We have all heard this phrase in one form or another. I wanted to know if it could really happen, so I put it to the test.
What does it mean to change your perspective? I can say that this is a true statement, at least for my life it is. Let me explain why.
As, I take my spiritual walk. I have learned to be 100% honest with myself. I am someone who has struggled many times in my life. I have struggled with things like, stress, weight, bad choices, negative thinking, and self-sabotage, to name just a few. I also found, portions of my life where I was trying to live up to the standards of others, basically, I was trying to keep up with the Jones.
Now if you're the type of person that is not looking for this type of lifestyle change, then this blog post is probably not for you. But if you're someone, that's looking to get out of this type of rat race and make real changes to your life, thank keep reading, I have lots more to share.
How you treat yourself, is How you teach others to love you!
-by Rupi Kaur
When I look at this quote I automatically think of all the times when I didn't love myself. However it also showed me how far I've come by changing my perspective on Love. I say to my clients all the time that, to truly love something you must love yourself first. So where do we start?
I started simple, and I recommend that everybody start off simple. During the process of self-awareness if you rush into the process you can lose the reason or the meaning behind what you're working on, therefore you can go back to old patterns of behavior.
I see this happen a lot with fad diets. Have you ever tried to go on a new fad diet? At first you are very successful. But due to patterns of behavior you will be unable to maintain the weight loss and run a higher risk of gaining it all back and then some.
Being this far along in my journey, I can say with certainty that changing my perspective has given me the understanding of what love truly is. But that wasn't always the case. I lived in fear almost my whole life. I was insecure and doubted my ability in most things I did. At times I would self-sabotage because, I felt like I was not good enough to do what I was trying to do. You see the point isn't the details of the action. The point of the action is the message within the action. Let me give you an example, I know I've mentioned this before in my blog posting.
I was somebody who struggled with weight my entire life. I found that I was avoiding wearing the same things that everybody else was. I felt ugly in my own skin because the way society views people who are overweight. Because of my social programming and the thought that I've adopted. I also looked at overweight people as being discussing, this included myself. In one of my earlier posts about courage, I talked about this exact situation. I talk about the examples that I receive as a child that develop the thought process that I adapt to based on my friends, family, and social experiences. I knew in order to start this part of my journey of love I had to really think about the ways in which I love myself.
At one point in my life I wanted to be a chef, and I created a company where I made custom cakes. I did this for quite some time and I felt I was very successful. So because of my cooking background and my LOVE for food, I thought it would be fun to put my technique in the form of a recipe. Like I said, keep it simple.
Below is a list of 6 ingredients to help you get started on your journey to LOVE.
To make this recipe perfectly, you will need to accept that you are on the journey to change your perspective. Following this simple recipe has helped me change my perspective on life. You can make alternations to this recipe by adding at any time to any of these ingredients, but it would not be wise to subtract. Like any good cook knows you can always add to your recipe, but you can never subtract:
10 minutes a day of Meditation
20 minutes a day of Fresh Outside Air
10 minutes a day of Movement- Dance, yoga
10 minutes a day of Hard Laughter
10 minutes a day Journal with prompting- " Who am I?"
Every second that you CAN show Gratitude
Directions
The directions are easy to follow.
Your first step should be to create a practice of meditation. Try to focus on opening the heart and quieting the mind. I recommend that you learn all of the styles of mediation before choosing the right one for you. When I first started out, I was confused and didn't know where to start. Meditation is not to completely shut off your mind. What you're doing is concentrating and focusing on one thing at a time. Here is a mantra from my Guru that you can repeat however many times you would like. "open the heart quiet the mind".
Getting outside.. Fresh air has proven to be beneficial to the body. Not only do you get to be with nature, but you get to go out of your space. I work from home, and sometimes staring at the same four walls can be challenging. I found that even walking into the other room can help clear my mind.
Now you want to slowly mix in some movement. Have you ever found yourself in one of those Rom-com movie situations where you hear your favorite song and immediately break out in dance. If you're anything like me then you're probably not the best dancer in the world. There was a time in my life when I used to be embarrassed about the way I moved. Now I don't care, if I look like Elaine from Seinfeld bring it on. But it doesn't have to be just dance. You can also get outside and go for a walk the point is to move.
When the mix feels just right add in 10 minutes of Hard laughter. I found one of the best ways of showing and feeling love is when you are laughing. Laughter for your brain is like getting a shot of adrenaline. I don't know about you but I love and hate to laugh, but I enjoy comedy. Sometimes forcing the hard laughter can help build self-awareness, and self -esteem.
Don't be shy with the next ingredient. Trust me when I say that everyone including myself hates this assignment. I wish there was an easier way to journal but in all honesty just find the method that works for you. I like to talk text so it's easier for me to talk out my journals then it is to type it. I've also found that when I get stuck or don't know what to write about. Journal promptings are always really helpful. I give all of my clients the "who am I" statements to start with. When you can start identifying who you are without the need to talk about what you do for a living or how much money you make that's when you know you're on the right track.
This is a major part of the recipe showing Gratitude has so many benefits to the body and the mind. Please know that I am NOT suggesting that you walk around like a "thank you" robot. I am suggesting that you thank yourself as much as you thank others. By showing gratitude to yourself even for your flaws you will learn to accept and love the divine soul that you are.
Here is what the recipe looks like once all of its ingredients are mixed and cooked to perfection. I invite you to try this recipe out for yourself. Leave comments below and share your experience with Changing your perspective. Looking for more answers, check out my services. Now taking online and in-person appointments.