Embracing Who You Really Are - And What Love Means for You (By Angela Ambrosia)

Women (and men) can discover what are the keys to loving themselves in so many different ways. In fact the journey of love is all about what is your way that works for you. What teaches you to love? Did you have a particularly hard relationship that knocked you off your balance and then you found an inner power that you didn't know before? Did you lose a parent and find that all the expectations you had about life - weren't actually true.

What you can discover is that love and finding love is about creating a deeply authentic understanding and relationship of who you are and what love REALLY is for you. And not what the media and social media want you to think love is (or make you feel guilty about because you are not in some ideal romance). By a certain age, it gets really tiring to still be measuring yourself by some social media icon. And for future generations, it's important for older women to start modelling not caring about what others think about their bodies - as younger women and girls are having more and more pressure to look good physically from the social media representation of girls.

One of the reasons I am so passionate about teaching on self-love and creating loving relationships is that I know how debilitating a woman can feel when she is not in a relationship. But it all starts from when a young girl starts to become more dependent on her joy by what other people think about her - and how she looks. And this starts in puberty - and can start even before when the girl feels she's not likeable based on some asset of her appearance or personality. But puberty really messes things up by adding in hormones and obsessing with how much we are liked by someone or accepted by our peers.

In my journey to deeply satisfying self-love, I discovered what was making me create negative experiences in my love relationships with men.

It was a very old habit of looking for the man's approval of me - to prove to myself I was 'enough' and attractive to their liking. I could never be enough when I was looking for approval outside of my body - and I became more and more dependent and scared about not being thin enough or looking like what society would call attractive.

The path I found to embracing who I was and to stop looking for approval outside of me was by discovering the power of sensuality and feeling deeply in my body. Most people when they think about feeling deeply in the body - will think of two things, sexual arousal and emotional depth. Sensuality is the bridge between emotions and sexual arousal. And in fact, without sensuality, sex is just a physical exercise.

Practicing the power of connecting to my senses allowed me to find the joy of my body that was not dependent on what anyone thought about my body. And it is so important these days to know that what you feel with and inside your body is so much more connected to who you really are. There are more and more expectations being put on women to look good, be successful and be these very unreal ideals of what a woman (and young girl) should be. And those expectations are only going to become more extreme.

So by tapping into your senses, your sense of what feels good, and makes your body come alive - you can practice focusing on what you feel as the biggest priority - and break the chain of thinking you should be what others want. Whatever you can do in your day with your body and imagination to practice feeling your body throughout the day is a powerful balance to the more mind-based way our society forces upon us in school, work - and even play. I add in some play in day - every day - like playing with my body with music, dance, and meditation to feel more of my body internally.

And if I am short on time - I just add a healthy dose of silly faces, laughter and joking especially when people are too serious - usually by asking them how they feel too. People open up so much, when they realize I am more interested in what is inside of them - and they begin to relax too (and even laugh and have fun!). In a time-crunched world, you can actually change your attitude - to being more interested in a person on the inside - and a whole new way of playing can open up! This is also how the senses open up - with that old-fashioned "sixth sense", which by the way is not about seeing dead people - it's actually about feeling people's feelings.

When you start a journey of finally accepting yourself you will discover that if you truly want to stop depending on what others think and say about you and your body, you need to shift your focus to what makes you feel alive internally and sensually - and also you will automatically from doing that - shift your entire perception of what love is for you.

https://ezinearticles.com/?Embracing-Who-You-Really-Are---And-What-Love-Means-for-You&id=9879145

Practice the Technique Top Performers Use to Achieve Any Goal

Athletes use this technique to overcome nerves and perform at their peak. Actors use it as the heart of their craft. And, corporate leaders use it to envision bold new products and services for their companies. But, did you know you can use it to overcome anxiety and addictions, create new habits, test decisions, and welcome the experiences your soul desires?

You can apply this technique to any goal you have, such as creating a successful business, finding your life partner, growing a deeper relationship with your current life partner, cultivating health, engaging in self-care practices such as eating well, meditating, or exercising, or any creative project you wish to accomplish.

