The Self-Love Practice That Changed Everything

This popular piece was originally published here in 2023, but I tweaked it a little. It was calling to be revisited, as many others have been recently... 


​During my morning meditation recently, I found myself thinking about something I wanted to receive. As I thought about what I desired, I realized that nobody was holding me back, except for myself.
Without knowing the how’s or the details of manifesting what I wanted, I opened my heart and felt the energy of self-love, and then expanded the feeling to encompass me.

I sat in that resonance for a moment with the awareness that allowing the Universe to help me receive what I was desiring, was an act of incredible self-love.

Later that day, I was tired and started to create a flimsy energy shield for my space before doing client healing sessions. As my morning insight popped in mid-creation, I realized that the most self-loving thing I could do in that moment, would be to create really strong boundaries.
As I created strong boundaries, it felt like a beautiful gift to myself. This led me to ask the question repeatedly throughout my day, and listen to the response.

“The most self-loving thing I could do would be to (fill in the blank).”

The responses might be:
-Take a bath.
-Take a walk outside.
-Read a book.
-Exercise.
-Take a nap.
-Process my emotions.
-Bring the energy of enthusiasm to my workday.
-Motivate to do that creative project I’ve been wanting to do.
-Say no to that event. Or say yes.

It will change moment by moment. But notice how things shift when you honor your needs. Even if rational thought is telling you otherwise.
For example, the day after I began using this question, I felt very strongly that I needed to go outside for a walk and then take a bath. However, my to-do list was huge that day. I listened to my heart, and I took a walk because it was calling to me so loudly. It felt amazing and I was grateful I listened to myself.
When I came home though, I started thinking about everything that needed to be done, with the idea that I didn’t have time for a bath. And yet, I could feel deeply again that taking the bath would be the most self-loving thing I could do.

I had to silence the opposition voice, even though it was extremely loud, and go to the self-loving voice that wisely knew that in that moment, a bath could do more for me than starting in on my to-do list.
Sure enough, my to-do list was much easier to tackle after the bath because I had shifted my resonance after a morning of self-love.

If you want to take this a step further, look at the bigger things you’re desiring and make a list.

“The most self-loving thing I could do would be to …”

For example:
-Free myself from the past.
-Create better health.
-Forgive myself for…
-Take my power back from…
-Heal my relationship with…
-Release myself from the energy of struggle.
-Allow more ease.
-Create more joy.

Keep the list somewhere that you can read daily for a month to reaffirm to your subconscious that this is what you’re choosing to receive and create. Because you love yourself. Because you deserve what will augment that self-love.

Again, don’t worry about how it’ll manifest. Just sit in the frequency of self-love. Let it literally infuse every part of you. Feel your heart open and pour all that love that you’re capable of, into yourself.
If self-love has been a hurdle and you can’t quite connect to that feeling, think of anything that opens your heart — a baby, an animal, a sunset — and turn that feeling towards yourself.

Imagine what would change in your life if you asked yourself this question every day. Because the most loving you can do, for yourself, for your inner peace, for your life, and even for others, is to create self-love first.