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By Rayleen Gilbert
I AM THINKING OF YOU… because I know that Christmas can be so wonderful for some and yet so challenging for others!
In my work, I feel truly blessed to work with so many beautiful people. Recently I have been working with many who are experiencing some of the challenges of this Christmas season. My heart is always deeply touched by their sharing and it makes me feel grateful that I can pass on some of the wisdom I’ve learned through the years.
As my GIFT TO YOU, I felt inspired to write and suggest a few ways that you can love your precious self during this Christmas and holiday season. No matter how much we heal, it’s always important to remember to love ourselves, especially during stressful times! I trust that some of the contemplations and exercises to follow will inspire you and invite you to move into an even richer place along your journey.
Some suggestions for loving yourself this Christmas:
Firstly, and most importantly, take time for you! (I am hearing myself hear!). Taking time for yourself is probably the single most important way to love your self. Time for you means taking time to do whatever clears your emotional energy so that you can be your happy, radiant self. Sometimes that means taking some time to be quiet and still, a nice, long luxurious bath (mmmmm), curling up with a good book (let me know if you want some suggestions – books have been my best friends over the years), writing in your journal about whatever is challenging you; sometimes it’s talking to a dear friend who understands your feelings; or sometimes it’s going for a walk in nature. Whatever it is for you, make it a priority in your day, so it doesn’t get overlooked at the bottom of the list of things you have to do.
Give yourself the love and support you wish others would give you!
Try writing (journaling) your hopes and expectations for how you’d like your friends and family to love and support you and then practice doing those things for yourself. Sometimes we think it’s selfish to focus on ourselves, but actually, when we love ourselves, that love naturally overflows to everyone around us. Unfortunately, we have accidentally believed it is wrong to love and care for ourselves first. Try changing the word selfish to SELF-FULL, that’s the one I use. Then imagine yourself so filled up with love and happiness that it overflows to touch all of those fortunate enough to be around you. You are so full up you have an abundance to give away!
Sometimes giving yourself love and support is choosing to limit the time you spend with difficult, challenging people and taking time to be with people who love and support you. Sometimes it’s giving yourself the special Christmas gift you wish someone else would give you. Or if you let yourself have fun with this, you’ll probably think of other fun, creative ways to love and support yourself.
Practice random acts of kindness!
When you’ve taken good care of yourself and you’re feeling strong and happy, find someone who’s not expecting anything from you and do something special to make their life better in some small way. Giving to others is truly an incredible joy if you remember to take care of yourself too.
Having to meet other people’s expectations creates worry and stress, but often the most special moments of Christmas happen when you do something totally unexpected—simply out of the goodness of your heart. So, find someone who touches you deeply and give them a true gift from your heart this Christmas!
A Contemplation for Christmas and the New Year...
Over the years I have witnessed that Christmas magnifies emotions that people are experiencing, be they joyful or painful. This time focuses thought, individually and collectively. People begin to think of each other, and begin to focus on family and friends and what they do and don't have. This focused concentration of thought by so many people is what magnifies it in our conscious awareness.
I invite you to become masters of your own thoughts. Our thoughts create our feelings, our feelings create the emotion and the emotion manifests whatever it is we are focused upon. Whatever you focus on expands in your life. Your subconscious mind, always says YES! For example, if you say "I am lonely" your subconscious mind says "Yes - Your wish is my command" and sets about making that your reality, and so on. Moment to moment you have a choice. You choose how you think, you choose how you feel and you choose your actions, therefore, you choose your consequences - the outcome. Scary or empowering? You choose! Harness your thoughts and you harness your life. Practice practice, practice. Repetition is the mother of all mastery.
At any given moment we can only hold a thought of love or a thought of fear. Each one creating a very different result, a different experience, a different life.
Ultimately, we all want the same thing – to be loved and appreciated, and to love and appreciate in return.
If all we ever focused on was love, then that is all we would ever experience. Thought invites everything into our world. There is nothing in your outer world that did not come from your inner world. Choose carefully. Choose consciously. Choose love. You deserve it!!!
Something to Consider:
What purpose does it serve to continue to believe in the injustices we feel are inflicted upon others and ourselves? I would like to propose at least one possibility. Without it we would have to take responsibility for our attraction to suffering over joy. It is very difficult to admit we do this to ourselves and so we keep the charade going that the world is full of suffering. Suffering is a choice. The ego rejoices in it because it serves to keep joy out. Our belief in suffering is what keeps the world and us in chains.
If you would like to give one extraordinary gift to yourself and the world, give up the need to be sad, unfairly treated, depressed, weary, imposed upon, and on and on. Look at the many ways you suffer, and use someone or something else to do it, and then decide to set both of you free. However you choose to suffer you can choose joy instead. “Would you prefer that you be right or happy?” Our function in the world is healing. Only the joyful can heal. To heal is to make happy. How can you do that if you still want to suffer? Give up the need to suffer and you have forgiven the world.
“The world you see reflects back to you how much joy you have allowed yourself to see in you, and to accept as yours.” To be at peace we need to give up all our attack thoughts. We need to give up the idea that we are victims of the world in any way at all. At Christmas we celebrate the birth of a man who taught only love; who came into this world to bring only kindness; who taught the power of forgiveness. At Christmas we are asked to come before the alter of our own hearts - lay down our hurts and pains, our secrets and our hidden hates, so that we might become aware of our true greatness.
I TRULY WISH YOU A VERY BEAUTY-FULL CHRISTMAS, ONE OF LAUGHTER, LOVE AND CONSCIOUSLY CHOSEN JOY!!! The greatest gift you can give those you love, and the world is your own happiness.
With love, blessings and deep gratitude for you,
Rayeleen xxx
Rayeleen Gilbert lives in Western Australia.
• Hypnotherapist - Undergraduate Bachelor of Hypnosis - Diploma of Advanced Hypnosis
• (EFT) Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner
• Past Life Regressionist - Inc. Certification; and Advanced Certification in the Dolores Canon Technique
• Ho’Oponopono Practitioner - Taught & Certified by Dr Ihaleakala Hew Len, Ph.D.
• Author- Inc. Contributing Author in Wake Up Moments with Dr Wayne Dyer
Rayleen has a healing center in Western Australia. You can reach her at yes2life.com.
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