With the holiday season soon upon us, a time of celebration and renewal, why not start it off by celebrating YOU! Honoring the relationship you have with yourself, in 3 key ways, I guarantee will set a festive and profoundly powerful tone for the rest of this special season, and into the new year ahead.
The first key to celebrating yourself is being committed to registering your experience by slowing down and noting your emotions, body sensations, thoughts, needs and desires. These elements of self buzz within all the time, yet how often do you blast right past this treasure chest of personal information? Celebrating yourself means mindfully valuing what is happening within sweet, wonderful, amazing YOU. Emphasis here is on the word valuing. Celebrating yourself means valuing the full range of your inner and outer experience, the shadow parts as well as the delicious aspects. We are typically masters at perceptively recognizing what others in our inner circles are going through….yet we so often neglect giving ourselves similar recognition. Begin this holiday season with a ferocious commitment to registering your experience….at all times.
Once you get used to registering your experience, you are primed for the second key to celebrating yourself – practicing self-compassion! Why not infuse the way you think about yourself with ever-present warmth and care? Compassion means sympathetic concern for the suffering of beings. You are one of those beings, and giving yourself the same empathy you would another, in any and all situations, is an essential way to celebrate yourself. Imagine the yummy feeling of being loved by someone who is important to you. Under this spell, you experience gratitude, appreciation, warmth, comfort, and a general feeling of well-being. Now imagine turning all those heartfelt emotions on yourself as you cherish and love the person you are. Imagine wrapping yourself in a sweet embrace. Soften into yourself. Wow! Magical, yes? And remember, the power is in the relationship
So, if you have diligently registered your experience, and practiced self-compassion as you embrace whatever the experience is… on to the third key for celebrating yourself. This key is to take who you are, in full authenticity, into the moment before you. Practice cultivating the ultimate in loving-kindness toward yourself while standing in your truth. Your energy will flow freely and powerfully. Embracing and expressing your true spirit is a grand way to celebrate yourself. You waste precious energy when you fake, back away from, or force your way of being. The world is always made better by the joyful expansion of the YOU that is manifesting each and every day. So celebrate yourself by fearlessly bringing the truth, the essence of who you are, into the present. Enjoy, for instance, feeling really good in your body, speak that thought you might otherwise hesitate to communicate, reach out and really hug that friend you deeply care about, but often get shy around. In other words, let your exquisite light shine bright this holiday season. This light will then guide you magnificently into the New Year ahead!