Do you practice Self-Love?
Do You Practice Self-Love? Understanding and Embracing True Self-Love
Self-love is the practice of understanding, embracing, and showing compassion for yourself. It involves nurturing your entire being, which means taking care of yourself on the physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual levels. When engaging in self-love, we also work to forgive ourselves, accept our flaws, and embrace our inner parts. Contrary to popular belief, self-love isn’t just a blind adoration of our strengths; it’s also an embrace of our weaknesses and shadows.
What is Self-Love?
Self-love and self-discovery go hand-in-hand. In other words, if you commit to self-love, you also commit to a journey of self-healing. Love is a quality of the heart and soul – and when you actively seek to expand that sense of compassion, curiosity, deep connection, courage, and inner calm, you are awakening new parts of your being and remembering your core truth.
Perhaps the most powerful thing about self-love is that it’s not just a surface practice. It doesn’t stop at self-care; it is about moving with the ebb and flow of life with deep devotion to Self (Soul). By devoting ourselves to loving and embodying our soul essence, we deepen our awareness of who we are and raise the collective vibration.
Self-love isn’t about self-indulgence; it’s about taking care of yourself. A person who loves themselves wants to become the best they can be, explore themselves, practice inner work, do some soul-searching, work on their flaws, heal their traumas, and find inner peace.
A person with mindful self-love is aware that they’re actually harming themselves when they harm others. Why? Because they understand that if they hurt others, they will suffer the negative consequences in the long term, which will make life much more difficult for them. They realize that causing suffering to others is actually self-destructive, which is the complete opposite of self-love.
5 Ways to Practice Authentic Self-Love
If you have just started your self-discovery journey or need some inspiration, you might benefit from the following tips. Here are a few ways to begin practicing self-love:
Gentleness and Forgiveness
At the start of our journey of self-love, it’s all too easy to be caught up in external comparisons we make between ourselves and others who have perhaps been on their journey longer than us. I used to do this a lot until I realized one day that the very essence of self-love is about being gentle and forgiving with yourself.
Thanks to some much-needed guidance, I learned that it is completely fine to take my time, to go slowly, and to learn little by little. I learned that it was OK to be flawed and to continue making mistakes… just as long as I continued to be aware and push through little by little.
It’s not necessary that you force yourself or be hard on yourself as this is the precise opposite of what self-love is. Knowing that self-love, at its core, is the ability to embrace your faults and imperfections and an inner knowing that you are innately worthy of all the love life has to offer.
2. Start Reading
No, I don’t mean the news or the latest gossip on Facebook or Instagram. I mean read books or listen to others on the self-discovery journey! Focus on mostly non-fiction books in the spiritual/self-help category. Reading this type of material helps to expand your mind and equips you with inspiring and life-applicable knowledge.
3. Nourish Your Inner Child and Parts
Every single person on the face of this planet possesses an inner child and various inner parts. Your inner child is the most innocent and vulnerable part of you; it is the child that still lives within you. While this sensitive part is the source of a lot of joy, creativity, and wonder, it can also contain tremendous unresolved pain from childhood.
We were all wounded, to some extent, in childhood. We all experienced traumas and challenges that we struggle to process. Beginning to work with your inner child and parts is the start of deep emotional healing and freedom. This work is one of the most self-loving paths that you can ever commit to and I highly recommend it.
4. Treat Yourself Like You Would Treat Your Best Friend
To heal and love ourselves, it’s vital for us to consciously change our relationships with different parts of ourselves and learn how to treat ourselves with compassion and consideration just as we would with our best friend. You are with yourself 24/7, 365 days a year. Doesn’t it make sense to enjoy your own company?
5. Make Time to Explore Your Passions
What drives you, lights you up, fills you with joy, and gives you a sense of accomplishment? In society, we are conditioned to forget our needs and smother them with others’ desires. As a result, we often lose sight of what truly makes us happy in life.
Many of us abandon our dreams at an early age and seek socially approved pursuits (such as having a “good” career, big house, nice car, perfect family, etc.). Therefore, it’s important to ask yourself, “What is my passion? What do I love to do?” Sit down with this question and ponder it deeply.
Remember, passions are not static – they evolve with us. Whether it’s painting, writing, dancing, designing, building, or whatever excites you – pursue it – even if on the sidelines!
Cultivating self-love is essential if you desire to live a life of joy, love, peace, and fulfillment. Without learning how to love ourselves, our lives are filled with self-sabotage, toxic and heartbreaking relationships, emptiness, and a profound lack of connection with life.
Embrace the Journey of Self-Love
Practicing self-love is an ongoing journey that transforms your life. Are you ready to dive deeper into self-discovery and healing? Join the Soul Embodiment Community for a real, deep connection and support. Ready to dive in and go all in for a deep transformation? Explore the Soul Embodiment Mentorship. For a taste of the magic, schedule a 1:1 session with me today.
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