Before you can give love and peace to the world, you must first have love and peace. In order to have these qualities, you must first experience them within yourself and know that you are worthy of everything that life has to offer!
You may be saying to yourself, How will I ever be able to experience these qualities within when all my life I’ve put myself last? Well, the answer is quite simple: to begin this process, it’s essential to remember who you really are! According to the We Consciousness, you are love because you are one with the Source of this magnificent love. With this newfound wisdom, you could never put yourself down again!
To get you started, here are 10 important pathways to self-love. Be gentle and patient with your progress, and allow your amazing light to shine through. As a wonderful by-product, when you permit the powerful love within you to expand, everyone around you will also be healed, just by being in your incredibly radiant presence!
10 Pathways to Self-Love
1. Be yourself and honor your truth over society’s demands.
You are unique within the oneness—and that is good! Allow your beautiful light to shine, and evolve to attain all the goals you intended before you came here on Earth. You came into this world for a reason, and that reason doesn’t involve blending in with everyone else just to be accepted. It’s more important for you to accept you! It is perfectly okay if others do not understand your journey. Don’t let them change or mold you to become what they want of you.
This brings to mind a wonderful quote from Dean Jackson: “When she transformed into a butterfly, the caterpillars spoke not of her beauty, but of her weirdness. They wanted her to change back into what she always had been. But she had wings.”
So live your truth and honor your ultimate purpose in life. Spread your gorgeous wings and fly!
2. Reclaim your power.
You have the power of God within you! You must fully grasp this concept if you are going to reach your full potential. I know this isn’t always easy. For most of my life, I’ve always put everyone first and thought others were better than myself.
Reclaim your power and understand your significance in being here on Earth! No more shrinking and blending in with everyone else. You are special, and it’s time to allow everyone to benefit from your magnificence. You have God within you—remember who you are!
Marianne Williamson said it best: “Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people will not feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine as children do.”
3. Do what you love now.
As Concept 26 of the We Consciousness states: In order to experience true inner peace, you must live joyfully in the present moment. So get excited about this day! What are you doing today that you really love doing? Don’t wait until tomorrow or a more perfect time. Do whatever it takes to make you happy—right now. Surround yourself with people and situations that make you feel good. For example, if you are in a job that doesn’t make you happy, feel what it would be like in this moment to have the perfect job, and then take the necessary steps to allow that to happen.
4. Meditate to experience peace within.
If your thoughts are going a mile a minute, you won’t be able to feel your connection with God or the rest of the We Consciousness. Set aside time each day, even if it’s only 10 minutes, to empty your thoughts so that you’ll feel your connection to all there is. In this quiet time, you’ll experience the amazing peace that you will never find anywhere else! As Concept 22 says: External objects or circumstances do not create inner peace. Go within to feel real inner joy!
5. Treat your body as the temple of God that it is.
Your body encases not only the very essence of who you are, but also the God within you. In order to feel good, you must devote your attention to keeping it healthy. Eat nutritious meals, drink plenty of water, exercise, and get the rest that you need. Be mindful of honoring the precious vessel that houses your Divine spirit!
6. Forgive yourself.
There’s no point in dwelling in the past. Realize you did the very best you could under the circumstances, with the knowledge that you had at the time. Blaming yourself will only keep you stuck in the same negative energy as whatever it was that you feel you did wrong.
You can learn from your mistakes and replace your negative actions with more positive ones. Go through each of the so-called damaging events in your mind, and replay them with whatever you should have done instead. Try to understand why you did what you did. It’s important to recognize that you’re going to make some mistakes in life, and that’s okay! Learn from them and forgive yourself because you didn’t know any better at the time.
7. Focus on love and the many blessings around you.
There is so much beauty and tenderness in the world. Make it a common practice to notice all of these amazing, uplifting occurrences. As Concept 29 states: When you direct your attention to the love and light outside of yourself, you expand the light within yourself as well. Concept 10 says: It is imperative to focus on what is right in the world, instead of what is wrong. The world is a glorious place, so don’t focus on the negative and miss out on the magnificence around you.
8. Respect yourself.
Practice self-love. Say no when you are asked to do something you do not wish to do. Stop all self-criticism. Stand up for yourself when needed. When you are kinder and gentler with yourself, others will value you more as well! Louise Hay said it perfectly: “Love yourself as much as you can, and all of life will mirror this love back to you.”
9. Take note of your good qualities.
Spend time each day honoring all your positive attributes. Pay attention to general qualities, such as, “I’m a kind person,” “I have a lot of patience,” and so forth. Also notice what you have done throughout the day that you are particularly proud of, such as “I helped my friend get through this difficult time,” “I’m proud that I finished cleaning out my closet,” and so on.
It helps to jot down these characteristics so you can revisit them at a different time. Writing yourself a letter of appreciation is a perfect way to do this.
10. Have fun!
Life is meant to be enjoyed. Smile often, laugh, and dance. Be childlike, silly, and spontaneous. Always take time throughout the day just to play!
Excerpt from We Consciousness: 33 Profound Truths for Inner and Outer Peace,
Karen Noé