"Look into my eyes and hear what I'm not saying,
for my eyes speak louder than my voice ever will."
~Unknown
for my eyes speak louder than my voice ever will."
~Unknown
I recently watched my friends’ wedding
video. The beauty of the celebration took my breath away. As I paid closer
attention to the bride, my best friend, I could see under all the excitement of
this special day, through her eyes, what her thoughts were doing to her. It was
loud and clear to me. I could sense her hesitancy and lack of confidence so I
asked her about it. I was shocked to find out that she was nervous about the
way she looked and what their friends and family thought of her if she didn’t
perform well on such an important day.
“What
do my eyes say about what is inside me? Sometimes we communicate more through
a glance than we could ever say, and it can be both wonderful and terrible,
depending on both the message sent and the one received, which of course
might be different.
These
windows of the soul…When we look
at someone, really look,
there can be many details about what is going on, behind them! Our eyes are
very interesting in that they can both shine outward, and allow others to
look into us.
There
are many reasons I appreciate my eyes, but truly, I think the best is that these lovely lamps, these windows of the
soul allow me to share
myself and allow others to share themselves with me.
~Emma Hayes, The Phoenix and The Butterfly
|
My shock at her self-doubt comes as no surprise. Where I see beauty and grace, she sees her imperfections. It’s amazing how many people can look at the same thing, yet, each person will see it differently. If we were to fully accept ourselves and let go of our self-decrepitating thoughts about our appearance, we would begin to understand that we really are not just our body. We would see it as a vessel that carries us through this earthly plane, take care to appreciate and maintain it, and use it as it is meant to be so that we can keep it aligned with our mind and spirit. The imperfections we think we have would cease to limit our ability to open up, let others in, and shine our light out to the world.
How many times have you been inspired to do
something or say something but held back as your inner critic puts you down for
the way you look or what others might think about you? When we know and accept
that our true beauty comes from within and choose to show our authentic self,
our bodies fade away. We invite others to look past our physical self to see
our true essence in all its glory.
The energy that comes from our uninhibited
bliss we have hiding inside can be freed. It will draw others to us, bathe them
in the joy we have, and connect us with the very core of who they are. By
looking past our own bodies, we are able to look past others’. It becomes more
important to us to see them on a deeper level, and in doing so, we give their
soul a safe place to come out and shine with us.
Your self-worth lies not in your
appearance. It is within the vulnerability of your Beingness. Accept and
appreciate all of who you are, inside and out, and you will see just how
beautifully radiant you really are!
5
ways you can begin to see the blessings you have been bestowed in your
uniqueness:
1.
Start the day off right by showing yourself some love in the mirror as you get
ready. Compliment yourself and set the rule that there is no room for
criticism, nit-picking, or insults. (The best way to supercharge the effect of
this activity is to start from head to toe and express gratitude for every inch
of you. Think about what the body part does for you, what it allows you to do,
and why you would never want to part with it.)
2.
Every time you catch yourself putting your appearance down, change your
perspective on it or counteract it with something positive specifically
directed towards the area you are abusing. (Found yet another grey hair?
Reflect on the life you have had, the wisdom you have gained, and if you are
not yet ready to go natural, see it as a great excuse to go to the salon for a
relaxing pampering session with your favorite hairdresser.)
3.
Comparing yourself to others causes you to shy away from your truest self.
Don’t let your admiration of others’ qualities dim the light of your own. You
are special in your own way, just as they are special in their way. When you
celebrate what you love in others, they will be more inclined to find gratitude
for the good energy you are sending them and return a kind word back to you
about the qualities they admire in you. Also, as a result of you expressing
your appreciation to others, you create a welcoming aura about you and people
will enjoy being around you. Your friendliness and open-heartedness will be so
appealing that people will wonder what your secret to happiness is.
4.
Take care of yourself by eating heathy foods and drinking lots of water. At the
very least, make sure you have a good balance and are consuming enough organic
raw foods to boost your energy and raise your vibration. Many people on their
spiritual journeys have found drinking and smoking hinders their connection to
the divine and also obstructs their meditation practice. Exercise helps keep
you energized and improves your mood. Even a daily walk has its benefits that
will leave you craving the action of movement if you miss a day.
5.
Put yourself at the top of your priority list. The main reason for this is that
you can’t take care of others unless you first take care of yourself. Slacking
off on your own personal needs (self-care, sleep, alone time, healthy meals,
etc.) for the sake of others or your endless responsibilities, results in
creating a vicious cycle that quickly spirals out of control. You are left
wondering, “What about me? How did I lose so much of myself?” When you start to
think that you don’t even know who you are anymore, you start to question
everything about yourself and that vial little inner critic perks up his ears
and gets all excited because you are at his mercy. He plays with your thoughts
and turns you against both yourself and all the things that make you so
wonderful and exceptional. All those distinct qualities that make you stand out
and special and needed and worthy are reduced to imperfections, flaws, and
weaknesses. Make yourself a priority; get back to who you are; find the strengths
and blessings in all that you dislike about yourself. And most importantly,
remember that deep inside, your soul knows how perfect you are, just the way
you are, right now.
~*~*~*~
As you can see from the story about my best
friend, we all view ourselves differently. Taking steps towards positive
change, accepting yourself, and connecting with your true essence brings you
closer to your Beingness. When you learn to love yourself unconditionally, you
are able to begin to love others unconditionally. You see past all the
superficial stuff down deeper to what really matters in yourself and other
people. You begin to feel more grateful and make each moment worthwhile and
meaningful.
Today, she can look back through her
wedding videos, and together with her husband in a warm embrace, they laugh
with enjoyment as they rekindle their love with remembrance of the vows they
made. Her path to self-discovery has helped her get closer to love. Life became
simple and less complicated once she started living a life of awareness. She
believes awareness is being yourself and living a truthful life. Her search for
truth has led her to meditation, and says, “The whole Universe is within me and
I am within the Universe. My search started outside and ended within me.”
The journey back to ourselves is a
personal, unique experience for each of us as we create awareness and strip
away the layers of the ego to reveal the magnificence of all that we are
within. If you are ready to awaken to something deeper and more meaningful,
join us starting December 1st on a journey of self-discovery back
home to your true self in our workshop: Being – Living a Life of
Awareness.
