How I learned to truly love – myself, that is
A daily practice for accepting yourself and getting over perfectionism. For me, it opened up a whole new world for the very first time
Photos of Laura by Kevin Thom
GUEST COLUMN: LAURA HOLLICK — Facing yourself can sometimes be the scariest thing in the world.
It can also be the most liberating!
No one is perfect, and the thought of facing yourself can bring forward all the things that you don’t want to know, or admit about yourself.
Despite this intimidating feeling, facing yourself can also enable you to deepen your ability to love.
When I faced myself with an open ‘heart’, I felt a new world open up. My heart grew stronger, and my sense of inner peace deepened. When I “face” myself with a loving kindness, my inner battle is put to rest.
Try this for yourself . . .
Either look at yourself in the mirror or hold a picture of yourself in your mind’s eye. (The three faces of me in the image above is an illustration of this idea).
See yourself completely, I mean every little detail, see it all! This includes your body, your mind, your beliefs, your behaviours, your dreams, etc.
Before you start judging and accessing, look again and decide to love who you are right now, without needing to be different.
This doesn’t mean you won’t become different in your life, but it means that you can love who you are right now without needing to be different.
This sounds so simple, and you’re probably thinking, “Yah, yah, I love myself, I don’t need to do this.”
Or maybe you’re thinking: “I can’t accept this part of me, and because I can’t accept this part of myself it motivates me to be better.” Or perhaps you’re thinking, “I’ll fix this, then I can accept myself” — or another sleight of thought, “I can accept this if no one else has to know about it.”
Whatever your excuses and reasons are, wash them away — and for this brief moment be willing to see yourself for exactly who you are RIGHT NOW WITH TOTAL LOVE.
Watch your world open up as a result!
Laura is an Ontario, Canada-based artist, dancer and writer. Visit her at www.soulartstudio.com. (Photo of Laura by Kevin Thom).
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Learning to see yourself from your heart not from the mind-generated judgment calls not only transforms how you feel about yourself, it flows into accepting others beyond the smae judgments. It leads to inner happiness and greater love for others.
Thank you, Laura!
Laura, I tried your technique — and it really does work!
It immediately produced a “felt shift.” I borrow that term from a mind-body school of practice called “Focusing”:
http://www.focusing.org/index.html
As Father David notes above, it’s a somatic and energetic experience — not a computation or realization that lives only in thought.
Love this . . . Spiritual shoot!