Make yourself your own beloved...

A critical aspect of life that most of us forget: to love our own selves first. But how can we love ourselves, if we do not even know ourselves? We talk about loving our family, our friends, spreading joy in the world - How is that possible? How is that achievable when we do not even understand what loving our own selves mean?

This world is all about relationships. The most critical relationship is that with ones Higher Self, with God. The day, the moment you understand what relationship with your own Self means, you will wonder how you ever survived so far.

All those of us who have never gone into self introspection will have no clue of what I am talking about. Self introspection, that ultimately leads to a beautiful loving relationship with ones own self, comes with effort, step by step...

Here is my recipe for establishing a strong, loving relationship with ones own self:

1. Make an intention that you do want to know who you are (the biggest question: Who am I?). Understand that this may seem impossible, but have faith that this is very much doable.

2. Once you have made up this important decision to know yourself, start spending some time with yourself. And I mean in solitude. Early in the morning when the rest of the little world surrounding you is sleeping, when the birds are the only ones to keep you company, that is when you create a place for yourself to go into solitude. This is when the mind is rested, when it is prepared to settle and prepared for digging deeper.

3. This is when you meditate - close your eyes, acknowledge the thoughts sweeping in and out instead of brushing them aside or getting frustrated, and allow your inner being to dig in to your depths.

4. Become aware that most of us never allow our inner beings to go into many of the depths inside for that is where it hurts the most - why? Because you have shelved "things" there over the years and never bothered to resolve them, come to terms with them, so that you could move on.

5. Realize that this process may bring tears, may take an enormous amount of time - days, months, years depending on which inner part you are dealing with - but the outcome of acknowledging that this hurt, this fear, this emotion, this dissatisfaction, this anxiety, this confusion, this depression does exist inside you, will take you one step closer to freeing yourself, unburdening yourself, releasing yourself from your own intangible chains.

6. Little by little, you will start understanding yourself.

7. One step at a time you will, unravel your own mysteries.

8. And one at a time you will start emptying the overflowing cup within - overflowing with all that negative emotions that did not allow any space for the wonderful and beautiful things to come into your life. Can you put tea in a cup filled to the brim? The same way you cannot even imagine loving anyone else, no matter how much you may want or think that you do, until you have filled yourself up with love, which then will overflow out into the rest of humanity.

9. Drenching yourself with nothing but love will make you become aware that God has been residing inside you at all times - when you were happy and even when you were sad. This relationship with the Higher Self will open up doors that you never imagined existed. You will stop relying on others for answers, for you will start uncovering the answers all on your own.

10. Now you are ready to establish a relationship with others :) Now you are ready to truly live your life. Now you are ready to maximize your own potential. Now things start falling into place without much effort…