Today you learn more about loving yourself with respect, gratitude, and the realization that your body, mind, and soul are miracles to be appreciated.
How did you feel when you woke up this morning? Did you smile when you looked in the mirror and said, I love you, darling, I really love you? Are you starting to believe it? After just a few days of mirror work, you may see that it has already started making a difference in your life. You may be smiling a little more today. You may be feeling much better when you look in the mirror and see your beautiful face. You may be feeling much better about yourself. Are you beginning to love and approve of the person you see in the mirror?
Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives. I have discovered that no matter what the problem is, the best way to resolve it is to start loving yourself.
Loving yourself means having great respect for everything about you, inside and out. It is deep gratitude for the miracle of your body and your mind and your soul. Loving yourself is appreciation to such a degree that it fills your heart until it bursts, overflowing with the joy of being YOU.
It is impossible to really love yourself unless you have self-approval and self-acceptance. Do you scold and criticize yourself endlessly? Do you believe you are unlovable? Do you live in chaos and disorder? Do you attract lovers and mates who belittle you? Do you mistreat your body with unhealthy food choices and stressful thoughts?
If you deny your good in any way, it is an act of not loving yourself. I remember a woman I worked with who wore contact lenses. When she did her mirror work, she began to release an old fear from her childhood. In a few days, she complained that her contact lenses were bothering her to the point that she couldn’t wear them anymore. When she took them out, she looked around and found that her eyesight was almost perfectly clear. Still, she spent the entire day saying, “I don’t believe it. I don’t believe it.” That was her affirmation. The next day, she was back to wearing her contacts. She wouldn’t allow herself to believe she had created perfect eyesight, and her disbelief was confirmed. The Universe gave her exactly what she asked for. This is how powerful our thoughts are.
Think how perfect you were when you were a tiny baby! Babies do not have to do anything to become perfect; they already are perfect, and they act as if they know it. They know they are the center of the Universe. They are not afraid to ask for what they want. They freely express their emotions. You know when a baby is angry—in fact, the whole neighborhood knows. You also know when babies are happy—their smiles light up a room. They are full of love.
Tiny babies will die if they do not get love. Once we are older, we learn to live without love—or try to—but babies will not stand for it. Babies love every part of their bodies.
You were like that at one time. We were all like that. Then we began to listen to adults around us who had learned to be fearful, and we began to deny our own magnificence.
Today, put all criticism and negative self-talk aside. Let go of your old mind-set—the one that berates you and resists change. Release other people’s opinions of you.
Affirm: I am good enough. I am worth loving.
Your Day 5 Mirror Work Exercise
This is an exercise I have given to hundreds and hundreds of people over the years. The results are absolutely phenomenal when people stick with it. Remember: mirror work doesn’t work in theory; it only works in practice. If you do it, it really will make a difference.
If any negative thoughts come up—such as How can I approve of myself when I am fat?, or It’s silly to think that I can think this way, or I am no good—don’t resist them, don’t fight them, don’t judge them. Let them just be there. Stay focused on what you really want to experience, which is to love and approve of yourself. You can gently let go of other thoughts that intrude and stay focused on I love myself and approve of myself.
What we are doing in mirror work is trying to get back to the heart of who we really are. We want to experience who we are when we are not judging ourselves.
The Power Is Within You: Your Day 5 Journaling Exercise
Your Heart Thought for Day 5: I Love Being Me
Can you imagine how wonderful it would be if you could live your life without ever being criticized by anyone? Wouldn’t it be wonderful to feel totally at ease, totally comfortable? You would get up in the morning and know you were going to have a wonderful day, because everybody would love you and nobody would put you down. You would feel just great.
You know what? You can give this to yourself. You can make the experience of living with yourself the most wonderful experience imaginable. You can wake up in the morning and feel the joy of spending another day with you.
Your Day 5 Meditation: Affirmations for Self-Esteem
(Day 5 of the audio download)
I am totally adequate for all situations.
I choose to feel good about myself.
I am worthy of my own love.
I stand on my own two feet.
I accept and use my own power.
It is safe for me to speak up for myself.
I am loved and accepted exactly as I am, right here and right now.
My self-esteem is high because I honor who I am.
My life gets more fabulous every day. I look forward to what each new hour brings.
I am neither too little nor too much, and I do not have to prove myself to anyone.
Life supports me in every possible way.
My consciousness is filled with loving, positive, healthy thoughts that are reflected in my experience.
The greatest gift I can give myself is unconditional love. I love myself exactly as I am. I no longer wait to be perfect in order to love myself.