Self Discovery, Self Worth and the Pursuit of Beauty

Attraction to beauty is based on our primal instinct for survival as species.

The above scientific claim may surprise you. As a bookworm, I found the statement delightfully enlightening but unjustly vindicating the males species whom I had long scorned for being the more shallow sex for choosing beauty over brains. Years ago a TV program (CBC) proclaimed that men were programmed by nature to select the most beautiful as their mates to ensure the propagation of the human race.

Then to make me really feel I was raised on another planet --- it claimed that females naturally are atracted to mates that can support the family. This was one moment of enlightenment for me! I no longer was so sure of my embrace of idealistic principles or my perception of being human.

No, I did not become an advocate of plastic surgery to successfully use modern science to mimic male fantasy. After all we women no longer yearn to be chosen for our abilities to mate. Not consciously anyway. - So why then work at being deemed beautiful?

If we remove the time sensitive values out of the scientists' argument, we can learn that our primal instinct for "beauty" is basically a preference for wellbeing.

So redefining beauty as the unveiling of our awareness and our uniqueness can reconnect us with our true nature. Therefore, contrary to our conditioning, it is ideal to look into a mirror and use the information found in your eyes, tongue and skin to tell you about your day to day health.

If your skin is dehydrated - you can maintain a youthful appearance by moisturizing your skin more more to keep up good circulation. But since dehydrated skin is signally the beginning of internal dehydration -- ensure internal health by increasing the consumption of hydrating foods like herbal teas, vegetables, and soups on such days.

If you still have a white coating on your tongue after the morning is long gone; it is telling you that your body is sluggish and need help with digestion and elimination. Spice up your next meal and forgo the sugary snacks along with other "Kapha Carbs". Pump up your exercise from a relaxing Yoga class to a high impact aerobics one. If the condition is chronic then your skin will scream at you by being dull and congested. While you can improve your appearance temporarily with good skincare, you really need to change diet and lifestyle to increase your internal fire or "Chi"

So as you see, a moderate regard for your external appearance is healthy and very advisable. Taking time daily to keep skin in good condition will not only help to keep skin attractive but also promote good circulation and body temperature control.

Where it can be a bit over the top when we become self critical and adopt a belief that our beauty is based on some one else's definition of beauty.

And extreme solutions are very poor substitutes for daily maintenance. They cheat us of our self discovery. Self love leads to true beauty which spirals back to feed our self confidence and so on and so forth - So goes the circle of growth and wellbeing.