I’m writing a book!

A while back I hinted at a new project I was working on. It's one based on a topic we hear often but don't always spend a great deal of time thinking about – Self-Love. Think of it as an exploration of your self-care practice, its limitations, and areas for personal growth through a 10-week series of practices, dharma talks, and more. It's gonna be a good one that we spend the summer digging into. Shall we begin?

I believe Self-Love is a learned practice. One we practice daily from 10 different areas:

1. Self-Study – It's cultivating self-awareness on the deepest levels by examining your inner realms, even the dark, dusty corners we tend to hide from ourselves and others.

2. Forgiveness – It's forgiving yourself and others who have hurt you.

3. Acceptance – It's practicing acceptance of all of you: the broken and not so broken pieces that makeup you. 

4. Patience – It's practicing patience with where you are on your journey and trusting you're exactly where you need to be at this moment.

5. Gratitude – It's having gratitude for all of your experiences and the lessons wrapped up in each one.

6. Focus – It's being purposeful with how you use your energy or place your focus.

7. Compassion – It's meeting yourself where you are and being as compassionate and kind with yourself (quiet the inner critic).

8. Nourishment – It's choosing to nourish yourself in all the ways that create a sense of joy from the inside out.

9. Respect – It's being respectful of your needs, desires, and boundaries in all areas of your life (work, personal relationships, self).

10. Alignment – It's striving to live in alignment with everything outlined above Every. Single. Day. moving forward, and adjusting as you evolve.

We'll start with Self-Study. In two weeks, I'll share some personal insights, practices, and tools to support your journey towards loving all of you. I recommend you work with one of these areas at a time. Get comfortable with an application before adding a new one. Doing so will allow you to slowly mold yourself into a self-loving machine (we all want that don't we?). As always, take what works for you and leave the rest.

Here's a question for you to ponder... What is your definition of self-love? What does it look/feel like?

I’ll be in touch soon. Until then, start squeezing in a little more alone time without distractions or interruptions. It will serve you well, I promise.