My previous post “What is Love?” had a couple of fun exercises to do that I’ve done myself, one of which is a love letter to yourself.  Below is my love letter to me that I wrote a few years back.  Enjoy.

“Somehow, somewhere, I always knew I would find you.

The child in emotional solitude longed for your return, always trusting that you would.

The struggle that once seemed so painful then, is only now, a sweet reflection of the perfect path to reunite.

I am on our path, but yet still a student of your light and now without fear, instead dawning trust.

This reunion has brought such peace and reverent freedom.

Thank you, I say, to your perseverance to open my soul to our Spirit!

I Love Thyself!”

In the last few years, I’ve had the opportunity to learn from several magnificent people whether through books, conversations, group programs, relationships, trials, and experiences.  These few years have also been the most difficult yet majestically beautiful and awakening for me.  Interestingly enough, there has been one main vein of awareness throughout it all, and that is Love.

I’m taking the liberty to define Love here and however simple the definition; it’s the expression of Love that has many faces.  Expression is where we get confused, myself included, and when we get clear with our expression, peace always follows.

Love is Being.

A little strange maybe, to proclaim such simplicity with something so big, right?  Maybe not, if we clarify what Being is.

Being is the absolute existence, complete and perfect, lacking no essential characteristic; Essence.

Love is not an emotion; however, the expression of Love can encompass many different emotions.  Love is simply Being, it’s what you are; you are Love.  Many may argue that if we are Love, then we are complete & perfect (by the definition of Being); I say, yes you are complete & perfect.  Now there is another component of our experience in physical form, having a body and being here on Earth that we confuse to be whom we are; this is the personality, or ego, or self, or external self; any of those terms work.  That is not the same as your Being Love.

Ironically enough, many years ago when I was watching the scene of the lifeline discussion in the movie Donnie Darko, I empathized with the character Donnie Darko a teenage boy (played by Jake Gyllenhaal).  He was distraught by his teacher’s discussion and argued how everything can not be lumped into the two categories of Love & fear.  I remember feeling the concept was absurd and like Donnie Darko, life is not that simple.

As time has passed, experiences realized, and awakenings occur, life has become more conceptually simple yet experientially complex.  The complexity comes from becoming aware of the simplicity that I AM Love, but have yet to clear all my counter intentions, non-working deep seeded beliefs, and find the sub or unconscious counter beliefs.

However, the joy of reuniting with the Essence I Am and recognizing that it’s Love, is the spark that ignites continuous personal growth.  Many people are still suffering from the lack of awareness that they are Love and we are united.  Here are a couple of fun exercises I’ve done that you can do that may open that window, as it did for me.

1. Write a Love Letter: write a love letter to yourself, LOL. I know it may sound silly, but give it a try and see what happens.  Of course, the letter must only include all those wonderful things about you as though you were writing the letter to the love of your life.  You can even ask for forgiveness if it’s helpful……hmmm?
2. The I Am Chant:  close your eyes and start saying, “I Am a __________ woman or man” (fill in the blank with words like: loving, worthy, beautiful, powerful, passionate, caring, creative, etc.).  Keep doing this until you find three or four words that really feel true for you when you say them.  After you have found your words, chant out load, “I Am a _______,______,_______woman/man”, over and over until you feel a definite shift come over you.  This shift is expressed many different ways and is unique for you.  Some have experienced tears of joy, laughter, a beam of light from within, it’s entirely unique to you and your experience.  A simple note to make, do not put an “and” between any of the words you have found for yourself because this tends to diminish the word that the “and” proceeds.

Look for a future post discussing the expressions of Love…….until then……..

I Am a Loving, Powerful, Passionate Woman; Much Love to all of You!

Relationships are tricky and full of challenges. There are many types of relationships we develop in our lives each having unique meaning, experiences, and joy and/or sorrow. These relationships are a core purpose for existence here on Earth by having the opportunity to interact with each other in physical form; a very different experience from interacting solely in a non-physical state or spiritual state of being. Many of us have forgotten (especially when in a difficult relationship) the choice we’ve made to experience the unique and diverse relationships we have here on Earth. And yet, the difficult relationships are some of the most sacred agreements we’ve made to each other prior to coming into form.

In conjunction with our challenging relationships are those that are harmonious, easy, joyful, and feel natural; these relationships are equally important as they give us continuous support, and nurturing while we face the challenges of life. These are the relationships that feel easy, smooth, and simple as though you both just know what’s up without having to go into much detail. These are also the relationships to seek out when undergoing inner transformation and/or experiencing the more difficult relationships in order to have the support needed.

The question to ask yourself is, to what depth do you learn about yourself or the other person in a harmonious relationship? After discussing difficult relationships, ask yourself this question again and see if your answer changes.

Anything needing to be released must first come to the surface in order to be recognized.  A challenging relationship will trigger the aspects about ourselves and others that need releasing or healing and bring them to the surface ready to be looked at. These are usually deep seeded aspects that would have never risen otherwise and demands special love, acceptance, and attention. These are the parts of us we rarely know are there; although, under the surface they are subconsciously driving the non-working patterns and painful experiences we encounter in life.  Beliefs about ourselves, others, the world, and Reality create the life we experience.  Many of these beliefs are running the reels behind the scenes as they are usually embedded at an early age or within the collective consciousness we are born into.  How are we to know what these are if they aren’t usually obvious?  One way to do this is by recognizing our reactions and actions in difficult relationships.

Who do we usually show are weaknesses to throughout life? Our co-workers, our acquaintances, etc., or do we show these to the ones we’re the closest with? Why is this?  It just might be that we want to be healed of these aspects, false or non-working beliefs, and have subconsciously chosen that person to shake our inner world.

Enlightenment or Spiritual Alignment does not exist when separateness, conditional love, limited tolerance, and non-acceptance exists.  We cannot achieve transformation without an upheaval and  a deliberate look at where these lie within ourselves or others in order to begin healing them. This is a most ominous opportunity to show strength and share love for yourself and others because here is where you or they get to heal this aspect of self.

With a simple shift in perspective, you can transform a difficult relationship into a most sacred one by recognizing the opportunity you have to either heal aspects of your own personality or of the personality of the person you’re with. When the events pop up, take a moment to step back and reflect for a moment and ask “what is trying to surface here?”  If it’s you or your companion in the relationship (friend, mate, lover, parent, etc.) experiencing a counter belief surfacing; the shift from reaction to reflection will transform it by simply remembering, “this is an opportunity for healing this counter belief by simply accepting, reflecting, and releasing this moment,” either for yourself concerning whatever came up or for what came to the surface for the person you’re with as opposed to reacting and taking it personally.

Quite simply put, try to recognize that you or they have detached from their own source of love and light within themselves or yourself during that moment.  Recognizing the innocence and sacred opportunity to heal that moment comes when you accept, forgive, and allow for the source of love and light to replenish the space and energy that was just released.

We are all One, separateness is an illusion and we are all here learning how to balance and harmonize our form with spirit.  This comes with cooperation and by honoring our difficult relationships as much as our easy ones and then we’ll get there!

Much Love too all.