The Greatest Love Is To Love Yourself

It is one of the great mysteries of life that in order to love others, it is essential to love yourself.

I have often thought it was interesting that Jesus, in his role of Rabbi and teacher, considered self-love as a basic element in life when he taught that the most important law was to Love God with all of your heart, your mind, and your Soul, and to love your neighbor as yourself. This famous teaching assumes as self-evident that you love yourself.

Unfortunately, in my many years of counseling people and coaching them to live happier and more fulfilling lives, I observed that self-love is far from self-evident.

For many, the idea of loving yourself is challenging. It is not a basic part of self-evident consciousness as it may have been when Jesus walked the earth. It falls into the same category as forgiving yourself. For some reason many of us find it easier to give than to receive, loving yourself, forgiving yourself, being gentle and compassionate with yourself is something we need to learn.

Although this is logically counter-intuitive it is a result of societal training and pressures that get confused as we strive to be and become what we are told that we should be. Unfortunately, this is most often seen in woman who have been reinforced and rewarded by how self-effacing and self-sacrificing they can be. Many lessons that are passed through the traditions from Mother to daughter do not consider or understand how harmful and damaging they can be. These are often subtle and specific but when accumulated, result in a message that is toxic and damaging. It is not that there is the intention to harm or limit the full expression of success and joy in the life being molded, but rather, parents are teaching what they were taught without the conscious awareness or consideration of the consequences and the impact of the cumulative effect of these life instructions.

The result is often a belief on the part of the child as they emerge into adult life that to love oneself, to nurture oneself and to let oneself receive is in some way wrong. The wounding that this wrong teaching and wrong interpretation can result in is so pervasive and so deeply embedded in the myths and culture of our society that to break through to truth is often the most powerful transformation one can do to heal your life and embrace success. To understand, release and reframe all of the subtle destructive messages that it is wrong to love ourselves and wrong to receive not only love but the vast array of blessings that are available for us is a profound journey that leads to joy, success, and empowerment.

One of the cornerstones of this transformation is learning to love yourself. Inherent in that concept is learning to receive and allowing yourself to receive. Loving yourself and opening yourself to receiving will change your life on so many levels and in so many ways that it may be beyond imagining. The success you can achieve, the joy and happiness you can experience will cascade through your life. As you dissolve the lies and illusions that keep you removed from the freedom of expressing you will enjoy being who you truly are.

There are inherent in this journey certain key elements and key experiences that have great significance and have the power to heal you on very deep and profound level. The first of these elements is to shed the illusion and reject the lies that you have been taught in favor of a realization of the truth. That truth is that you are an amazing being, a creature of love and joy and this is the natural expression of your being. In coming to the full realization of this truth, it is also an important step to forgive yourself for all the ways you have limited and denied your full power and potential to be all that you were meant to be and all that deep in your heart you knew you could be.

Along with the important act of self-forgiveness comes the act of forgiving those who perpetuated and propagated these untruths and wrong thinking. We can assume that they only taught what they believed or thought was right, handed down through generations. Illusion and lies become embedded in our society. It takes courage to see the truth and let the truth free you. Forgiveness and even compassion for those who cling to wrong thinking is a part of affirming and enhancing yourself in this new expression of life as someone who has learned to love themselves and open themselves to the opportunity to be a being of love. Forgiveness, both of yourself and those who taught and fostered mistakes and illusion unlocks grace and joy in your life. It is in these acts and affirmations of forgiveness that you begin to demonstrate what it means to not only love yourself but how that self-love results in love and compassion for others.

You are an amazing being. You deserve to be loved, not only by yourself but also by others. You are a spark of Divine Light. It is by loving yourself, honoring yourself that you manifest your true power and potential as a child of God.

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Here are some simple affirmations you can incorporate into your daily practice to allow this important principle of Self Love to manifest in your life. It is best if you can do these quick simple affirmations three times a day, perhaps in the morning as you do your morning rituals, once more during the day, then again as you cleanse and prepare yourself for sleep.

Look in the mirror and affirm the following:

I Love myself

I deserve to be loved exactly as I am

I am worthy of being loved

I give my love generously

I accept the love of others appreciatively

I delight in who I am becoming.

I am a beautiful, successful joy filled being

I open myself to the love that surrounds me and gather it into my heart to support and strengthen me.

[NOTE: Some people prefer typing these affirmations on a small piece of paper that they stick on the upper corner of their bathroom mirror.]

Affirmations are a powerful tool to healing and transforming your life. When I have had my coaching clients add these affirmations to their life practice, their life begins to change, especially their relationships with others.

To come into the present, freed and unfettered by the past is opening your life to unlimited possibility. This is available to you through the healing power of your Soul and the enlightened embrace of your will as you affirm and accept that you have the power, the promise and the intention to love yourself and open yourself to the many joys and blessings that are available to you for the taking.

The timeless dance of giving and receiving, loving and being loved is before you. Celebrate and enjoy all that comes to you. Your Soul knows the real truth; your heart knows the truth.

Ponder on this. You deserve it.

To Love Yourself is the Greatest Gift, begin right now to give that gift to yourself.

Namaste,

Genevieve

The Blessing of Love on All that you Do!