Building Self-Love

If you want to build up self-love, the first thing that you have to do is purification. The reality is that most people have picked up a lot of wild and irrational beliefs, values and attitudes that are not real. They cause a lot of damage. There are also a lot of physical toxins in the body from an unclean environment.
Purification
You need to purify across all levels in order to love yourself fully. Purification might sound like a drastic step, but it is certainly worth
it so you can see yourself with more clarity. Purification generally involves:

1. Fasting or dietary restriction. 2. Information restriction.
2. A natural environment.
3. Meditation.
4. Prayer.
5. Yoga and/or exercise.
6. Reading of uplifting material. 8. Silence.
   You can do a combination of the above for as long as you want. 3 days in the minimum and 3 weeks will have incredible benefits. But any amount is worth doing. These techniques are ancient and despite all of the new age positivity strategies, they work the best.
   Nothing will have the same impact as doing the above in tandem with one another. They work individually, but the effects are magnified when combined . It is only when you get away from society (i.e “real” life) and do these practices that you can clearly see just how dysfunctional society really is and how dysfunctional
   your own beliefs and thoughts are about yourself and about society.
   Day to Day Exercises
   Not everybody has time for an intense purification exercise. And they can only really be done once every 3 months or so. Due to this, people need less intense modalities so they can build self- love steadily and consistently over time.
   The first step is in relation to freeing up your time and energy. Most people have heavy stress from either energy vampires or from work and relationships. The best scenario, if at all possible, is to simply exit a toxic relationship or environment.
   Many people are afraid of leaving a job they hate and pretend that they have to stay there to pay the fills. But nothing is worth having your energy drained and living like a zombie with no purpose or intention. What happens is that you are pretending to be someone you are not, which is the polar opposite of authenticity. There are many self-love exercises you can do, but here are 5 of the most effective:
7. The waking and sleeping hours are a prime time to master your thoughts and emotions. In the place between sleeping and waking, turn your thoughts as positive as possible. These states are more powerful and set the tone for the rest of the day or night.
8. Keeping a gratitude journal is perfect for appreciating what you are and all that you have accomplished. The fact of the matter is that human appreciation is arbitrary and irrational. We can work towards a goal for 5 years and appreciate its completion for a week. We need to reframe our gratitude and appreciation so we can be joyful for everything, not just the big goals.
9. Put yourself first with vacations, massages, extreme sports, concerts, whatever it is that you want to do. You deserve supreme enjoyment, and it is what you are here for. Sadly, most people think that life is supposed to be a painful chore and create stress for themselves. Do not do this to yourself.
10. Stop interfering with others at all costs. There is a kind of virus going around where people are trying to make the world a better place and love pointing out the flaws in the world. This is in spite of the fact that times have never been better, by a gigantic margin. If you do not focus on your own self-development, you will never develop. And you will find others interfering in your life in a similar fashion.
11. Meditating on love or focusing on the heart chakra is a chief recommendation among ancient spiritual scriptures. The heart chakra is a doorway to the higher self/oversoul if you put your energy there for extended time periods.

Reiki Spring Clean

This article written by Deborah Lloyd made me very nostalgic as I recall how my mom followed the same tradition and has passed it on to us siblings. A very interesting and simple read yet very engrossing too. Anyone who’s keen to learn  about Reiki ensure you read this article….it’s an eye opener! ENJOY!!

It has always been a ritual in my life. Even as a child, my sisters and I helped our mother with spring cleaning. When the weather warmed up after a cold winter, and the flowers started to bloom, it was time to clean the house from top to bottom. The cobwebs were removed, and the clutter from long winter days were stored, donated or thrown away. The draperies were changed, from heavy winter drapes to light, breezy curtains. The fresh air of spring days flowed through the house, and everything seemed bright and new. I brought some of these traditions to my own home after our marriage.

In the same way, perhaps we should approach Reiki with a new perspective, a fresh start, at least once a year. Like any other practice in our lives, we need to step back and re-evaluate our progress, or non-progress, in the area. We can continue to grow and be excited about changes in our work, or we can become stagnant in our practice.

During this time of the year, we can choose to bring in new light, new perspectives, or new focus on a specific area regarding Reiki.

Let’s begin with the beginning! How long has it been since you read Dr. Usui’s Reiki principles? Or, re-read your first Reiki manuals and books? Have you thought about your initial experiences of Reiki, both as a receiver and a giver? How can you recreate, or at least remember and reflect upon these exciting, first days? Meditating on the many joyful moments you have had with the Reiki experience can be a delight.

Next, evaluate where you are presently with your Reiki practice. Have you made it too hard, or too complicated? Have you set up some expectations in your mind that you are finding too difficult to meet? An example of this might be you set the intention to do a full, one-hour self-treatment every day. When this became impossible to do, you did not do any self-treatment at all.

In spring cleaning a home, the first step is to remove any clutter. The energy is shifted, and the room is made for the flow of fresh air. In the same way, we may need to remove the clutter of constant busyness in our lives. Utilizing the calmness of Reiki treatments assists us in keeping Reiki a priority in our lives. Reiki is not simply another task on our “to-do” lists; rather, it is a way of life. Reiki can lead us into a more harmonious and peaceful life when we make room for it within our lives.

If we are harboring doubts about the effectiveness of Reiki, or are holding onto negative thoughts, we need to declutter our minds of these energies. We may feel disappointed that a cure we had desired has not occurred. Although feelings of doubt and disappointment are common human experiences, we can take an active role in how to handle these thoughts. We can choose for the thoughts to remain in our minds, or we can choose to let them go. The method is simple – state an intention of releasing these thoughts, start the Reiki energy flow, and place our hands on our third eye and heart chakras simultaneously. Try it, it works!

Once negative thoughts are released, replace them with positive thoughts about Reiki. We have many gifts we can access. Give Reiki to yourself, or receive Reiki from another practitioner. Revisit encouraging Reiki articles and books, or past journal entries. Spend time in meditation or journal writing. Give gratitude for the beautiful gift of Reiki.

This kind of spring cleaning is essential for a lifelong Reiki path. Just like a house has to be sorted through, and cleaned up thoroughly at least once a year, so does our Reiki way of life. Many blessings to each of you who are committed to the Reiki journey!