Self Love 1.0 - Be yourself

Welcome back. I'm so very happy and grateful for your visit today, as this article is going to be an important one. So let's jump right in, shall we? Everybody knows what love is, and how wonderful it feels to love and be loved. It's highly addictive. It's contagious, which is why we want to share it freely with others whenever we feel it ourselves. It just feels sooo good that everybody naturally yearns this feeling throughout their entire lives, trying everything "under the sun" to feel it as often as possible.

But why this feeling? What's so special about it? Everything. Love is what we're. You're love, my friend. I'm love. Each and every one of us is an embodiment of love, light, and peace. It's our core energy, our essence, our natural State of Being. It's also a particularly high vibrating frequency, that's why it feels so indescribably good. Our other core energy frequencies are light and peace, which are associated with clarity, enlightenment, and the realization of self. They, too, feel just so wonderfully beautiful, way beyond words really, that you naturally want to feel and embody them, all the time. It's hardwired in your DNA.

But how can it be that basically every human being on Earth is constantly in search of this magnificent feeling if that's what we really are? Why do we yearn it so much? Shouldn't we be able to feel, sense, and perceive it in any moment we're alive? Although the answer to these questions may seem obvious and quick to put into practice, reality shows otherwise. But let's start from the beginning.

Mainly, we're in search of love because we look for it in the wrong places, namely outside of ourselves. Doing so, we overlook the most obvious and important source of all, ourselves. If we were to embody love the way we were created to, the way our souls intended to when choosing to incarnate into this realm, we would be able to feel it 24/7. But again, oftentimes it's easier said than done, as our inner State of Being reflects stress, fear, or anger rather than love, light, and peace, during most of our waking hours.

One of the many reasons for this lies deeply rooted in our belief-system. Starting at an early age, we're being taught to look for love, appreciation, acceptance, and respect from external sources, from outside ourselves. Our parents and friends, our teachers in school and university, our colleagues and supervisors at work, even our spouses, girl- or boyfriends, or lifepartners, all of them contribute to this misconception by trying to shape and steer our behavior in a certain direction, which aims at making them feel comfortable and at ease, but not us necessarily. Unfortunately, we tend to return this favor generously by doing the same with them, be it consciously or subconsciously. Obviously, that's not unconditional love at all, but manipulative behavior at its worst, yet it's widely spread and common practice in today's society.

The misleading and heartbreaking belief behind this generally accepted pattern can be easily traced back to the human mind. Assuming that people other than oneself not only contribute to, but are even responsible for our feelings is just false, to put it bluntly. It's our reaction to other people's behavior towards ourselves that is the origin of our feelings, and as such, it's our responsibility to check in with our belief-system to find out why we react the way we do, not the other way around.

But there's more to this. By trying to manipulate your counterpart to display a certain behavior in order to make you feel better, you're basically sending out a negative energy profile, as you're vibrating on a very low frequency. Why? Because manipulative behavior always comes from your subconscious mind, from lack of trust and deception, which is the exact opposite of love. That's why it feels intrinsically bad doing so, even if your mind can be quite convincing in an attempt to lessen or masque feelings of guilt and shame, that oftentimes come with this kind of action. Yet, those are very detrimental, too, because they're also extremely low in frequency.

You see? It's a never-ending, vicious cycle that's being going on here for centuries, and it surely cripples our understanding of unconditional love, of where to find it, and how to receive it. The sad thing about this dilemma is that so many of us have already become "habitual people pleaser." We either sacrifice our own feelings, preferences, and vibrational frequency for those of others, or we try to make them do it for us. In today's society, it's basically a continuous back-and-forth between trying to "squeeze a rectangle into a roundshaped hole," or the other way around. In the long-run, it's impossible to embody your true self by being this way.

From your soul's perspective, however, love is not only your birthright, but it's what you are. It's a given. You just have it. You are it. By default, you are a "conduit of energy," running around in this precious human form of yours, while at the same time vibrating at a high frequency, that of love, light, and peace. That's your natural State of Being. That's how it's supposed to be all the time. You're supposed to feel good about yourself. You're supposed to be in love with yourself. You're supposed to love your life. Just imagine how wonderful it would feel if you were to feel "in love" whenever you want to. It'd change your life in ways you can't even imagine - for the better.

So, what can you do to feel love more often, then? What can you do to consciously embody love? Start with yourself. Love yourself. All is energy, right? Yes, and it's only when you yourself start to be it, to embody it, that you become a manifestation of love yourself. Everything starts with you and ends with you. It's as simple as that. You're the creator of your reality and at the center of it all. You're the "hero" in your "game of life," and as such have to give to yourself whatever it is that you wish to receive - be it kindness, respect, compassion, understanding, acceptance, or love. Noone else has the capacity to give you what you really want or need, when you lack it yourself. It has to come from you, first.

