CHAPTER 1
Divine Love for Self and Others
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What is the concept of Divine Love, anyway? Divine Love is looking at oneself and seeing the perfection that is there. "Perfect? What? Me?" you say as you laugh. Yes, you, with your perceived flaws and all. You know what I'm talking about. You look at yourself and say, "My nose is too big," "I'm not the best communicator," "I am unable to do this or that," or "My life is not how I want it to be." The list can go on and on if you let it. But do you really want to? No, you say with a sigh, almost halfheartedly. I know. I heard you, and I've been there myself.
When we focus on the things we believe are wrong about ourselves, we tend to block out the aspects of ourselves that we need to focus on, those things that make us stand out. And no, I'm not talking about a big nose here. I'm referring to things in us that others will often point out just when we need to see ourselves differently. You know that time when someone a loved one or a stranger commented on something positive about you. Perhaps you blew it off, not wanting to come off as prideful or simply not believing it yourself.
Okay, I see the wheels turning here. As you read this, you can come up with a time or two, perhaps more, when this happened to you. Then, as you smile, to yourself you see the purpose behind that conversation, no matter how short. It was to get you to see yourself differently. To see yourself as you are meant to. You are a Divine Spark of Source Energy, a soul that is very beautiful in every way.
We are so much more than these bodies that we inhabit on earth. We just have forgotten. We have allowed ourselves to believe that we are nothing more than what we do, have, or what we learned from parents, school, society, and others who have influenced us with their own ways of seeing the world.
Although we have learned many positive things from the above- mentioned sources in our lives, we have also learned other things, behaviors, and beliefs that are not always in alignment with who we truly are.
As we identify these beliefs, such as "You can't do that" or "We only do things this way in this family," we see that we can move past these to ones that are a better fit for us.
"Now where does all this fit in regarding Divine Love?" you ask. As we embrace the fact that we are not chained to the past belief systems that we were taught, we can begin to see ourselves and others differently.
That is Divine Love: seeing yourself as you truly are — perfect in every way. Does it happen overnight? No, it takes time and patience. Think about it this way: the belief systems and thoughts you have about yourself took time to form. They did not appear overnight, and they came with a little help from others, right? The most important thing to remember is to be patient with yourself every day, whether you are working at changing how you see yourself or just going about your daily routine.
As you continue on your journey, step by step you will see a new you, one you will be more comfortable with, perhaps one who surpasses all your expectations.
I wish you well on your journey.
Divine Love for Self and Others: Affirmations
* I love myself unconditionally.
* I radiate universal love.
* Everything that comes to me is transmuted to unconditional love and healing.
* I infuse myself with unconditional/universal love with acceptance of myself and others where we are on our life path, and I extend forgiveness to all.
* Divine Love radiates through me directly from Source toward all others, and I receive back Divine, unconditional love.
* I maintain a high vibration full of unconditional love and blessings to all, including to Mother Earth and myself.
* Fill my heart with pure love, dear Source. Fill me with forgiveness toward myself and all others. Thank you for allowing me to heal.
* Divine Love operating through me blesses myself and others, allowing complete Divine Healing and adjustment to our Divine Life Path.
* As I give freely out of love, my abundance flows to me naturally.
* Every form of energy that comes to me is transmuted to universal love for myself and toward all others.
* Others in my energy field can only enhance and improve my vibrational state.
* There is no weakness in love, only strength.
* Pure unconditional love surrounds me in every moment, and I open myself up to its transforming abilities.
* Divine Love expresses itself through me in all ways for Divine Healing and it is so.
* I make my words the vibration of love, release that which is not my true self, and accept who I truly am.
* I surrender into what I truly am: pure light. I let go of all negative mental filters and forever feeling the light of love in my heart.
* I emanate and express unconditional love in all that I do.
* I am a willing receptive, pure vessel of Source for the highest good of all, including myself.
* Divine Love prospers us in all ways.
* Divine Order and harmony are established in all areas of my life, and I am grateful.
* I allow only love in and give out only love.
* May all my words and actions be healing to all.
CHAPTER 2
Forgiveness
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Reaching a state of forgiveness comes from our ability to first identify what we choose to forgive. This is not limited to others and their actions; this could also be situations that happened to us in the past, and our own behaviors toward others.
