The Love Yourself Thread

[newfreedom]

Loving myself by watching / healing & learning with - BLACKADDER S.1; E.1

At approx. 12 mins. in (the video) .......'the black vegetable'

[dontco]

(newfreedom, I love it when you post, thanks! and I love it when you love yourself, I swear you deserve it)

"Be comfortable in your own skin
And become your own best friend.
Open yourself to new friends, experiences,
activities and points of view.
Develop positive self-talk.
Yield not to the image-makers and yearn for
The stars but remember that peace begins
Within.

Acknowledge and work with your body the
way it is, not the way image-makers say it
should be.

Challenge and compare social and cultural mores.
Cuddle and cherish the child within.
Encourage self-respect, respect for others and
the environment.

Push past fears to permit yourself the freedom
to let down your pretenses.
Think of your whole body as a temple, not as a
collection of fragmented fantasy body parts!
Abandon the mask that you wear and appreciate
yourself for who you are, not for how you are
packaged.

Nurture your naked self as you would your own child.
Celebrate your medals of honor from scars to love handles.
Explore your sensuality and connectness with others."


By Judy Williams

[dontco]

I love myself... When I know myself (and don't lose myself in a situation- I wonder if that's a problem for most empaths or is it just me)! so when I found these questions I thought they might be helpful for others, too: (I added some sentences and deleted others, to make it more positive)

Below are some incomplete sentences that, if you finish them spontaneously and frankly, will put you in touch with basic aspects of your Self. You can st down one or more completions for each sentence.
I am…
The main thing about me is…
I always…
I feel most like me when…
I will be…
I am the most grateful when…
I feel happiest when…
I believe in…
One thing I want to accomplish is…
What I like most about myself is…
I love it when…
I feel least like me when…
I feel strongest when…
I feel most grateful when...
I just love it when...
The top 5 best things that happened to me today (/yesterday) are...
The feel best about myself when...
I just love it when I...
2 things I did well this week are...
The thing I love most about my body is...
5 great things about me are...

Give it a shot! It should feel really good in the end

[dontco]

The blog post that made my day. I like her writing, because it comes from the heart, and you can feel it's real. Read with hearts wide open.
Quotes :

As years went by, and as I started to become more conscious of my unconsciousness, I began to realize that all of my life I have been waiting for people to love and approve of who I was, and of what I was doing, just so that I could start loving myself as well. I needed the world to confirm to me that I was worthy before believing that that was true.
I guess this can happen in a world where most of us look outside ourselves for all the things we think are missing from within ourselves – love and approval being few of them.
(...)profound and meaningful experiences that made me realize, once again, how much pain we inflict on ourselves in those moments when we by perceive ourselves as not being worthy of love and approval. And how unhealthy it is to think of ourselves as being undeserving of all the good things life has to offer us.
If we live our lives from a place of fear, lack and insecurity, thinking that we need to prove our worth to those around us for as long as we live, through everything we do and all that we are, we will continue to inflict a lot of pain and suffering onto ourselves and those we love.
There is nothing about you lacking. Nothing about you that needs to be improved and approved by those around you. And even though we live in a world that encourages you to do and to buy all kind of things that will add more “value” to who you already are, it’s so important not to fall into the trap of looking outside yourself for all the things that can only be found within yourself. It’s so important not to fall into the trap of thinking that there is something seriously wrong with you and that you need to get love and approval from those around you in order for you to feel better about yourself. You really don`t need to add anything to your life, or get any more love and approval from those around you, in order for you to feel this way.
So why look outside yourself for something that is already within you? Why beg for love from those around you when there’s an abundance of love within you, when within you lies all the love, appreciation, approval and affection you need and desire?
And know that no matter where you’ve been, no matter how many battles you had to fight, and no matter how much darkness you had to face, you are not flawed. You are not broken.
“Seeing into darkness is clarity. Knowing how to yield is strength. Use your own light and return to the source of light. This is called practicing eternity.” ~ Lao Tzu
It is time to start looking for love and approval in all the wrong places. It is time to look within. Don’t look outside yourself for all those things you think are missing from your life. Look within.

