Self-Love: Can You Give What You Don’t Have?
Monday, September 7, 2015
Written by:
Christy Johnson, Ph.D.
Can you offer compassion and love to others if you don’t feel them toward yourself? Maya Angelou stated “I do not trust people who don’t love themselves and yet tell me, ‘I love you.’ There is an African saying ‘Be careful when a naked person offers you a shirt.'” Presumably you can’t give what you don’t have, not money, time, nor love. In the case of love, how do you even recognize something you haven’t experienced? Yet you offer what you can when you can. Love doesn’t exist as either present or not present, it exists as an infinite continuum you can access more readily as you evolve. Sometimes you offer a shirt and sometimes you receive one while you explore how to love all beings, including yourself, more.
Every person mirrors how you feel about yourself. The universe brings you people whom you can easily love and others who challenge you to feel any warmth whatsoever. Loving, or at least accepting, those difficult people requires you to make peace with yourself. Yet sometimes even acceptance requires too much of a stretch. Making peace with your every foible, from the obvious to the deeply denied, seems like a long, agonizing trek to self-love. Focusing on what you do love brings more of it toward you which helps soften the thornier side of life.
A chance to love someone feels good, which in turn fosters a sense of meaning, value, and connection. A young abused child given a puppy to love may light up in a way never possible before exposure to the unconditional love and acceptance of an animal. The resulting transformation shows love resilience, how the desire to love and develop self-love accompanies human-ness, lying dormant waiting for expression. You might not “know” love until you have a chance to give it and receive it. Opportunities to invite more love and self-love surround you.
Self-love grows through giving and receiving love. How do you nurture yours?
This year I found my word of the year in my Akashic Records. It amuses me I sometimes forget I have this vast soul resource I can access whenever I want. This reminds me to stay present.
Like most people, I only take an extended rest when forced.
Many of my readers and clients learned to prioritize others over themselves. Even when offered assistance they may decline it, feeling they must sacrifice for the “greater good.” Yet sacrifice and greater good oppose each other.
We open with a 45 minute or so Akashic Records consultation. The revealed themes, patterns, and disharmonies drive the table work in conjunction with your "pulses," body reading, and my intuitive insights. A follow-up e-mail documents what occurs during the energy work and includes customized self-helps.
In this work, you remain fully clothed. Just wear whatever will feel comfortable while lying on my massage table. If it's a remote session, I'll ask you to rest while I send energy.
Please consider the personal or interpersonal disharmony that led you to me and how you would like it to shift. During the session, we'll explore and address the origins and drivers of each "project."
No, the records aren’t a good resource for predictions. If there’s something you hope will happen, the records might reveal a series of necessary steps to reach your desired outcome but not the timing. For predictions, please consult a good psychic or astrologer!
Minors are under their parents' legal and energetic jurisdiction until they are 18, regardless of their maturity level.
The greatest benefit occurs when I incorporate all four modalities I practice. The option without the Akashic Records is appropriate for children under 18 who cannot receive readings. A stand-alone reading can bring insight and healing but does not involve my direct interaction with your energetic and physical bodies like my other practices.
No, but you are welcome to record sessions yourself.
Self-helps, both from Jin Shin Jyutsu and the Embodied Energy System, support your continued harmony, accelerate your evolution, and empower you. Plus they make you sparkly!