Article by Cathy Holloway Hill, Certified Career Consultant and Life Coach

The Importance of Self Love

When the expressions “loving yourself” or “self-love” are heard, there may be confusion about what is meant. This is because when we hear the word “love”, we think in terms of what is familiar to us - dependent love. If we try to love ourselves, we may take an approach similar to that used in dependent love, using ourselves as the object of our love. We may try to escape into ourselves, as we escaped into others. We may become self-absorbed and self-indulgent, putting our own needs first. The motive is still to escape. We reject unhappiness and, in so doing, reject ourselves.

Self-love has nothing to do with using yourself as the object of your love. Self-love is defined as inner peace, a connection with God. It is not the act of “loving” an object because it may please you tremendously, whether that object is someone or something else or yourself. Self-love is a condition of awareness, a way of perceiving, an attitude, which results in an integrated perception of the world, and in turn, a perception of your connection with God.

All human beings are created with the natural need to give and receive love. We are created in love which forms the foundation of our divine spiritual selves, and of our physically manifested life. Even the many limitations that we encounter in our early lives do not remove love from our spiritual center, because it is the essence of who we are.

The antidote to this cycle of difficulty is the development of self love. Self love is not a technique, but rather the restoration of our innate spiritual center---GOD---which is love. From this place, love from our Divine Creator flows freely into the body, mind, emotional bodies, and spirit. Love is expressed outwardly towards others and oneself as a natural flow.

How can we restore self love, if we have been out of balance for a very long time? This journey begins with the simple prayer and intention. "Restore me, dearest God, to my divine inner purity and grace. I forgive everyone, and I sincerely wish for them harmony, peace, and all the blessings of life. Release my burdens, free me from suffering, and anoint me, Heavenly Father, with your almighty Holy Divine Love."

This prayer, repeated with heartfelt sincerity, will open a pathway of return home to your divine inner being. The spiritual journey releases the hold that negative energies, memories and actions have had upon us, and restores our inner harmony with God's love. Love will flow freely within you, and therefore around you, as it naturally expresses and flows outward to others. As you reconnect your inner spirit with your Creator, you will be transformed and revel in the peace and calm that quiets your entire being.

Dearest ones, this simple step can transform so many difficult relationships as well as self-esteem issues. When you cease to give energy and attention to self blame and self hatred, and begin receiving divine love, your whole energy field changes and no longer resonates in whatever difficulties you may have had with another person or situation. When you no longer are participating in the negative energy pattern, then it cannot sustain itself and it begins to dissolve. This can be done without even speaking to another person. The energy shift you make has an impact on all of your relationships, and can create miracles of all kinds.

We can begin by finding a calm inner place within our spirit to meditate, pray, and reflect. Sometimes it may seem difficult to find a little piece of inner calm – especially when things are hard. You probably know how much better you feel when you take time to find that calm place inside – but how many of us actually take the time to find that calm place when we are stressed out, or even on a regular basis? If we take the time to find that calm inner place, this is the path to the inner peace and self acceptance that we all so desperately crave. This critical step maintains your connection with God.

Most people (especially women) are assaulted with negative messages of our outer selves and our bodies on a regular basis by magazines and newspapers, advertisements, "well meaning" family members, peers, and even friends. We're shown computer-manipulated images of the "perfect" body—a body that is not natural for the vast majority of us, and can only be obtained through self-abuse, starvation, and inappropriate use of steroids.

We sometimes forget that people come in lots of different shapes and sizes, and this diversity is just not reflected in the media. It's hard to feel good about ourselves when we don't see ourselves reflected back. How we feel about our bodies affects how we feel about ourselves. So it's important that we embrace our bodies, and find ways to love our bodies—love ourselves—love God.

When we find our “calm inner place” and meditate on the verses of love, we can sum this all up in one simple statement. God is looking for you to be able to love in all areas of your life - all with the love of the Holy Spirit being available to you to help you out in each of these areas. God wants you to be able to fully love in all 6 realms listed below. You are to learn how to:

• Love God
• Love Yourself
• Love your family
• Love your friends
• Love your neighbors
• Love your enemies

There is no doubt in my mind that the quality of love is the #1 quality that God wants us to work into our souls and personalities. Even nonbelievers, atheists and agnostics can see the power of love and how it has the ability to change people and change lives when our lights shine so brightly from the inside outward.

The quality of love is truly universal - as it literally transcends peoples, nations and religions. Love is truly the universal language of this world and people from all different walks of life recognize it for what it truly is and understand the power that is in it. God lives inside our spirit; surrounding yourself with love brings positive energy into your life because loving yourself is loving God;

"And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love." (1 Corinthians 13:13)

Article written by Cathy Holloway Hill

Website: www.chollowayhill.com

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