“I love you deeply. I want you to love yourself as much as I love you. Love yourself like a mother loves a new infant. That is the kind of love that you need. The kind of love that you deserve: nurturing, supporting, sustaining. Think of the new infant who, without the love of the mother, would wither and die. That is what will happen if you do not love yourself sufficiently. No one else can love you in that way. If you are seeking that love from outside of yourself, you do yourself a disservice. You will sit and wait, hoping it will come, but the only one that can love you enough is the person you are on the inside. You are so worthy of loving yourself! And yet, no one really ever says that to you. But I am saying it.

Perhaps it would be even better if I said to you, “Love yourself in the way that you want another to love you.” Perhaps it would be easier for you to recognize what it is then. For each of you has in your mind’s eye a picture of what it would look like to be loved, ideally loved, by a significant other in your life.

So think about what you would want from that “significant other”. How would you want to be cherished and nourished, loved and pampered? Then become for yourself the “significant other” in your life. When you learn to treat yourself with love and grace, you will attract others who will do the same. And those who are already in your life will see the benefits that you derive from loving yourself thusly. They will ask you your secret. They will want what you have. You will be a role model and a mentor for them. So you’re not doing it just for yourself. You are doing it for others, too. But you must start with yourself.

You do not need anyone’s permission to love yourself better. You only need the desire to be the best that you can be. Then give yourself permission to love yourself. You are not depriving anyone else when you love yourself in this way. In fact, you are gifting them. Gifting them with a greater quality of your love, your time, your self.

See loving yourself as a gift to others, as well as a gift to yourself. And do not wait to begin. Do not say, “I’ll start it on Monday. I’ll start the week fresh.” Start now! This very moment! Now! Make a commitment to yourself. I’m not asking you to do it perfectly. I’m not saying you need to do it right every time. I’m just saying make the effort. When you do, you will see the benefits.

For some of you, the benefits will be immediate. For others, you will notice them over time. But there are always benefits when you love yourself best. The important thing to remember is to love yourself from a place of love. Not from your woundedness. Not from your neediness. Not from your pain or your anger. Love yourself from a place of love and grace and abundance.”

Channeled during a Healing Circle
Pittsburgh, PA