The technique is "Mental Rehearsal." In this post, you'll learn the steps of this powerful tool for personal change.

The Science Behind the Technique

The premise is simple: imagining a desired experience creates the same neural networks in your body and brain that having an experience in "real life" does. By mentally rehearsing an experience you groove the neural pathways to more easily welcome an experience into your life. What you can imagine in full sensory detail you more easily become.

You use your imagination all the time to imagine experiences you want and dread experiences you don't want. The purpose of Mental Rehearsal is to consciously pave the way for experiences you desire by imagining yourself immersed in the felt experience "As If" you are living it right now.

In a nutshell, Mental Rehearsal familiarizes you with the felt experiences you want to have, so you can recognize them, choose them, and grow them in your life. It also helps you make decisions by imagining what different options feel like and weighing your felt responses. For example, does this option feel light and energized or does it feel heavy and burdensome?

Now, you may not feel worthy of the experiences you desire or may not feel they are possible for you. By mentally rehearsing these experiences, you learn to become comfortable imagining yourself having them. In the process, what you thought was out of reach seems more possible.

To make this practice even more effective, you can imagine not only the experience you desire, but also significant steps you take to get there. This makes taking these steps feel easier and more doable.

It's important to note that imagining a specific experience does not mean this exact experience will happen exactly as you imagine it to be. Life may have even better plans for you-ones you may not have imagined. What's important is to imagine the experience you desire, given what you know right now, and meditatively engage in immersing yourself in this experience "As If" you are living it. This generates the same state of being as if the experience was happening in real life. And, it creates the same neural pathways in your body and brain.

Once you are immersed in your desired state of being, it becomes a filter through which you can recognize and choose similar experiences in real life. Cultivating this state of being becomes a magnet that draws similar experiences to you. For example, if you long for the feeling of being loved, you mentally rehearse what it feels like to be loved, you carry this feeling with you, and you engage in loving others. Then, you notice how loving relationships blossom in your life.

How to Practice Mental Rehearsal

1. Begin by asking your heart for an experience you'd like to have.

2. Close your eyes, take a few slow deep breaths, and imagine the specific details of this experience, including where you are, who you are with, what you are saying, and what you are doing.

3. Step into this picture "As If" you are taking these actions. Feel the experience with all your senses.

4. Notice any resistance. Is there any way you would like to change the experience to release this resistance? Imagine these changes.

5. Once you have the experience fully present with you in a way that feels good, imagine three steps you take to this experience from where you are now in your life.

Do this in reverse time order, beginning with a step you take just before arriving in your desired experience. Imagine another step you take just before this one. And, finally, imagine a step you take to initiate this whole process from where you are now to where you want to be.

For a simple example, say I want to make a putt in golf. My desired experience is seeing the ball fall into the hole. I imagine that before this moment I followed through on the correct line to the hole, before this I drew my putter back on this line, and before this I visualized the line of the putt. (Note: These three steps can become a routine for the actual putting of a ball in a real golf game, as well as a tool for Mental Rehearsal.)

Notice any challenges to taking these steps and imagine how you might address these challenges.

6. Run the three steps forward, from where you are now to your desired experience. Then, rest in the feeling of your desired experience again, so you really absorb it.

7. Set your intention to live from this state of being and welcome experiences that grow this for yourself and others.

Keep in mind you don't have to imagine this perfectly. You don't have to get all the steps right. And, it doesn't have to feel incredible at first (though it can). You might even find you imagine failing. For example, when I first imagined myself making a putt in golf, the putt lipped out and I didn't make it. That's O.K. You can pick yourself up and try again. See if you can relax more and try less. Welcoming new experiences takes practice.

If you feel resistance, unworthiness, or any other uncomfortable feeling about this whole process, I encourage you to simply observe and accept these feelings as they arise. Breathe through them and notice any ways they shift as you pay attention to them with calm, curious, acceptance. You might ask yourself what is underneath these feelings that is important to acknowledge.

See if it's possible to view Mental Rehearsal as an exploration, a game in your imagination, and a fun way to step outside your normal view of yourself and life, so you can imagine something new, exciting, and emotionally compelling. Have fun with this! You are using untapped creative resources to step into the life your soul desires.