Your outer world reflects your inner world. But there's more. You attract that, which you are. Always. What does this mean for your everyday life? If love is what you want, you have to "be" love yourself, and if you do so, your life experience will reflect the energy of love in manifold, miraculous, and unexpected ways. You're creating your reality in every single moment through your inner State of Being. As such, it's your responsibility to make sure that you're matching the vibrational frequency of that which you wish to experience for yourself.

But enough with the theorizing and explaining. Let me point you in the direction of how to actually love yourself unconditionally and wholeheartedly. The first step is to "see," "hear," and "feel" yourself. I don't mean physically necessarily, but on a mental, emotional, and spiritual level. Ponder the following questions. Who are you? How do you feel about yourself? How do you feel about your life, so far? Inquire and get to know yourself even better. Be inquisitive and open, vulnerable and honest. You don't have to play a role here. You don't have to convince anyone of your preciousness, either.

It's just about you. You starting to really listen to yourself, first and foremost with your heart. You exploring your true self. At a certain point, you also want to pay close attention to your mind, to your thoughts and mental patterns, to your underlying beliefs, but not in the beginning. Start gently. Be patient with and kind to yourself. Take your time here to familiarize yourself with yourself.

Try to experience yourself from the perspective of an innocent child. Find the voice of your heart and listen to it. Just close your eyes for a while and feel inside. Remember when you were still so small, so pure, and so full of dreams that you were just in love with yourself and life itself? You were fearless. You were joyfully running around, exploring this wonderful playground here on Earth with so much curiosity and excitement. You were drawn to nature to play and have fun. You knew what you liked and what not, and you said it out loud.

Now, feel yourself in this very moment. Take a deep breath or two to fully arrive in the here and now. Can this "little Spirit" from back then still be found somewhere inside of you? Where? What does it say to you right now? What does it wish for you to be and live like? This "little Spirit" is who you're and always will be. It's the unchanging, pure, innocent, and indescribably beautiful soul that you are. It's your essence. It's pure love, pure light, and pure peace. And it's right here with you, all day, every day.

All you have to do is relax, close your eyes, and feel inside. Connect with the love that you are. Be the love that you are. Embody the love that you are. Everything starts from here, from the place of love. Now, I invite you to investigate your feelings and thoughts a little deeper, and as you do so, try to just observe them from a distance. Observe them like you would with cars passing by on a busy motorway. Gently allow yourself to contemplate these questions: What are you generally thinking about yourself? How does it feel? Are you criticizing yourself? Are you putting yourself under pressure? What's the energy and belief behind your thoughts?

As you explore your mental landscape, try to connect with your heart inside of you. How does it "feel" about all those beliefs you have about yourself? Does it believe them? Feel the acceptance that comes from your heart. Feel the understanding, the appreciation, the gentleness, and softness behind it. Feel the love behind it. As you begin to slowly and ever so gently "see" and "feel" yourself through the lens of your soul, experiencing yourself through the spiritual perspective, you might notice an emotional shift taking place, away from the harshness and rigidity of the mind, towards the nurturing, caring, loving kindness of the heart.

This process of transformation and self-realization isn't done overnight. It takes time, patience, and lots of gentle love to uncover and let go of the deep mental blockages and limitations, the emotional traumas and vulnerabilities, and the outdated belief-system all of us have been accumulating and holding onto over the course of our entire lifetimes. Just take it one baby step at a time. You don't have to rush, and please don't try to force anything, either. Coming from a place of resistance will only create more of it, thereby slowing down your progress inadvertently. It might be helpful to read my article "Hey Space Cowboy, master you Mind" next, to find out how to effectively free up your mind-space.

Before I'll wrap this article up, I want to remind you once more to always follow your heart, to speak from your heart, and to think with your heart. This way, you'll quickly realize how it feels to embody love yourself. But, there's even more to that. Always do what truly sparks joy in you, what makes your heart smile like a child in a candystore, and what puts you at ease with the present moment, as this will naturally alter your State of Being and increase your vibrational frequency.

I can't emphasize enough how powerful you are. You're energy. You're creating your upcoming life experience in each moment you're alive, starting right now. Forget about yesterday. It's already gone, vanished into the unchangeable past. Instead, embrace the present moment, as it offers you the gift of new beginnings. Like an artist, choose to pick up a white canvas, and start to paint the "masterpiece of life," you wish to experience for yourself.

Be bold. Be brave. Be courageous. Dare to dream. If you embody energy that is vibrating on a high frequency you will attract the very same energy right back into your life experience. That's just how it works. No "hocus pocus," and no rocket science, either. Just love being intentionally embodied by you, emitting it's life-changing, transfomative vibration out into the Universe, and right back into you. Have fun and enjoy yourself. Be love.