All You Need Is Love… and A Love Letter… To Yourself!
All you need is love
All you need is love
All you need is love, love
Love is all you need
I’ve always been a Beatles fan and this title, and chorus is really all you need. (JG I still can’t believe you discovered them only recently, yet you are the founder of the brilliant Playful Prosperity Coaching practice I still look to for inspiration!)
When my clients feel it’s difficult to connect with their hearts,
I walk them through an exercise, a meditation if you like. (I learnt this from the coach and mindfulness leader Michael Beckwith)
- I ask them to remember a few instances where they felt a strong sense of UNCONDITIONAL LOVE. The smallest of instances are enough to light the candle in the darkness.
- Next, I ask them to envelop themselves in that love and from that place show themselves COMPASSION.
- I finish with asking them to imagine GIVING LOVE and kindness to another human being.
This usually takes five to ten minutes but
For some of my ‘RELUCTANT TO LOVE MYSELF’ clients I make it more of a practical thing where
After step 2, they write a letter… a LOVE LETTER.
I’m sure many people like my adolescent self, write to themselves when they are cross and unhappy.
When I was little, if I felt I couldn’t share my frustrations it was great to release them by writing them, reading them, crying and then consoling myself.
Thus, finally managing to get rid of those feelings so I could move on.
I always remembered to destroy the letters, so I didn’t brood over them.
Like for most children, those feelings sometimes came back after a long while and therefore during the course of my adolescence I wrote a handful of such ‘I’m a victim’ letters
A More Uplifting Way of Making My Heart Soar…
As I grew older through clear thinking practice, I learnt a new and more joyful way of lifting my spirits which actually led to more love for myself and others.
I discovered that writing a letter to myself as if I was writing to my best friend, full of jostling comradery, love and appreciation for my strengths and the qualities that were dear and special to me worked like a tonic.
When I reread my friend Like letters, I found compassion and love and a great deal of support. Instead of destroying those letters I kept them and sometimes referred to them over time.
Today whilst reading ‘Pause every day by Danielle Marchant I wasn’t surprised to find that she recommended an almost identical practice. But she bettered it by the following:
‘When you are ready, read it back to yourself, out loud if you want to. Then put your letter in the envelope and seal it. Keep it in a safe place so you can come back to it at a time when your heart needs to hear some kind words.’ Danielle Marchant 2018
A sealed letter for me is a love letter. So, go and write yourself one.
Still remember the day my uncle took me to the Cavern when it reopened in the 80s.
