Self Respect This depends on knowing who I am, knowing my eternal, spiritual self. When I have found that sense of spiritual identity, I feel I have a right to be here, to exist. Without the spiritual dimension, it is very difficult to really respect myself deeply. In this case, I base my respect on identifying with the superficial aspects of my being: looks, gender, success, my spouse, my intelligence. With such superficial identification, I will never have a stable sense of self-respect, because people's opinions change. Today they love me, tomorrow they reject me. What is the consequence of depending on their opinions? I will end up fluctuating all the time - feeling positive when they say good things, and feeling down when they say negative things. To stay stable in my self-respect, I need to nurture a deeper understanding of my spiritual identity (the foundation of this being that I am a soul) and tap into those riches that are within me eternally, waiting to blossom, like the flower from the seed. As I become grounded in such a spiritual awareness, those riches and resources start flowing out of me. The more stable I am in my self-respect and spirituality, the more I emanate what I truly am. I feel a deep sense of contentment and I am happy to be me, however I am. I accept myself as I am.