Feelings that boost self-esteem

 Feelings that boost self-esteem

On the Feeling of Increasing Self-Esteem

From a spiritual perspective, the desire to increase self-esteem is understandable.

According to Wikipedia, self-esteem is defined as the emotion that allows one to actively evaluate oneself, affirming one’s own value and sense of purpose.

The desire to enhance self-esteem can also be understood inversely: it reflects situations in which one cannot naturally feel this sense of worth within oneself.

While not universally true, Japanese education tends to be passive, focusing on giving rather than fostering self-driven awareness. This can make it difficult for individuals to feel their own sense of purpose unless someone else actively provides validation.

In society, however, external validation is not guaranteed. It becomes essential for individuals to actively seek a sense of self-worth on their own. In this context, it is natural that people develop a desire to strengthen their self-esteem.

As I have repeatedly discussed on this blog, the growth of the soul parallels the growth of knowledge: each individual awakening of knowledge contributes to intellectual growth, just as each awakening of the heart contributes to the growth of spiritual maturity (reikaku).

When spiritual maturity rises, one’s spiritual presence increases, along with the creative ability to fulfill the hearts of others. The more awakenings of the heart one experiences, the broader one’s perspective becomes. This is not a complex idea — it is simply the process of becoming spiritually mature.

Low spiritual maturity (reikaku) means that one’s spiritual presence is weak. Such individuals tend to prioritize satisfying their own heart over fulfilling the hearts of others, and because they have fewer awakenings of the heart, their perspective on things is often narrower. This is not a complicated idea — it is essentially being spiritually childlike.

Self-esteem is the ability to feel one’s own presence, and the higher a person’s spiritual maturity, the stronger their sense of self-worth tends to be.

Moreover, spiritually mature individuals often radiate charisma and presence. In witnessing their light, others may feel overshadowed, and feelings of inferiority can arise, naturally increasing the desire to strengthen one’s own self-esteem.

Japanese education tends to place high value solely on intellectual awakenings, rather than on the spiritual growth that comes from each awakening of the heart. While not absolute, this can lead to the emergence of individuals with lower spiritual maturity.

During the Showa era, media such as manga, anime, and dramas often encouraged awareness of heart-centered awakenings, and among those influenced by these works, spiritual maturity was able to develop more strongly.

In modern society, trends often favor whatever is popular, weakening attention to heart-centered awakenings, which has made the emergence of people with lower spiritual maturity more common.

It can also be observed that individuals with lower spiritual maturity experience stress more intensely, and even small sources of energy can manifest as loud or dominating expressions.

For example, incidents of teachers abusing children — though representing only a small minority — could appear, to some, as a reflection of societal trends. The words and actions of spiritually immature adults can easily influence spiritually immature children, which may contribute to the development of a generation with lower spiritual maturity.

An example is the young activist Yutabon, who described feeling that some classmates behaved like “robots” during his elementary school years. Japanese education has often been likened to a factory producing robots, but humans inherently possess hearts. The desire to regain human authenticity naturally fosters a wish to enhance self-esteem.

From a spiritual perspective, many people simply have not yet become aware of each individual awakening of the heart. Potentially, everyone has the capacity to raise their spiritual maturity. Eventually, the day will come when self-esteem can be strongly and naturally felt.