would help you achieve these goals? Focus on the most immediate things that you can do; little changes that you can start with. Personal growth is a life long process; for as long as we live there will always be new paths to trade and new worlds to discover. The important thing is for you to start where you are and with whatever you have. Commit yourself to a path of personal growth; adopt the process of self evolution where you are constantly becoming more; build for yourself a positive momentum towards growth and development. By constantly challenging your limiting beliefs, create a new and empowering personal truth for your life; it is only then that you will truly begin to see and experience what promise and wonderful things this world holds for you.
Christopher Kabamba is an IT professional with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Computer Science from the Copperbelt University, Zambia. He is a student of personal growth and development. He desires to take up a professional career as an Author, Public Speaker and Life Coach. He documents some of his thoughts on Personal Growth and Development on his blog: [http://kabamba.wordpress.com]
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Kabamba
http://EzineArticles.com/?Self-Concept—Your-Personal-Truth&id=2728479
Let’s Put the “Self” Back in Self Improvement!
December 4, 2009 By Leave a Comment
By Irene Conlan -
Most of us don’t get bogged down in definitions of words like “self” – we know we’re talking about the “I” that’s called “me.” For those of you who love definitions, “The self is a key construct in several schools of psychology, broadly referring to the cognitive and affective representation of one’s identity.” Wikipedia
But let’s don’t get bogged down in that bit of psychiatric hair splitting over a word we all understand. Hey, it’s me – the me inside this body that thinks, feels, knows, makes decisions, loves, longs for, and all those other things I do that differentiate me from any else. Oops, there I spilled the beans.
My “self” differentiates me from everyone else.
Are you telling me that I’m not supposed to be like anyone else?
Yep.
As humans we all have similarities and we all have uniqueness. For instance we all have likes and dislsikes but what those likes and dislikes are varies from person to person. We all experience hunger but what satisfies that hunger is unique. We each can hear the same music but how we experience it is distinctive to “me.” Everything I see, hear, experience in anyway is filtered through my total experience throughout my lifetime and that makes it special to “me.” Get it? My self has to be different from your self because our total lifetime experience has varied.
Got it. So?
Well, let’s talk about putting “self” back into self improvement. There are a lot of books on the shelves of bookstores and libraries offering “self help.” In fact one web site lists the 50 top self help classics. Classics! (And I think they’re worth reading over a lifetime.) They cover almost any topic you can imagine from Anxiety control to zodiac signs and each has it’s own slant – you can get two books on the same topic that give you totally different advice. So which one is right? Perhaps both. Perhaps neither. In my opinion most self help books are valuable as guidelines, as information to be considered before you make the decision based on who you are and what you want.
We are fortunate to have so much wonderful information at our fingertips. If we want to know how to do lose weight, for example, we can go to the bookstore, library, internet, your family physician or a bariatric specialist. When you have information from each of them then, looking at all the data and all the advice, you can make a decision that works for you. (Hopefully). If you want to stop smoking you can do the same type of research and then make a choice – do you wear a patch, take a pill, visit a hypnotist, get acupuncture, or just go “cold turkey?” It’s your choice – what works best for you.
It is my own personal opinion that we put too much confidence in the “experts” who know a lot about a subject but nothing about you – or me. I love the experts and I consult them often. You probably do, too. Fantastic. But do you take their words as “gospel truth” or do you weigh them carefully along with other “experts” on the same subject and made a decision based on your needs, wants and individual differences?
Yes?
Good for you.
We are gifted with good minds, a wide range of emotions, solid inner guidance and free will. We may be out of the habit of making good decisions for ourselves but we can get back into the swing of it soon with a little practice. It’s not too late to stop trying to be like everyone else and discover what’s so wonderfully special about your “self” and what about you is beautifully unique.
Join with me in the campaign to put “self” back into self improvement. It sounds like fun to me.
Health in the Self
September 30, 2009 By Leave a Comment
By Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD -
What is health?
Is health the absence of disease? Is health a birth right or simply luck? According to Ayuveda, India’s ancient art of healing, the meaning of health is a single word: Swastha. Swa = self + Stha = established. Thus a person is healthy when ‘”established in the self.” Immunity is much more than T-cells, B-cells and antibodies. Health depends upon a well-integrated core of identity. Thus, health is a birth right.
The Self as defined by Ayuveda is not identical to the western concept of ego. It is the power of individual identity that fosters one to have an existence apparently separate from all other beings. In Sanskrit this is called Ahamkara – literally, the “I-former.” You are you and not he, she, we or they because of Ahamkara. It is the creative power that gives you your sense of “I am.” Ahamkara consistently identifies with an individual body, mind, and spirit enabling them to exist together as a living being. It is the center of your awareness and from it come feelings of my: my body, my emotions, my thoughts, my personality, etc. Where there is my, there is I.
Each of the millions and millions of cells that make up you has a center of awareness. Ahamkara is that center. How well your self identifies with these cells determines your resistance to disease. Just as a strong central government protects its citizens, so too a strong central identity protects the body. Because the body and mind are intimately connected, (contrary to western thought) your self-esteem is your cells’ self-esteem. Without sufficient self-esteem and self-love the cells become more vulnerable to the harmful effects of stress.
Stress
Stress is an insidious precursor to disease. In simple terms, stress occurs every time you adapt to a new situation. Consequently, every time your environment changes you must create a new equilibrium with it to stay healthy. ‘Environment’ includes not only your physical space, but also your mental, emotional, social, and spiritual surroundings. Only by being centered and stable in your self can you have the adaptability to roll with life’s punches and face the innumerable challenges to your well-being.
It can be said, you have a body self, mind self, and spirit self. Health requires establishment in each of these selves. You need to have a sound mind, in a sound body and a healthy relationship with Universal Spirit. Vertically body, mind and spirit needs to flow in dynamic interplay. Horizontally you need to have a harmonious relationship with your family and society and your self needs to remember its debt to the one who created it.
Our Being
Health as defined by Ayurveda is not the mere absence of disease. Swastha is a positive state of multi-layered well-being. Each level of our being affects and reflects the others. A happy, contented mind projects health into the body. Love, trust, and compassion needs to be developed if you are to be healthy. Modern neuropsychiatry has discovered specific neuropeptides associated with joy and happiness that communicate with the body’s trillions of cells. Likewise, the health of mind and emotions depend upon bodily health. Physical toxins and poor digestion impair mental digestion creating mental toxins like fear, anger, greed, attachment, envy, and judgment. The old saying ‘the body is a temple of the spirit’ is a factual reality. A firm (as in healthy) body ‘firms-up’ ahamkara and she reciprocated by projecting health into it.
Establishing one self into one’s self is not an egotistical attempt to become bigger, better, or more important. Over investment in self is as dangerous as its opposite. Selfishness can only lead us further away from each other and our source in Spirit. Without empathy and compassion for all other living beings, we become destructive to them and ourselves. Invest in your self so that your health and harmony act as a harmonizing influence on those around you and contributes to the health of your environment. This is Swastha.
Dorothy M. Neddermeyer, PhD specializes in: Mind, Body, Spirit healing for Individuals, Special Issues and Professional Coaching. As an inspirational leader, Dr. Neddermeyer empowers people to view life’s challenges as an opportunity for Personal/Professional Growth and Spiritual Awakening. http://www.gen-assist.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dorothy_M._Neddermeyer,_PhD
