Your Journey to Emotional Self-Reliance begins in your heart.

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Loving Yourself

Loving yourself from a heart-felt place is the foundation of Emotional Self-Reliance. The Journey to Emotional Self-Reliance is a guidebook that teaches you a step-by-step process of learning to love yourself in this way.  

Loving yourself begins with the same heart-felt experience you have when loving someone or something outside yourself, such as: a pet, a friend, a partner, a family member, a spiritual teacher, or a special place in nature.

When you experience this love, it is an undeniable feeling based in your body, rather than a concept in your mind. It is a sensation in your upper chest of openness, warmth, and expansion. 

Loving YOURSELF requires that you direct this same heart-felt feeling toward yourself. 

Loving yourself in this way is the practice of considering, valuing, and caring for yourself in balance with others. By loving yourself, you are acknowledging that you are of equal worth to those you love.  

Taking responsibility for loving yourself results in greater Emotional Self-Reliance, as you cultivate an inner source of love, support, and guidance to sustain you when others are not present or able to provide this.

When loving yourself with an attitude of compassion and acceptance, you can begin to heal old wounds of feeling negated, shamed, judged, or unloved. You can learn to be present and support yourself emotionally when you feel alone, lost, confused, or afraid. You can better discern choices that are in alignment with who you are and what you want. The outcome is a healthier relationship with yourself and therefore, with others.

As you develop this capacity to love yourself, you will be able to live your life with an open heart. You will recognize your heart’s desire and experience the energy to pursue it. You can then engage more deeply and wholeheartedly in the world around you, benefitting not only yourself, but also enriching the lives of others.

Your journey to loving yourself includes:

  • responsibility

  • directed attention

  • body awareness

  • relaxation

  • compassion

  • forgiveness

  • acceptance

To make this a successful journey, you must embody the following 3 qualities of personal engagement:

1.    Show up (for the daily practice of learning to love yourself.)

2.    Demonstrate you care (in your approach to this task.) 

3.    Do your best (applying your energy and effort toward your goal.)

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Please take a moment to pause and bring your awareness into your heart.

Take a deep breath in and then release your breath with a long, slow exhale to relax.

Listen carefully to your surroundings to bring yourself into the present. 

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Now, consider the possibility that you have the capacity to love yourself and to experience the joy of living in alignment with your heart’s desire. 

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I invite you to take a journey inward to discover your own reliable source of love, guidance, and support.