Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love. -Eric Fromm 1. Have Faith! In yourself and your capacity to give and recieve love. Loving oneself is the most important step in creating a truly loving perspective. Know that you are worthy of love! Accept yourself right at this moment. Embrace all of you. The good, the bad, the ugly, your fears, anxieties, issues, zits...love it all... Use affirmation to help increase Faith in yourself: I am deeply loved. When things are tough and you feel doubtful, remember have Faith in yourself and those around you because it is an act of love. 2. Listen to Your Heart! Ask your heart, these questions: When I say "yes" to someone else am I saying "no" to myself at the same time? Am I putting my needs behind the needs of others? Am I unhappy in my job, relationship or with myself? Am I giving myself what I need to be happy? Putting your own needs behind the needs of others is a sure fire way of making yourself unhappy enough to cause persistent stress. Persistent, unrelenting, low level stress is a leading factor in cardiovascular disease and answering yes to any of these questions are good indicators you may be facing persistent stress. Additionally, Do you experience "chest pain" or anxiety when facing uncomfortable decisions? Do you fail to "follow your heart" with regularity? As one of Seven Sacred Truths of body and spirit described by Carolyn Myss, Ph.d in "Anatomy of the Spirit" failure to listen to the heart is central to the development of dis-ease. We must "honor ourselves" by listening to the intrinsic language of the heart and taking action to love ourselves. 3. Practice Forgiveness! Of yourself and of others. When I learned to step out of my usual reactionary patterns, I was struck by the sheer ridiculousness of many conflicts. When we can break free of our usual habits of anger, resentment and reaction it is far easier to find compassion for the other person and the situation. There have been profound moments in my life when I have had to face my most determined enemies only to discover a profound sense of sorrow for the suffering of this other person who hates me so well. In those moments I have felt the true meaning of forgiveness. Ultimately anger, resentment and hatred for another does more harm to our own physical bodies and psyches than it does to anyone else. Like the saying goes, holding anger towards another is like holding your breath and waiting for someone else to die. 4. Have Compassion! Forgiveness and compassion go hand in hand. When we shift into a framework of compassion for our enemies, our friends and ourselves, the world becomes a lot easier place to live in. We can let go of blame and fault and be open to the fact that we are all human, full of basic goodness. We are all trying to get our needs met; all trying to live, love, connect and prosper. Being human means being messy. We all make mistakes and we all have the capacity to learn from those mistakes. Go easy on yourselves and others. We are all made of the stuff of stars. 5. Smile! The best Yoga anyone could do is smile! Smiling activates the endocannabinoid system and the feeling of bliss. Activation of endocannabinoids blocks the release of the neurotransmitters of pain and stress, providing an instant feeling of joy and calm. Although smiling is usually a benign and peaceful act, most people can tell if a smile is fake. So careful of trying to fake it with a smile. Everyone will feel a little more at ease, but a fake smile can also make others feel uncomfortable. So its as easy as that. Have faith. Listen to your heart. Practice forgiveness. Have compassion. and Smile! We could all love ourselves more and I would love to hear how you increase self love. Go ahead. Just comment below. I love you all so much! Nurse Courtney
