Nurturing self-love is a compassionate practice.
Why does the concept of self-love feel so vague and why is practicing self-love often difficult to do?
Self-love can often feel like a hazy idea in part because it is such a deeply personal concept. One person's night in on the couch may be self-compassion but another's leaving the house to see friends may be an act of nourishing self-love. For some, setting a boundary may be radical self-love and for someone else, breaking down a barrier may be a revolutionary act of self-love.
Self-love is a state of appreciation for oneself that rows from the actions that support physical, psychological and spiritual growth. Self-love means having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness. Self-love means taking care of your own needs and not sacrificing your well-being to please others. Self-love means not settling for anything less than you deserve.
If we think of self-love as a harmony of:
Being kind to yourself
Prioritising yourself
Being compassionate towards yourself
Forgiving yourself
honouring what you need physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually
Then this statement is true:
Reiki is an act of self-love
If we understand that Reiki calms and rebalances the mind, body & spirit to promote an environment for healing, then Reiki is a powerful catalyst for everyone to Brin or deepen the act of self-love practices Reflection on the bullet point list above. Reiki, like self-love is all of the things listed {and more}. Sounds simple right? So why is a self-love practice like Reiki, Meditation or Breathwork often so difficult? We do not accept ourselves the way we are.... We do not love ourselves in totality. We have been conditioned by society, our peers, families, capitalism, even the wellness industry to feel "less than" and incomplete, always searching for the next practice, purchase, app, or influencer to help complete us. Take a breath. It is not easy to be reminded of anything or anyone that has ever made you doubt your self-worth or robbed you of self-compassion.
REIKI CAN HELP
"Love, pure love, is love with no attachment, love with kindness, humility, mindfulness and openness. It is all very simple: Reiki is Love" and when we first nourish ourselves with kindness, humility, mindfulness and openness, we then have more love, compassion, empathy and kindness to offer in our relationships with ourselves and others. You are worthy of self-love. And while a Reiki session and self-Reiki are ways to connect to your innate worth, they’re not the only ways. A cup of tea without screens; writing a love letter to yourself, a ritual bath, a walk in nature, dancing around your home, a meditation, buying yourself flowers, putting your palms over your heart and taking several breaths into the heart-space - all small acts of powerful self-love.
Reflection - Offer yourself 1 compassionate thought that you believe may be true.
Examples - I am worthy of love; I am capable; I am whole.
Alignment - Place your left hand over your heart, then place your right hand on top of your left. Take at least 5 slow rounds of breaths, repeating your compassionate phrase with each inhale. Feel the palms soften into the heart on the exhale.
Remember that you are loved and you are deserving of being loved. You just need to love yourself.
While many will not need any extra help with self-love, there are times when people will benefit from a boost of energy to help them bring love into their hearts. I do not push attunements onto people but I want to recommend several that I have worked with myself when I spent many months learning to love myself {it was not an easy practice but I won in the end}.