Overcoming self-hate with the help of Spirituality

[Ook]

One of the biggest benefits of spiritual work for me has been the dissolution of self-loathing. I'm still working on it but it has been unbelievably transforming.

For the past few years my self image was getting pretty bad, and the way i viewed myself was getting worse and worse, and as a result you get more insecure than ever, the smallest things triggered shame in me. Something needed to be done about it, or else it could spiral into something very serious. 

But with spiritual awareness, now I'm almost entirely free of that and I'm feeling so much better. You can too IF (big caveat) you're dedicated enough and not too attached to your sense of self. If you want me to elaborate a little more, let me know.

[lostingenosmaze]

So what kind of spiritual work have you been doing?

[Ook]

@lostingenosmaze Well, it's technically nothing new, all the spiritual teachers have taught and said about it, but it's about giving up the self-image. That's important. The reason why we feel a certain way about ourselves is because we hold a self-image of ourselves in our minds. Recognize that it's all imaginary. 

Giving up the attachment to the sense of personal history is important too. Try out this simple practice: Ask yourself, " How I would experience this moment if I didn't bring the baggage of personal story (past history) to it?". See how you'd feel. In my personal experience it instantly makes you feel liberated. We always attach a story (or kind of like a backstory) onto the present moment, and we think it's the reality. If the backstory is problematic, we're miserable.

And when you don't have a self-image (in other words, narratives about oneself) anymore you don't even need self-esteem anymore as well. Because there's no "person" there to feel good or bad about. There's only a field of Consciousness/Awareness/Presence, however you wanna call it. That's the beginning of ego-death. 

Of course the surface identity can still exist, you can refer to it, but the difference is you don't take it too seriously anymore.

Edited February 12, 2022 by Ook

[Alex_R]

Eckhart tolle and psychedelics help me with this too, i got rid of a big chunk of my bad self steem with those. Present moment awareness.

[Ook]

1 hour ago, Alex_R said:

Eckhart tolle and psychedelics help me with this too, i got rid of a big chunk of my bad self steem with those. Present moment awareness.

Amen. Mr. Tolle's teachings helped me tremendously too

[Nahm]

@Ook ?