Physical appearance has been a reoccurring theme in my life ever since I was a young child. As a teenager, I felt suffocated by the pressures of the modern world and its obsession with outer ‘beauty’. The conditioning that I received from society still lingers in my thought patterns, my emotional reactions and in my general attitude towards myself. However, I have gained a vantage point that is gradually freeing me from limiting insecurities concerning my body. This is a consciousness that transcends our repetitive thoughts and heavy emotions. I call it ‘soul perspective’.

From a soul perspective, we inhabit a miraculous vehicle that temporarily carries the shining light of our soul. We use our divinely designed instrument to navigate our current reality, to interact with it using our senses, to truly embody our physical world and to touch it deeply. We are here to dance within the beauty of the physical realm, yet, we are so distracted by the appearance of our costume; why?

This article will help you to spend less of your time suffering through being overly concerned with the way your human body looks and instead direct your energy towards living a happy and fulfilled life. Through integrating a new perspective, we see past the illusion of social conditioning and we honour our body, truly knowing that the worlds beauty is simply a reflection of our own.

Why do we care?

I have never encountered a single person that is totally confident with their physical appearance. If you suffer from incessant negative thoughts regarding particular aspects of your body, the likelihood is that you have had your self-esteem damaged or even crushed!

From a young age, we are conditioned to think that we should look a certain way to ‘fit in’ and be accepted by those around us. When we feel that we don’t measure up to societies and our own standards, we feel an underlying ‘i’m not good enough’ and lack of self-worth. When we delve into the depths of this phenomenon, at the root cause we find a basic human need to be loved. Meaning that beneath our appearance-based surface insecurities, is an underlying fear of not being loved.

Our insatiable need to be loved is a hunger that we felt from the moment we entered into this physical experience. Unfortunately, our over-concern with our physical appearance, therefore, feels extremely overbearing and all-consuming at times. Our bruised self-esteem can act as a block within our energetic body that can prevent us from going in the direction of our hearts calling.

It’s All In The Mind

 Over time, aspects of our physical appearance that we decide we don’t like can accumulate an army of thoughts that have an overpowering momentum to them. These habitual thoughts eventually turn into a belief system that we hold about ourselves. Oftentimes our deepest insecurities will be misunderstood and even laughed at by others because they simply do not see what we see. We have created a powerful belief system that much to our amazement, others do not have. We can therefore find comfort in understanding that much of our insecurity is simply the result of a mind-made entity that holds true only to us.

Society 

Having travelled for many years, I’ve observed ‘beauty’ differs amongst cultures around the world. What is considered unattractive to the western world is often viewed as desirable and attractive in particular Eastern countries. It is therefore evident that society and the media shape our idea of ‘beauty’. We are pressured and conditioned to comply with societies ideas of ‘beauty’ and we lose sight of our authenticity and freedom to just be ourselves.

Naturally, human beings have a tendency to judge one another based on their looks. Being so attuned to the physical world it is difficult for us to let go of physical appearance. Yet the media and society as a whole seem to intensify these judgements as we are continuously subjected to a superficial mass media that is lost in a physical world.

Perhaps we can escape the third-dimensional matrix for a moment by remembering that nature does not judge us, we look however we would like to look as we walk through the forest. Our higher self does not judge us, it loves us unconditionally. We are souls residing within our human bodies, we do not judge our physical form, it is simply the egoic mind and the inner critic that sees us as anything other than perfect.

Acceptance – The End of Suffering 

Our emotions are simply a reaction to the mind. The emotional pain we endure concerning our physical appearance is therefore a product of repetitive fear-based thoughts. These thoughts are generally a form of resistance. When we let go of resistance, negative thoughts begin to subside and we flow within acceptance.

Physical appearance may be something that we can decide to alter and an inability to accept our looks can be a catalyst for change. However, oftentimes we do not feel compelled to change our appearance and in many situations, this is an impossibility. If you fit into the latter category then cultivating inner acceptance of your looks is crucial.

Setting an intention to practice integrating acceptance for the appearance of your physical form, is the first step to generating an inner feeling of pure allowing and flow. Introducing the idea of non-resistance is simply enough, even if we are unable to feel its effects right away. It is crucial that we love our self on our journey towards acceptance. Penalising one’s self for not being able to generate acceptance will allow for the egoic mind to come in through the backdoor!

