Many years ago, as I sat in classes for my Masters in Spiritual Psychology at the University of Santa Monica, I would listen to other students share about their trials and tribulations. This amazing program was all about experiential learning and students would bravely share their vulnerable issues in front of all 350 of us while the instructors assisted them in seeing the various life lessons being presented to them.
I’ve always enjoyed being a keen observer, and I believe there are usually themes that are constantly bubbling up within a collective group of people. As I listened to story after story, one thing became increasingly clear—self worth. On average, I’d say that at the root of over 90% of what was being shared was that the person didn’t feel worthy. They didn’t feel worthy of receiving from others, they didn’t feel worthy of making more money, some didn’t feel worthy of being alive, and many didn’t feel worthy of being loved. The list went on. In my current private coaching practice, this nasty root of unworthiness constantly shows up too. It was heartbreaking, and fascinating.
We are obviously in the middle of a rather strange epidemic of unworthiness, I thought to myself. But why?
Many years have passed and I’ve yet to be able to answer this “why?” question for myself. All I know is that the unworthiness epidemic is rampant and sad and prevents a lot of people from experiencing and enjoying the life that they have been blessed with. Some theories say that as soon as we’re born we experience amnesia. But even if that’s true, all we have to do is look at nature to be reminded that we are all connected. Perhaps you have some theories why so many people feel unworthy? Feel free to write to us and share.
I’ve chosen to stop focusing on trying to make sense of this nonsensical human belief system and instead tune into how to feel worthy, because that feels much more helpful. These days, I’m much more interested in putting my energy towards what feels helpful, simple, graceful, and propels me towards more growth and joy.
One of the main principles of Spiritual Psychology is that “We are souls having a human experience.” Whatever your beliefs may be, let’s entertain that this is true for the moment. So, if we are divine souls that have chosen to be here as human beings, then we are inherently worthy because we are divine; we literally come from Source. This even works from the traditional Christian perspective of God creating you in his image. If God thinks you are worthy enough to exist, what more validation do you really need??
So, I did something really simple and really helpful so that I could remember my worth, everyday. I wrote myself two post-it notes and put them on my bathroom mirror. (They basically mean the same thing but hey, this indecisive Libra over here just chose both.) One said, “I am worthy because I exist.” The other said, “I know I am inherently worthy because I am divine.” As the years passed and I acquired more tools, I now regularly use subconscious reprogramming with myself and my clients to anchor this experience of worthiness deep into my body and my conscious and subconscious minds.
Any time I start doubting whether I am worthy of this or that, I remind myself of this very simple reframe, and I watch as my world magically begins to realign when I shift my perspective to one that feels more in divine alignment. Every single one of us is worthy because every single one of us is divine.
