Creative Unblocking as Vital for Raising Self-Esteem

Self-Esteem depends on two things:
1. Learning to think about yourself in healthy ways, - (This stops you covering up who you are) and
2. the ability to make things happen, to create your own life. – (Your actions with their results reveals you to yourself) (McKay & Fanning, 2000.)

We can see then, that blocks to our creativity pose a serious threat to our over all self-esteem. If we want to raise our self-esteem for a better quality life, it follows that we need to unblock our creativity.

The more our creativity flows, the greater our self-esteem.

The Institute of Self-Esteem for Africa, now offers a 14 week course using The Artist’s Way Course by Julia Cameron.

The Artist’s way will help you be creative, achieve your wants and raise your self-esteem

The next course:
Sunday Evenings
7pm – 9pm
Noordhoek
Cape Town

Starting Sunday 9th of January 2011
Last session is 10th of April 2011

Book Now !!!

On Dealing with the Tests and Trials of Life

If I make a decision to never use the defense mechanism of snapping at someone and decide, never to snap at anyone ever again, some test will come to provide me with the opportunity to be the kind of person that I want to be. I am going to have a situation or two or three that is set up, to make me really want to snap at someone.

If I am not tempted to snap, how will I know the magnificent feeling that I feel when I am able to not do it?

So; do not believe that tests and trials are about punishment. – Such a belief acts against the inherent power of being consistent.

Being consistent is a useful technique for helping to raise ones over all self-Esteem

The Power of Consistency

The tests of life are never punishments. Perhaps a test comes in stead as a graduation gift. Perhaps you have shown your earnestness in something and the universe is giving you an opportunity to confirm this to yourself.

Wondering how consistency is connected to the tests of Life?

Read More tomorrow and view The Secret of Consistency.

Self-Esteem and Self-Image - Healing Image Wounds

Most of us have been criticised about some aspect of our looks at some time. Perhaps you experienced an unkind word, a stoney silence, or blatant stares at your body, your clothes or some aspect of your appearance. Some have been humiliated by verbal abuse about their looks, while others were physically intruded upon by classmates or grown-ups. Whatever your degree of suffering, your body image remembers. The effect of name calling, teasing and criticism during childhood and adolecence can remain long into adulthood. These deeply uncomfortable moments continue to affect you in ways that you are not aware of. We call these psychic injuries “Image Wounds” (Levene & Mayfield, 10 Steps to Fashion Freedom, 2001. pp. 67).

We need to know what these wounds are for us and how they are affecting us. By looking at them and rethinking and contextualising and healing the pain, we can begin to operate in the world free from old image wounds.

Interested in healing these Image Wounds?

Join us for our one day workshop; Keys to Self Esteem.

mail me on info@selfesteemfa.co.za

or visit the Institute for Self-esteem For Africa websites workshops page

Boundaries Are the Only Thing that Stop The Pain

We need to learn them ASAP

How do we do this?

Be around people who hold healthy boundaries – (Yes, We do aquire them by osmosis if we are willing.)

Remember that we dislike it when they do hold their boundaries with us and that we will fight them even though they are what we are looking for.

Remember that in the beginning, it often feels like the good boundary holder is withholding from us and making decisions for us.
It can feel very patronising to us.
It can look like rejection to us.

Ask yourself: Do I understand that enountering well held, healthy boundaries can feel like criticism?

Start practicing holding boundaries with yourself. (Choose something small and easy to stick to.) (Do not give in, no matter who you displease, including yourself.)

Having boundaries means we need to understand what healthy boundaries and healthy boundary holding looks like.

Do not confuse them with crazy behaviour or acting out.

Ask Yourself:

Can I trust that boundary holding = love and respect?

Can I see that consequences (Yes, all of them), are merciful?

Am I using the idea of boundaries to mask or even create crazy behaviour?

Am I using boundaries to feel criticised or hard done by?

Do I Understand the the Clarity that comes from a well held boundary is one of the purist forms of love?

Am I resisting the love expressed in a boundary?

Am I rejecting the boundary because I am resisting or am frightened of the love or intimacy that the boundary makes possible?

Do we use boundaries to not ask for help? Some tips for bouandary Boundary setting.

1) Lovingly and with a smile, remember that your ego is huge.

2) It helps to make a new boundary explicit rather than to just act from it. It shows greater love compassion and understanding for yourself and others.

3) Express the boundaries.

4) Respect that it may take us a bit of time to find the right words to express our boundary and that it might work that way for others too.

5) Do not be triggered by the noise and building dust of someone elses boundary setting. Give them space to build that boundary as much as you resist the change it might mean to your life. There will be a time that you will need time, space and tollerance too.

6) Boundaries are our keys to self-esteem

7) Boundaries are the mechanism by which we can choose, make a conscious decision) not to let our current sufferring lead to more suffering. (Boundaries are the only thing that stop the pain).

LOVE YOURSELF ENOUGH TO SAY NO. AND THEN LOVE YOURSELF ENOUGH NOT TO GIVE IN.

For more Self-Esteem topic call me on 083 318 9929.

Join our Weekly Work Group in Cape Town, Johannesburg or Port Elizabeth, South Africa, to Explore boundaries and stopping the pain and other topics like this.

Looking for Help with Low Self-Esteem?

Tip for those Seeking support and guidence in increasing their self-confidence and self-esteem.

The First Principle of Recovery is the empowerment of the seeker.

No intervention that takes power away from the survivor can possibly foster his or her recovery.

Seek that which empowers you.
Seek that which gives you joy.

Facing The Pain

Facing the Pain.

The nebulous thing that we don't really want to get to, that lives under the many, painful in themselves, self-defense mechanisms, that imped our daily lives.

This weekend for me has largely been about facing the pain. It has been about a deepening consciousness of what revisiting the pain to strengthen the defenses that keep us stuck feels like in comparison to the alternative.

The alternative: Facing the pain because it frees us from the dictates and tryanies of our own protection mechanisms.

I know the feeling of going into the pain for the right reasons. It is wonderful. Freeing. Frightening. Not nearly as terrifying as we think it will be.

Today I am a little freer a little kinder to myself and a hundred times more strong and able. I trust myself to walk with myself.

I would like to express an ocean of thanks to Dora and my Saturday morning work group for their dedication to having the best possible lives for themselves and for the courage to go 'there' for the right reasons. My sense of family, in and with humanity, has certainly reached a new level.

The Institute of Self-Esteem for Africa (I-SEA) is certainly pleased with this weekends journey as it has give birth to a new workshop for our personal growth, one day workshop series .

Please welcome to Our Calendar of Events, the Seventh One Day Workshop in our series,


Workshop 7: New Decisions

Releasing Judgment
Working with Self-Defenses
Owning my choices
Making Body decisions
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This workshop will be available in Cape Town, Johannesburg and Port Elizabeth and Surrounds as soon as we can find some space for it in our busy events calendar.





If this workshop sounds like it could add something to your life please contact us by email (All Areas) on info@selfesteemfa.co.za.





You may also mail me directly: amy@selfesteem.co.za.





or Call Cape Town: 083 318 9929


Johannesburg: 073 971 1673


Eastern Cape: 074 963 2491

Many Thanks

I wish you the courage to find true relief.

Amy Morgan