The Foundation Of Self Love
You cannot give what you do not have...
The Foundation is a daily practice to the art of Self Love, allowing us to commit to ourselves. The practice is broken down into four parts; the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual bodies. Each of the tools are important on their own and extremely effective when done together. There is nothing like committing to our well-being on every level. The results vary of course but overall people experience a deep understanding of themselves, a renewed sense of connection to the Divine and revitalized energy. You may decide to wake up a little earlier to create space for the practices, go to bed a decent hour, skip happy hour, cut back on the amount of TV you watch daily or just manage your time a bit better to make it happen. I can tell you from personal experience; it’s totally worth it!
Physical Body:The physical body’s purpose is to help you tell the difference between right and wrong. It can be affected by the foods we eat, the thoughts we think and our emotions. Feeling situations in the body is the best way to utilize our bodies to their highest good. Your heart will always guide you best, learning to feel what your body is telling you is extremely beneficial. Our bodies remember everything that has ever happened to us. Our experiences are recorded in our cells.
In order to keep our bodies working for us we need to take care of it. Give it oxygen and movement, love and touch as much as possible. You know what your body needs. I love Yoga, Pilates, walking, dancing and swimming. I do a bit of yoga every morning and a private Pilates class once a week. I have also been known to put on my favorite music and just dance! In the warm months I walk or hike the Sedona trails...and in the summer I hit the pool. Every day move your body until it feels exhilarated. This is the only vehicle we get for this human experience, and not only do we need to take care of it, we also need to enjoy it! Moving the external body also helps us get moving internally. We must move our bodies every day. This is a simple component of the Foundation; moving your body. If you already run a mile a day consider doing some yoga. If you do yoga, consider hiking or another form of movement. The intention here is to give attention to our body in a loving and caring way. Some days you may not feel like exercise of any kind, on those days take a bath, get a massage, make love, or lay in the sun. Daily touch is vital, if you are not in an intimate relationship begin (or continue) to explore your physical body starting with something simple like rubbing oil on your feet, giving yourself a scalp massage and eventually moving into an intimate relationship with your amazing physical being. As long as the majority of the days are spent moving your body in a form of exercise. Length of time doesn’t matter. If you don’t do daily exercise currently, start with 15 minutes. You are in charge, you know what’s best. RITUAL: Move your body for a minimum of 15 minutes a day. |
Emotional Body:Emotion means “energy in motion”. Our emotional body holds every emotion we have ever had. We all have layers of negative emotions that can hold us down and imprison us in darkness if we never heal the wounds of the past. Have you ever felt yourself acting in a certain way that did not feel like your true self?
These unwanted reactions are due to emotional wounds that are driving your behavior. As we become aware and heal we limit this behavior. Thank God that in our emotional body there is also love. The joy we feel when we experience love it the desired state of being. We must honor our hearts, this is our life’s purpose. Expressing gratitude in a journal is a wonderful way to release our emotions and get into a state of love and respect for ourselves and those around us. The acknowledgement of the good things that happen in our day-to-day life help us reprogram our emotional body and shift from negativity to joy. Your gratitude journal can include such things as; the nice barista at the coffee shop to acknowledging ourselves for a job well done, showing patience with someone or for beginning this program. Writing down at least ten things we are grateful for each day is a sacred practice to carry into our lives and pass on to our children. Living in gratitude shifts our perception of the world. Most people find this part of the Foundation the easiest but then unfortunately let it go shortly after they start and therefore never get to the part where they begin honoring their own accomplishments as things to be grateful for. As you move into the latter weeks of the program we will explore the gratitude journal in different forms. For now just take 5 minutes before bed or anytime during the day and write down 10 things you feel grateful for...and yes, you guessed it no repeating! RITUAL: Write down 10 things you are grateful for each night before bed, no repeating. (5-15 minutes) |
Mental Body:
There are two parts to the mental body: the ego mind and the Divine mind. The ego is always looking for ways to stay the same, never change, and keep us small. American culture in past decades used the word ego as a term for someone who was arrogant. Though this may be true as a mask to the darker sides of our limiting beliefs, the ego is part of everyone and it is a human creation that continues to keep us believing we are separate from God. Our Divine Self is our true self, authentic self, God Self, our Soul.