When we can authentically say that we are willing to live with our body for the rest of our life, whatever form it takes; we accept our physical appearance in its entirety. This is the end of our insecurities and the beginning of true freedom from the mind.

Perhaps you resonate with the spiritual teaching and even hold a remembrance of choosing your human body before you came to earth. If you hold this belief, you will perceive your outer shell from a much higher standpoint. Your soul perspective graces you with an understanding that transcends resistance by knowing that you lovingly chose every aspect of your physical appearance and you chose it for a reason.

Self-love

Our thoughts are often our biggest critic and when left to run rampant, they generate intense or subtle feelings of self-hate. Over the years we cultivate hatred towards particular aspects of our physical body and therefore hate towards ourselves. When we believe the ruthless words of the inner critic, we become lost in its delusion, forgetting the inherent beauty, gift and miraculousness of our human form.

On our spiritual journey, we feel an ever-expanding magnetic pull towards love for all beings in existence, including one’s self. Yet, we can find it challenging to work through the fear that this dualistic reality brings and it is difficult to truly love all aspects of our self. Unfortunately, we reject ourselves when we project hatred onto our physical appearance.

By becoming aware of this disservice to our self, we can choose to project love onto our insecurities, our inner critic and our extraordinary human form. In doing so, we leave violence, judgement and fear behind by choosing to be gentle and compassionate with ourselves; this is the inner voice of the higher self and it is the path of self-love.

Feel Good On The Inside

We currently reside in a universe that is governed by the law of mirroring. Our outer world is simply a reflection of our inner world. Our less tangible inner world is primary and the manifested outer world is secondary. Based on this understanding, we come to realise that our focus is best utilised when directed inwards rather than being distracted by our physical appearance. A healthy inner world is something that we create over time as we progress on our journey, moving in the direction of our souls calling and continuing to raise our dominant vibrational frequency.

In relation to physical appearance, our inner work will unfold in divine timing as we are guided to reprogramme our belief systems and attitudes towards ourselves. No doubt we will be faced with an array of emotions and childhood memories that are at the root of our insecurities. Such memories surface to be acknowledged, felt and released.

Importantly we will become increasingly aware of the voice of the inner critic. Through observation, we gradually become less inclined to believe the negative mind chatter and we cease feeding it will similar thoughts, ultimately denying it of its power and dissolving it completely.

A healthy inner world manifests as a radiant outer world and we truly glow from the inside out. This is a true representation of attraction and is irresistibly magnetic to others. When we alter our inner universe, we begin to literally see our reflection in the mirror change, viewing ourselves in a completely new light.

Identify With The Soul 

As our spiritual journey unfolds, we build our faith and become ever-increasingly identified with the soul rather than the ego-personality and physical body. When letting go of attachment to physical form, we may choose to develop a relationship with the present moment instead. When we dwell in the present, we let go of the thinking mind and our sense of ‘self’ is replaced with a deeper truth.

You Are Worthy

When we peer into the depths of our insecurities, we find a common belief of ‘i’m not enough’. Unfortunately, seeking self-worth outside of ourselves in anything, including psychical appearance, only sets us up for disappointment in life. As we inevitably experience the beautiful process of ageing, we will witness our body change. Deriving our sense of worth from our outer appearance will only swing us through intense feelings of unworthiness and ‘not enough’. When we intend to cultivate a sense of deep core self-worth, we come to feel secure in whatever shape our physical form takes, simply because we settle into a knowing that ‘we are enough’ by nature. This doesn’t change no matter what our outer world looks like.

Final Words

I wouldn’t be the person I am today without the insecurities that I have endured due to my human encounters with physical appearance throughout this lifetime. I have learned many lessons and undergone countless experiences that have shaped me into the person I am today. This realisation alone helps me to create instant peace with my outer form.

Learning to fully love our human shell is often an ongoing journey of self-discovery that is unique to our extraordinary earthly experience. In a world where we forget our true infinite divinity, it is no wonder that we identify and become attached to our physical form. Yet it is from a soul perspective, that we are called to ignite a remembrance within. We begin to recall our human body as a celestial gift and a divine work of art that graces us with the ability to live this human life and to truly touch all of its wonder and beauty.

With Gratitude,