Do you know what LOVE is?

Over the years, I have heard one common theme over and over again:  Love is everything! Where there is a lack of love there is darkness, sadness or emptiness. When you let love in there is joy, happiness and abundance of all things…
To receive love, you need to give love. This is karma;  the sum of a person’s actions in this and previous states of existence, viewed as deciding their fate in future existences.

Let’s rewind for a minute…why am I bringing this up? Many of you following and reading my Blog are interested in all things related to beauty, health and wellness. You are interested in looking and feeling your best. I ask you to take a moment and ask yourself one simple question: Do you love who you are? 

Of course you do…but so many of us are so hard on ourselves (some of you may have even immediately began to answer with “not really“). We tell ourselves we are not good enough, too fat, not attractive enough, never going to find anyone, will be alone forever, can’t do something, deserve to be treated poorly….the list goes on. I beg you to realize this needs to STOP! You are fabulous, amazing and you are created uniquely and perfectly. You alone attract your circumstances and experiences based on your thoughts and words. If you are saying you are not good enough, then why would anyone one else think you are? In many ways, you putting yourself down or not feeling good enough is the exact reason you are attracting a “lack” into an area or every part of your life.

In order to live the life you want and be the person you want to be,  you need to replace any doubts, fears, or issues with love. CHOOSE to see the positive in yourself and in all situations and wrap yourself with loving thoughts. You can do anything. The only thing ever holding you back is the fear or limiting block you are placing on yourself. 

Every day you wake up and go through your routine, you are consciously making choices and there is a voice in your head constantly speaking to you (smiling as I write this because yeah..it totally sounds crazy to say there is a voice in your head, right? But we ALL hear it). Pay more attention to that voice…what is it saying? Is it lifting you up and pushing you to succeed and do amazing things? Or is this voice TOTALLY sabotaging you?! I want you to make an effort to listen to this voice and start using it to help you make better decisions. You will quickly see if you are your own worst enemy…You may not even realize this is going on! You may not even be conscious that your subconscious is really the one in control of your life. I want you to choose to take control of this voice and love yourself today, just as you are.

If you are going through something difficult or are unhappy with your current circumstances, just own it. Don’t make excuses or blame someone else for being in your current state. Recognize the past decisions or events that took place cannot be changed and see the current state for what it is. Now, CHOOSE to replace any negative thoughts about it with loving, positive thoughts. For example, “I hate my weight.” Change this to, “I want to lose weight and am motivated to make changes so that I can be happy and healthy.” The flip from negative to positive is really just infiltrating love into your life, the fueling force behind all the “good stuff.”

Maybe someone hurt you or said something that put you down and this is something holding you back. You feel stuck and there is a cycle of ups and downs… replace anger, sadness or pain with forgiveness and love. Holding onto anything negative is only harming YOU. The other person in the situation may not even have it on their radar…Holding onto it is just like pouring poison or toxic chemicals into your body. 

In forgiving someone or a situation, you are not justifying what they did or saying they are right…you are simply forgiving so that you can move forward. In the end, you are really just freeing yourself. It may take time to fully recover or move forward, but forgiving and choosing to replace love in this situation will ultimately unlock you from the prison you put yourself in.

Why hold yourself back from being the best, happiest, healthiest version of you?  

…Maybe you are unhappy with something you did, are constantly beating yourself up for things out of your control or are struggling with an addiction of some kind; maybe you just need to forgive yourself. Give yourself a break! No one is perfect and we all have our flaws. If you strive to be better and love yourself each day for trying, that is enough. Over time, you can break any cycle or negative behavior. You have the power to choose differently.

Love is the strength, power, and the force behind everything that is good, happy, healthy and abundant in life….I believe the more your heart is filled with love, the more wonderful things, events, and people will come into your life. Whatever your goals are, know they start and end with you.

Focus on the energy in which you are living each day and on this concept. Let this new way of thinking infiltrate into every area of your decision making process. If you always come from a loving, caring, forgiving place you will feel better and know you did your best to improve any tough situation….And in all relationships, especially the one with yourself- CHOOSE love!

“May your sorrows never touch your tomorrow, may your blessings be for all, may your happiness be shared, and may your smiles give hope to others.”
–Yogi Bhajan, 93′