Start with these five simple exercises daily if you want to experience greater self-love.
Here are 5 simple ways to love yourself again, starting now:
1. Celebrate yourself, as you are right now.
When you wake up each morning, thank yourself for everything that represents you. Thank your eyes for allowing you to see, your smile for making others smile, your hair for protecting your head from the sun, your body for giving you the ability to move, your mind for allowing you to think, your heart for letting you feel, etc.
You are literally a walking miracle, so don’t ever forget that.
You incarnated on this Earth at a very special time, when many of us got called upon to bring the planet back into alignment. Relish in every part of yourself as it is, because no other being on this planet came here to do what you came here to do. No one else has the same genetic makeup or capabilities, so rejoice in all your unique splendor.
2. Give your inner child permission to come to life again.
Our inner child knows nothing of the pain we have wrapped ourselves in so tightly for much of our lives – it only knows love and compassion. He or she wants us to express ourselves fully, as we did as children. The inner child waits longingly for you to grow tired of living in the confines of a conditioned world, and wants you to enjoy life again. He or she can’t wait to see you let go and dance to the music inside your soul.
Ignite the spark within you and give up the desire to fit in to any standard set by society; live up to your own standards instead. One of the best ways to love ourselves, is to simply be ourselves.
3. Fully forgive yourself.
Any wrongdoings or mistakes are all a part of your journey – you don’t have to feel ashamed or guilty about anything you said or did in the past. Fully embrace the ups and downs of this existence, and accept that your imperfections make you perfect. You didn’t know in the past what you know now, so you had to experience certain tests and trials in order to grow as a person. The entirety of creation dwells within you, so remember this next time you go down the path of self-destructive thoughts.
You directly reflect the cosmos, and the totality of your experiences is necessary in order for the universe to know itself better. Everything that you go through only gets you closer to your highest self.
4. Practice loving-kindness meditation.
Before you can show love and kindness to anyone else, you need to give it a place to live within you. You need to let it permeate through every cell of your being, and become the qualities you seek outside of yourself. One of the best ways to cultivate love and kindness within is to meditate on these states of being. Imagine yourself as a being of light, who radiates with compassion and love for yourself and everyone on this Earth.
Take in this energy from the universe, and allow it to exist in your spiritual being. Do this for at least thirty minutes a day, and try not to think about anything else but love and kindness. By introducing new thought loops into your brain, you can retrain it to think more lovingly instead of fearfully.
5. Do what your heart wants.
Never deny what your soul longs for – after all, that call is the reason you’re here. Whatever you feel drawn to, go after it. If you want to travel the world, do it. If you want to start an organic garden, start it. Don’t wait until tomorrow or next month or next year; do what you want while you can. To love yourself, you must nourish your soul and listen to your innermost desires. You can’t love yourself if you reject what you came here to do. We all have different likes and dislikes, but these characteristics help us get in touch with our highest selves.
Follow your bliss; it will take you to a place you could have only imagined in your wildest dreams.