The Christian Vision of Self

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The Christian Vision of Self
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Goals

• To gain a greater awareness of ones own vision
  of self.
• To learn what a good self-image and high
  self-esteem are.
• To begin to get in touch with the distortions
  found in the vision of self.

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Guided Meditation
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Feeling About Self

• Guided Meditation
• What is your typical reaction
• when a favor is asked of you,
• when a compliment is paid to you,
• When you are criticized,
• When the group laughs at you.

• Did you like or dislike yourself as you watched
  and listened?
• How did you compare with the others?
• Did you feel sorry for yourself?
• Would you like yourself as a friend?
• Did you seem to be understood or misunderstood by
  others, liked or disliked by them?

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Rating

• On a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 (highest) how
  would you rate yourself?
• After you have isolated your feelings about
  yourself, record your emotional reaction to the
  feelings you experienced.
• For example
• I liked myself but feel embarrassed to
  acknowledge this
• I disliked myself, and it makes me feel very
  discouraged.

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Tweak the Cheek Exercise

• How did you react?
• What does this say to you?

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Self-image

• Our self-images are the product of
• those who have loved us and
• those who have refused to love us.

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What is a self-image?

• A self-image
• collage of mental pictures (past, present, and
  future) of yourself.
• the way one sees (images) self-image
• thinks (conceives) of him/herself self-concept.

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What is self-esteem?

• An accumulated set of evaluations/ judgments you
  make about yourself.
• How you feel about yourself.
• Judging self as either
• successful-unsuccessful,
• lovable-unlovable,
• competent-incompetent
• Attractive - unattractive

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Vision of Self

• Explain The attitude we have of ourselves is
  the most important of all our attitudes
• In other words, why is this vision the most
  fundamental?
• How does your self-image determine how others
  will treat you?
• Why do negative self-messages become more
  negative with age? Why is this?

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The Vicious Circle of Low Self-Esteem
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Self Esteem Is A Choice!

• I can decide to esteem myself
• If I change my attitude toward myself, then I
  change

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What does it mean to love oneself?
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True Love of Self

• Appreciation of good qualities
• Sympathetic effort to understand weaknesses and
  limitations
• A realistic attention to personal needs
• A place called home (Im with someone I like 24
  hours a day)

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Love of Others

• How is love of others tied in with love of ones
  self?
• Why is it difficult to love others if we do not
  love ourselves first?
• Explain The better the self-image, the larger
  the capacity for loving.

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Love for SelfIs it possible to love yourself
too much?

• The greater the self-appreciation,
• the less danger there is of selfishness.

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Self-centeredness ? self-love

• Self-centeredness is not the result of self-love,
  but the product of pain, the result of a poor
  self-image.
• Bragging, name dropping, posing as a know it
  all represents an absence of self-love.

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Individual Exercise

• A Check on Your Vision of Self
• 30-40 seriously inadequate self-image
• 41-80 a reasonably adequate vision of self
• 81-120 a healthy vision of self

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Group Sharing

• Any entry you scored a 1 (never) or 2 (sometimes)
  should be processed with vision therapy.
• Choose any item you scored a 1 or 2 on. Share
• what you believe the distortion is that gets in
  the way of a positive vision of self and
• what healthy attitude you need to counter your
  distorted attitude.

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Homework Assignment

• Make a list of your personal assets or blessings
  your special qualities, physical endowments,
  abilities, talents, gifts, and so forth.
• Tweak the Cheek entry

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Three Qualities Exercise
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The One and Only You

• Page 89

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Techniques to acquire higher self-esteem

• Make a list of likable qualities Vision Therapy
• Practice the 10 Requisites for Affirmation
• Accept Responsibility for your life
• Attend to your needs for exercise, nourishment
  and relaxation
• Stretch out of your comfort zones
• Seek Growth, not Perfection

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Assignments

• Read Chapter 8 We Must Accept Ourselves As We Are