MEDITATION - Crucial part of Self-Love
Self-love. Do you relax and smile when you hear these words, or do you cringe? Your reaction to this question will reveal a lot about yourself and whether or not you want to practice self-love meditation. Being critical of ourselves and engaging in a lot of negative self-talk is all too typical, sadly. However, this does not make it any less harmful to our sense of well-being and enjoyment.
Indeed, self-criticism is inextricably tied to a lack of self-esteem. Somewhere along the way, many of us learned that we have to earn love rather than have it bestowed upon us. We believe that in order to be loved, we must be perfect. The issue is that there is no such thing as human perfection.
Interestingly, the Dalai Lama was perplexed by the concept of "poor self-esteem" in a talk with Western psychotherapists - it was not something he recognized in Tibetan culture at all!
Self-love & Compassion: the two wings of meditation
Meditation has two wings: your head and your heart. The head gives step-by-step techniques, context, and comprehension of meditation's goals. The heart is the environment you create for meditation. If you follow a practice step by step while feeling unloving and self-critical, it will be ineffective, not to mention a subtle form of self-punishment. It's best not to meditate at all!
Meditation on self-love makes you happier, more creative, and more resourceful and immediately opens your heart to others.
And don't be deceived: self-love strengthens you. Self-compassion or self-love has an unjustified reputation for being weak or self-indulgent. Not so. Indeed, Kristen Neff, a self-compassion expert, argues that it fosters resilience, self-awareness, and compassion for others.
What are the perks of practicing self-love meditation?
Here are a few of the benefits of practicing self-love meditation. If you incorporate it into your regular routine, you should begin to notice some of the following benefits:
1. It relieves tension and anxiety.
Self-criticism or self-judgment feels the same as criticism or judgment from others. It produces rage, despair, and even terror, as well as tension and worry. Meditation on self-love literally helps your nervous system relax and feel protected.
2. It's more comfortable!
Continuing from the last point, with whom would you choose to spend your time? Someone who criticizes your thoughts, appearance, and behavior? Or someone who is interested in you, is kind, and treats you with dignity and compassion? If you prefer the latter, you can treat yourself as you would like others to treat you. Wouldn't that be fantastic?
3. Brings your unconscious self-criticism to the surface
Many people are resistant to self-love meditations. Why? Because, as previously stated, self-criticism is regarded as "natural," at least to some level. There are other explanations for this that are beyond the scope of this paper!