We are very much an active part in the forgiving process because we make the choice whether to open our hearts and minds to forgive or not. And as with so many other things in our lives, forgiveness is just not merely saying words but actually feeling them and allowing a release of the past. Holding on to anger or pain does not hurt the other person or affect the situation the way we may think it does. Holding on to any form of negativity ultimately affects one's own being. This can cause not just emotional issues but health concerns as well.
Studies have shown that some individuals with cancer often have difficulty releasing emotions and hold on to anger and resentment. I found several of these studies from the National Institutes of Health and the Oxford Journals located on their websites. However, there are many more studies from around the world in both scientific journals and alternative health journals that are also easily accessible. I encourage you to explore this on your own.
One could possibly make a correlation that allowing oneself to let strong emotions to fester over time can cause debilitating effects on one's mind and body. Being aware of these effects can enable us to be active participants in our own healing, no matter what situation has occurred, how long ago, and with whom. Even if the other party is no longer in a living body, healing can occur on all levels as we take action steps to take back our own power, not allowing other people or situations to control our lives. This also includes self-forgiveness. I have seen many times in my practice when individuals who have experienced abuse in any form place the blame on themselves.
Healing past pain and forgiving, especially due to trauma and abuse, may take time. As we move forward in life, it's important to honor our feelings, nurture ourselves, and allow the healing to take place in a way we can manage.
Forgiveness: Affirmations
* I forgive all with an open heart, allowing myself and others to heal.
* I infuse myself with unconditional/universal love with acceptance of myself and others where we are on our life path, and I extend forgiveness to all.
* Fill my heart with pure love, dear Source. Fill me with forgiveness toward myself and others. Thank you for allowing me to heal.
* Divine Love operating through me blesses others, including myself, allowing complete Divine Healing and adjustment to our Divine Life Path.
* I forgive myself.
* I release the old and embrace the new. Abundance, prosperity, and peace fill my soul.
* I allow only love in and give out only love.
* May all my words and actions be healing to all.
CHAPTER 3
GRATITUDE
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With the start of each day, we can actively put in motion for ourselves a day that is focused on joy and gratitude, despite the circumstances around us. We may not be able to predict or control what happens during our day, but we can transmute, lessen, or neutralize negative energy by actively switching our focus onto something more desirable and eventually see the situation that we are in differently. It's all about perception.
How can I choose to see things differently when they are going so wrong? This is a question I have been asked many times and have asked myself numerous times as well in the past. The answer is not through turning a blind eye and ignoring what's going on or pretending the situation is not happening. That does a disservice to you and others who are experiencing difficulty.
The answer is within. We have an innate ability to see things around us — people, places, things, situations — the way we want to see them. Even more specifically, we view them the way we were taught through previous conditioning. As children, we first started identifying with the things around us according to the labels and names that the people in our lives gave those things. Not all of these labels were bad; however, many were, given due to the labeler's misconception of the person or thing that they were describing.
So is a banana a banana? Well, in English, yes. But in another language it's something else. And we could call it something else entirely if we wanted to. As we do not have one universal language for everyone to adhere to (thank goodness because that would be boring!), so too do we not all see the same things the same way. For one person a banana's good, but for someone who dislikes them, he or she might see bananas as bad.
The coffee you spilled on your shirt the other day was just an inconvenience. A hot, uncomfortable one, but an inconvenience nonetheless, because you had to rush back home and get another shirt. However, for someone else whose day was already riddled with other inconveniences, that person may choose to have a bigger reaction than you did. A few expletives, perhaps? Maybe throwing something? Yet another person who had an even more stressful morning in comparison to the other two might shrug it off and keep heading to work, knowing somehow that the spilled coffee was not that important to the overall scheme of things.
How did they do this, you ask? Willpower. No matter what we experience in our lives, we have the active choice in how we respond to each experience, no matter how debilitating it might seem on the outside. It is how we look at it, our own choice of perception that will define the situation for us.
Is it hard, changing your perspective? Sometimes yes, because we have many ingrained programs that have told us, since birth, how to see the world around us. When we come to a point in our lives were we can identify why we think such things, we say, "Well, because Mom always told me those people always act that way ...," and then we can start to move forward and ask ourselves — really ask ourselves — if those beliefs fit us any longer.
It does take work, but with every step we get closer and closer to a space where we can start living our lives in a state of grace, allowing things that will happen to happen and not elicit an adverse reaction from us.