The experience of Divine Self in our minds happens when the ego-mind releases the “steering wheel” or it become empty. It can be emptied by exhaustion or sleep, alternate states of being temporarily brought on by taking in herbs or plants or ultimately by Spiritual Highs of Divine Awareness.
Morning Pages are an amazing tool created years ago by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way. The original purpose of this practice is slightly altered for our use. No matter what the intention, Morning Pages are a genius expression and can be life altering.
Begin every morning with free-writing. Journal whatever comes into your mind. It doesn't have to make sense, have punctuation or grammar...just download your mind onto the page. This empties the chaos in our minds and opens us up to the possibilities of the day. It empties the ego. Also this form of free writing, continuously, without stopping to think, judge, or edit creating a flow of thought on the page that allows the mind to explore areas it normally doesn’t. We spend so much time thinking about, worrying about and planning our day to day lives that the container is so full there is no room for true reflection.
Some of my best ideas have come out of my personal practice of morning pages. I have had more than a few aha moments; some good, some painful.
Just pour out whatever comes through your mind and keep going for a minimum of three pages (or 15 minutes)...every morning, before your coffee and shower, even before you get out of bed.
The other purpose aside from emptying the mind of ego thoughts; is to capture the subconscious before the conscious mind squeezes it out. To catch the mind in it’s Divine state before it is filled with ego. The space between the dream state and waking is sacred. Honoring this time each morning can bring clarity to confusing situations, peace to chaos, and a deeper connection to Self and ultimately to God.
This practice will most likely be a bit of a challenge in the beginning, so plan carefully to set yourself up for success. As you let your mind empty onto the page, you may be surprised about what you have to say. Practice the morning pages every day. If you miss a day just do it the next morning. Give yourself 15 minutes, it goes by fast. Use a pencil – pens aren’t good in bed.
The experience of Divine Self in our minds happens when the ego-mind releases the “steering wheel” or it become empty. It can be emptied by exhaustion or sleep, alternate states of being temporarily brought on by taking in herbs or plants or ultimately by Spiritual Highs of Divine Awareness.
Morning Pages are an amazing tool created years ago by Julia Cameron in her book The Artist’s Way. The original purpose of this practice is slightly altered for our use. No matter what the intention, Morning Pages are a genius expression and can be life altering.
Begin every morning with free-writing. Journal whatever comes into your mind. It doesn't have to make sense, have punctuation or grammar...just download your mind onto the page. This empties the chaos in our minds and opens us up to the possibilities of the day. It empties the ego. Also this form of free writing, continuously, without stopping to think, judge, or edit creating a flow of thought on the page that allows the mind to explore areas it normally doesn’t. We spend so much time thinking about, worrying about and planning our day to day lives that the container is so full there is no room for true reflection.
Some of my best ideas have come out of my personal practice of morning pages. I have had more than a few aha moments; some good, some painful.
Just pour out whatever comes through your mind and keep going for a minimum of three pages (or 15 minutes)...every morning, before your coffee and shower, even before you get out of bed.
The other purpose aside from emptying the mind of ego thoughts; is to capture the subconscious before the conscious mind squeezes it out. To catch the mind in it’s Divine state before it is filled with ego. The space between the dream state and waking is sacred. Honoring this time each morning can bring clarity to confusing situations, peace to chaos, and a deeper connection to Self and ultimately to God.
This practice will most likely be a bit of a challenge in the beginning, so plan carefully to set yourself up for success. As you let your mind empty onto the page, you may be surprised about what you have to say. Practice the morning pages every day. If you miss a day just do it the next morning. Give yourself 15 minutes, it goes by fast. Use a pencil – pens aren’t good in bed.
RITUAL: Free write as soon as you wake up for 15 minutes (BEFORE you get out of bed).
