Your Inner Compass Points to Love

Why is it that we do not always choose what we know is the right thing? Or what we know would be best for us? Even when we feel and we know that we are going against the flow, we still do it. Why? As we encounter resistance, we generally keep trying to push and thinking that it will work eventually. Why is it so difficult to listen to ourselves and the signs within and around us?

 

For many of us, it stems from our untrained minds and our ego trying to be in control. If you think about it, we were not born as fearful and self-loathing individuals. We learned this way of thinking about ourselves over time and in various environments. To find true happiness and contentment, we must develop inner-trust and love ourselves entirely. According to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali, our ultimate goal in life should be to live from an inner sense of what is the appropriate action and stance in any given moment.

 

As a challenge from my great teacher, join me in practicing self-love. Make it a focus of your life for the next 30 days to do what feels good. Make decisions that stem from what would be best from you. Let those decisions come from the heart, not the mind.

 

Here are some ideas:

 

• Start your day with asking yourself about what you want to truly do

 

• Do not be afraid to cancel plans if you would rather be doing something else

 

• Eat what your belly feels like eating. Go ahead and have that ice cream!

 

• Spend time relaxing and do not feel guilty. Take that relaxing bath and surround yourself with those special candles you’ve been saving

 

For a journaling exercise, fill up a whole page or even two pages with a list of everything that you love about yourself. As you are writing, turn your self-facing camera on so that you can stare at yourself to find those true, genuine qualities that make you powerful and divine. Look beyond your own eyes. If this exercise feels difficult, journal about why the exercise is hard. Challenge yourself.

 

Remember to have patience and self-compassion as you work to retrain the mind. So go ahead and give your heart a chance to guide you. Inner peace will come soon. “True mastery is self-mastery, which is the road to bliss” – Claudia van Buren