Self-love will save your soul; it is the key to true healing and happiness!
When you fall in love with yourself for the first time, it is like coming home.
As a parent, I feel this is the most important thing you can ever teach your children. Sadly, most of us struggle with this, especially women today. For myself, finding self-love was the beginning of my beautiful journey and vital to my spiritual growth! Discovering that happiness and love don't come from outside of you; they are found inside of you. When you discover this, it is freedom! You don’t need someone else to complete you. You are already whole.
Often, we leave very little space in the heart for the self. In my practice, I commonly see abundant extra energy around the heart chakra, especially in Empaths, who carry the emotional baggage, worries, burdens, stress, and energy of others. Letting go of what is not yours to carry will make you feel lighter and create a space for self-love and healing!
Perhaps I myself am the enemy that must be loved. -Carl Jung
Self forgiveness will help you achieve freedom and happiness. We are often more hard on ourselves, than others. Holding high expectations for the self based on years of worldly expectations and conditioning. Forgiving others as well, holding onto negative energy towards others and situations only are toxic to your soul and your body and over time may manifest into pain and disease.
To be beautiful means to be yourself. You don't need to be accepted by others. You need to accept yourself. When you are born a lotus flower, be a beautiful lotus flower, don't try to be a magnolia flower. If you crave acceptance and recognition and try to change yourself to fit what other people want you to be, you will suffer all your life. True happiness and true power lie in understanding yourself, accepting yourself, having confidence in yourself.
-Thich Nhat Hanh
Accept yourself!!
Be your fabulous, authentic self!
We have many masks, a shadow self, an alter ego, which developed here on earth over time, a product of fear, shame, and guilt.
It's time to remove the mask, become comfortable in your skin, become completely raw, stop pretending to be happy, and start living a life that genuinely makes you proud of yourself.
Learn something new; it's never too late. Connect with your desires. You have a passion that burns inside deep in your soul. Go after it. Let the energy you feel within be the light that guides you.
Stop trying to be someone you are not. Embody yourself, date yourself, indulge, give yourself a compliment, take yourself out, dress up, and reflect on what you love and what you are passionate about. Create extra space within just for YOU! Hug yourself, and allow yourself to fully embrace all the love you feel! Forgive yourself, believe in yourself, build yourself up, and protect yourself! Talk to yourself with kindness as if you were speaking to someone you love.
Mindfulness meditation can bring awareness and help identify negative thought patterns. Listen and identify your self-talk narrative, and choose not to believe the negativity chatter.
After years of practicing this, I still hear the negative narrative, the Ego's damaging thoughts. "You're not good enough"; you're not smart enough.” Let me ask you, would you ever tell your best friend this? Would you tell your child or anyone you loved that they suck at life and are not enough! I hope not! Then why is it so easy to say to ourselves? It is because, at some point in our lives, we decided we were lacking; we felt we didn’t live up to our parents or the world's standards. We compare our lives, looks, talents, and possessions to others. We have FOMO (fear of missing out). We want that perfect Facebook family or look like the hoochie model on Instagram. We want perfect parents, children, houses, and jobs, but it never ends! The Ego has taken over!
We need to connect again to our soul, our true self, and learn to love and accept who we are, no masks, no worldly standards, just be you! Fill yourself with all the love from God, and take the time to feel the energy. Be proud of yourself, acknowledging all the mountains you’ve climbed, how far you’ve come, and how strong you’ve become. Know yourself, know the difference between ego and spirit, soften your ego, and allow your soul to shine outwards! Be confident in who you are, trust your intuition, search within to discover your gifts and purpose, and be content with your path and journey; love the body you are in; you were perfectly made; work with what you got!! Trust that you are exactly where you are meant to be at this present moment; you are enough, and you have enough. Have gratitude for all of it, and allow yourself the freedom to let go of all that does not serve your soul and purpose.
Practice mindfulness, breaking the ego's negative thought patterns. Pause and stop to see the beauty in all that is around you! For 15 seconds, let go of all expectations you have of yourself. Notice the details using all of your senses. Breathe in the beauty in yourself and all around you! Calm your mind so that you can receive all profound knowledge and infinite wisdom from the highest divine energy. Let go of who you think you are supposed to be and simply love who you are.
Soul Hygiene
Take a spiritual shower or bath in Epsom salt. You may even add some of your crystals that are safe for water. We cleanse the physical, but our soul needs to be cleansed, too. We carry and take on so much day-to-day. We clothe the human body. Let's make a habit of visualizing putting on a bubble of white light protection after putting on our clothes in the morning!
Use the violet flames technique, face out mirrors when you sense negativity, and protect your energy!
Sage yourself, practice mindfulness and meditation, listen to music, or wear crystal gemstones that promote self-love, such as rose quartz, confidence stones like citrine, or protective stones like tourmaline.
Written by Shanna Vavra