Love it or hate it but tomorrow is St. Valentine’s Day. Yes, the day we are collectively called to celebrate love, or more correctly; the day we are called to celebrate romantic love. This is all well and good and great, but, there are also other forms of love. And none more important than that of divine love and of course self-love. Divine love is within us, it is an integral part of our being, it is always within us, it is infinite. Self-love is necessary because, without self-love, we cannot love anybody else. Self-love is a fundamental cornerstone in our foundation as human beings, without it, our life”s purpose and our relationships will suffer. It may sound very simplistic self-love, but, it can take years for one to properly establish and understand it fully. So, I did some research on the subject and I came across a youtube video of Melanie Beckler’s on self-love and here is a summary of some helpful insights she had to say on the subject:
To learn to love yourself make a firm commitment to take your well-being seriously, your spiritual growth seriously so that you will be able to shine your authentic divine truth. By doing so you will then overflow with love and be of service to the highest interest of all in a manner that you love and enjoy. Self-love opens a doorway for light to fill you; your love then allows you to expand and for your consciousness to grow and your vibrational body to rise. Self-love can be challenging, but use these five tips to help you to shift from ego-based fears into your true authentic self and an attained state of self-love.
1. Make a commitment to yourself and create a firm intention to love yourself more, to love yourself fully and exactly as you are. Use a positive affirmation like “I now love and approve of myself”, so that your subconscious also jumps on board. Begin to truly cultivate self-love.
2. To become aware of and to dismiss that voice of judgment; that inner critic in your head. Like a voice saying that you are not good enough, that you are not worthy etc., that either you create or that are said to you by someone else. Dismiss these thoughts, and realize that you are who you are meant to be and are perfect as you are. When you are having these thoughts, use the positive affirmation and just let those negative thoughts go, release them to the light. Love and approve of yourself.
3. Live in the present moment, live in the now. Remember no matter what you are doing to fully listen, see, smell and to savor the now moment and to choose to cultivate a sense of love, you are essentially always connected to divine love and can never be disconnected from it, so channel that love throughout your very being in every moment. Divine love flows through and underlines every moment, so tune into love and allow it to circulate through your entire being/body.
4. Become aware of how you are acting out of alignment with love. What things are you doing? What actions/habits are you doing that are not loving? Actions or habits that are not supporting your well-being? let them go and replace them with positive, and rewarding actions. For example; instead of browsing facebook meditate, instead of ordering fast food go to the supermarket and buy some salad. Become aware of your actions and choose actions that are in alignment with your intention; which is to love yourself more.
5. Commit to creating steps in the direction of your life purpose. This may not be simple if you are not yet aware of your life purpose, but, listen to your heart and take even baby steps in the direction of your dreams. Mediate and ask the heavens to guide and direct you, and do what feels right for you. Following your heart will be rewarding and fulfilling and it will recharge you, and your inner light so that you can shine your light and be a light for others. This way you end up loving more and it inspires you. Always recognize that your natural state is love, make that commitment to loving yourself more, so that your love can overflow out into the world and create a better tomorrow for us all.
I hope you enjoyed and found Melanie’s five steps useful. Remember this Valentine’s: Love is the key to the universe. We are called to love and only love, so lets start with yourself!
