I am Working on Self Acceptance and Self Esteem

This is all about being true to the energy blueprint for your life which you as a Soul designed before you were born, and about being true to your inner dreams and aspirations.

So many young people these days are looking in magazines for an idol on whom to model themselves – a pop or rock star, or an athlete, for instance. Yet, these very idols have risen to the top of their professions by following their own dreams in order to excel at what they do.

Each of us has been born with unique gifts which we have come to this earth to develop and express through using them in earth-life situations. It is as though, throughout our lives, we were running a programme just like a computer does.

When we follow our life’s purpose – the energy blueprint which we designed before birth to guide the course of our lives – we feel good; we feel the support of nature, and the whole of the Universal Life Force comes around us to support our dreams and aspirations. Doors open to us easily as we follow our own nature by looking deeply into our heart for our inspiration and guidance.

Whenever we think of others whom we perceive as more worthy or more adequate than ourselves in some way, it's good to keep in our mind that while, as individuals, we and others are different, all of us are also part of the One creation.

There are no hard and fast barriers between any part of the Creation and any other – even apparently solid molecules of matter can only exist because of the empty space which they fill and which interpenetrates them and, likewise, all the rest of the physical creation. This empty space forms the corridors through which everything in existence is connected to everything else.

Therefore, whatever greatness one person has, all others, including ourselves, share. Whatever great qualities John the rock star has, Mary the infants' teacher has too in some measure.

Of course, this works both ways; Mary's unique qualities as an infants' teacher are also shared by John. Whatever greatness we as individuals have developed, in this life or previous ones, all others share too. So that is an incentive for us to welcome into our lives experiences which will help stimulate our personal growth. By growing ourselves, we cause others to grow too.

One active way to grow in self acceptance and self esteem is simply to take stock of the qualities you know you have – even things as basic as the ability to listen to others and try to understand them – and to ask for more opportunities to use them for the good of those who need them.

If you don't know who to ask, you can ask your guardian angel, who is there not only to protect and watch over you, but also to help you with your spiritual and personal growth whenever you ask.

If you wish for additional help beyond that, you can appoint your guardian angel to be your doorkeeper (the intermediary between you and the Spirit world); and then you can invite your family members in Spirit with whom you have bonds of love to help you, with your guardian angel as your doorkeeper co-ordinating and directing them.

You wrote that you are looking for an image to hold in your mind. Look within your heart and use your powers of visualization, desire and passion to create an exciting dream which fills you with Love and Joy.

When you are passionate about what you are doing, you do not worry about the resources needed; you just know they will show up with perfect timing, as you feel the support of nature in your every thought, word and deed.

You, like John the rock star and Mary the infants' teacher, are an eternal being, forever free from the limitations of time or space, who has come to dwell for a while in the particular conditions of our earth and solar system. Your true self, like theirs, is Spirit in nature; your earth body makes up only a small part of your total self.

You can be at one with your greater self when you are in Nature – at the seashore, in the woods... But even in a busy or noisy place, your consciousness may expand momentarily for no apparent reason, as if a portal into another world had opened, and give you a vision that is not trammelled by earth's very restrictive space and time limitations.

There is only one of you in the universe who has all your qualities in the proportion you have them. The perfect image of yourself is your spiritual vision of yourself. As you come close to your self and your true nature, the feelings of love and compassion increase in your heart.

You can easily connect to your spiritual essence through conscious breathing and through moving your awareness from your mind to your heart energies and your feelings. It is your most subtle feelings that connect you to your Soul; and, when you open your heart to love, your dreams and aspirations flood forth in waves of inspiration and joy.

Being true to one's own nature is a gift which, until recently, only a few humans, more advanced than the rest, have mastered. These days, with the mass awakening of our inner beings, it is getting easier to find our Self just by relaxing and being self aware. This is an effortless process which does not call for any trying on the part of the mind, or any expenditure of mental energy.

You could say it is a form of meditation, or turning the stream of consciousness back on itself. Through self awareness we realize our own gifts and inner resources; and then, when we turn our attention outwards, we can use our creative skills to manifest in the physical world our spiritual dreams and aspirations.

Therefore, to summarize this concept of self knowledge: all you could ever want is already a part of yourself.

As you realize more each day that you are one with the people whom you most admire, and that, through this oneness, you share their qualities and they share yours, you nurture self acceptance and self knowledge within you, and grow in self esteem and confidence.

You use your own dreams and desires to manifest your life's purpose, as determined before birth by you, and to live a loving, fulfilled life supported by all the laws of Nature.