Discovery of your Identity pt 3

 

Our self esteem plays a major role in the discovery of our identity, we must place value on our self-worth, without a positive self valuation it is impossible for anyone to maximize his or her potentials. we must, first of all, believe in the possibilities that lie within us. positive self-evaluation enhances the manifestation of the inherent talents while low self-esteem suppresses our inherent capabilities.

LOW SELF ESTEEM

If we must attain greater heights and impact our generation, if we must take territories or come to significant or make meaningful progress in time then we must regain our self-image. We can only do this by believing in the possibilities that lie within us. We must believe in ourselves in order to be successful.

 

The ultimate discovery of our true self-image is the beginning of great achievements so we must wake up from the slumber of moral degeneracy portrayed in the manifestation of lesser reasoning manifested in self-centered tendencies of greed, materialism, separation, etc to a spiritual awakening of our true self-image. Greatness resides in every man, mankind is the greatest evolved creation, so man carries in him the divine attributes which sprang the universe but amid these great potentials in man, the greatest ills that have befallen the human race is man undermining his true self-worth. The underlying symptom that leads to the devaluation of man’s self-image is generally seen in the manifestation of fear, doubts, insecurity, poverty, and self-centeredness and this devaluation result from environmental limitations that one is born into, for instance, a child that is threatened by war; he watched his parent gruesomely murdered and their house burnt down by the ravages of war, this child will grow up with deep-rooted fear and insecurity in his consciousness which could negatively affect his self-image for a very long time.

 

In many societies of our world especially in third world nations, we witnessed a lot of environmental limitations which affect the average child's self-image. The experience of abject poverty alone in any family can lower one's self-value, due to this consciousness of lack and want his or her confidence is affected so he or she grows up with an inferiority complex problem of lack or meager earnings which could affect his or her inner ability to dream big.

 

Our social crisis always leaves behind imprints of greater future hurts as often seen in national image challenges. We cannot expect any society to go far with a low image valuation, I believe this is the reason we see poverty prevailing in all social classes in many parts of the world. When I use the word “poverty” in all social strata, I am not referring to the common material poverty of lack and want; I am referring to a deeper form of poverty seen in the poverty of moral values and mind poverty. The poverty of moral values is the bankruptcy of character among so many individuals; moreover, it is this moral poverty that manifests in weak leadership. It is as a result of character deficiency that makes the so-called rich people in the weak social class system use their material affluence and position of influence to oppress the poor masses. Dictatorship, autocracy, injustice, and social class system are all manifestations of weak leadership caused by a decline in moral values. No matter how influential these ones may be, they are regarded as morally poor people and thus they suffer from low self-image problems. Another form of

The identity challenge is seen in the superiority complex challenge which is predominant among the presumed rich elite class in weak social system societies.

 

In a moral decadence society, the foundation of such a society is seen in a faulty social structure, such structure rather than enhancing the growth of the people often debases the society. Many times most children in these societies grow up with a self-image problem because what they frequently behold in their environment is a perverted view of normalcy; the practice of corruption portrayed in dishonest dealings, greed, and other malpractices as a generally accepted lifestyle. So what happened to these children's self-image? I believe these children will reflect a distorted self-image where the acts of corruption; fraud, dishonesty, etc becomes their culture and this perverted culture will cause a problem to many of them when they travel to other nations where this culture is unaccepted, so they will be regarded as outlaws which will further corrode their national identity, and when this is the case, what is seen is the deepening tension between the nations with corruption culture and nations with zero tolerance to corruption and this tension is sometimes misconstrued as racial victimization. These social tensions should rather be seen as tension that arises from the existence of two distinct ways of life, people in decadence societies finding themselves in nations where values are quite distinct. On this note, I will say to a very large extent our self-image is influenced by our societal values.

