Self love is a state of appreciation for oneself.

It is important to demonstrate appreciation for others, so that others can feel happy, supported and valued. However, it is really most important that you show appreciation for oneself. 

You are the only person who will be with you throughout your entire life on earth, from birth to death. Others will come in, profoundly affect your life in positive ways, but their stay is always temporary. Your presence with you is the only one that is consistent throughout your life. 

Developing a loving attitude towards oneself can take practice, especially if you are not used to loving yourself. If you have adopted any societal attitudes that it is narcissistic or selfish to love oneself first, you’ll have to drop those to develop self love.

In the eyes of the Spirit World, commitment to your happiness matters first and only from there, can you make others happy.

Happiness is a natural side effect of self love, because when you love yourself you are at peace with yourself and where you are, which leads to a state of feeling contentment. Contentment is the “jump off” point of happiness. For some, contentment is happiness.

To begin a practice of self love, it almost always is wise to start with directing loving thoughts towards yourself. 

You are worthy of having loving thoughts showered upon you. It doesn’t matter who said what about that worthiness in the past or who may say what about your worthiness to have loving thoughts showered upon you in the future, you are now and you are always worthy of it.

Directing loving thoughts toward yourself is easy with guided meditation. 

Guided meditation is one way to focus your thoughts in a certain place, a place of loving energy for example, so below is a guided meditation for focusing your thoughts toward the place of self love.

Start by uncrossing your legs and ankles, if they are crossed, and placing your feet flat on the floor if you’re sitting or standing, or out in front of you if you’re laying down.

Inhale, exhale, roll your shoulders back and down. Scroll down…

Relax your gaze, softly focus on a non-moving object in front of you, and take three deep inhalations and three deep exhalations. Place your hands palm up on either side or you and relax your fingers so that your hands are in an effortless open position.

Begin by becoming aware of any external noises you hear. To each sound, say internally to yourself, That Is Love. Repeat this phrase in response to each noise you hear as you scan your environment. 

If you do not hear noise, offer this phrase to every thought that crosses your mind as you bring your attention inward.

Once you have acknowledged all sound or thought in your environment as love, say internally to yourself, I Am Supported By Love In My Environment.

Gently roll your neck from side to side and bring your attention to your heart space, also known as the Heart or Anahata Chakra. Noticing your chest’s movements as you breathe in and out, say internally to your heart, Every Breath I Take Is Loving Energy. I Thank This Loving Energy For Supporting My Body Every Day. 

Now take a moment to imagine that as your chest expands and contracts with each breath, this sends a ripple, a wave of energy down through your arms, your stomach, cascading down your torso, your hips, your legs. 

Imagine this wave of energy, flowing upward to your neck, your shoulders and over your headspace and crown.

Now imagine one external thing you have created in your life that gives you a sense of love. This could be a relationship, a person, a work project, a space, a creative project, something that you made and without you, wouldn’t be. 

Imagine your breath’s ripple of energy, from your chest’s movement as it expands and contracts, being sent out to this thing that you created. Say to it internally, That Is Love. This Creation Is Because I Am. This Is An Extension Of The Loving Energy I Have For Myself. 

Say to it, Namaste (I See The Light In You). 

Bring your attention back to the external noises you hear in your environment. Say to each one, That Is Love, This Creation Is Because I AM. This Is An Extension Of The Loving Energy I Have For Myself. Repeat for each noise you hear. 

If you do not hear noise, offer this phrase to every thought that crosses your mind as you bring your attention back to the room.

Inhale deeply and exhale deeply.

Roll your shoulders, stretch out your feet, turn your head from side to side. This self love guided meditation is now complete.

The goal of this meditation is to see the surrounding environment first as love and then use that external loving sight to turn it inward on the self. 

Once you have a locus for your attention that is loving, the goal is to then see the creations that come from you as an echo of your own offering of love.

The reason for this part of the meditation is that sometimes we can have guilt or self anger for our creations, for various reasons - external criticism, comparison with others’ creations - and this self anger turned inward can erode our love for ourselves.

One way to carry the energy of self love through the day is to practice seeing others creations as loving energy projected outward to you as an offering, and imagining each creation on earth you see today as an offer of love coming toward you, rather than a threat.

This can be a challenge as some cultures and past experiences can train you to see all incoming energy as a potential threat. So simply try for one day to see each creation around you as an extension of love coming in to support your own self love.

The more you practice this, the easier it will be to not only love others, but also, to love yourself and everything that emanates from you.

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