Who am I?

      Some years ago I came to learn about Louise Hay and her groundbreaking book, "You Can Heal Your Life".  This book (along with two films whose links are below) began opening up a new way of interacting with myself.  I suddenly became more conscious than ever about my negative thinking, negative core beliefs about myself and the ways I continued to not love myself.  Hay was speaking to me about self forgivness, self nurturance, self esteem in ways that I hadn't thought about before.

     The reason I'm giving you this introduction today is that knowing who we are and really seeing ourselves is the beginning of a strong self concept and self worth that can drive you into better relationship with life.

     One of the activities that I adopted from Louise Hay and use in my first few coaching sessions is "The Hand Mirror".  One client, we'll call her Tasha, was asked to pick up a hand mirror, look into her own eyes and answer the question "Who is Tasha?" I'm often surprised by how hard this activity is for people.

       Tasha, whom I'd been seeing for many sessions, laughed when I mentioned this activity.  She picked up the mirror, looked and answered my question with "I don't know." Silence. "This is really hard.  I... all I hear are critical voices. I don't know."  This was a powerful moment for her because she was realizing that she did not have a solid sense of who she was.  She couldn't list any adjectives about herself because her negative voices had taken over her consciousness.

       I pushed her further by asking, "Who is Tasha at work? Who is Tasha at home?  Who is Tasha with her friends?" Suddenly the adjectives came flowing out. "Well at work Tasha is helpful, resourceful, kind, caring, engaged.... at home Tasha is loving, clean..."  Sometimes it's easier to see ourselves in relation to others.  But we need to know, at our core, that we are good and wonderful people not by the things we do, but by who we are.

       It took me a long time to learn this.  I was in therapy, reading self help books, attending workshops and conferences, processing with friends and family, journaling and so much more in order to understand myself and find peace.  I definitely learned a lot about myself, but ultimately learned that there is always more to uncover because we are always changing with life.

       What do you know about yourself? How would you describe yourself, who you've been in previous years and how you live your life now?  What is beautiful about you and what are you working on about your character?  This work is never easy (especially when others let us know areas to work on!) But ultimately rewarding.

      
Below I've listed the Louise Hay links and some other links that have really opened up my self understanding and concept.

The Ennegram Personality Types (I recommend "The Wisdom of The Enneagram" Book)
Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life Study Program Video
Louise Hay's You Can Heal Your Life Movie