 

It is amazing to say that amid these challenges confronting the human race, I see a better world because I believe in humanity. The challenge lies in us today to change the tie for our children and children’s children, and we cannot achieve this with separation. No matter who and what we have become, we can never be fully celebrated until we place value on ourselves; this includes our inherent potentials and what we represent as values. As we begin to celebrate our uniqueness not just in celebrating our strength but also in celebrating our differences as a race then we will begin to draw global attention through the statements of love and unity. The greatest enemy of mankind is separation, today we see separation in different forms, we live in a world too divided by fear among people of different races, ethnic and religious groups, and we must conquer our fears and deal with our separations in order for us to regain our true self worth for we cannot maximize our true potentials in separation. The separation will only instill fear, insecurity, and complexity which are often seen as a national identity problem.  A nation or a race that is too divided instead of advancing will rather retrogress where others are advancing because unity remains the strength of any group of people.

If there are no opportunities in your country why are people coming there? It may shock you to know that the very country you are running out to do odd jobs is the same nation whose investors are applying for visas to come into your country to invest. You saw the mess but in that same nation, another is seeing opportunities to make fortunes from the mess you saw. What an irony. I believe this is so because deep inside your consciousness there is a low self-evaluation problem that devalues your worth and national worth.

Behind that mask of low self-worth are endless possibilities which the world is waiting for, human and world transformation.

Low self-image prevailed in our environments; this is as a result of several conditions of inadequacies seen in the various challenges in many parts of our world such as:

Poverty:- Hunger, deprivation, Poor living conditions, sickness, etc.

Moral Poverty:- Illiteracy, Abuses:- Child Abuse, sex Abuse, Gender discrimination, Child Labor, Victimization, Hatred, Oppression, Social Class system, Discriminations, Rape, Terrorism, Domestic Violence etc. These ills are inflicted on humans by the system; Parents, Governments, perverted ideologies, and wrong policies. All these factors contribute to lowering the self-image of the victims.

It is a universally accepted fact that any condition one finds himself in, such an environment directly or indirectly affects his mindset, lifestyle, and actions. That is why our actions and lifestyles are mostly reflections of our current or past environmental conditions unless it is altered. When this is the case, the victims of these antisocial conditions need mind renewal therapy in order to come out of this antisocial malady. The therapy can be psychological treatment, mind renewal with a counselor, or word base orientation.

Low self-esteem could also be seen as the aftereffect of emotional or social traumatic experiences such as accident, rape, war, shock. The consequences of these could result in a fatal outcome of low self-image.

Everything is centered on our thoughts. Positive thoughts attract good things while low thoughts or negative thoughts attract low and negative realities. We are the masterpiece of our own lives, so we create our realities, and we do it with our thoughts.  Low self-image people often think small and beggarly so they attract small realities. “As a man thinks, so he is”- Proverbs.  “You create your own universe as you go along.”- Winston Churchill

The image we carry about ourselves attracts the same thing to us. That is why so many conditions and circumstances persist despite rigorous prayer exercises until the person in question changes his or her thought pattern, the situation will remain. The universal law of attraction says you attract the most dominant thought in your consciousness whether conscious or subconscious.

Low self-image often emits thoughts of fear, doubt, incapability, failure:- Low self-worth vibrations.

So these thoughts vibrations often dispel helpers, opportunities, favors and attract failure and disappointments. This is because our emotions play an essential role in our realities, the better we feel the more aligned we are with the universe. Whatever it is you are feeling is the perfect reflection of what is in the process of your becoming. You get exactly what you feel about and not so much of what you are thinking.

 

3 Factors that determine the outcome of a person:

1. Inherent Personal Attributes [PA}- Genetic

2. Acquired Attributes {AQA}- Education and experience

3. Mental Attributes {MA} – Greatness is mostly determined by mental attributes.

Your mental attribute is what you really need to take you to places in life, not your acquired skills. Many have proven this in our contemporary world. Believing in yourself {self-value} which has to do with your faith; resolution, determination, and courage in the midst of opposition and diverse life challenges really matters.

If you are a victim of low self-esteem you must awake to the realization that greatness lies beneath that veil of low self-image and you should also have this in mind that behind that mask of low self-worth are endless possibilities which the world is waiting for humans and world transformation.

Regardless of your birth condition, your color, culture, or social status, greatness lies in that personality called YOU.

2 Types of Birth:

❖     Day 1 – Natural Birth.

❖     Day 2 - Day of Discovery. 