Enjoy your practice!

http://ezinearticles.com/?Practice-the-Technique-Top-Performers-Use-to-Achieve-Any-Goal&id=10001126

Surprising Research Reveals How to Heal Your Heart

Do you ever struggle with feelings of unworthiness, find it challenging to love yourself, or wonder if you'll ever be able to overcome the heartbreak of losing someone you love?

Do you long to experience deeper, more loving relationships, but find that the pain in your past is like a wall of protection that keeps love away? Behind that wall is there a hole in your heart that nothing seems to fill?

What if you could connect with your heart in a way that was deeply nurturing, in a way that released the pains of the past, let down your walls of protection, and helped you feel safe to love yourself and others in a way that finally healed your emotional wounds?

Research by the HeartMath Institute reveals a surprising new understanding of the heart. In this article, you'll learn four fascinating facts and a simple practice to activate the healing energy of your heart.

Let's begin with the first fact.

1. Did you know that your heart is more than a simple pump for your blood? It is a highly-complex information processing center that has a mind of its own. It is like a second brain, that is, in some ways, even more powerful than the brain in your head-and more capable of promoting deep healing.

As Director of Research for the HeartMath Institute, Rollin McCarty, Ph.D. writes:

"The heart-brain, as it is commonly called, or intrinsic cardiac nervous system, is an intricate network of complex ganglia, neurotransmitters, proteins and support cells, the same as those of the brain in the head. The heart-brain's neural circuitry enables it to act independently of the cranial brain to learn, remember, make decisions and even feel and sense."

(Science of the Heart, Volume 2: Rollin McCarty, Ph.D., HeartMath Institute, 2015, p.5)

This leads to a second fascinating fact.

2. The heart actually sends more information to the brain than it receives from the brain. This is why you can't just "think yourself better."

Your heart communicates with your body and brain through four pathways: neurologically through nerve signals, biochemically through hormones and neurotransmitters, biophysically through the pressure waves of your pulse, and energetically through electromagnetic field interactions represented in your emotions.

Because of the power of emotional signaling, the feelings experienced in your heart dramatically impact how you think and feel, as well as how well your body functions-and even how people react around you.

So, how can you put these two facts to work for you? A third finding tells that story.

3. Research has shown that self-generating positive, core-heart feelings such as appreciation, gratitude, love, and trust in your heart, shifts you into a state of optimal function and healing.

As McCarty says, "Self-induced positive emotions can shift psychophysiological systems into more globally coherent and harmonious orders that are associated with improved performance and overall well-being." (SOTH, p.28)

"The feelings we label as positive actually reflect body states that are coherent, meaning "the regulation of life processes becomes efficient, or even optimal, free-flowing and easy," and the feelings we label as "negative," such as anger, anxiety and frustration are examples of incoherent states. (SOTH, V2, p.24)

We've all experienced these shifts into and out of coherence. In moments of euphoria, all-of-a-sudden our aches and pains recede, our stress and emotional hurts fade to the background-and we feel great. Yet, the next bad mood or emotional upset is only a careless word or random thought away. Our emotional wounds are still there and easily triggered.

Is it possible to heal our hearts so we create a state of coherence that lasts?

This brings us to the fourth fact.

4. Through the consistent practice of self-generating core heart feelings, you can create a new baseline state, a new way of perceiving the world in a heart-centered way.

Every time you consciously shift into core-heart feelings, you initiate healing. The more you practice this, the easier it becomes to stay in a state of coherence for longer periods of time and the easier it is to shift back there when you are stressed or upset.

Over time, you re-pattern your dominant outlook on life. You heal the hole in your heart and create a new baseline. Calm, positive coherence becomes your default mode, the state you rest in more and more of the time.

You can begin this process very simply by closing your eyes, taking a few, slow, deep breaths, smiling into your heart, and focusing on feelings of appreciation, gratitude, love, and trust there.

http://ezinearticles.com/?Surprising-Research-Reveals-How-to-Heal-Your-Heart&id=9394157