Since February is the month of LOVE, I thought it would be appropriate to talk about LOVE. Not the kind of Love you usually think about, like Valentines and Romantic love, but SELF LOVE. I am the kind of person that likes to people watch and in so doing have been able to recognize that the way people feel about themselves is quite often shown in the body language that they portray, the clothes they wear, their posture and the general energy and vibrations that they exude.
If a person has negative thoughts about themself or self loathes, then what type of energy are they putting out? I can describe such a person right now. I was teaching a class on Essential Oils and a girl sat in the corner, hugging her arms, not looking up, not making contact with anyone and mumbled when we asked her questions. I seriously wanted to cry when I looked at her. I thought, what has happened to her to make her have no confidence, no joy, no peace, no love for herself? The energy around her was dark and I wished to somehow tell her how important she was and that she was a child of God.
What are some ways that we can truly love and accept ourselves? I think it starts by being in the right frame of mind. Some people get in the right frame of mind by practicing yoga, praying, taking time to meditate, journaling or practicing affirmations. All of these are amazing ways to center and focus on your thoughts and take the time to really take back over your mind!!
Just as it is important to eat right to keep our body healthy, it is also important to fuel our minds with positive and loving thoughts. How we feel about ourselves impacts our body functions and our immune system in very real ways. When we feel negative about ourselves we restrict JOY. Did you know that people who are JOYFUL, bring the most good into the world? I believe this is because when you love yourself first, your creative mind is opened up and you are able to offer something amazing to the world.
I love this quote, “The mind is a powerful source. It can enslave us or empower us. It can plunge us into the depths of misery or take us to the heights of ecstasy. Learn to use the power wisely.”
Many people get into the bad habit of saying mean things to themselves. Like, You’re ugly, you’re fat, you’re not pretty enough, you’re not good enough. These thoughts can truly debilitate a person. Do you think you can love yourself when you have these kind of thoughts running through your head.
I like to tell you to just STOP IT!! Stop saying these things to yourself. Make a conscious decision right now to reprogram your thinking. One really easy exercise that helps to change your way of thinking is to get out a piece of paper and write down the negative things that you are saying to yourself. Then get out another piece of paper and change all of those negative thoughts into positive thoughts. For example, “ I look ugly today” into “I look amazing and beautiful today and I love myself”. You then can take the negative paper and rip it into a million pieces or put it in a pot and burn them up. What ever your fancy is for getting rid of those pesky thoughts!!
Louise Hay said, “I don’t fix problems, I fix my thinking. Then problems fix themselves.”
Affirmations are a powerful way to cleanse our minds of negative thoughts. I know that it can be hard to believe that you are beautiful when you have told yourself that you are ugly for so long, (as in our example) but Constant Nourishment is the key. One thing that I have found helpful with positive affirmations is to change them into the form of a question so that the subconscious mind doesn’t attack them as if they are not true.
So with the earlier example, “I look ugly today” the positive affirmation in Question Form would be, “Why do I look so amazing today?”
Reprogramming the mind with positive thoughts is like riding a bike, it takes a lot of practice. Don’t give up if negative thoughts creep in, just recognize them and change them immediately into something positive.
Claude Bristol stated, “It’s the repetition of affirmations that leads to belief. And once that belief becomes a deep conviction, things begin to happen.” So here’s an easy starting point, an assignment if you will for tonight. Tell yourself that you love “you” today! I challenge everyone to look in the mirror at themselves today and audibly tell yourself, “I love you” at least three times. So many times we look to others for love, but as it states in Proverbs 23:7 “as a man thinketh in his heart, so is he..” Also take the time to write down the negative thoughts and change them to something positive. We change our vibration by changing our thoughts and the feelings generated by those thoughts. Take time to love yourself today!! You are worth it!! Click here to see some Great Daily Affirmations
