The Ultimate Serenity; Unconditional Self-Love

Self-love isn’t arrogant, selfish or egotistical, it is complete acceptance, caring about and believing in yourself. Laura Putman

Your Key to Joy

Beginning a life of authenticity is a journey to true happiness. Whether there are “others” in your life that expect conformity lovingly or unlovingly, no one’s opinion of you but yours matters. Unconditional love of self is about liberating your individuality with joy and acceptance from head to toe, inside to outside. Unconditional self-love is believing you’re worthy of love and accepting your uniqueness. There is no one like you, so it’s incumbent upon us to bravely and boldly peel away the false front to allow ourselves to be just as we are, that is unconditional self-love. That is the foundation for happy and healthy relationships with yourself and others and that truly transforms your life.

Oh, to love myself

I’m finally completely at peace with who I am, at long last I have confidence with my uniqueness. Even though feeling this way could have happened at any time in my life, I didn’t believe in myself enough to allow it to be. One example of a memorable life experience happened years ago when I took myself out to dinner one evening. I love Irish food and music, so one evening I decided to go to my favorite Irish pub. I was enjoying a delicious meal when things unexpectedly changed. The pub owner (who was from Ireland) pulled up a chair in a corner not far from where I was sitting to sing and entertain the diners with some of his favorite Irish tunes. For some reason he looked directly at me and asked across the room if was dining alone, I felt awkward but I answered yes. He said so you’re having dinner with your best friend. I should have been flattered, but the restaurant was full of diners and I was humiliated that my being alone was pointed out. I was so uncomfortable that as soon as I finished eating I left the restaurant. While that might not seem like much, to me it was devastating and a glaring example of a complete inability to love myself. That was one of the many experiences I had to bring me to where I am now.

Choosing to nurture your well-being

Did you know that when a caterpillar enters the chrysalis stage, their DNA completely transforms as they become a beautiful, amazing butterfly. Your DNA completely changes with self-love reversing the effects of stress, anxiety, self-deprecation and the lack of self-respect. Your brain and DNA are completely transformed with healthy thoughts, shifting from toxic/[prone to disease to healthy/prone to a life of well-being.

“You’re speaking to your genes with every thought you have. The fast growing field of epigenetics is showing that who you are is the product of the things that happen to you in your life, which change the way your genes operate. Genes are actually switched on or off depending on your life experiences, and your genes and lifestyle form a feedback loop. Your life doesn’t alter the genes you were born with. What changes is your genetic activity, meaning the hundreds of proteins, enzymes, and other chemicals that regulate your cells.” Huffpost

How your brain appears with toxic thoughts and with healthy thoughts.

How your DNA appears (LEFT) when you’re stressed and unhappy and when your DNA has recovered when you change your self-perception and ways of thinking (RIGHT).

Build your path to self-love (From Wanderlust.com)

1. Identify Your Why

If you want to make the shift from desiring self-love to embodying self-love, you must be emotionally connected to that journey. Why is self-love important to you? The answer to that question strengthens your ability to seeing it through.

2. Commit

Be 150 percent committed to your journey to self-love. No excuses. Make self-love a major priority in your life and treat it as such. Don’t let anything get in the way of you and your relationship with self.

3. Forgive

How can you expect to move forward in your life if you’re being weighed down by anger and resentment? It’s simple. You can’t. It’s time to forgive. Forgive yourself, and forgive others. You’re not condoning their behavior when you forgive other people for their wrongdoings, you’re simply giving yourself permission to let go and move on. This is a tough step, but a very mandatory one.

4. Take Back Your Power

Drop the victim mentality and take ownership of your life. No more pointing the finger at others or blaming your circumstances. It’s time to own up and take control. The moment you take ownership is the moment you gain back the power to create change.

5. Let go

Let go of anything that is not serving you in the highest good. This includes relationships, friendships, habits… Get rid of all that is holding you back. This step can ignite feelings of loneliness, but that will pass. Replace toxic people with good people; replace destructive habits with good habits.

