Hello and welcome.
Today we are meditating on self-love.
So let's begin by finding ourselves in a comfortable position,
Closing our eyes and focusing on our breathing.
We'll start by taking one deep breath,
Holding it briefly and then letting go.
Now simply let your breath flow at its own natural rhythm.
Rather than guiding our breath,
We will allow our breath to be our guide.
As you breathe,
Allow the muscles in your jaw,
Your face,
Your shoulders and down throughout your body to just relax.
Just breathe and relax comfortably for a moment.
Now with our focus on our breathing,
We will begin our meditation on self-love.
There's no one in our lives that we are closer to than ourselves.
There's no one quite like ourselves.
Our unique histories,
Stories and experiences help to form the unique people that we are.
Ourself is not the material things that we accumulate.
Ourself is not other people's expectations,
Demands or images of us.
Ourself is not even our thoughts.
What we call the self is a unique being,
A unique experience and perspective of reality that we identify with.
The self cannot be your thoughts because even when you are asleep or not thinking,
You are still yourself.
The self is also never really alone because through our understanding of inter-being,
We know that we are deeply connected to everything around us,
All that has come before us and all that will come after us.
We can come to know ourselves better,
Much the same way that we get to know others,
By observing and by asking questions.
We can observe the self through meditation as well as simply noticing how we feel,
Observing our own behaviors,
Examining how the self functions and behaves in the world.
We can also ask questions like,
How are you doing?
What are you feeling?
What are you attracted to and what are you repelled by?
The more we learn about ourselves,
The more we are better able to tend to our needs.
What are my wounds that need healing?
What are my gifts that I can share with the world?
Doing things that feel good and make us happy are a form of self-care and self-love,
But deep care and love includes having respect and understanding and compassion toward ourselves.
When we cultivate compassion toward ourselves,
When we take time to understand ourselves,
We're not only providing self-care but self-love.
And when we practice self-love,
We can bring ourselves into alignment with ourselves.
And when we become better aligned with ourselves,
We are better able to become aligned with each other and with all of the world around us.
And now you may begin to gently wiggle your toes and fingers.
Bringing back your focus to your breathing,
Perhaps taking one more large breath to slowly and gently come back into the space.
And when you're ready,
You may open your eyes again.
Thank you for listening to this meditation.
I hope you enjoyed it and I look forward to sharing another with you soon.
Until next time,
Take care and bye for now.
