Being OK With Myself
I feel like the theme for today is self-acceptance. As I engaged all of my muscles in Brett Larkin's Warrior III yoga flow, I wobbled on my right side and then on my left side, more than the right (I'm working on balancing out my masculine, right side body/feminine, left side body). In the "Cherry Heart" fable in the "Chakra Energy Oracle Workbook" by Tori Hartman, the meditation was all about accepting myself and others with unconditional love - all of us, even our faults. In my "Rituals For Transformation" journal by Dr. Peter and Briana Borten, I wrote the affirmation, 'My fellow beings are worthy of forgiveness, and so I am'. Forgiveness is asking us to accept that both ourselves and others have faults that we may dislike or even hate. And how do we accept, love and forgive that fact. Note this doesn't mean to condone terrible things, it means that we accept that this happened, send love to it and release the energy it into forgiveness - therefore freeing up our minds, hearts and souls from being tethered to resentment. forgiveness is a lot harder than it sounds. I like to think of it for myself as practicing the art of forgiveness, much as I practice the art of yoga. I'm not perfect at it and sometimes it's hard, like trying to hold myself in plank or crow pose, but eventually with enough practice, it will strengthen, just like my muscles, and so too will my heart.
The "Chakra Energy Oracle Workbook" said for me to write down the statement. "I accept myself", post it where I can see it all the time and repeat the affirmation whenever I think about it or thoughts like fear, doubt or worry creep in. I can add that to the affirmation I wrote in my journal "Rituals For Transformation" about forgiveness, and then blend both of those with the affirmation "I love myself and others unconditionally. I feel as if these are the key components in the recipe for emotional healing. At the core of many the practices like yoga, Reiki, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) they are key. In fact in EFT, you begin each problem with the statement "Even though I have(insert problem or issue) I deeply and completely, love, accept and forgive myself." I will spend a week releasing all that does not serve me using these affirmations whenever I am faced with a negative emotion or situations. I am also going to pick one person a day to forgive, starting with someone easy and progressing to harder cases (not forgetting to forgive myself). From there I will progress to people I don't know who I have judged for doing terrible things and see how far I can forgive -- stretching my energetic heart muscles!
