Self Love is Power

[Guest guest]

Everyone wants to love and be loved. Love is Power. Self-Love is the power to

accept yourself exactly as you are at this moment and the confidence to allow

grace, meaning and focus to flow into your life.

When you love yourself, you honor your essence, your unique and eternal Spirit,

which changes the way you perceive yourself and the world around you and,

ultimately, how you are perceived by others changes.

Remember how you felt about yourself as a small child? You were fascinated with

yourself, spending endless hours in adoring contemplation of your body, eagerly

exploring yourself and your world. You expected to be well cared for; to be

unconditionally loved. You reveled in your newness, in your Being and you

celebrated each moment. You lived in Joy.

What happened? How did you get to the place where you believe you are not good

enough, not deserving of the best this life has to offer?

You had parents, teachers, adults in your life who, with the best intentions and

thinking that they were preparing you for the world, focused on telling you what

they thought was wrong. In fact, almost all the attention paid to you was when

you were being told " No, " " Don't, " " Bad, " and in your childish mind that's who

you were - you perceived that you were being judged and found wanting.

And now, you are programmed to hear the voices of the Judge, the Parasite, the

Saboteur and the Victim in your heads telling you that you are not good enough

or brave enough, that what happens to you is out of your control, that you are a

victim of the whims and domination of others. You are conditioned to give

credence to these voices.

" So, " you ask, " what can I do to change things if that's how I am conditioned to

think and feel? "

Tell yourself, gently and lovingly, that you are not these voices; you are a

powerful and loving being, a unique, wise and joyous Spirit.

Know, that your Spirit is waiting for you to acknowledge it - waiting to break

free of the fetters in which it is imprisoned by your pain - waiting, patiently,

to show you the road to Freedom, to Love, to Power. Your Spirit is knocking on

the door of your unconscious; and when you open that door, even a crack, you

find that your life is full of the magic, wonder and intense joy that comes from

loving who you are and living in the present moment.

Recognize that 95% of what you do is Right; pay attention to your successes

rather than the 5% that is not going the way you think it should. Take

responsibility for what is Right in your life and for your actions and your

consciousness. Believe that no matter what challenge you are faced with, you

will successfully navigate through it, emerging stronger and better able to

handle whatever life plops on your plate.

When you look at yourself in the mirror, see your beauty, not your flaws. When

you talk about yourself, speak kind and loving words - speak about what is going

Right for you - speak of your successes; ignore your perceived failures. And

when you act, Act as if you are the Beautiful, Successful, Abundant and Joyful

Spirit that you truly are. Let Well-Being illuminate every thought. Feel Good

about you.

Cherish your Spirit and respect the Spirit and choices of those around you. And,

above all, listen to your Heart, your Intuition, to the voice of your Spirit,

whispering softly in your ear.

Savor each opportunity presented to you. Know that each moment you are alive is

a precious gift. If this moment is wasted, it will never come again.

Take each day as it comes, using whatever you have or are given, at this moment,

and allow your life to unfold before you like the petals of a flower opening to

reveal unimaginable beauty, and a strength and courage you did not know you

possessed.

When you deliberately focus on loving yourself and realize that you are adored

by your Divine Source, that you are deserving of everything that you desire, you

open the door to your Heart and you journey into the Great Unknown, a place

where Magic, Mystery and Divine Love live inside you.

Here are five good reasons to invest in yourself:

1. You're worth it. Your greatest asset is YOU. Haven't you seen extremely

gifted and talented people that you knew were not maximizing their potential?

Rather than striving for the best, they were simply wasting precious time on

lesser pursuits. Most people are either not aware of their true potential or

they decided to stop at a certain level and settled there--perhaps out of fear,

complacency or ignorance. Recognize that you are valuable to the world in some

way--large or small. Invest the time and resources to shine forth your

brilliance, so that others can be warmed by your glow.

2. You increase your value to prospective employers and clients. The reason a

student can graduate from an Ivy League school and command a six-figure salary,

with no prior work experience, is because s(he) is perceived to be the best and

brightest. Of course, you don't have to be an Ivy Leaguer to be a considered a

valuable employee. People who are committed to their personal and professional

development distinguish themselves from the status quo. The more you invest in

yourself the more of a value-added commodity you become. Increase your level of

knowledge and watch your personal capital increase either within your present

organization, a different one or yet another endeavor.

3. You position yourself as an expert. It takes a significant investment of time

and resources to establish oneself as an expert. However, the payoff can be much

more substantial than their " generalist " counterparts. When you invest in being

a subject matter expert, you can become widely recognized in a niche market

merely by being a member of an " exclusive club. " If you want to reach a niche

market, find out what their challenges are, and then invest in the preparation

necessary to solve the problem.

4. You can better impact the lives of others. The more you know the more you

have to offer. It is no small revelation when you finally realize that your

purpose in the world centers on enriching the lives of others rather than your

four and no more! With that revelation at the forefront of your consciousness,

comes a great responsibility. No doubt you've seen a magnified view of a drip in

a glass of water. Notice the ripple affects? Consider yourself that drop of

water.

5. You attract others into your life that support your commitment to better

themselves and the people they influence. I don't know about you but I enjoy

about around successful people who are committed to excellence. In fact, I'm

actually attracted to people who know more than I do. They bring out the best in

me by causing me to stretch and grow. Think about people who have the greatest

influence in your life, besides your family. What attracted you to them? More

than likely, they had the character, intelligence, credentials and other

qualities that you admired. Investing in yourself will undoubtedly rub off on

others.

I celebrate myself, and sing myself,

And what I assume you shall assume,

For every atom belonging to me as good belongs to you.

I loafe and invite my soul,

I lean and loafe at my ease observing a spear of summer grass.

My tongue, every atom of my blood, form'd from this soil, this air,

Born here of parents born here from parents the same, and their parents the

same,

I, now thirty-seven years old in perfect health begin,

Hoping to cease not till death.

Creeds and schools in abeyance,

Retiring back a while sufficed at what they are, but never forgotten,

I harbor for good or bad, I permit to speak at every hazard,

Nature without check with original energy.

Verse 1 - song of myself - Walt Whitman