We must always teach our younger generation the importance of self-image. Tell them that what lies within them are great treasures regardless of any circumstances they may have found themselves. They must, first of all, believe in themselves [Self-value]. They should believe in the possibilities that lie within them. We must also understand that the words we speak to our children or anyone affect his or her self-esteem, it either boosts their self-esteem or lowers their self-esteem. Negative and destructive words destroy a child's self-image; so many children living with low self-esteem today are caused by their parents or guardians as a result of negative words spoken to them.

Self-value is the beginning of great attainments.

AMENOR AVATAR'S BOOKS

 

THE PLIGHT OF THE AFRICAN CHILD [SYNOPSIS]

Mama Africa, the land of heroes, a land surrounded by endless treasures.

They have bestowed so much misery on your offspring, your children are migrating out in masses for a greener pasture in foreign lands. 

Oh, mama Africa!! What have you done to your children? 

We sold our children into slavery, they dehumanized our children, they lynched our children because their skin was a threat to them,  

Africa, the cradle of world civilization, the continent of the wise, your children are full of strength, tenacity, and courage to seize the future even in the face of untold oppression. Why so much hostility on your progeny? Why is the black child hated by the same people that derived their livelihood from Africa? These people bite the fingers that fed them. What baffles me is amid these cruel acts, Africa you still open your borders to the rest of the world, she accommodated her antagonist with open arms without discrimination. It amazes me how Africa opens her territories for the looters of her resources to loot as much as they can, they have been looting for centuries, yet the wealth of Africa never runs out. 

What a generous continent, how liberal you are to the human race, even though you are fully aware of the ills and stealing carried out on your soil by these same slave masters, yet you are full of love and compassion to accommodate all races without prejudice. 

They despised you in their land, the land you assisted to build, in that same land our fathers worked the plantations, they build the rail under a whip, they picked the cottons, and for so many years, more than four hundred years till date you are still treated as second class in the land where you pledge your oath of allegiance. For how long will this ill-treatment of the black child last? Oh, Mama Africa! Oh, Mama Africa!! See your children, save your children and rescue your children from this plight.

African women cry for freedom.

Oh, mama Africa, how long will this plight of the African child last? Your men are not even fair to our mothers, our mothers are consistently marginalized.  Unfair treatment and untold agonies inflicted on them by their men’s ego in what is tagged “man’s world” syndrome. The black girl is being stripped of her dignity, Africa please educate your girl child, for the liberation of the black continent rests on the liberation of her females. Our Mother is the womb of the nation, mothers are the hope of the nation and there can never be a balanced civilization without mental and spiritual input of womanhood. It was never a man’s world from the onset, but men and women's mental sex interchain. 

Until African mothers are celebrated and given a place in the decision-making arena of the nation, until then Africa will never advance. Anywhere women are marginalized, progress is spurned, anytime women are victimized, the land retrogresses, when the girl child is marginalized, the race is stagnated.

Failed leadership in Africa

Corruption prevails in Africa, every sector has become a transactional sector, greed and dishonest dealings among our very kinsmen. We have sullied our identity just because of hollow gain, and the greatest waste of the African continent remains the waste of human potential. We see the consequences of unemployment in increased crime and insecurity, due to this social breakdown the land is scorned. These are all underline symptoms of failed leadership.

What about the mass killings in Africa? 

Today Africa is at war, the land of Africa has become a den of bandits. Strange children are killing and terrorizing the African people. Our highways are full of horror due to the activities of these so-called bandits, our farmers run from their farmlands because our farmlands and villages are being ravaged by alien bandits. This evil is certainly not African culture, this is not an African spirit, these killings and terror are alien to our native roots. These indeed are masterminded by external forces in order to break the cords of African unity, these are tactics of the western adversaries to keep the African continent in perpetual darkness, so they will instigate tension in order to distract us from our aim. Perhaps in chaos, they will bring order out of the same chaos they have instigated under the illusion they are AGENTS OF PEACE. We know their tactics, we aren’t ignorant of their scheming, Mama Africa please wake up from this spell and let them know the game is over.

Where is our rich cultural heritage? 

Our rich history informed us of our valiant conquest and the remarkable deeds of our ancestors. Today they have taken our history away from our schools. They have imposed on us alien history; the history and culture of the slave masters. How can we sing the African song with this false identity? 

