A Meditation Celebration

Learning to Love Yourself

(The Way You Deserve to be Loved!)

1). Daily affirmations 

Think of some things that you want to be true about yourself, then construct a sentence, or a few phrases, out of it and repeat it often! Preferably during a meditation.

 *Example: I want to belong to a group. Affirmation: “I belong to a group of loving caring people who are my friends. We have mutual concern for each other. I feel I belong when I am with them!”

 2). Meditate

Remember that 5 minutes is better than none. You will find yourself so enthralled with your journey that you may not want to stop. *Soon I have produced a vlog series on YouTube with all sorts of helpful hints on meditation & other empowering tools and practices to improve your life so you can enjoy balance happiness!
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCu23MlIEUbvytwOLQ62UZGQ

        3). Keep a journal JUST for gratitude and positive experiences 

   Write every day. Only write positive and happy experiences and feelings. Write down the things for which you are thankful. The more you write the more creative you will get with what you notice and what you record.  Read it OFTEN!   *If you feel you must write down your negative feelings, I strongly encourage you to record those thoughts in a separate notebook. Then, once a month or so, I recommend participating in a ‘Burning Bowl Ceremony’ to release all of that negativity and make room in your life for more positive! *(I will address the Burning Bowl Ceremony in my Vlog) Also, please see my blog 
below:
 ~Burning Bowl Ceremony~

Why Do I NEED It Now?

What’s it all about??

        4). Pay Attention to your Guides & Intuition  

   So often we hear a “still small voice” in our head, beckoning us to do something a certain way, yet we ignore it. We blow it off as just a thought. How else would our Higher Power in the Universe speak to us? 
*The more you listen to, and follow the advice of that voice in your head, the more adept you will become at receiving and hearing the answers that are sent to you. Look at it this way, if you spoke to someone all the time, and offered advice when they asked for it, yet they NEVER listened to you or took your advice, wouldn’t you eventually stop talking to them? So would I.

      5). Look for Ways to Help Others 

   No matter how down you are feeling, your mood is guaranteed to lift if you make just one person’s day a little bit better.  Helping someone doesn’t have to be a big production. In fact, a lot of the time it’s the smallest things that make the biggest impression. If you notice someone struggling (for whatever reason), to get their groceries into their car at the super market for example, offer your assistance. It takes but a moment but you will greatly impact that person’s day and perhaps their life! The best part? It is guaranteed to make your day 100% better! Yes, I said guaranteed!! Try me.

     6). SMILE 

   Even when you don’t feel like it. This is the best way to trick yourself into feeling happy. Everyone we see is merely a reflection of ourselves.  This is especially true if we look into a mirror. If we are grumpy and in a bad mood and we see our reflection we are just going to have our negative feelings reinforced. It’s the same thing when we look at others. If you go out into the world with a depressed countenance, no smile and in a bad mood in general, others will return those same looks and feelings in their facial expressions (and words) to us, again, reinforcing our bad mood. However, when we keep a smile on our face, others will in turn reflect that back to us, thereby lifting our mood with no more effort than a smile takes! It’s true. Just try it. You will be amazed at how much your depression/bad mood will lift simply by smiling.
 *The next time someone says, “How are you?”  Give them a big smile, look them in the eye and say, “I’m really happy! Thank you!” Fake it ‘til ya make it people. I swear it works!

     7). PRAY

   Most people will say they believe in God in some shape or form, a Higher Power, if you will. There are literally thousands of Deities that people worship with just as many philosophies, prophecies and stories to reinforce their belief systems. Very few people are actual atheists; in fact the numbers suggest that less than 2-13% of the world’s population is self-identified atheists. So, for the other 90% or so, I say PRAY! Pray to God. Pray to your Higher Power. Pray to a kumquat. I really don’t care. The important thing is that if you feel that there is a power stronger than yourself, who truly cares about you, you should harness that power. There is great relief in being able to unload your problems to someone who truly loves you unconditionally. *Then, and this is important…LISTEN for the answers you receive! May I refer you to #2 and #4 above? MEDITATE  and Pay Attention to your Guides and Intuition!! There will be more on the power of prayer in my Vlog. I'm shameless, right?

   8). Show Yourself the Same Compassion You Want Others to Show You

 We often hear, “Treat others the way you want to be treated.” Well that is good advice, but just as important I feel is,  “Treat yourself the way you want others to treat you.” How often do you get upset because someone does you wrong? They pass judgment on you or just don’t give you the benefit of the doubt? You think, “I would never treat them like that.” Yet, when you need tenderness and understanding, you don’t treat yourself with that same respect. We are too hard on ourselves! It’s time to stop being so judgmental of ourselves. Of all the people we most admire, we should be at the top of our own list. Sure, there are always things we’d like to improve on…work on those. But in the meantime, while we are working at becoming perfect, let’s give ourselves the same compassion, understanding, love and acceptance that we would like others to show us. 
*Remember that is harder to love someone who doesn’t love themselves! Loving Yourself & Raising Your Self-Esteem…yes, I will address that in my Vlog.

     9). Take Care of Your BODY

    There are all kinds of ways to do this, from the very simple; like taking a hot bath, lighting a candle, breathing deeply, meditating, getting a massage, and the list goes on. But we can also take a little more interest in this “temple” that we have been blessed with. Eating right doesn’t have to mean D-I-E-T, which is indeed a 4-letter-word! Sometimes baby steps are the best approach! It can mean caring enough about our bodies to try to eat organic when possible, cutting down on sugars, bad fats and anything we know doesn’t agree with us. Limit quantities of food so you never feel “stuffed.” Exercise. If you just aren’t into sweating, what about a walk on a beautiful day? Breathe deeply as you take each step intentionally. Enjoy the beauty around you! Buy yourself a decadent lotion and, after a long, relaxing bath, take the time to smooth it all over your body, enjoying the feel and the scent. Sometimes we need to remind ourselves just how special we are and we deserve to be pampered, especially by ourselves!

      10). Create Balance in Your Life

    Anything off balance will eventually fall over, including us! We all need to work, support ourselves, take care of our families, keep up with the house, the errands, etc. but since we feel we don’t NEED to exercise we don’t. We don’t NEED to eat healthy, so we don’t. We don’t NEED to play, so we don’t. I am telling you that we all NEED all of those things and so much more. We need a little time to be social and connect with other people. We need to spend time with family and those we love and feel loved by. We need to eat right if we want to feel right. We need to calm our minds and shut out the world for at least 5 minutes a day. (Ya see how I snuck in Meditation there?) We need to work out if we want to be healthy, strong & energetic and last, and possibly the most important; we NEED to PLAY!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MH2gYCdzVQ8
When was the last time that you did something just for fun, When the desired outcome was just to
 have enjoyed the experience? I am not talking about something passive, like watching a movie. I am talking about doing something fun. Learn a new hobby or skill. Ride a bike. Go to the park and swing. Try out a hula hoop. Go for a walk and collect rocks and feathers. Try your hand at painting or sketching. Too scary? Get an adult coloring book and color away! The point is we often forget how to have fun just for the sake of having fun once we become adults. If you desire true happiness you must have balance in your life, so don’t exclude fun & play!

       *Vlog available now! At YouTube look up "Karma Cristie" and Subscribe! I have a series of 10 short video posts targeted at women titled "Learning to Love Yourself." The first video, less than 5 minutes long, is now available. The Topic: How to Meditate in just 5 minutes a day!
www.aMeditationCelebration.com  Watch for it!