Part 3 - Loving Your Self

Meditating on self-love.

Here is a simple meditation for learning to accept and appreciate yourself just as you are.

This meditation is done from the perspective of your ‘Spiritual Self’. Your Spiritual Self is one and the same as your innermost awareness... it is the quiet, non-judging observer within you and all the rest of you... your body, mind, emotions, personal traits, etc., we will refer to as ‘your personality’. Just for this exercise, think of your personality as a separate person.

Sit comfortably and close your eyes (after you have read these instructions). Now begin to observe your personality... notice your thoughts, your emotions, how your body feels…. Take some time to get acquainted with your personality. Objectively think about its various characteristics.

Next, imagine that your personality is your child and that you are its parent. See this child as a perfect creation of Spirit... still growing into its highest potential, but perfect at whatever stage it's now at. Accept your child as it is... accept it completely, just as it is. Look at your child with appreciation and compassion. Look fondly and compassionately at your child, with all of its strengths and positive traits, as well as it's various weaknesses and follies. Open your heart and embrace this child with complete, unconditional love.

Practicing this exercise will help deepen your self-love. Although encountering challenges along the way is a necessary part you journey, you will find that healthy self-love can be a tremendous ally in smoothing out the rough and rocky stretches of your path. (Jim Malloy The World Wide Online Meditation Center www.meditationcenter.com)

Following is another meditation from Jim Malloy I chose for you to support you on your healing journey. Just follow the simple steps and accept whatever happens.

* Sit comfortably with your spine reasonably straight. It's fine to lean against something. If you are feeling too bad to sit up, lie down flat on your back. If you are in too much of a funk to do that, any position will do.

* With your eyes closed, take a few moments to pay attention to your breathing... breathe naturally, and observe your breath coming in, filling you, and going out.

* Now, focus your attention on the emotions you are feeling. Take some time to simply feel the emotions. Try not to analyse them, alter them, or push them away. Just feel the emotions, remaining as present as you can with them for a few minutes. (This is a powerful means of emotional healing, but if it is too painful, you can skip to the next step.)

* Next, imagine a radiant face... the face of the most loving, caring, compassionate, being you can think of. (You may see this face, or you may just sense or feel its presence. However you experience it is ok.) This face may or may not be familiar to you. You may think of it as a manifestation of Spirit, or as just an extremely caring and compassionate being.

* Spend a few minutes communing with this loving being. Converse with it if you like, silently or aloud... or just commune in silence.

* Then offer your negative emotions up to this loving being for healing. Just turn them over to be healed and transformed.

* When you are ready, slowly come out of your meditation.

As you continue to grow spiritually from your meditation practice, you begin to realize that you don't have to be a victim of the ever-changing winds and waves of emotion... you become empowered and more in control of your life. That doesn't mean that you cease to feel things. Rather, you may experience the entire spectrum of feelings, but you are no longer at the mercy of the more turbulent emotional weather as it moves through your life.

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com

Part 2 - Loving Your Self

Cultivating Self Love. LET THE FUN BEGIN!

Up until now we have been exploring all the different issues around self-love. How can you start to love yourself?

You can start to practice Forgiveness! Let go of your resentments and work through your anger. Let go of accusations and blame. Work through all the blocks that prevent you from forgiving e.g. ‘what they did to me is unforgivable’.

Realise that forgiveness is not about the other person; it’s all about YOU setting yourself free to be present in the moment-of-now and to create the future you desire.

Unlock the door to your self-imposed prison – start to forgive yourself and every person you hold in a space of unforgiveness. And then…………

o Start to live your life in gratitude. Life is a gift and you are a gift to life. Gift = present. We can only be truly grateful if we live in the present moment – live in the gift! Could be great fun!

o Choose to be generous and treat yourself to something you have been longing for. Meet some friends and go to a movie. Buy yourself that outfit! Take a vacation.

o Eat healthy foods and exercise regularly. You may want to "treat" yourself to things like a massage, a facial, a pedicure, or a gym membership.

o Cultivate a willingness to re-examine and release old beliefs, and create new ways of thinking and believing. This is usually sufficient for your subconscious mind. However, your subconscious mind - which stores information much like a computer - may need a bit of ‘re-programming’. The daily repetition of positive affirmations - such as ‘I love and accept myself exactly as I am’ is one of the most commonly used methods for change. Affirmations can be written, spoken aloud, or repeated mentally.

o Make a list of all your positive qualities. Even though you are cultivating "unconditional" self-acceptance, this helps create a shift toward thinking of yourself in a more positive light.

o Focus on one aspect of yourself that you love e.g. you are hardworking, or you are very sensitive or you have beautiful eyes, and start to really appreciate that part of you. Keep looking for more things and more things – they are there! Keep going until you start to fall in love with yourself. Yes! It’s ok to do that. No, you are not being vain.

o Be kind, compassionate, patient and loving towards yourself. Now start to give this gift to others. Share your smile and patience, kind words, friendship and love to others. Imagine your energy start to ripple out like a pebble you threw into a pond…wider and wider, until it ripples out around the world and comes straight back to you. Whao!

o You are a very unique and special child of the universe. You are a gift to the world. Who you are and what you do matters. You do count, and what you contribute does count. Keep affirming that everyday.

o Treat yourself to a bubble bath, eat dinner at home by candlelight, take a walk on the beach, swim in the ocean (those waters are very healing), or watch a sunset.

o Taking time to enjoy your hobby. What’s that? I hear you say. Maybe you enjoyed painting or writing or horseriding. These are just a few ideas... You can put your own imagination to work...

o Deepen your awareness. Do some honest soul-searching... ask yourself: Is there a shortage of self-love in my life? And if so, why? What are the underlying dynamics? There are a number of ways to find some answers…. quiet reflection, talking it out with a trusted friend or therapist, or writing in a journal are all good approaches. Find out what works best for you.

o Become passionate about being alive. Close your eyes and acknowledge yourself for the things you have achieved in your life in spite of difficulties growing up.

o Choose one aspect of yourself that you are not particularly fond of – that you don’t really want to look at or care to remember, and embrace it. That ‘shadow’ part of you carry with it loads of precious gifts.

o Let go of abusive relationships. LEAVE! Walk away! Quit your need to be physically and emotionally abused and broken. It breaks down your spirit. Get help. NOW!

o Choose to be happy and joyful. How you feel is entirely up to you. Choose victory over victim hood.

o Commit to being an extraordinary human being on an extraordinary path of making major mind shifts to create a reality of winning this time around.

o Become your own best friend. Get to know what makes you tick. What do you enjoy doing and what do you dislike doing. What are your values? What is important to you? What is your purpose? Why did you choose to be here? What are your strengths? Take time out for your self. Meditate. Dream. Visualize. Create. Manifest. LOVE LIFE and LOVE YOURSELF.

Next time I will give you some exercises you can do to support you on your journey.

END

The end is the beginning.

Annette www.paradigmshifttraining.com