Our identity unites us but today invaders are setting us apart. Our culture unites us but their religion separates us. They made us think we are inferior and substandard but these are the true cultures that empower us as Africans. All we ever need is ingrained in our black culture, the land is so rich and potent that the noble come to acquire wisdom from Africa. The potency of the African resources brings healing to the world, most especially the rich traditions and spiritual healing techniques of the African people. Through these herbs, the world's pharmaceuticals produce their medics. Yet they made the African child think his identity is worthless, they made us believe we have no history, they made us accept the lies that African traditions are not worth reckoning with. They made the African child live in an illusion. The illusion of the slave master’s identity. 

These are the plights of the African child. 

Mama Africa, please INTERVENE IN AFRICA.

Our peculiar struggles as Africans have to a large extent influenced the way we think and act. Amid these struggles for significance, just like all other races, the African child in her quest for a better tomorrow, is continually harassed and threatened by various life challenges. These challenges make many surrender their fates in idle living while many indulged in unproductive ventures such as crime in order to survive. But in spite of these unfavorable circumstances, so many African children are left with no choice but to surmount these obstacles in order to achieve purpose and significance in life.

Another crucial aspect plaguing the African continent is the activities of the colonial masters. The whole world has the impression that Africa is poor, sick, and starving amidst the numerous vast resources due to weak leadership and weak institutions but we must understand the root of this African failed social order before we draw a concussion. In my own opinion about the state of the African nations from my research I will say Africa is not poor but Africa is being looted.

SELF DISCOVERY PT2

SELF DISCOVERY PT2

our values

In the journey of self-discovery, we will come to terms with a very essential part of our being, this is the realization of our value.  Self-identity and what we represent as values are highly connected, without the realization of our value there can never be a realization of identity.  The discovery of our individual and collective identity as a nation or a race brings us to the full realization and harnessing of our values. It is very essential for us to understand that our values are the highest priorities of our existence and there are unique sets of governing values to each person’s life. Values include our beliefs which are the fundamental building block of our personality and whenever we violate our values we lose our peace.

A value can be seen as some point of view or conviction that we can live with, live by, and can even die for. This is why it seems that values actually permeate every aspect of human life. Value distinguishes us; it sets us apart from the influences of alien ideologies which includes a deceitful network that is sweeping over our world. If the human race will free itself from the influences of the aliens and unethical ideologies, then our liberation is certain. Many times we lie to ourselves by spending our time listening to the stories of other people while we fail to tell our own stories. We live under other people's shadows thereby devaluing our standards; until we free ourselves from borrowed ideologies then we will begin to tell our stories.

Today the very truth of our being is suppressed by failed values, how often we drown our uniqueness in the influences of alliance cultures. Where is the truth of our being? The truth of our very race is hidden in the identity of our race because our stories comprise our history, culture, traditions, languages, arts/crafts. If this is so then we must begin a new awareness campaign, especially for the younger generation. This campaign is for value realization where we begin to teach our children our peculiar culture; our stories and positive lifestyles that unite us as a race or nation.

For us to preserve our peculiar race we must first of all preserve our history. We must see our identity as more valuable than our gold, silver, oil or other, natural resources because the resources of our fatherland are nothing with when compared with our true identity because in our values lies the preservation of our race as we are all aware that our world and peculiar territories are richly endowed with numerous wealth which makes up our heritage and it is also an established fact the content of our world is largely blessed with natural resources deposits and cultural heritage. But Amid the diverse wealth deposits in our territorial soil, the greatest dilemma is the loss of identity among the very people as a result of misplaced priorities for our values. Let us take for instance the African people, the foreign values they  most time celebrates made them believe their identity is substandard to others, so they sold to them their values which include culture, religion, and their lifestyles but little did they know that the greatest enslavement is the enslavement of your very self because the true worth of any is not the amount of money he has acquired or the amount of material resources bequeathed to him by his predecessors as the new world trend makes us believe this error. But the true worth of any man lies in the realization of his true identity. I will say it repeatedly that money is a wrong attempt to measure any man’s value. Today the earnest quest for money and material acquisition has to a large extent overshadowed the inner yearning for value and self-discovery, and this is so sad. I will say that the beginning of our self-discovery/ national discovery lies in our quest for value, for our value, tells us about our true self-worth.

