Part II.
This is why one needs to develop self-esteem and a healthy self-concept to truly know and acknowledge the beauty of the world. For an ISP/ESP, it may be different. This is why for greatest harmony to occur; both inner and outer realities need be balanced. Listen to this inner voice. I call it the universal consciousness. It is there.
It can help one perceive and pursue activity where one can enter into a state of "Flow." This is to discover one's inner gift. What one was made to do and to become? A person is not in a state of flow; one may resort to "distractions" & "Illusions" to fill a black hole in the human spirit. These people do these things, in an out of balance passion Sex, food, drugs, alcohol, a work addict, an approval addict, a love addict, shopping, video games, & anything out of balance! These people would do these activities constantly in order to feel good, for the moment, and get through life.
It brings no true lasting satisfaction! Generally there is no learning or growth in these activities. We as a human species seem to have a built in mechanism to "actualize “our self. That is to be the best that we can be at whatever our "gift" is, or special talent. The trick is to find that "hidden seed", that special uniqueness about our self. The next hurdle is get past lesser distractions that can impede our growth. These distractions are anything in life that occupies a lot of our time but is not an activity where one achieves "a state of FLOW". A state of flow is felt as "timelessness", and is a bit of "heaven" on earth.
New things scare people. This is why the young are more revolutionary. They see things don’t work and think they have all the plans to change things for the better, even resorting to violence. After all they can feel invulnerable, strong, and virtually impervious. Plus they happen not being enmeshed by illusionary qualities as wealth, a house, multiple possessions, a spouse and family, responsibilities as bills, so forth.
As a person grows stronger one finds oneself chained by invisible chains like the materialism in the world. They then also become the guarding force in their stone castles protecting the very things that possess them. Change is always difficult because we are comfortable doing things a certain way. We can resist change even if it is good for us in the long run.
Romana wrote, "...is this to be done? How do we know that our image of our self is accurate and not illusory, or biased by pride, guilt or wishful thinking?" This is an excellent question. We can never truly know Romana. One of the things ...I like about you is that we both seem to want to better ourselves, & know truth.