How can you get rid of self-critical thoughts?

by Vic Shayne
author
The Self is a Belief

Ultimately, you can find this answer for yourself. You do it by observing yourself, thoughts, what you tend to think about, how you think, why you think what you do, where thoughts come from, and your relationships.

Thoughts are all from the past, and the sense of who you are is built only upon thoughts. Therefore, your image of yourself is from the past; it does not exist in the immediate present moment. So who is this person you believe yourself to be?

If you observe that thoughts arise and fall, then to create the sense of self you must be holding onto some of these thoughts. And it is these thoughts that create memories, associations, and identities. They bind the mind to the past, including the thoughts that have led you to feel inferior, unworthy, faulty, blemished, and so on. The thoughts also bind you to the idea that whoever instilled such unwanted characteristics about you is an authority figure who was right in his/her assessment of you.

The thoughts about yourself, including self-critical ones, are due to psychological conditioning since birth (or before). They are implanted, or impressed, by parents, relatives, teachers, authority figures, religions leaders, culture, and so on. To make them harmless and weightless, you have to realize that you are not the thoughts and that there is a “you” who is prior to these thoughts and, therefore, the sense of self. This comes from persistent observation that I mentioned in the first paragraph. You come to realize that the one who is observing the thoughts about this persona, and the persona that you call “me” are not the same being. The persona is the conditioned egoic mind, and behind it is a watcher or observer.