Cultivating Self-Love and Self-Acceptance
The importance of self-love and self-acceptance cannot be overstated. They are critical to health and happiness. When you do not have a strong sense of self-love, you will notice increased stress, anxiety, and reactivity. You may feel easily overwhelmed, depleted, and mostly unhappy. When we do not accept ourselves as we are, we end up waging an internal battle that we cannot win. We spend time comparing ourselves to others and feeling like we have somehow fallen short. This leads to low self-esteem, low energy levels, lack of productivity, and even depression.
When you do have a strong relationship with yourself and love and accept yourself as you are, you will notice your relationships with others improves, you feel more confident, more joyful, more productive, and you have more energy. When we accept that we sometimes make mistakes and avoid looking at them as “bad”, we see what wonderful gifts our mistakes can be. They teach us so much!
So often, self-love is seen as getting a pedicure, spending a day at the spa, or buying yourself a nutritious meal, etc. While these things are all lovely ways to show yourself love and nurture yourself, self-love goes so much deeper. It is about trusting yourself and making your needs a top priority. It is about loving and respecting yourself unconditionally and holding yourself in high regard. It is also about setting boundaries to ensure your needs are met, for example, if you are feeling tired after a long week, not being afraid to say “no” to an invitation to a social event so that you can get the rest you need. It also includes being mindful of our words so that we talk kindly to ourselves and our body.
On our journey to cultivating deep self-love and self-acceptance, crystals and plants are wonderful allies. Below are my top three favorite crystals and two favorite tea blends that help us transform our energy to align with self-love and self-acceptance. Carry these crystals with you in your pocket, bra, or purse (somewhere that is always next to your body), wear them as a pendant, or hold them during meditation to receive the benefits. As for the teas, sip on them throughout the day allowing each sip to remind you of what you are working to cultivate and allow the plants to do their magic!
Crystals
Rhodochrosite – Assists in healing and releasing emotional wounds and traumas from our past. Keeps us in the energy of love with a focus on deep self-love allowing us to reconnect with our inner gifts and talents. Very supportive to the self-healing processes. Taking Rhodochrosite into nature allows you to connect with the grace and inner joy that comes naturally to children who feel safe and loved. One of the most tender and loving vibrations of all the crystals.
Pink Amethyst - Activating to the heart chakra with very high-frequency, divine energy. Promotes balance and helps us overcome addictions of any kind. Helps us to view experiences from a higher perspective and act with love and wisdom. Helps us become non-judgmental, loving, and accepting of others and ourselves as we are. Brings clarity of mind, helps us deal with feelings of overwhelm, deepens our intuition, and comforts us during times of sadness or grief.
Green Diopside - Sends its energy along the entire light column of the body bringing balance and healing throughout the body and auric field. Brings empowering energy to the heart supporting emotional well-being and expanding our capacity for love of self and others. Makes us more receptive to love and acts as an emotional balm. Activates & balances our sacral, third eye, and heart chakra aiding us in moving our ideas to the birthing stage and acting with heart as we express them.
Almandine Garnet - Cultivates a sense of physical security, safety, and abundance. Activates root and heart chakras allowing heartfelt desires to manifest. Grounding and calming, brings awareness of the absolute support of the universe. Assists us with connecting with the physical body and finding joy in the physical world. Excellent ally for those wishing to attract or invigorate a relationship – including relation to self. Helps us release panic, worry, fear and anxiety.
Lepidolite - Extremely calming and soothing. Balances our emotions, calms the mind, aids restful sleep, and helps us overcome stress, worry, fear, etc. Helps us overcome emotional and energetic traumas, and promotes a Zen-like quality of consciousness where we can truly be present and appreciate our existence. Helps us perceive and release past emotional trauma we may not even be aware we are holding onto. Helps us overcome feelings of depression and brings balance to the physical body.
Teas
Sweet Release – This tea includes both hyssop and rosebuds, making it a wonderful ally for cultivating self-love and self-acceptance. Hyssop moves through our energy field helping us to release any energy that no longer serves us and the beautiful energy of Rose comes in to help us move into and stay in a place of love for self and others.
Heart Chakra – This blend includes lots of various herbs for the physical and emotional heart including hawthorn, hibiscus, rose, and ginger. It brings comfort and nourishment to our heart allowing this energy to expand out to fill our entire beings.