The value anyone represents either hinders or promotes the growth and productivity of the individual or society. We cannot deny the fact that inherent in our collective values are some good and right values that enhance growth, productivity, and co-existence in all strata but among these right values are also wrong and unprogressive values which I think should be reform if we really desire to make tangible progress and transformation as a race. It is always said that change is constant as everything is subject to change so also what we uphold as values must consistently go through the process of change as our world evolves in order to fit into the demands of this present time and age. So it is very essential for us as a race to look into and reform our perverted belief systems in order to accommodate positive change, development and human coexistence.

One may ask, in spite of our present cultural diversities, how do we know wrong values since diversities give room to what is generally accepted in one culture could be unaccepted in another culture? I will say that any belief system, ideologies or practice that threatens the peace, co-existence and progress of another or group thereby violating the divine laws of love and unity, such values should be looked upon as perverted and as such is subject to reforms. Today humanity has sanction hate, injustice, killings, terrorism, victimization, and cruelty as evil. The universal human rights frown at such practices, so any belief system or ideologies perpetuating such acts should be stamped out of our communities. It is also very important for us to understand that our values are what shape our lifestyles; our lifestyle comprises our arts, crafts, and traditions.  So is any work of art in any place an expression of the people's values as we often behold imprints of our collective values either positive or negative traits in our everyday arts. This is mostly demonstrated in our music, literature, poetry, painting, and sculpture.

 In this noble campaign to uphold our values, we should also have in mind that the only way we can achieve this is to believe in ourselves and what we represent regardless of what others perceive of us. It is only we that can chart our cause, and in charting this cause of our lives and nations, self-esteem comes to play. When we believe in who we are, we do not just believe in our worth but celebrate our uniqueness as a race which includes our diversities, then will we chart a well defined cause for progress in our continent.

Another vital truth we must know is that our diversity remains an essential factor in our evolutionary process as a race, for in our diversities lies not just our beauty but also our collective strength as a group, nation, or race. We will only better ourselves and strengthen our bond of unity in the celebration of our diversities. In these diversities is the weapon of our warfare in which we wage war against the deceptive alien's traits that threaten our world peace, above all, it is an absolute tool of our freedom.

Our personal purpose is connected to our values, in self-discovery it is essential we discover our personal purpose in life and if we must come to terms with this understanding, one of the ways to do this is to x-ray ourselves with what is considered as value questions.

 VALUE QUESTION

❖     Imagine you died yesterday, what are the 5 things humanity will say about you?

❖     Imagine you died 50 years from now, what are the things people will say in your epitaph then?

❖     Imagine you died yesterday and you are now standing before God in judgment, what are 5 things He will say about how you lived your life?

❖     Now imagine you die in 50 years, what are the things you will love him to say?

❖     What are your 12 core values which constitute your wheel of life?

 

Discovery of your Identity pt1

SELF DISCOVERY

The greatest discovery is self-discovery. In the quest for self-discovery, the human race has evolved over the years since the creation of mankind. History made us understand that the evolution of our present world and mankind has gone through a series of processes to get to where we are in our present world civilization. Humans have scaled the highest mountain, delved into the deepest oceans, made several exploits to space, erects skyscrapers, conquering territories, and making big statements in architectures and technological advancements. All these discoveries are made by humans yet very few humans have made the greatest discovery which is “Man Know Yourself”. The Ancient Greek aphorism “Know thyself” a self-awareness maxim was later expounded upon by the philosopher Socrates who taught that: "The unexamined life is not worth living, the phrase "know thyself" has had a variety of meanings attributed to it in literature. Throughout human history, the question “Who Am I” resonates in the minds of every living conscious human that has traded the shores of this world. Though so many try to answer these puzzling questions, in a bit to unravel the answer to our individual self-identity we find ourselves venturing into various activities in pursuit of purpose and significance but the startling truth is, the answer to the question of self-identity is hidden beyond the deep ocean ties of survival struggle quest confronting the human race.

