Self-Love leads Us into Tomorrow

FOR YEARS, MANY people talked about the year 2012. Some people talked from a fear-based perspective, while others talked of opportunities for transformation in order to assist the planet in its evolution. I cannot speak to what others say as truth or speculation, but I can share what I am noticing as we journey through 2013 and forward.

Over the last few decades, we have been in the midst of a major shift in consciousness. Rather than continuing to shift from the outside in, we have been called to shift from the inside out.

What does that mean? It means that in our recent history, our focus has been on the external world. We have focused our energy on creating our material world with perfect bodies, bigger houses, fancier cars, exquisite vacations, etc. As we have refined our skills at manifesting in the material world, we also have lost something of great value. We lost the connection between our hearts and our heads and from each other. We have disconnected from our true selves and, as a result, we have lost our sense of community.

Currently, there is more of a focus on healthier lifestyles with more exercise and diet through things such as yoga, Pilates, meditation, kale smoothies, etc. But is that what we are really being called toward? More kale? As I do believe that kale, along with many other sources of nutrition and exercise, are good for us, there is an important aspect that is being brought forward — and that is the value of nurturing our souls. I believe we are being called to a higher truth where the focus is shifting from the external world to the internal.

We have been learning that we create our realities from the inside out and now this shift is helping us reconnect to our true power that lies within us through self-love.

As Carl Jung said, “The most terrifying thing is to accept oneself completely.” That is what we are being called to do now. It is time to accept all the parts of ourselves that we deny because we are ashamed, all the parts of ourselves that we ignore because we do not see the value in “being the best for the world” rather than “being the best in the world,” all the parts that remain hidden to us because we know that we judge ourselves and the judgment that we receive from others only reinforces our beliefs and fears — all the parts: the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The year 2013 and beyond is about this self-acceptance. It is about stepping into that place of vulnerability and owning all the beautiful wisdom that lies deep within our hearts that we have kept dormant all these years. It is time to bring those gifts forward and allow our light to shine so that we can share our uniqueness and brilliance with the world.

We are all here for a reason, but we cannot keep those reasons hidden any longer. The only way to allow our gifts to come forward is to let go of self-doubt and practice self-acceptance and self-love.

So many people have been concerned with only displaying the “good” and seemingly “perfect” qualities that we have buried the true treasures that our souls have to offer. Elizabeth Kübler-Ross shared, “Should you shield the canyons from the windstorms, you would never see the true beauty of their carvings.” The true gifts are in those parts of ourselves that we fear; those are the parts that make us who we are and make us unique. The truth is that those are the buried treasures and that is where our true beauty lies.

It takes a true hero to be willing to step into the unknown and dig deep to see what hidden treasures our soul has waiting for us. Only then, when we are able to reconnect with our true selves, accept all the parts of ourselves and be vulnerable enough to be seen by the world, will we be able to connect whole-heartedly with each other.