by Corinna Murray, DVM
 
The privilege of a lifetime is being who you are. - Joseph Campbell

Most of us were taught to believe that it is better to give than to receive. We believe it is virtuous to give our time, love, energy, and attention to our family, friends, and worthy causes. Yet most of us find it uncomfortable to treat ourselves in the same manner and, therefore, feel unworthy to receive many of these same things from others. In fact, many have been conditioned to believe that self-directed love and attention is selfish.

In reality, giving and receiving are aspects of the same flow of energy, just as breathing depends equally on the inhale as on the exhale. The quality and depth of the in-breath nourishes our bodies with life sustaining O2, stimulating growth and expansion, while the out-breath releases what no longer serves us, calming our bodies for healing and rest. What no longer serves us is in turn returned to serve our planet through our plants, which nourish us again with oxygen and their fruit. The flow of love is the same. It is self-sustaining, expansive, and infinite.

Self-directed love is the foundation for the expression and the flow of love. Only by loving your perfectly imperfect self (who in any given moment is doing your best, with what you know and how you feel), can you open fully to the generous love of the universe and the love of others. Self-love is healing, nurturing, and honors All that has and will continue to contribute to your existence. The way in which you care for and engage with yourself shows the world and others how to love you. It becomes your legacy and opens you to the flow that is reflected back. Only from this place of self-love, can you truly be whole and capable of returning love to the rhythm and flow of life.

Start today to hold yourself in loving awareness and let your heart receive. Connect with and feel how much you want to know that you are loved and valued. Look into your heart and feel your timelessness. Feel everything—your joy and your sorrow, your compassion and your passion, your curiosity, playfulness, and wisdom. You contain it All. You are whole. Each time you find yourself in self-reflection today, take a moment to be a witness. Then, with loving awareness, quietly say or think these words, "I feel you, I accept you, I love you." Carry this mantra through your day and witness your heart gently open to yourself and to others. Notice the flow of love.

By Nanette Littlestone

To love yourself right now just the way you are, is to give yourself heaven. - Alan Cohen

How much do you love yourself? Just a little? A lot? Do you love yourself only when you feel good or even when you feel bad? What if you could love yourself, really love yourself, all the time?

The term “self-love” means the love of oneself, the instinct or desire to promote one’s own well-being. True self-love is not narcissistic or self-indulgent. It is an awareness of your inner power. A knowledge of who you really are. Without self-love, the soul can’t flourish. According to Marianne Williamson, our deepest fear is not the darkness that most frightens us, but the light. Are you hiding your light? Does your soul long to shine? 

Self-love acknowledges who you are and what you like. By cultivating your gifts, you show your true passions to the world. Your light illuminates the way for others and allows them to shine as well. My love of words led me to reading, then writing, then editing, and eventually to a marriage of all three—being a writing coach and publisher and helping others to express themselves through writing.

So how do you start loving yourself? Here are five ways to begin the journey.

1) Address self-sabotage. Does the little voice in your head say you’re not good enough, not smart enough, not pretty enough, or you don’t have enough experience? Those negative thoughts and beliefs stem from past experience. Let them go. You can heal these thoughts through hypnotherapy, coaching, EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique, otherwise known as tapping), the Sedona Method, etc. Find a process that resonates with you and stick with it. By changing your beliefs, you allow the real you to emerge.

2) Use affirmations. Affirmations are positive statements that help pave the way for the subconscious mind. By using affirmations, you train your mind to develop new ways of thinking. If you want to lose weight, try, “I am at the perfect weight for my body.” To attract more clients, you could state, “I easily attract the perfect clients for my business.” Here are some self-love affirmations to get you started.

I love myself just the way I am.
I appreciate who I am right now.
I let go of my fears and go forward with confidence.

3) Appreciate yourself. Look in the mirror. Do you like what you see? When was the last time you told yourself you’re beautiful? Maybe you’re not crazy about your wrinkles or your gray hair. Maybe you wish you were taller or shorter. Start with what you do like and really love that part of you. The more you do this, the more you’ll be able to appreciate those parts you didn’t like before. And when you truly love yourself, others will too.

4) Be creative. What do you love to do? Write? Paint? Teach? Play in nature? Give yourself permission to follow that voice inside your head that says “can I, can I?” Play. Explore. Discover. Embracing your passions is a sure way to love yourself. You might even find a new career.  

5) Practice forgiveness. Criticizing yourself or comparing yourself to others only hurts you. Sometimes it’s hard to remember you’re not perfect. But holding on to that resentment damages your health. Forgiveness is a way to heal and move forward with peace and love. The Hawaiians have a beautiful forgiveness prayer called Ho’oponopono. 

I’m sorry
Please forgive me
I love you
Thank you

Saying these words, with feeling, can unlock those hurts and restore your self-love.

The more you love yourself, the more you step into your power. So today, be your own valentine. Let your light shine. Be the amazing person you can be.

Nanette Littlestone, editor, writing coach, publisher, and owner of Words of Passion, is a guest blogger and co-author of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To pre-order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.

by Barbara J. Hopkinson

This is the Valentine month, so what better topic than one about loving yourself? Not in a selfish, narcissistic way, but in favor of self-care.  

Self-care is especially important in grief recovery and that is one area where it is often ignored. When we are grieving, we are in pain and not motivated to take care of ourselves.  Often we are worried about others in the family and their grief, so we focus on them. But what we may forget is that we will be of much more value to those around us if we take care of ourselves.  