History made us understand that the greatest world teacher that ever lived, in his earthly sojourn as he journeyed through the villages and towns teaching his messages and healing the sick and oppressed when he saw the crowd, He was perplexed because they were harassed, distressed, dejected and helpless and they went about like sheep without a shepherd. Humanity is constantly harassed by life circumstances; distressed by various troubles, dejected and confused, no proper direction, misled by the circumstances of life which make the majority of humans often make wrong choices that led them into various complications. The master saw the people as people groping in the dark path of life without a compass to navigate their way through the turbulent sea of life, as Condoleezza Rice once said “never find yourself without a compass”. Without self-discovery, the journey of life can be murky and slippery and I see this is an absolute journey without a specific destination which is likened to one groping in the dark. So sad to say that this is the case of the present human race, what a tragedy to say that today so many are lost in the sea of life, struggling to navigate their way to a destination of no clue.

The greatest tragedy that befallen the human race is the tragedy of lost identity. In my work, I often go through personal resumes and work applications. It is amazing to say that 99 percent of the owners of these personal resumes don’t have an idea of who they really are and what their purpose in life is. I once asked a young graduate lady who applied for employment in a certain organization why she so desired to work in that organization, I was so disappointed with the answer she gave me; “because I want to make money” was all that she could give me as an answer. It is also proven that about 95 percent of our graduates get certificates just to get employment in order to meet their basic needs of food and shelter, not to make discoveries or create something.

Every great teacher that has ever walked the planet declared their identity and mission to the world before they began their mission, for example Christ declared from the scroll of his earthly assignment before he began his mission, so is every human life scripted in the scroll. This scroll lies within we and it is our absolute responsibility to search it out and rewrite it, until we rewrite it, we will never play it out because embedded in the scroll is our true self-identity and our discovery of our individual life scroll is the discovery of our self-identity. This is the greatest discovery and the failure or inability to discover the scroll makes us live a false life identity in trying to be what we are not.

 It is so unfortunate that we live in an age and season of lost identity portrayed in the life of waste talents and wasted pursuits. How often do we wake up to engage in an endless pursuits of dawn to the dusk task of chasing money, significance, and fulfillment in a wrong direction but in the end, it will be tantamount to stress, emptiness, dissatisfaction and meager financial earnings while our greatest potentials lies dormant, clouded within the veil of self-gratification. These potentials lie untapped while humanity awaits the manifestations of our gifts in order to salvage the troubled and helpless race from the scourging heat of unfavorable life circumstances but we constantly deny the deprived humanity of our true worth due to our ignorance and blindness to what we have at our disposal. As long as our true identity is concealed, the human race will continually be enslaved by ignorance and limited by the limitations of his environment.

The only way we can save our young people from wasted living is by helping them direct their path toward self-discovery and pointing out the truth. As the psalmist says “Lord teach us to number our days right that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom”. The path of self-discovery is a struggle-less path; struggle ceases when we come to terms with our true self. The continual endless toiling and struggle for self-sustenance is a direct Indication of the absence of self-realization and purpose placement. The teacher says the day of self-discovery is the day of rest, in the discovery of purpose we rest from the endless toil for survival and we come into a place where we dish out from our innermost being to our hurting world as the great teacher declared “Out of thy belly shall flow rivers of living waters”.

Great teachers and inventors had come to this realization; our world geniuses such as Mozart, Beethoven, Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, and many, once came to this point. When these ones discovered who they were, they played out their lives from the scroll; the originality of who they are and without limitations they all dished out their worth to the world, by this their work became bliss, though they worked hard they did not struggle in endless pursuit’s cycle. The world geniuses enjoyed their work amid various oppositions they found inner peace and tranquility which made them give out beauty to the world; healing to the sick and depressed hearts, comfort to the despondent, and direction to the helpless and confused souls. I will say it again that the discovery of purpose brings inner peace to our soul but the greatest peace goes to the beneficiaries of our work; value to humanity. Ralph Waldo Emerson, one of the 21st-century poets said “The world makes way for the person who knows where he is going”.

 

 

 

 

Discovery of your Identity

 

 Self-discovery is the onset of great attainments, our true self is concealed in our identity.