Michael,

To me, "being at war with myself" means not being self-accepting. I
fight what I don't want to see or feel. I disown it. From what I
can understand, "being at war with others" also implies a lack of
acceptance. It means that I reject those characteristics in others
that I reject within myself. It also means that I resent any
dependency I have on others.

Many low self-esteem people are locked into the need to gain the
approval of others. The frame of reference for guiding their actions
in not their own understanding of things; it is rather the
preferences of others. This dependency on others, however, comes
with a price: hate. You hate others for the control they have over
you. This hate simmers within you. You are in a constant state of
resentment and this resentment is not always manageable. It crops up
unexpectedly in the shape of bursts of anger, sarcastic remarks and
cynical pronouncements about the nature of relationships. In some
cases, it can even lead to violence. I think this is some of what
Branden means about being at war with others.

What do you think?

blackbellringer