Loving Self 101: Taking the Steps to Love Within

For quite some time now, I find people asking me just how I arrived to this Zen-like place of being comfortable with my place in the world.  I must admit this journey is still evolving in my life.  I can’t pin point the exact time and place where the need for silence, listening more, and only taking control over what I have power of in my life came into being. However, I can tell you that I am in love with the spiritual place that I currently reside in as well as the wonderful love of my life. This state I feel is simplistic, beautiful, and always tranquil. I know at this point you must be saying --What does this have to do with love in my life? Or, yeah right--- What do you do when the world throws mess at you?  The answer to the latter question is that I keep going in the spirit of love even in the midst of the imperfections of the world and myself. I am consistently reminded that the universe has provided me with everything I need to thrive.  Of course, my goal is to ensure that you have some points to think over. The forthcoming steps have led to internal peace for me. In the spirit of collaboration, I would like to hear from you about what and how you gain tranquility to love in a not so silent world. Let me know what you think!

Step 1- Exercise

Exercise for me is more than just physical activity that speeds up my heartbeat and helps me to keep it tight. LOL…Seriously, exercising allows me to leverage and test what we often unfortunately place on our lives-limits. I don’t know about you, but I believe we work too hard to not ensure that we are able to reap the benefits of love and sacrifice that we have poured into the world. Thus, the self-destruction of my health is not an option. I find such meditation in a run, a walk, a dance, and even pumping weights. If you really take the time to be present or engaged in your own workout routine, you will find that all of the energy that you thought you did not have to make it through the day, get past that emotional or physical pain in your life may merely be just what degree of tolerance you place on your spirit and flesh in the moment. Pushing yourself to dig deeper in understanding your strength leads to the minimization of how the world can test your limits.

Step 2- Nurture Yourself

I find it intriguing that we wait for other people to nurture us before we give ourselves freedom to cherish our essence.  Just like having a business plan or career track for your professional life, we need to develop a strategic plan for achieving our best life. Of course, obstacles will occur in life that might take you off your path for a moment.  Yet, the will to survive shall always prevail. I find that a balance between nurturing and refining your life consistently is an integral part of obtaining inner peace.  In the words of John Lennon, “We've got this gift of love, but love is like a precious plant. You can't just accept it and leave it in the cupboard or just think it's going to get on by itself. You've got to keep watering it. You've got to really look after it and nurture it.”

Step 3- Learning to Love Yourself

I find in most cases we already know the answer to our questions before we seek insight. Learning to love you means learning to trust yourself completely.  Let’s be real, we are often times our worst enemy.  So, please don’t stand in your way. Don’t allow insecurities, the trust that has been lost by others who hurt you in the past, or negativity that surrounds you to deter you from loving yourself and others with gusto.  In my journey I have found that self-esteem and self- love are issues that are related.  Loving yourself can be difficult because some individuals, myself including in the past, had a tendency to self-sabotage the love around me and within. When you don’t love yourself, you are telling the universe that you are unworthy of any positive love and outcomes. Within this step the following key points have become common areas of reflection for my meditation: Be Kind & Positive, Acknowledge Your Effort, Let Go of Worry, Trust Yourself, Be True to You, Grow Spiritually, and Nurture Your Dreams.  In the words of Buddha, “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe deserve your love and affection.”

Step 4- Develop Your Own Intuition

This last step is fascinating to cultivate. I believe that we all have a sense of who and what feels right for us within our life.  Yet, some people are excited about the new, intriguing, and fascinating aspects of life too quickly. I do think that it is good to bring a healthy level of excitement to a new love, a blessing, or a promising endeavor. Nevertheless, to what extreme do we ignore our intuition when we feel on unstable ground?  Also, how and why do we receive our successes and failures?   Learning to develop your intuition without tipping the balance of what you expect from others and what you need is important.  Therefore, striking the balance between understanding what is your truth and another’s truth is key to understanding your intuition. Your intuition mixed with free will to make the changes you need in your life shall always lead to what I call one’s “triple sense of consciousness”—knowing, loving, and respecting yourself.

A special treat for our readers from Mala Shah and Beads of Light right here in Regent Square:

I am pleased to announce a special offer for Designing Love fans and clients: You have seen Beads of Light jewelry as giveaways at several Designing Love events and have also seen me rocking a piece or two! Now, it is your chance to purchase a special piece of jewelry for yourself or someone special at 10% off for a limited time. Just mention Designing Love when you contact Mala Shah at mala@beadsoflight.co or send her a message via Facebook at the link below. Don’t forget to mention Designing Love, Inc. when you ask about this Beads of Light special on luxurious jewelry for you or your loved ones.

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For more visit, www.designingloveinc.com. We have excited activites coming up from events at Allegheny HYP, gourmet food services from chef Shaun Forsett of SolaGratia, and a big announcement that will change the way we design all aspects of love for you. Stay tuned!