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Expressing Self Love

By Julie Caldwell, MA, Angel Therapist®
July 2007

Have you told you lately that you love you?

For most of us, the answer is probably no. Fostering self love is, for many, a significant hurdle on the way to living an abundantly joyful, sacred life.

If we are here to love and help others, why would self-love be so important? Spiritual Masters through the ages teach us that everything in our experience is an extension of Source energy-the people, the birds, the mammals, the flowers, the trees, the winds, the waters--everything. Because we are all extensions of the same Source, we are all The One, even if we seem to have individual experiences. It's like each of us is a sparkling facet on the same disco ball (I think Buddha said that).

When we learn to love ourselves, we are actually learning to love and see the divine light in each and every person, including ourselves. Until we truly learn to love and appreciate ourselves, we will be unable, in Truth, to love and appreciate others. If we love ourselves with conditions, so must it be for others (I'd love myself if I looked different/I'd love you if you looked different). Likewise, if we love ourselves unconditionally, so must it be for others (I am always perfect and I revel in my perfection/Your are always perfect and I revel in your perfection).

The angels gently remind us that when we feel the impulse to criticize or judge others, we are only projecting criticisms about ourselves onto others. What we think and say about others, we think and feel about ourselves. It is not possible to truly experience divine love in others when we do not feel divine love for ourselves. Basically, we cannot give what we do not have.

Part of self love is being willing to release those parts of ourselves that create unpleasant emotions. My mentor, Doreen Virtue, teaches an affirmation that I've found very powerful over the years: ''I am willing to release that part of me that angers me when I think of you.'' Use this for any unpleasant emotions you experience when interacting with others.

In many of my sessions of late, the Angels are repeatedly offering the same exercises to help us align with true self-love. I find these exercises to be profound, yet simple. It can feel difficult or awkward in the beginning, but stick to it. The Angels invite you to try the following exercises for the next thirty days:

Exercise #1: At some point in each day, look at yourself in the mirror, and gaze deeply into your own eyes. Tell yourself that you love you, and use your name. Tell yourself how proud you are of yourself, what a good job you've done, and how essential it is that you're here in this exact place at this exact time. Consciously intend to see and feel the divine light that expresses through you as an extension of God/Source/Spirit. See this divinity in the depths of your eyes. If you wish, you can use your imagination to travel to other earlier times in your life, and express these same sentiments to yourself at that earlier age. For example, you can think of the 10 year old you, and tell the 10 year old you how much you love you, how proud you are of you, and what a good job you're doing. It's perfectly okay if this exercise creates a need to release through tears.

Exercise #2: For this one, find a comfortable, quiet spot where you won't be disturbed. Close your eyes and move your awareness into your heart center. Breathe deeply in and out three times. Then, gently place your hands over any part of your physical body that you've ever criticized. Tell that body part how much you love and appreciate it, and really allow yourself to open and feel this love for your beautiful body. For example, ''I love you, thighs. Thank you for helping me to walk through the beauty of this world, to run and skip, to dance!'' Think of all the fun times you and your thighs have had together-how many wonderful laps they've made, how many times they've been a prop for the book you were reading.
You'll feel the part of your body that you're focused on open like a flower to drink in the love and appreciation it has longed for. You become more and more aligned with Source as you bask in the love and praise.

Invite your Angels to work with you daily to master the art of Self Love. Your Angels want you to know that in offering true love to yourself, you are sending the vibration of divine love to all. As you love and heal yourself, you see others as loving and healed.

Learn to express love and appreciation for the miracle that is your body, and for the miracle that is you. And please, remember to ask your Angels for help! In closing, the Angels offer you these affirmation to help you align with the divine energy of self love:
  • I love and approve of myself.
  • I accept myself where I am right now.
  • I love the beautiful miracle of my body.
  • I deserve and I accept the very best in life. I expect the best.
  • Love, joy, peace and beauty surround me, and dwell in me. I am Love. I am Joy. I am Peace. I am Beauty.