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Rockchick26 · 06-16-2008, 03:50 PM

I touched a little on this in another thread but i didnt want to take over that one by going so in depth about my question,so here goes:

This is regarding Eckhart Tolle's books...i pretty much understand them but i have this one nagging problem. I feel like i should know the answer but i just never thought much about it until today. Before i read his books,i was reading a self esteem workbook which someone recomended i try,because this person thought i had bad self esteem,and i thought maybe there is still some lingering bad feelings there,since my childhood.

So i started this self esteem workbook. Its all about discovering what you are good at,why you are unique,expressing your interests and your personality,and finding things about yourself that you are proud of.

Then i read Tolle's books which basically say not to identify with any of these things because they are not you. Your hobbies are not you,your interests are not you,they are all thoughts and ideas that we should not identify with. Its all the ego. There is no "self".

So how can one have good self esteem when there is no self at all? How can you express your individuality,celebrate your uniqueness,and love yourself when we are all one,we are all the same,and there is no self,really? If things about me dont make me who i am,then where is my identity? Sure my name is Shelly and i like music but,music isnt me,and i am not REALLY Shelly,so...how can one build self esteem when you arent supposed to identify with what makes you YOU?

If you boil away all the things that make a person who they are,what would make us unique? Then we'd be just like animals,only mating with whatever animal you run across next cuz theyre all just the same anyway! I like people for what makes them different than others,so if you take that away,you wouldnt like anyone cuz they'd all be the same!

I suppose this is just my ego fighting for survival,but these are the very things that my self esteem book is trying to get you to build upon. So.. i dont know what to think now.

06-16-2008, 03:50 PM	#1 (permalink)
Rockchick26 Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Minnesota Posts: 1,510	self esteem vs. the ego I touched a little on this in another thread but i didnt want to take over that one by going so in depth about my question,so here goes: This is regarding Eckhart Tolle's books...i pretty much understand them but i have this one nagging problem. I feel like i should know the answer but i just never thought much about it until today. Before i read his books,i was reading a self esteem workbook which someone recomended i try,because this person thought i had bad self esteem,and i thought maybe there is still some lingering bad feelings there,since my childhood. So i started this self esteem workbook. Its all about discovering what you are good at,why you are unique,expressing your interests and your personality,and finding things about yourself that you are proud of. Then i read Tolle's books which basically say not to identify with any of these things because they are not you. Your hobbies are not you,your interests are not you,they are all thoughts and ideas that we should not identify with. Its all the ego. There is no "self". So how can one have good self esteem when there is no self at all? How can you express your individuality,celebrate your uniqueness,and love yourself when we are all one,we are all the same,and there is no self,really? If things about me dont make me who i am,then where is my identity? Sure my name is Shelly and i like music but,music isnt me,and i am not REALLY Shelly,so...how can one build self esteem when you arent supposed to identify with what makes you YOU? If you boil away all the things that make a person who they are,what would make us unique? Then we'd be just like animals,only mating with whatever animal you run across next cuz theyre all just the same anyway! I like people for what makes them different than others,so if you take that away,you wouldnt like anyone cuz they'd all be the same! I suppose this is just my ego fighting for survival,but these are the very things that my self esteem book is trying to get you to build upon. So.. i dont know what to think now.