I Can't Do Yoga: Be Love

Whatever you believe about God or the Divine, your spiritual nature is a part of you. The center of your spiritual self is love. Christians are taught to love their neighbor as themselves, but what if you don’t feel love for yourself? Sometimes we’ve been hurt by family or friends, and we harden our hearts to guard our love. If we don’t have compassion for ourselves, it’s difficult for love to radiate from us. We can lose our connection with the world around us because we’re trying to stop the suffering and pain. 
Let’s start with an easy fix if you are in this predicament. Nature can be a gateway to radiating love without protecting ourselves from hurt or pain. Try a simple experiment that has been replicated in research studies. Choose two plants in your home or out in nature. The plants should be equal in size and similar locations. Direct all your loving feelings, thoughts, and words to one plant and ignore the other. You may already know that plants are sensitive to vibrations and our energy. Measure the plant’s growth and general health, and journal how you feel when sending love to the plant. You can also note how you think about ignoring the other one. You might not want to ignore the other plant if you’re like me.  Either way, notice how the plant flourishes and how you radiate unconditional love and joy. 
Radiance describes someone or something glowing, like the sun or someone’s smiling face. If we can find radiance in any situation, we can start to soften our hearts. I’m far from achieving a state of clarity and ease in the present moment, but practicing helps to reduce the suffering. Once you add radiance to your life, be ready for an awakening. Challenges will arise like popcorn popping in a hot pan. But if a plant can respond to loving kindness, just think how you could grow with self-love and compassion. Being love is what we need right now! Sharing our love with nature and extending the love to ourselves is a good place to start. I like this self-compassion test by Dr. Kristin Neff because you can access the results immediately, along with tips for improvement.