Are you able to love yourself, accept yourself, accept the reality about self? What is preventing you to be who you. naturally are and ‘just be you’ ? The foremost reason is ego, there are two people in all of us, one is ‘ego’ & another is ‘illuminating consciousness’, which is our ultimate real self without being affected by any outside world ot the mind.
Ego is made up of the past memories and past achievements that unable us to live in present, and it creates unreal imaginative future.
Another factor that makes it difficult to accept the reality about self is illuminating consciousness which is ‘true nature’ of all human beings and it rests above the body & the mind comforts.
Ego is one of the mind’s condition that never allows us to look beyond the ego, therefore our materialistic personal achievements and the desire to achieve more and more becomes our reality. This is the condition when we live according to the ego. Ego blinds us, the blindness makes us unable to experience the real beauty of life.
How can we reconnect with our real Self and live life as we really are? By practicing meditation and mentally surrendering our body and the mind in the lotus feet, we can experience this blissful state of pure consciousness which is the reality of ourselves, in other word, the world of the inner consciousness that itself is God.
Written by Himanshu Joshi – The founder of Himalayan Yoga Association / Bali Yoga School
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In yoga philosophy, the difficulty of self-acceptance begins when we confuse the mind with the Self. The mind is constantly changing. It holds memories, reactions, fears, desires, and personal stories. The true Self does not change in the same way. This is why many people struggle with accepting themselves: they are trying to find stability in something that is naturally unstable.
The ego strengthens this confusion. It creates identity through comparison, achievement, and attachment. It tells us who we have been, what we have done, and what we still need to become. In this state, it becomes difficult to live in the present moment. Instead of experiencing life directly, we experience it through mental patterns. This is one of the main reasons self-acceptance in yoga is not simply a positive idea, but a deeper inner practice.
When we live mainly through ego, we tend to seek value outside ourselves. We look for validation, recognition, security, or control. Even when these are achieved, the mind remains restless. Something still feels incomplete. This is because the deeper search is not really for success, but for connection with the true Self.
This is where meditation and self-awareness become essential. Through meditation, we begin to observe thoughts without immediately identifying with them. Through breath awareness and yoga practice, the nervous system becomes calmer, and the mind gradually loses some of its intensity. The purpose is not to suppress thought, but to see it clearly. In that clarity, a different experience of self becomes possible.
From the perspective of yoga and consciousness, self-acceptance is not about approving every emotion or behavior. It is about seeing what is real and what is temporary. Thoughts come and go. Emotions rise and fall. The body changes. External conditions change. But awareness remains. The more deeply we rest in that awareness, the less we are controlled by fear, comparison, and inner conflict.
This is also why a regular practice matters. Meditation for self-acceptance, pranayama, and sincere yoga practice help create inner space. That space allows us to step back from the constant activity of the mind and reconnect with a quieter intelligence within. Over time, this changes the way we relate to ourselves. We become less reactive, less divided, and less dependent on outer approval.
The path is gradual. There is no instant shift in which the ego disappears completely. Some days the mind feels noisy, and some days awareness feels clear. Both are part of the process. What matters is returning to practice again and again, with honesty and patience.
To accept the reality about self is not to become someone new. It is to see beyond the layers that cover our natural state. In the deeper sense of yoga, this is the movement from ego toward awareness, from mental identity toward inner truth. And that movement begins not in theory, but in direct practice.
