"To fall in love with yourself is the first secret to happiness." — Robert Morely.

In the world today, we are granted access to the lives of others through our digital devices. This access may be used to your advantage if you let it.

It is easy to start comparing your life to the ones you see on social media, but what if I told you you could change how you view those people you see?

As we are pulled into the world of technology, you can use it to your advantage through finding inspiration and following people or pages that inspire love, light, gratitude, and positivity.

Some social media pages provide practices on how to love yourself and inspire words to show yourself love. Those inspiring words and messages can be beneficial when you may be having a hard day. Hard days are standard, but setting the intention to show up for yourself each day helps relieve the tension and stress on those days.

As you were guided to this blog, let technology today provide you with self-love practices and inspiring words to love your beautiful soul a little bit more.

Showing Up For Yourself

This is the first step and the most important one. The first step of showing up is setting the intention to spend quality time with yourself without distractions. Allowing yourself to sit with feelings and emotions or do something that truly brings you joy.

Do not be afraid to set boundaries with your friends and family during your "me time." This time may be when you check in with how you feel beneath the surface, allowing your mind and body to relax or finding ways to rebalance your mind-body-soul connection.

Sometimes you may find yourself wrapped up in the daily stress of your work life and home life that it may prevent you from becoming your authentic self. Showing up for yourself helps you declutter the mind and may help you be a better parent, friend, or significant other.

Treat your "me time" as you would when you show up to work at a set time with a list of priorities. Allow yourself during your “me time” to be the priority in your life and day. Take care of your well-being delicately and with patience.

This will help you renew energies and encourage you to put in all the work necessary to achieve your goals.

"Self-love is necessary for a functional and successful life" — Angela C. Santomero.

Daily Gratitude Practices Can Take You A Long Way

In one of our previous blogs, "Water — A Conscious Being," I discussed a water experiment with Dr. Emoto.

Dr. Emoto froze two trays of water: One tray of water was filled and set to freeze.

The second tray of water was filled with an intention from Dr. Emoto. The intention he set was "love and gratitude."

When pulling out both ice trays, he discovered that the second tray had ice that formed beautiful and unbelievable geometric molecular formations called Hexagonal Water.

Imagine starting each day with a loving and grateful feeling and attitude; in essence when you do this, you are infusing the water in your body with powerful high frequency energy. A human brain is made up of 95% of water. Our body is made up of about 60% water. This can support you as you set your intentions for the day and your life.

We have also discussed neuroplasticity, which is rewiring your brain with the thoughts you think and the emotions you feel. By daily gratitude and appreciation you can powerfully guide your brain to rewire itself, giving you more loving and joyous thoughts and feelings. According to Harvard Health, gratitude can make you feel more positive emotions. Research has shown it can improve your overall well-being.

Every morning, set aside 5 minutes to journal down what you are grateful for. Do not worry about trying to write down something profound; it can be as simple as something right before you. I'm grateful for the thriving plants in my studio that keep me company while I write these blogs.

Allow yourself to feel what truly gives you joy and appreciation and watch your life change.

"When we focus on our gratitude, the tide of disappointment goes out, and the tide of love rushes in." — Kristin Armstrong.

Mindful Eating

Sometimes you may rush to get things done, and without realizing it, you have found yourself running on auto-pilot. During auto-piolot, it is common to miss out on the things that can bring us joy like sitting down for a meal. Feeding your body with proper nutrition fuels your body's energy and your mind. Without the practice of mindfulness, you may notice yourself stuffing your face (guilty) to get back to work or to carry on with the day’s tasks.

Mindfully eating presents the chance to take quality time to enjoy your company over a meal or to put life on hold and allow yourself time to rest and regenerate energy to bring yourself back to wholeness.

Let's imagine you're at dinner, excitingly awaiting the dish you've been thinking of all day. It arrives and looks so good you cannot wait to devour it. Next thing you know, it's gone.

In a short time of a minute, the meal is over. Were you able to fully enjoy it mindfully?

A simple mindfulness practice is to eat with all of your senses.

• Bring your face close to the dish to smell the aromas of the herbs and spices that your taste buds are anxiously waiting to taste. 
• Chefs will say each dish has its own personality within the presentation. Look at the vibrant colors of the dish and how it is presented. What appeals to you the most?
•  Do you hear it sizzling on the plate? Is there a crunch as you cut into it?
• What do you taste as you cut in and take your first bite?

This practice slows us down at the moment to appreciate what's in front of us. Mindful eating focuses on your eating experiences, body-related sensations, and your thoughts and feelings about food, with awareness and without judgment.

Mindfulness may be practiced at any time of the day. Practicing mindfulness involves breathing methods, guided imagery, and other practices to relax the body and mind and help reduce stress.

The next time you are about to eat, take a moment to reflect on what's in front of you. Don't mind what has happened or what more you need to do. You have taken time to sit down to eat … mindfully.

"In a world full of doing, doing, doing, it's important to take a moment to just breathe, to just be." — Unknown.

Your Body Is A Temple

Your body is a magnificent temple that is an integral part of your mind, spirit. As you treat your body with love, kindness, and gentleness, you are also enriching the mind and soul — raising your energetic frequencies that are connected with The Universe.

As important as it is to take great care of your body, how you layer it externally can help it thrive.

Wearing clothes made from natural fibers, such as Micro Modal, is gentle on the skin, healthy for the hormonal system. Natural fibers, like Micro Modal, are also lightweight and breathable allowing your body to move comfortably and naturally.

Layering your body with this silky soft material and adding an I AM affirmation to the garment radiates energy into your being and out into the world, saying, "I AM Divine!"

“Your relationship with love is your relationship with the essence of who you are. It affects your relationship with your body, and your relationship with food. When you realize that you are a spirit and that this body is a temple, then you want to treat it well.” - Marianne Williamson

With Love & Light