The wedding on the beach yesterday was beautiful. The wedding couple as well as the four other couples in attendance reminisced all day long yesterday on the words the minister spoke about love.
Love is the highest vibrating energy. Countless poems and songs have been written about love. The bible teaches us “And the greatest of these is love.” Norman Vincent Peale said, “Throw your heart over the fence and the rest will follow.”
When you think of love, who do you think of? Perhaps your significant other, your children, your parents, family? Did you think of you? The number one place to start is with you loving you. Louise Hay gifted the world with the fabulous book You Can Heal Your Life. No one can say it better than Louise Hay:
“When people come to me with a problem, I don’t care what it is – poor health, lack of money, unfulfilling relationships, or stifled creativity – there is only one thing I ever work on, and that is LOVING THE SELF. I find that when we really love and accept and APPROVE OF OURSELVES EXACTLY AS WE ARE, then everything in life works. It’s as if little miracles are everywhere. Our health improves, we attract more money, our relationships become more fulfilling, and we begin to express ourselves in creatively fulfilling ways. All this seems to happen without our even trying.”
I recently facilitated a group session on identifying our passion and purpose in life. One very sweet lady in our group communicated that she used to have passion for various things such as dancing, but she buried her passions long ago. I was stunned when she said “I don’t feel I deserve it.” She went on to say that when she looks in the mirror, “I can’t stand what I see.” I asked her if she had ever heard of the work of Louise Hay. She replied that she in fact had the book at her house and was planning to give it as a gift to one of her friends. I begged her to please read it before she gave it away. I told her about the exercise that Louise teaches us:
I ask clients to pick up a small mirror, look into their own eyes, and say their names and, “I love and accept you exactly as you are.”
What a difficult exercise for so many of us. We are so critical of ourselves. We are blind to the divine that is within us. Want a miracle in your life? Don’t walk, run to the nearest library/bookstore to get Louise’s DVD You Can Heal Your Life, The Movie today. This magnificent teacher goes on to say:
“I continue to explain that no matter what their problem seems to be, there is only one thing I ever work on with anyone, and that is Loving the Self. Love is the miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives.”
Not only is love a miracle cure, it is critical to life itself. In Nursing School we learned about a condition known as Marasmus in which babies wasted away and died. An alarming number of babies placed in clean but impersonal orphanages died, not from disease or malnutrition, but from lack of touch. When the babies received physical nurturing along with formula, they began to gain weight and thrive. An additional interesting finding is that the “volunteer grandparents” who gave their time to massage, touch, hold and rock these babies also experienced significant benefits.
We first learn about love from those around us. The people in our immediate environment have a deep impact on us. I have been privileged to hear several live presentations by Dr. Shad Helmstetter, PhD, author of The Gift. Shad stands in the front of the room holding a keyboard next to his head. He pretends to rapidly program in all the feedback provided to us by others. “You will never amount to anything.” “Keep eating and you’ll be as fat as your Aunt Mary.”
Some of us received lots of beautiful programs, and some of us were not as fortunate. One thing we must remember: every person in our life was doing the very best he or she could. Many times they simply repeated what they had learned from their own childhood experience. However, going forth, we can be responsible for what we say to ourselves.
Think of how we can impact our own life and the lives of others if we will just do what Louise Hay teaches us. From now on, let’s make a pact: each time we pass a mirror, let’s look deep into our eyes and truly see the beautiful spiritual being that we are. We can change the world. The biblical phrase “Love thy neighbor as thyself” suddenly takes on new meaning.
Here is an interesting exercise. In this next week, pay attention to every song sung about love. Listen to the words. Really listen. As you listen, let the love song be about you loving you. For example, listen to the words of Whitney Houston:
I decided long ago never to walk in anyone’s shadows.
If I fail, if I succeed, at least I live as I believe.
No matter what they take from me, they can’t take away my dignity
Because the greatest love of all is happening to me.
I found the greatest love of all inside of me.
The greatest love of all is easy to achieve.
Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all.
Love yourself and watch the miracles begin to manifest in your life.
