More on Self-Love

By The Happy Chance

 

 

Last month, after writing my posting on self-love, I decided to embark on my own 30 days of self-love.  During these 30 days (and a bit more), I used my morning meditation/Gratitude routine to embed this sense of self-love into my life.  I would meditate on self-love and also listen to affirmation CDs. 

For most of my mediations, I listened to The Chopra Center 21-Day Meditation Challenge™ - Life Wisdom Trilogy, the Love CD.  This was a meditation program that I learned about after taking the Oprah and Deepak 21 Day Meditation Challenge-Perfect Health.  That was an amazing program, that I’m so grateful that I learned about.  For my affirmations, I used Louise Hay’s work.  If you haven’t been introduced to Louise Hay and her wonderful affirmation CDs, I highly encourage her CDs such as, “Self Esteem Affirmations” which has a lovely array of affirmations set to music that fills you with love and peace about yourself.  I used Louise Hay’s affirmations on a daily basis, usually in the mornings but sometimes during the day.   

 

Throughout the day I used affirmations such as, “I love myself,” “I am worthy,” “I am so grateful to be me,” or a simple “I love you,” and filled myself with as much Gratitude as I could while saying this.  When self-critical thoughts come up, I would say one of the affirmations and fill myself with Gratitude.  When undesirable situations came up, I would tell myself, “I love you,” and feel grateful for being me.  One of exercises from The Magic by Rhonda Byrne, Day 27, The Magic Mirror, requires you to say “thank you” whenever you get in front of a mirror.  I did this as well.  Instead of focusing in on some of my undesirable physical qualities, I took the time to say thank you for being me.  I loved it.

Other things that I did was treated myself to some of my simple pleasures.  It had been a couple of years since I last did this, but I made a homemade lavender-peppermint sugar scrub.  I love the scent of lavender, which as an essential oil, has a calming and relaxing effect.  I soaked myself in a warm bath (and I’m normally a shower type of girl) and used the body scrub.  I also had a professional massage, something that again, I hadn’t done in years.       

The self-love I practiced felt really good.  And I noticed over time that people started to respond to the self-love that I was giving.  People were smiling at me and giving me compliments.  Normally, I get nice compliments, in particular since I’ve integrated Gratitude into my life, but now that I was targeting Gratitude into love for myself, the love that I was seeing in my outside world seemed at a higher level.  A couple of people asked me why am I always so happy.  When you’re emitting love of self, others can feel that love and they respond.  And as you’re showing love for yourself, your point of attraction changes.  As a result you begin to attract people and circumstances that match this new love vibration.    

 
It is interesting that some of my most simple pleasures, I hadn’t done in years.  This 30-day self-love practice taught me that I should treat myself with loving kindness all the time.  It also taught me that my thoughts of Self need to reflect the same love and Gratitude that I show others.  I have ended my 30-day self-love practice, but I am so much more careful with my thoughts of self and learning to be more loving to myself.  I think in the near future, I may resume the practice and perhaps make it a 90 day or 120 day practice, just to really spearhead my results.  At the moment though, I’m thinking of a few other 30-day practices I may want to embark on next.  I got this idea for doing different 30 day practices from the article 30 Days to Success by Steve Pavlina.  If you haven’t visited StevePavlina.com, his site is a great resource for self-improvement articles. 

A Seed of Gratitude

A few years ago I happened across this YouTube video called, “The 15 Minute Miracle Method,” which was a daily gratitude exercise.  The woman in the video talked about the exercise as a means for manifesting the desires of your heart.  I diligently began doing the Gratitude exercise, which consisted of making a list of 10 things that you are grateful for while feeling the Gratitude and then making a list of 10 things that you desire, feeling the Gratitude as if you already have it.  At the time that I committed myself to doing this Gratitude exercise, I couldn’t quite get myself to the feeling of Gratitude, like she talks about.  The feeling of Gratitude is key.  After a few months, I stopped doing the Gratitude lists because I couldn’t see the results.

Little did I know that a seed had been planted.  I couldn’t see it, and at the time, I couldn’t feel it, but it was a start.  I’ve been back to doing my daily Gratitude list now for quite some time, as I started back up after reading The Magic and committing myself to living in Gratitude.  I look back at this video and realize that this video helped plant the seed of Gratitude in me.  I didn’t appreciate Gratitude then as I do now, but once that seed is planted, it begins to grow in your life.

I’d highly encourage you to start making a daily list of 10 things that you’re grateful for in your life.  And while you make that list, feel as much Gratitude as you can for the good in your experience.  The power for change in your life comes in feeling the Gratitude energy flow.  And when you make this list a daily habit (which, as the video discusses) for at least 30 days, it will begin to become a normal part of your day.  You don’t have to do it in the morning, though the morning is preferable, but you can carve the time out during your day or even in the evenings before you go to bed.  Whatever you do, make time for Gratitude and you’ll be amazed at the changes that you’ll start to notice in your experience.

 

Gratitude’s Works on the Job

Last year, Gratitude blessed me with my ideal job.  After two years of interviewing and hoping without results, Gratitude delivered me four job offers in the span of only months.  It only took me using the power of Gratitude to pave the way for the job that is perfect for me.

So I’ve been on my job now for eight months, and I love it.  I love that I’m doing work that I enjoy.  I’m grateful that the work environment is more relaxed and inviting.  I love it that my coworkers are a pleasure to work with and that my management have been great as well.  I can’t begin to explain the appreciation that I have for the flexible work hours that provides a healthy life/work balance.

There’s a caveat to my perfect job that I’ve been working with Gratitude to help me overcome.  My organization over the past odd months have been experiencing some financial issues.  These issues have been passed down to affect employees in the form of pay cuts, which would have amounted to a 20% pay cut.  At first, I started to feel a wave of worry creep up, but I told myself, to focus on the loves I have for my job.  I kept affirming what I was grateful about my job and that I was grateful that everything would work out.  When friends would bring the subject up, I would say that I was grateful that I was employed because a pay cut is a blessing compared to layoffs that others were experiencing.  I was told to “face reality,” but I kept my steadfastness on Gratitude.  It doesn’t matter what my physical “reality,” is showing, if I do my part in keeping my mind focused on Gratitude and the good in my life, Gratitude will do its part.

A day or so later, after I took a stance to not entertain the “dooms day” mentality that so many of my friends and comrades held, leadership announced financial improvements.  The pay cuts were declared to be reduced.  It was like magic that I saw the power of Gratitude in action.

And then again, more recently, it was announced that the pay cuts were being reduced again.  Now, the pay cuts have been reduced by 50% from the initial forecasts.  I’m so grateful.  It does my heart so good to see the love, care and protection that Gratitude provides, when you allow her gifts in your life.

The financial issues are improving, and I expect that very soon, more pay cut reductions will be announced until the situation has been completely resolved. 

What I have learned from personal experience in living with Gratitude, is that you have to be grateful for the desires of your heart before you see them in your life.  Many people don’t understand this concept, but it is so important. 

Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.—Hebrews 11:1 (New International Version)

Spirit values faith, and good works in your life require faith in Gratitude and Love to work things out.  In church yesterday, the choir sang a beautiful song that said, “I See God’s Grace through the Eyes of Faith.”  It is the way to seeing the resolution to so many things that may pop up in our lives.  When we let go—let go of the worries and need to control outcomes—then we can allow Gratitude to take charge.  And take charge she will!       

Thank you, thank you, thank you!