Grief can be like an illness—our bodies and minds are in shock, not operating at full capacity; we feel sluggish.  If we were ill, we’d probably get bed rest, see a doctor, eat well, drink fluids, and maybe take prescription or holistic remedies.  Grief needs tender self-care as well.  Rest, good nutrition, and doing things to help reduce stress are useful. Activities such as exercise, deep breathing, and journaling help.  Be a little self-indulgent and get a facial or massage, take time to walk in nature and reflect.  Talk to those in your support system.  Talk to your loved one, write to him or her, see what your intuition tells you—do you feel a response?  You may also want to explore energy-based and spiritual practices such as yoga, meditation, and many of the energy healing modalities.  If you haven’t tried these before, keep an open mind. You might be surprised how much they can help.   

My grief sent me on a journey.  It was difficult but it made me much stronger and it helped me to get more in touch with my intuition—both are benefits.  I tried all kinds of things, many for the first time—therapy, meditation, yoga, energy healing, reflexology, polarity, shamanic massage, spiritual development retreats, visits to referred mediums and psychics, and more.  But I also forced myself not to totally bury myself in work. I knew that was just delaying the inevitable.  I made myself take quiet time and walk in nature, especially on the beach—a favorite for me.  

One of the most important things, when I was ready, was to reach out and help others. Helping is very healing and another form of self-care — while we are caring for others.  It works!

May you always remember to be GOOD to YOU!         

Barbara J. Hopkinson, Grief Mentor, Author, and Speaker with A Butterfly’s Journey, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To pre-order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.

By Suzanne Baker Hogan
 
I love you so completely. I adore you infinitely and forever. I want you to know that you are never alone in your life, and that I am here with you always. I understand you through everything, no matter what. And I admire how you are living your experiences on earth.
 
I will always support you, without question, even if others cannot. I am always on your side, and I know that things haven’t been easy. I know how deeply you feel in your life and how challenging your challenges have been. They have pushed you to the edge of what you can handle, but handle them you have with courage and perseverance. It’s time to applaud yourself for this!
 
For you have met every difficulty and acted accordingly. You have seized the experiences you wished to have, and you have played them out perfectly. No one could have done a better job.
 
Your life has been absolutely perfect. And it has brought you to this moment of precious reckoning. It has led you to the greatest experience you will ever know. And that is to finally love yourself, deeply and without question, and to never forget this again.  
 
Now I know that the world makes this difficult. I know how easily things can make you seem “not good enough.” But somewhere within, you know that this is not real and that you are so incredibly special. Deep down you fully believe in yourself.
 
You came here to remember this with conviction and to overcome anything telling you otherwise. You came here to heal the pain in you that cries out, and in that healing, rediscover yourself. You are here to love yourself, above all else, and in that remembering grow forever empowered!
 
You see, you are so very powerful, and you’ve got the universe on your side, even if it doesn’t look like it. You are infinitely loved and infinitely cherished, beyond what humanness can comprehend. If only you knew just how admired you are for your bravery and how much you actually belong. You are so deeply beautiful and wise beyond your dreams. Indeed, you are royalty from the spiritual realms.
 
I know all of this with the utmost certainty because I am you and always have been. You and I are one and the same, and we are more immense than you can imagine. We simply came to this earth to gain invaluable experience and to grow ever stronger with love.
 
At the end of the day, all that matters is love. It is all that remains of our earthly ordeals and relationships. Love is what we are made of and what interconnects us all. Love is our inherent oneness.
 
This is the love that always shines within you, and it radiates when you remember who you are. This is the love that illuminates the world when you love yourself with all of your soul! 

Suzanne Baker Hogan, spiritual writer and author of SharetheSpiritual.com and Twin Flame Help, is a guest blogger and coauthor of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To pre-order your copy of this inspirational book, click here. 

by Maureen Roe

Generally when we think of love we think of romantic love and the faces of our loved ones. Seldom in that delicious reverie do we include ourselves.  Why, you ask?  It is from not knowing how to love ourselves that we tend to just skip that part and pretend we do.   

If you were to go down the list of ways to love yourself you may find the following:

• Take time to do things you enjoy
• Engage in activities that use your talents and gifts
• Reward yourself
• Spend time in the company of those you feel good around
• Learn something new so that you can feel accomplished
• Do something nice for others

While this is not an exhaustive list, it will help you feel good and even warm and fuzzy about yourself. However, the list seems to lack what most “love-yourself”  instructions do and that is how we talk to ourselves. Imagine you are doing things you enjoy from the list above and you run into someone who constantly makes you feel inadequate.  Suddenly, you are into the most negative tirade of self-talk you can muster.

One of the most uplifting activities you can do to raise your spirit from the ashes of verbal self-flagellation and find peace within is to stop self-judgment and self-criticism.  When you criticize or judge, you create a greater sense of unworthiness and insecurity.  If you are committed to feeling good about yourself, first you must feel “good enough” inside.

Here’s a quick exercise you can use to create a judgment-free zone within your head.

• Step 1:   Become aware of when you use judging and criticizing self-talk.

• Step 2:   Once you are aware you can stop and/or re-phrase with a positive statement before you start. The statement may not sound true in the beginning, but after continued use you'll be amazed at the results.

Loving yourself in this manner will add a greater sense of joy, security, and peace to your spirit.  

What will achieving a greater sense of self-love look like for you?

Maureen Roe is a Self-Expression Coach, Registered Corporate Coach, Metaphysical Minister, Ageless Grace Educator, speaker, and co-author of F.A.I.T.H. – Finding Answers in the Heart, Volume II. To pre-order your copy of this inspirational book, click here.