Episode 10 - Self-Love: The Path to Shared Love

Send me a text. What spoke to you in this episode?

In this episode of Spirituality on the Go, we explore the connection between self-love and the law of love—loving God, loving others, and loving ourselves. 

Jesus’ teaching to “love your neighbor as yourself” implies that self-love isn’t just permissible; it’s essential. Yet, many of us resist self-love, held back by false beliefs, perfectionism, or misconceptions about humility.

Join us as we unpack the barriers to self-love and discover how embracing it allows divine love to flow more freely into our relationships and communities. 

We’ll conclude with a powerful guided meditation, inviting you to experience the grace of self-love as a felt sense within your body. Through breath, affirmation, and awareness, you’ll learn to release self-judgment and rest in the truth that you are loved, worthy, and enough.

Self-love isn’t selfish—it’s the foundation for authentic love. When we nurture love within, we radiate it outward. Because self-love leads to shared love.

Get into the Divine Flow by purchasing your copy of Finding Flow: Spiritual Practices to Reclaim Inner Peace, Balance, and Wholeness.

Click the link to purchase on Amazon: https://amzn.to/4jDXfla

Episode Transcript

Brian Plachta (00:02):
Welcome to this episode of Spirituality on the
Go.
Today we're going to explore theconnection between how the law

of love (00:09):
loving God, loving others, and loving ourselves
invites us to practiceself-love.
In other words, we're going todiscover that self-love leads to
shared love.
We'll dive into the reasons,first, that we often resist
loving ourselves, and then we'llconclude with a guided

(00:31):
meditation to help youexperience the grace of
self-love, paying specialattention to the felt sense of
love within our bodies.
In the Christian tradition,Jesus summarizes the greatest
commandments as loving God withall our heart, soul, and mind,

(00:53):
and loving our neighbors asourselves.
His instruction implies a threepart relationship: love for God,
love for others, and love forourselves.
The command to love yourneighbor as yourself implies
that self-love isn't justacceptable, it's essential.

(01:15):
When we neglect self-love, ourability to love others
diminishes.
We can't give love if our lovetank is empty.
Self-love fills us withcompassion, worthiness, and
inner peace, letting divine loveflow outward and become shared

(01:36):
love.
Despite this divine invitationto love ourselves, it's true
that many of us struggle withself-love.
Over time, the false statementswe tell ourselves, like: I'm
bad, I need to be perfect, orI'm a screw up, they become
ingrained neural pathways in ourbrains that shape how we see

(02:00):
ourselves.
These lies take root in ourminds, haunting us and making
self-love feel out of reach.
Or worse, wrong.
Some of the common reasons wemight think it's wrong to love
ourselves include that societyoften equates self-love with

(02:22):
selfishness or arrogance,leading us to feel guilty when
focusing on our well being orself care.
Also, past experiences, traumas,or criticisms from other people
can foster a negative selfimage, making it pretty
challenging to embraceself-love.

(02:45):
Truly loving ourselves alsorequires us to face our
vulnerability of beingimperfect, of having things we
need to work on.
And that can be uncomfortableand make us not even want to
love ourselves.
Sometimes it's easier not tolike ourselves than to face
those parts of us that need someinner work.

(03:07):
The other thing that stops usfrom loving ourselves is
perfectionism-that nasty beliefthat we have to be perfect,
flawless, to be worthy of love.
And that hinders our ability toreally know that we're perfectly

human (03:24):
human and divine.
And finally, some religiousteachings emphasize self denial
to the extreme extent thatself-love is viewed as contrary
to spiritual humility.
So in order to overcome thissomehow negative default of not

(03:46):
loving ourselves, let'sexperience a guided meditation
to discover the grace ofself-love.
I invite you to find acomfortable position where you
can sit safely for a fewmoments.
You can either sit or lie down,get yourself comfortable, Then

(04:13):
close your eyes and take acouple of deep breaths in,
filling your lungs completely,and then exhale slowly,
releasing any tension.
Just be present to this moment,this time.

(04:35):
Feel your body being supportedby the chair or the floor or the
couch upon which you're lying.
Notice the rhythm of your breathand the flow of air in and
through your body.

(04:56):
Notice, perhaps, your heartbeat,the gentle rhythm of your heart
pumping blood throughout yourwhole entire body.
Now I invite you to imagine awarm radiant light above you.

(05:18):
That radiant light, that glow,is a symbol of divine love, the
presence of divine love hoveringgently over you.
Visualize this light gentlyentering through the top of your
head, filling your body withwarmth and compassion.

(05:47):
As this light fills your body,let it illuminate areas where
you hold self judgment orcriticism.
Observe those areas withoutjudgment, and simply acknowledge
their presence.
They're there.
But just let them go.
Let the warm light of love andcompassion just erase any need

(06:13):
of self judgment or criticism.
Now silently affirm to yourselfthese truths: I am made in the
image and likeness of thedivine.

(06:36):
I am loved as I am.
I am a good person.
I do my best to love myself,God, and others.
I am made in the image andlikeness of the divine.

(07:02):
I am loved as I am.
I am a good person.
I do my best to love myself,God, and others.
As you allow these truths toflow within you.

(07:25):
Notice the physical sensationsin your body associated with
self-love.
The words you just said toyourself, the truths, are
self-love.
And as you experience the feltsense of self-love, you might

(07:45):
notice a gentle warmth spreadingacross your chest.
Maybe a lightness in yourshoulders, or a soothing
calmness embracing your entirebody.
These sensations are the realpresence of self-love, taking

(08:10):
root within you, here and now.
Next, place your hand over yourheart.
Feel its steady beat.
A reminder of the love and thelife that flows within you.

Whisper softly to yourself (08:34):
I am made in love.
I am good.
I am enough.
I am made in love.
I am good.

(08:56):
I am enough.
Take a few more moments to baskin this feeling of self
acceptance, the bodilyexperience, the felt sense of
self-love there, within you, asyou.

(09:17):
Notice how self-love feels inyour body.
You might experience a sense ofpeace in your mind, a calming, a
relaxation in your face, or thegentle tingling energy of love

(09:37):
and life flowing through you.
Savor these truths, letting themsettle deeply within you.
I am loved.

(09:59):
I am worthy.
I am whole.
I am made in the image andlikeness of God.
And God is love.
I am the essence, the reflectionof divine love.

(10:22):
That is the I am of who I am.
Love.
And when you're ready, gentlybring your awareness back to the
room in which you're sitting orlying.
Maybe wiggle your toes and yourfingers.

(10:43):
And then open your eyes, knowingthat you can come back to these
affirmations to rewire yourbrain into self-love whenever
you need to.
And also, noticing in your bodywhere you experienced self-love,

(11:05):
so you can carry that lovewithin you as you move into your
day.
Remember that self-love leads toshared love.
Embracing self-love is notselfish.
It's an essential part of thelaw of love.

(11:26):
By loving yourself, you honorthe divine within you and
enhance your ability to loveothers with an authentic love.
And self-love is an ongoingjourney.
Each step we take brings uscloser to the fullness of love
that God intends for each one ofus.

(11:50):
Allow yourself to love yourselfas you are.
Perfectly human.
You are enough.
You are love.
And you are loved.
Thank you for joining today'sepisode.

(12:13):
May you carry this sense of selfcompassion and the embodied
experience of self-love with youtoday and always, because
self-love leads to shared love.
Blessings.