6. Surround Yourself With Good

Immerse yourself within the company of uplifting people; people who serve you in the highest good. Surround yourself with people who truly love you, support you, and respect you. If you don’t have those people around you, find them. Seek them out and don’t stop until you do.

7. Practice Self-Compassion

Go easy on yourself. Instead of being your toughest critic, be your own best friend. Talk to yourself the way you want to be talked to. Treat yourself the way you want to be treated. And continue to forgive yourself along the way.

8. Take Care of Your Needs

Do what you need to do to take care of your needs yourself. No more waiting for others to fulfill those needs—you can do this. Honor your needs as they arise and don’t push them aside for any excuse.

9. Set Healthy Boundaries

Boundaries are incredibly good for you. They protect your needs and honor your worth. Never hesitate to set healthy boundaries. A tip to help you recognize when a boundary needs to be set is to listen to your intuition. If an interaction feels icky, a line has been crossed. Take that as a sign that you need to set a boundary.

10. Commit to Daily “LoveHabits”

Daily acts of self-love (“LoveHabits”) are a beautiful way to show yourself the love, respect, and level of care that you truly desire. Plus, they make you feel really good. Select LoveHabits that work well for you—habits that feel uplifting, regenerative, and/or energizing. The key is to unapologetically commit to daily LoveHabits.

Self-love is your divine responsibility. When you commit to a deep, loving relationship with self, your entire life will positively shift in the most incredible ways. Follow these 10 steps to cultivate self-love and live a life that truly honors your highest good.

Real life experience

Finally, most people don’t have the capacity to love themselves because they create their lives based on what someone else perceives them to be. This TedX talk is confirmation that self-love and living authentically are creating the best life ever for yourself.

On January 22nd of this year Thich Nhat Hahn left his earthly body, leaving a hole where his spiritual teachings filled many with love, joy and hope. These are his rules for life.

I don’t know her, but would you pray for her?

Jane Marchevsky is a young woman who not long ago sang her own song on America’s Got Talent. She has a dream, a beautiful voice and spirit with a body full of cancer. Her enthusiasm and energy touched my heart. She recently announced her health was deteriorating and bowed out of the competition to focus her energy on healing. Would you mind sending a prayer and/or love to Jane to help her realize her dream? Let’s help her concentrate on her future, I know that she would be grateful for your support.

Thank you.

The Spirit of Aloha, More Than Hello or Goodbye

What I’ve done over the past several years when I am in a difficult or unusual situation is turn my attention to positive activities to reduce stress and to make my life more enjoyable.

While the world is in chaos, it is a great time to practice self-love, compassion and kindness. Years ago I discovered that the word Aloha means more than hello and goodbye it is a way of life philosophy:

“Aloha is a way of living and treating each other with love and respect. Its deep meaning starts by teaching ourselves to love our own beings first and afterwards to spread the love to others.

“When you live the Spirit of Aloha, you create positive feelings and thoughts, which are never gone. They exist in space, multiply and spread over to others.” (from the state of Hawaii website)

Live in a State of Love, Laura

World Kindness Day Today (Nov. 13)

Today is World Kindness Day, You are the change that the world is seeking, let’s inspire and be kind because kindness is an easy and effortless way to change the world.

It’s Time for People of Conscious to Change the Direction of the World

I have a deeply held belief that through forward-thinking, coherent measures and ethical conviction, we can empower ourselves not only in our country but globally to redirect our energy toward humanitarianism, compassion and inclusion for everyone. Igniting the heart to be the forerunner for humanity to co-exist peacefully rather than to continue living in separation and fear.

I recently read an article that exemplifies my belief that great change is needed. The story was about a young migrant father and his baby daughter drowning in the Rio Grande on the Texas border, no one knew they were there. They’d traveled from El Salvador; the father was desperately trying to find a way to a better life for his daughter I felt a sense of defeat and asked myself what can be done to stop situations like this from happening. Rather than blaming or finger-pointing, my thoughts went to the Declaration of Independence and what it meant not just for Americans but for humankind.