Are we just talking about spilled coffee here? No, but that's a start. Looking at the little things in life that get under our skin and learning to master those things, not allowing them to get under our skin in the first place, enables us to cope with and successfully handle the bigger things that we encounter in life.
Do you have to choose to see everything as wonderful and beautiful? That's your choice. And it can be a good one if you are in a space where you truly feel that way. However, it may be a simple choice to say to yourself, "I choose not to let that experience affect me in a negative way all day." Or ask yourself, "Did I like it?" Your response may be, "No, but I will focus on whatever else I need to get done today."
It may be simply taking each moment at a time. Stop and have a cup of tea, or take a walk. Get up and stretch. The dishes or paperwork or whatever else that needs to be completed will still be there when you're done.
Usually when we are in the biggest hurry is when our body needs us to take a break. That does not mean shirking our responsibilities but building in moments throughout the day that we honor ourselves by stopping and completely allowing ourselves to enjoy the moment.
Shifting back to gratitude, what are you grateful for? I have a feeling you can come up with things rather quickly when you think about it. Are you grateful for your home, car, food? Even when they might not be what you desire at the moment, they are items that bring you comfort in some way. Expressing gratitude for what you already have brings more abundance in your life, more things for which to be grateful. If you struggle with finding things to be grateful for, just remember you can experience gratitude by simply knowing you have more power over your life experiences than you once thought. You are currently taking action steps to change your life, moving in the direction that will have a more beneficial outcome for you.
Acknowledging you're grateful for what you already have tells the universe that you are ready for more. It allows doors to open that would otherwise be closed. Without a grateful heart we are unable to receive more of what we want and the things that are truly aligned with ourselves.
After we have been through a state of materializing things that we want, we begin to see other things as possibilities. These other things, people, places, and experiences open up a gateway to show us there is much more to life than the things we want. Actually, there are many things that we have not yet considered that may bring us greater enjoyment and fulfillment.
Gratitude: Affirmations
* I am grateful for this day and my many blessings, which are uncountable.
* I am grateful for all my blessings and for those unseen.
* I communicate clearly with the Angels and my Spirit Guides. I am grateful for their guidance, protection, and loving energy and ask Source to bless them continuously.
* I have faith that all is well.
* I accept my power to heal myself and others.
* I am in my full power.
* My words are powerful. I use them for the good of all others and myself.
* I am released from any negative beliefs about myself, either self-imposed or from others. I see myself as perfect in the image of Source.
* I AM strength; I AM love; I AM peace; I AM joy.
* I focus on the good.
* Thank you for my perfect sleep.
* Thank you for my perfect health.
* Thank you for my perfect breathing.
* Thank you for my perfect career in which I am Divinely Guided to utilize my spiritual gifts for the benefit of all.
* Thank you for my perfect career, which I have passion in all that I do, and where all my needs are met with surplus.
* Thank you for my wonderful, loving, lasting, mutually beneficial, spiritual, sensual relationship with my perfect partner, of which I am so grateful!
* Thank you for my caring, responsible friends who are supportive and positive.
* I am happy and open to receive everything and everybody that bring increase to my/our greater good!
* Divine Love prospers us in all ways.
* Thank you that our family is blessed with complete health!
* Thank you for unlimited free time to do what I/we desire, which is for my/our greatest good.
* Thank you for increased opportunities for spiritual growth.
* Thank you for _____________ ability to release his or her smoking habit!
* Thank you for _____________ increased positive decision-making skills that immensely benefits him or her.
* Thank you that _____________ is led by Divine Intelligence to what benefits their family psychologically, physically, spiritually, and for complete health.
* _____________ has complete, fully functioning organs, for which I am grateful.
* I am grateful that (Name of pet) is potty-trained outdoors, well minded, and chews only on their toys..
* Divine Order and harmony are established in all areas of my life, and I am grateful.
* How may I serve with balance and abundance?
* All that is for my highest good benefit to all, harm to none, including myself comes to me now and in my clear perception of truth I welcome it.
* I release the old and embrace the new. Abundance, prosperity, and peace fill my soul.
* _____________ is completed in Divine Order for the benefit of all.
* I ask my Guardian Angels and guides to remove that which isn't for my highest good from all body forms, and I am grateful.