Spiritual Body:
The Spiritual body is expanded awareness, enlightened awakening, and our mystical self. When the physical, mental and emotional bodies reach a state of balance, the higher vibration of our spiritual body is activated, invigorated and comes to the forefront of our consciousness. We are always seeking our state of Divinity, and desiring enlightenment, even though we may not realize it. In fact we do everything to ignore this calling. When we do allow ourselves to expand our consciousness we experience the light of our Souls.
We can get a bit closer everyday by opening to the space between our thoughts and actions.
Meditation is a receiving of Spirit...quieting the mind and stilling the ego...even if just for a few minutes each day. The commitment to a meditation practice is the number one thing I recommend to all my clients. This is the time spent with Divine.
Today many things fall under the term “meditation” like prayer, visualization, concentration, contemplation and relaxation. The truest form of meditation is communing with God. CREATE time to focus (concentrate), breathe, (relax) or ponder (contemplate) beginning for just 5 minutes and increasing when you are ready to 10, 15 and eventually 20 minutes.
(In the online program; 40 Days of Self Love we begin with visualization, you can use the downloadable visualizations created for each week of the program. Ideally, listen to the visualization that complements the weekly topic at least 3 times a week if not daily)
Time will eventually be nonexistent. Meditate Daily and don't judge yourself if you don’t feel it "work" right away, it will serve you regardless. If you meditate daily already, try changing it up and doing a different kind of practice, increase the length of time or the frequency of your meditations.
We can get a bit closer everyday by opening to the space between our thoughts and actions.
Meditation is a receiving of Spirit...quieting the mind and stilling the ego...even if just for a few minutes each day. The commitment to a meditation practice is the number one thing I recommend to all my clients. This is the time spent with Divine.
Today many things fall under the term “meditation” like prayer, visualization, concentration, contemplation and relaxation. The truest form of meditation is communing with God. CREATE time to focus (concentrate), breathe, (relax) or ponder (contemplate) beginning for just 5 minutes and increasing when you are ready to 10, 15 and eventually 20 minutes.
(In the online program; 40 Days of Self Love we begin with visualization, you can use the downloadable visualizations created for each week of the program. Ideally, listen to the visualization that complements the weekly topic at least 3 times a week if not daily)
Time will eventually be nonexistent. Meditate Daily and don't judge yourself if you don’t feel it "work" right away, it will serve you regardless. If you meditate daily already, try changing it up and doing a different kind of practice, increase the length of time or the frequency of your meditations.
RITUAL: Meditate for 5 minutes DAILY, increase in small increments each day till you reach 20 minutes a day.
Your Foundation
The amount of time you spend on the Foundation is up to you. Do it to the best of your ability. It’s simple;
1. When you wake up, stay in bed and reach for your pencil and journal and write for 15 minutes. Don’t stop writing, don’t think about it – just do it.
2. At some point during your day (morning is nice) do some yoga or other form of exercise for 20 minutes. Keep it easy and feel your body while you do it, be present.
3. Listen to the visualization on each weeks topic at least 3 times a week. Meditate or breathe for 5 or more minutes during the day. Midday is good to take a break and regroup, but anytime is fine.
4. Keep a gratitude journal of the things you are thankful for during your day. This is easy to do before bed. Don’t duplicate, and as you practice this you’ll catch yourself looking for the good things throughout your day.
1. When you wake up, stay in bed and reach for your pencil and journal and write for 15 minutes. Don’t stop writing, don’t think about it – just do it.
2. At some point during your day (morning is nice) do some yoga or other form of exercise for 20 minutes. Keep it easy and feel your body while you do it, be present.
3. Listen to the visualization on each weeks topic at least 3 times a week. Meditate or breathe for 5 or more minutes during the day. Midday is good to take a break and regroup, but anytime is fine.
4. Keep a gratitude journal of the things you are thankful for during your day. This is easy to do before bed. Don’t duplicate, and as you practice this you’ll catch yourself looking for the good things throughout your day.