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness. Prudence, indeed, will dictate that Governments long established should not be changed for light and transient causes; and accordingly all experience hath shewn that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed.

My interpretation of this very profound text is that it is up to people to bring about effective change by responding morally, consciously and humanely through mindful, principled and compassionate steps. We must reinstate our rights and fully participate in making a difference in education, climate crisis, healthcare, the economy, and all of the other challenges we are faced with. Imagine a world where enlightened, kindhearted people are in the forefront, imagine the outcome, we can be the change we are all are seeking. Momentous changes came from impassioned, ordinary individuals such as Mother Teresa, Margaret Higgins Sanger, Susan B. Anthony, Emily Davison, Lucretia Mott, Martin Luther King, Rosa Parks, Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi, Malala Yousafzai and Alexander Fleming to name just a few. Not one of these people imagined the effect of their efforts, they were just passionate and committed and they changed the world.

I believe, as a woman who has been on a path of conscious choice for quite a few years, that I am here to share my insights with others to see mindfulness as a way of life, not based on any specific agenda or definition, but strictly by living in the realization that we are all the same despite any regional or cultural differences. A woman is a woman, a man is a man, a child is a child, blood is red, all hearts thrive or decline, love is love. Let the way of humanity be known for finding the connections and similarities to create a world where love and unity are dominant not secondary.

it is crucial that we embrace our rights as human beings through mindfulness and take a stand for doing what is right, simply because it is the right thing to do. No matter the action we take or on what level, know in our hearts that it does make a difference.

consciousness that is centered around ethics, integrity, values and an impartial lens is in favor of equality for all of life. I believe that people care so much and want to do something to change the way things are, but don’t know what to do or how. It all begins within ourselves, through attitude and our daily interactions. My personal journey began with self introspection and personal change and now I see myself as an agent of change, working each day in the name of love and goodness to effect the people around me in a beneficial way. The way we consciously change the world is by taking action in whatever way we can, whether it’s in our home, our neighborhood, our community or the world.

I would like to finish with a quote that embodies the way I live my own life:

“Love is what we are born with. Fear is what we learn. The spiritual journey is the unlearning of fear and prejudices and the acceptance of love back in our hearts. Love is the essential reality and our purpose on earth. To be consciously aware of it, to experience love in ourselves and others, is the meaning of life. Meaning does not lie in things. Meaning lies in us.” ― Marianne Williamson

All images in this post were gotten from the internet.

Thank you for reading my post, I sincerely appreciate it.

The Art of Listening with Your Heart

Listening with your heart requires that you sit silently and listen without judgment. This way of listening compels you to be supportive and to help someone to reach inside to find the answers they are seeking themselves.  It isn’t easy, but it is a great way to empower yourself and the other person.

A few years ago I took a day long workshop focused on learning to listen with your heart.  It sounded simple, but it isn’t. We have been taught to listen half-heartedly waiting with bated breath for the moment when there is a break to inject our opinion and advice.

In my workshop, when the person we were paired with spoke, we had to sit silently, look them in the eyes and be fully present while they spoke.  When they were finished, the lesson was to empower them with praise for their willingness to share and provide support without telling them what to do. It was a lesson in humility because we believe that we can solve someone else’s problems or steer them in the direction according to how we’ve handled situations and how they could improve the way they’re handling things if only they’d listen to our sage advice.  That approach can only makes things worse and drive people apart.

I learned a lot that day. Now, when someone wants to share their situation, I ask if they want my perspective before I jump in knowing that they may not accept or believe that it is the way to go.  Listening with your heart is showing respect, compassion and kindness just by being there.

Most people just want someone to listen while they sort through the challenges they are faced with.  You don’t have to agree with their method of handing a situation furthermore you really don’t know what someone else is going through. Once a person vents and gets everything out, they can and should come upon solutions themselves. Don’t take it personally, it is never about us, it is about learning to go above and beyond to be conscious and caring.

Thank you for stopping by, Namaste