Article: How to no longer take things personally:
Always do the things you feel in your heart that you are meant to do, and don’t give too much thought about what others might have to say about you. Never make other people’s opinions of you more important than your own opinion of yourself. Keep in mind that your job here on this Earth is to be true to yourself.
Don’t take it personally. Don’t make their pain your pain. Don’t make their darkness your darkness. Help them if you can, by giving them your love, compassion and understanding, and by helping them understand that love is their true nature, while fear is nothing but an illusion. And if that’s something you can’t do, make sure you don’t feed their pain by reacting in unkind and unloving way, and by confusing the behavior with the person, for that would only create more suffering into their lives, and into your own life.
Never allow the pain that might be created to make you hate. Never allow resentment to pour through your system, continuing to poison your heart long after you have been “bitten by the snake.”
Even though most of us believe that forgiveness is an act of weakness, the truth of the matter is that forgiveness is an act of strength not of weakness. You don’t forgive because you are weak but because you are strong enough to realize that only by giving up on resentment you will be happy…. And the bigger person always forgives. Not necessarily because they think that the other person deserves it, but because they know that they themselves do.

Edit:
A related quotes:
“Don’t take anything personally. Nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality, their own dream. When you are immune to the opinions and actions of others, you won’t be the victim of needless suffering.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

“But it is not what I am saying that is hurting you; it is that you have wounds that I touch by what I have said. You are hurting yourself. There is no way I can take this personally.” ~ Don Miguel Ruiz

“Care about people’s approval and you will be their prisoner.” ~Lao-tzu

Lao-tzu

[dontco]

Ask yourself in every decision you make this year- what would someone who loves themselves do? everytime you make a decision, no matter how small or large.

PS- wanted to mention that talking about self love is really about being very authentic and open. And fragile and vulnerable. Because it's not really something you would talk about with a stranger you meet on the street for example. Heck, I won't even speak about it with my friends. It breaks social norms. And that's a sad thing, because we live in a world where talking about self love is a much needed process. We get bombarded with commercials, magazines, perfectly photoshopped models who don't even look like themself. People trying to sell you the "dream" even though the dream doesn't exsist. It's their dream, not yours. Looking like a photoshoped doll won't bring you happiness or self love. Buying a certain (expensive) shampoo will not buy you your self esteem. Think about it this way- someone is trying to make you feel bad or small in order for you to put some money in their pocket. They're getting rich in the expense of your self esteem. Getting that second pair of shoes or a prada purse will not make you the happiest person in the world. Material stuff... You don't take them to the grave. I tend to say this one alot.

[dontco]

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF by Louise Hay

We are all good at giving to others and expending our love to everyone around us. What about you? Do you take time out of your day for you? Which of the below listingspeaks to you most? I invite you to take a few minutes to reflect and find a way topractice Self Love each day.

1. STOP ALL CRITICISM
• Criticism never changes a thing. Refuse to criticize yourself. Acceptyourself exactly as you are. Everybody changes. When you criticize yourself, your changes are negative. When you approve of yourself, your changes are positive.
2. FORGIVE YOURSELF
• Let the past go. You did the best you could at the time with the understanding, awareness, and knowledge that you had. Now you are growing and changing, and you will live life differently.
3. DONʼT SCARE YOURSELF
• Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts. Itʼs a dreadful way to live.Find a mental image that gives you pleasure, and immediately switch your scary thought to a pleasure thought.
4. BE GENTLE AND KIND AND PATIENT
• Be gentle with yourself. Be kind to yourself. Be patient with yourself as you learn the new ways of thinking. Treat yourself as you would someone you really love.
5. BE KIND TO YOUR MIND
• Self-hatred is hating your own thoughts. Donʼt hate yourself for having thethoughts. Gently change your thoughts.
6. PRAISE YOURSELF
• Criticism breaks down the inner spirit. Praise builds it up. Praise yourself as much as you can. Tell yourself how well you are doing with every littlething.
7. SUPPORT YOURSELF
• Find ways to support yourself. Reach out to friends and allow them tohelp you. It is being strong to ask for help when you need it.
8. BE LOVING TO YOUR NEGATIVES
• Acknowledge that you created them to fulfill a need. Now you are finding new, positive ways to fulfill those needs. So lovingly release the old negative patterns.

Taken from here.

But don't worry, love. There is also a video! (as you would expect from me)

[newfreedom]

Gimmee, Gimmee, Gimmee.

[newfreedom]

HOW TO LOVE YOURSELF by Louise Hay

Which of the below listingspeaks to you most?

3. DONʼT SCARE YOURSELF
• Stop terrorizing yourself with your thoughts. Itʼs a dreadful way to live.Find a mental image that gives you pleasure, and immediately switch your scary thought to a pleasure thought.

Great Self- Help post ...

[newfreedom]

[newfreedom]