Before the fall of consciousness eons ago, there was no such thing as discrimination, bullying, meanness, second-class citizens, crime, or war. There was no suicide, no anxiety, no low self-worth. Everyone remembered that they were all part of Source and therefore 100% equal in value. All people were treated with utmost respect at all times, and all people treated themselves with complete respect, as well.
But with the fall in consciousness the element of fear entered the world, which was absent on Earth prior to that. With fear came the worry that we weren’t good enough and therefore not valuable. The worry that came next was that Source might not love us very much anymore and that we were somehow defective. We forgot our connection to Source.
This anxiety over not being good enough for Creator to love became so unbearable that a strange thing began to happen. People started to artificially determine their worth by comparing themselves to others. In other words, instead of the natural process of going inside where the connection to Source is clear and then recognizing their intrinsic value, people started searching for evidence of their worth outside of themselves.
This grasping for a sense of self-worth from an external source took two forms, and these are still very much in force today in the majority of people. First is the search for someone outside of you to validate your worth. Accompanying this external search for validation is the fear that if someone disapproves of, criticizes, or judges you, that means you are not good enough and unworthy.
This leads you to do things that are not always good for you in order to gain approval or avoid disapproval by someone else. It leads you to feel inappropriate guilt and to be easily manipulated. In extreme forms, constant worrying about other people’s approval or disapproval can lead to depression, even suicidal depression, and/or an anxiety disorder. It can also lead you to not have a clear sense of where your energy stops and someone else’s begins---in other words, a sense of your own boundaries (for a tool to help with this, see Boundaries: Owning Your Power).
The second form of searching for self-worth via external sources is seeing other people as inferior in order to try to feel worthy yourself. In its more subtle forms, this is seen in tsk-tsking over another person’s clothes, house, children, spouse, education level, work, religion or lack of religion, sexual orientation, age, physical appearance, etc., etc, etc.
Almost all of us do this or have done this, either verbally or mentally. The rational mind, in its effort to help us feel better about ourselves, is on constant alert for what might be wrong with someone else (and ourselves, of course). If you start to become aware of the mind’s methods, you will be amazed at the clever ways it comes up with to find thing wrong with others in order to assuage your insecurity.
We have all judged in order to feel better about being judged, based on external evidence. We have completely discounted the other person’s inner connection with Source and judged them to be inferior---just as we have discounted our own connection with Source and judged ourselves to be inferior.
In extreme forms, this second form of external search for what can only be found internally leads to class distinction, prejudice, racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, religious fundamentalism, discrimination, bullying, hate crimes, terrorism, etc. All these things, from depression and suicidal feelings, to hate crimes and terrorism, are a result of searching for self-worth outside yourself.
What is the answer? Obviously it is appropriate at times to take direct action to protect others or protect yourself. But the permanent answer is to come inside yourself and see yourself as an aspect of Creator, of Source. That is your true identity. Begin the journey back inside and start to see clearly for the first time in many ages. See your absolute and innate beauty, perfection, and unalterable worth. See the same in your sibling, parent, co-worker, teacher, neighbor, and the person who is different from you.
Let the scales fall from your eyes. See with the eyes of Source. There is beauty and nothing but beauty to behold. Let go of the false, limited view of yourself and others as defective, not okay, vulnerable, powerless, unattractive. This view is a lie. It is time to see the truth about yourself and others. It is time to wake up.
(See How to Come Inside Yourself for ways to access the inner You.)