Mindfulness Exercise: Love of Self

• Once a week choose a word from the first column in the list below (pink-responsibility to self). The word should represent something you would like to feel more of within yourself. 

• Next, find a saved image or picture that best represents that emotion, behavior or response in your cell phone photo library memory. Edit the picture by placing the text of the word you have chosen across the picture (on the iPhone use the markup feature to do so). 

• Program their cell phones with this edited image as your wallpaper and background on your phone. Every time you receive a text or call, or activate your phone, the image that you have chosen, with the word across it shows up on the screen. When you see the word, simply acknowledge that you would like to be more of this by saying, ‘please help me be more positive (for example)’.

• Wait and see what happens within the next month!

Loving oneself is imperative if you are going to extend your altruism and compassion out to others. Acknowledging who it is we would like ourselves to be will only strengthen our awareness of who it is you can be. This is a crucial step in creating better relationships with others. You cannot love others appropriately until you love yourself.

If you want to be something in life, acknowledging who it is you want to be is the first step on this path. This acknowledgement will become something they will become more mindful of, penetrating their feelings and thoughts to direct their emotions, behaviors and responses in a positive manner. It is difficult to love others when you have not learned to love yourself.