Your society tells you that your value is determined by how much time, energy, money, and focus you give away to others. Consider this: Is any object worth more if only a portion of it remains true to itself? Doesn’t a rug or couch decline in value once it has been stained or damaged? Why, then, do you follow your society’s unconscious rules, set by the generations before you? You are merely perpetuating these rules when you give too much in order to be accepted by others who have also given themselves away.

Valuing yourself as much as you value even the simplest object in your life requires new ways of thinking about yourself. There is a deep fear of not being loved by those you hold in high esteem and those you love. When this fear arises, it comes from your unconscious or subconscious mind. This fear, created over many lifetimes, reminds you of your limitations. You contract. Your energy slows. Your life force freezes, and your heart closes.

There is no way out of this fear; you must go through it. Turning your face away from what you fear leaves you contracted and frozen. Facing your fear or any other emotion — such as anxiety, rage, or hatred — allows you to comprehend how and why it exists. Rather than blame an outside force, diving into fear and related emotions invites your active participation in its resolution.