The Practice of Self-love

Sometimes the idea of self-love seems like such a simple concept. “Well, duh I love myself!” But do you really? Do you 100% unconditionally love yourself? Chances are, when we take a deeper look into our practice of self-love, we’ll see some areas that could use a little work. Throughout our childhood, we began picking up limiting beliefs and patterns that we’ve carried with us until now. Maybe we think that we’re not pretty enough, tall enough, smart enough, wealthy enough, etc. Maybe we feel that we’ll never find our soulmate or find a career that makes us jump out of bed in the morning, excited to get to work. These are yet more limiting beliefs. We’ve continued on with these same patterns everyday and this has affected the relationship we have with ourselves.

The practice of self-love (self-care) is said by Deepak Chopra to be the one need no one can afford to live without. How monumental is that? He says a new model of self-care/self-love would include more than segmenting time into family, leisure, and work. Instead, it would include things such as: making happiness a high priority, making sure your life has purpose and meaning, getting to know your inner world through meditation, contemplation, and self-reflection, and learning how to love and be loved.

Are you making time for these things now? Each day? How can you better align your schedule to make time for your beautiful self?

When talking about the importance of the practice of self-love, I often think back to what the flight attendants tell you in case of emergency. They always tell you to place the oxygen mask on yourself before assisting anyone else. And why is that? Because you need to sustain yourself first. If you run out of oxygen, you can’t assist others. This metaphor perfectly emphasizes the importance of making time for yourself. To nurture your body, to pamper yourself, to exercise and eat healthy, to just be. Take some time today to start making some changes in how you treat yourself.

In May Cause Miracles, Gabby Bernstein invites everyone to do a few journaling exercises and just let it all come out. So, grab a pen and some paper and ask yourself: How have I been unkind to myself? How have I been playing small? What is the negative story I have created about myself? How have I abused myself with my thoughts or actions? Sit with your answers. Let them sink in without judgment.

Trust and know and believe that you have the power and ability to change that negative story that you’ve created about yourself. Most importantly, start with having the willingness to love yourself.