A RETURN TO LOVE

One of the most prevalent things I witness in people, is their lack of self love and worth. They are not able to see their beauty, their talents and gifts.  They are not able to receive love as they don't allow themselves to receive it.  They don’t feel worthy of it.  I too was once like that. 

Another thing that has come to my attention is the fear around cancer.  Cancer has reached epidemic proportions. What people do not seem to realize is that it is this fear around it that is responsible for a lot of deaths.  This fear has been deeply embedded into us, through society. Cancer is only a label.  It is your body’s way of getting your attention, to tell you that changes need to be made, because you have not been listening. It is the same with any so-called dis-ease or illness.

 For example, if you take a look at people lifestyles in general today, you have to agree that they are not balanced.  People in general have lost touch with themselves, who they are and what life is really about.  We are not robots and yet if you were to watch, you would see that the majority of the population is running around like one.  Our bodies are walking miracles, genetically preprogrammed to heal themselves.  However they need some requirements in order to do so, rest being one of them.  Human beings are the only creatures that do not have balance, do not take time to properly rest and recharge like the rest of nature.  This is due to programming, making us believe that we must be constantly on the go, working hard in order to be successful and accepted.  All this does is burn out the immune system and set a person up for illness.  When the body is not in balance, dis-ease happens!!!

However, from my experience I feel that there is one factor that is even more essential to our bodies healing themselves, and that is self love. Again we are heavily programmed to have low self worth, even self hatred.  There is a saying “nothing suppresses the immune system like self hatred.” Having been there myself, I know the truth of this.  People with low self worth, give their power away, relying on others for approval and acceptance.  They are constantly judging themselves and others.  They constantly worry and complain. This has a big impact on a person’s health and energy. How many people do you know who are like this?  You just have to listen to people’s conversations in general to realize how many people have low self worth.  

And yet if you stop and reflect on things, you will see how ridiculous this is.  As the saying goes, “we are born in the image of God.”  Not just spiritual, also in the physical form.  The bodies we have are perfect and beautiful as they are.  We are perfect and beautiful as we are. We are a unique aspect of God or Source energy in human form.  Hello, what does that tell you!!!!!!  Every single one of us has gifts and talents waiting to be discovered and used.  Every single one of us has the ability to live life with joy and love.  Every single one of us has a unique genetic make up, so it is impossible to look like anyone else.

 It is through deeply embedded belief systems that we feel we are not good enough as we are, and adopt crazy beliefs like, if we have the so-called right kind of body, then maybe we would be good enough.  So we start messing with our bodies.  And start a vicious cycle that doesn’t work as you probably know.  Look at these statistics.  97% of Canadian women are dissatisfied with their bodies.  70% are yo-you dieters.  Girls as young as 6 are dieting.  Plastic surgery has increased over 100%!!!  This is crazy and it is time for this to stop. It is time to see the truth and set yourself free.    

So you may be asking how.  The answer does not lie outside you, it lies within you.  You set yourself free by learning to love and honour yourself exactly as you are.  A lot easier said than done I know.  However, I also know that it can be done, for I am proof.  Only then can one truly love another unconditionally and secondly, honour and accept others as they are.  Whenever you judge another, it is a reflection of how you feel about yourself.  For your outer world reflects your inner world.   

The key lies in awareness and living in the present moment. It means retraining yourself to stop thinking about your body.  As the group Abraham shared, “If you could never again think about your body, and instead, just think pleasant thoughts – your body would reclaim its place of well-being.” Again I know easier said than done.  With practice though you can do it.  Every time you catch yourself thinking about your body or talking about it, stop.  Shift your attention to something else.  This is how you break the patterns.

For many generations women have had to rely on their bodies and looks.  In some cases, women were literally thrown by the wayside once their looks faded or they weren’t the right size.  Look at the movie The Devil Wears Prada.  What a perfect example, highlighting clearly the mad world we live in. 

Your thoughts, and feelings about yourself affect the body’s immune system.  If you love and accept yourself, you feel vibrant, alive and this boosts it.  If you are constantly criticizing yourself, you feel heavy, lethargic, depressed, and this suppresses your immune system.  Look at the movie What The Bleep.  Shows clearly how our thoughts about ourselves affect us.  It is important to keep in mind, our belief systems have been with us for a long time and so it will take a little time to change them.  Be patient and gentle with yourself. The key here is to just observe, without judgment.  The more aware you become, the faster things will change.

So how else do you learn to love and honour yourself?

•  Congratulate yourself often, give yourself credit for what you do each day.  And this is not ego.  This is essential to build your self worth.
• Speak your truth.  If you do not feel to do something, say NO. 
• Start letting go of every thing that does not bring you peace.
•  Each day before you go to bed, write down 10 things you are grateful for, 5 successes you had, no matter how small they are, what miracles or synchronicities happened to you today, and how many people’s lives did you touch. 
• Ask yourself “What did I learn about myself today?”
• Find what speaks to your heart and do it.  Discover what you feel passionate about.  How?  What do you do that you lose track of time, that you get completely absorbed in.  What things naturally interest you?
• Learn to meditate.  Take time each day to be still.  Start with 3 deep breaths and then observe your regular breathing.  Take your attention to your nose and follow the air as you breathe in and out.  Scan your body, starting at your toes, making your way up as you tell each part to relax.  Then just sit quietly observing your body. Notice how peaceful and gentle it becomes when you give it a break.  This is how to teach yourself to be present, in the now. When you are present, so-called negative thought patterns are broken.  It stops or slows down the mental chatter that drains you. It helps you to tune into who you really are.
• Spend time in nature.  Start to look for the beauty that nature offers.  Listen to the birds.  Smell the flowers. As your heart opens more, you will naturally feel more attuned to nature, for you are a part of it. 

From my own experience, illness or dis-ease, whatever label it is given, shows up to tell us we need to make some changes.  And we do!!!  It is time to break free from all the programming, all the belief systems.  It is time to look at what really matters to us, how we can simplify our lives, and make them more enjoyable.  It is time to find out what speaks to our hearts, what brings us joy and do them.  It is time to learn to live in the present moment.  To remember who we really are and return to that love.  Love is the answer. Love is the natural force of the universe.  Love conquers all. You are a part of the universe, therefore, love is also your natural way.  It is the core of your being and as you use the tools above and your awareness increases, you will realize this.  By setting yourself free, the love that you are, blazes forth and touches every thing you come into contact with.  This is the greatest gift you can give to humanity, to all on the planet.  It is time to set yourself free. Return to love.

Kay Proudfoot

August, 2008