Kind At Heart & Mind

Day 308

“In Asian languages, the word for ‘mind’ and the word for ‘heart’ are same. So if you’re not hearing mindfulness in some deep way as heartfulness, you’re not really understanding it. Compassion and kindness towards oneself are intrinsically woven into it. You could think of mindfulness as wise and affectionate attention.”

– Jon Kabat-Zinn

It’s no coincidence that the feature quote jumped out at me from my list of quotes today. It’s in keeping with my thoughts from yesterday – that we must be genuinely kind, compassionate and loving towards ourselves; all else literally stems from it.

We’ve all heard the saying ‘you have to love yourself before others can love you,’ but it’s not just about others loving you; it’s about what you draw into your life with self-criticism.

We are all probably our own worst critics, and all that negative self-talk blocks all the good you want from coming to you; all the good the Universe is trying to give you, because the Universe does not judge, it simply responds to your energy, and if you don’t love yourself, the Universe gives you more things not to love.

In order to create a life you love, you must have sincere intentions. That means that you must be at peace with your self, your situation, your life, as it is right now – you must love yourself, otherwise you are coming from a mindset of lack, and in order to manifest your dreams, you must truly feel the state of being that which you desire. If you have lingering doubts or disbelief about having already received your desire, the Universe will pick up on it, and respond to your true feelings, because you cannot fool the Universe.

“ I am at peace with it all. And being at peace is one of the best feeling places anyone can possibly be at…For it is only when you are truly at peace (not feigned peace for the purpose of some manifestation) where ironically, things start to magically fall into place and happen for you…you can physically do all the steps and rituals, but you cannot fool the Universe (YOURSELF) one bit. The Universe sees through all your thoughts and feelings. So if you’re going to do a ritual, then do it with the purest and most aligned of intentions. If you have the purest and most aligned of intentions to begin with, then no ritual is necessary. No outside action is necessary. There is truly nothing you need to “do”, in order to be, do or have anything you want.”

– Richard Dotts

Peace comes from self-love, and self-love begins with mindfulness. The Chinese character for mindfulness is composed of two parts, the top meaning ‘now,’ and bottom signifying ‘heart and mind.’ Combined, the definition of mindfulness is ‘heart and mind are here and now.’

So, to practice true mindfulness, you must practice kindness to yourself. Here are some ways to change the conversation in your head (and heart):

• Instead of focusing on the things you don’t like about your body, find one thing you do like, and say it out loud, every day.
• Acknowledge your talents and praise yourself for your strengths.
• Recognize your weaknesses and accept them with love – we’re here to learn and grow.
• Allot at least a few minutes every day to pamper yourself or focus on just you.
• Indulge in your guilty pleasures.

These small changes will make a big difference. You can add your own ways to be kind to yourself to this list, and make them a part of your daily practice.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!