When I first started my path in my 20's I had a lot to learn about the world around me as well as the world internally. I did not know much outside of my small town world view. I had to learn by trial and error most of my life but it was not unitl I read Laurie Cabot's book The Witch in Every Woman that I really started to see the importance of self esteem. I began to explore what it means to make choices from a place of self love. I began to really understand the "self" in self care.
I was taught to always put others needs before my own. Help the family, help with charity, help with others businesses, help with volunteering, were my mantras. I did not understand that first I must help myself and not only that, but also give myself permission to do so. It was not until fully engaging in self-exploration in the form of "Who Am I" that I began to change and naturally my perspectives about the world around took a differnt form. It is important to note that the words, Who am I? does not mean according to others' religious view. Who Am I is how I feel internally about everything. To take it a step further, Who Am I is really the art and practice of personal sovereinty.