I have committed to 22 days of exploring the spiritual practice of receiving. I will examine my heart’s greatest desire of complete self-love and its relationship with a variety of receiving states.
Receiving State: Acknowledging
When I think of how self-love relates to ‘acknowledging’, I think of the various ways we reject portions of ourselves that either disturb or upset us in some way. Self-love is the ability to acknowledge our own darkness just as much as we embrace the light. What happens after the acknowledging is up to us — so is what we discover.
Here are some things I acknowledge about myself:
I have a temper.
Most people would not believe this because I keep tight control of my anger. I do not like the effect anger has on my body and emotions, so I neutralize it as soon as it arises. I am learning a different approach now; letting the emotion rise up to be released. After consideration, I realized that I was not neutralizing anger but simply repressing it due to the lack of acknowledgement.
I am inclined to be selfish.
Again, I think most people who know me would be surprised by this. That is because I acknowledge this aspect of my character and make conscious efforts to be giving.
I am a sensation freak.
This could mean many things but essentially it means that I seek pleasure in most things: food, sex, entertainment, etc. The bigger the endorphin or dopamine release, the better. This can lead to overindulging which makes self-discipline and balance a high priority for me.
With Love,
Sherry
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