Dream Alchemist Book Review
Book: How do I love me? Let me count the Ways
Author: Daylle Deanna Schwartz’
Self-love is the foundation of wellness, manifestation, success, love and happiness. In other words, it’s the basis for a good life, a life of quality. I’ve been saying it for years and I’ll continue to say it every day. But now that 2011 is almost gone and 2012 is around the corner, I’m not only saying it. I’ve found two FREE resources for you to get into the self-love wagon for 2012.
2012 is a big transformational year for the planet. Each of us needs to be in top shape to shift humanity from fear to love. This shift begins within each of us, and the first step is self-love.
The problem is that self-love is like exercising and eating healthily. If you ask a thousand persons, they are all likely to agree that these things are necessary. If you ask those same persons if they exercise or eat healthy, most of them will answer no.
The simplest things in life escape us because we are trying too hard to make things difficult.
Here’s when Daylle Deanna Schwartz’ book, How do I love me? Let me count the Ways comes in. Daylle makes it easy to love yourself.
That’s no small task, considering that low self-esteem is rampant in our society, in spite of our intellectual understanding of its importance. Why? Because it’s really hard to practice self-love when you don’t love yourself enough to do it!
The Habit of Self-love
Here’s what Daylle Deanna helps us understand: lack of unconditional love for ourselves is a bad habit. It’s something we learned. If we learned it, we can unlearn it.
What happens when we hear or read something about self-love? There’s a tiny voice inside us that begins a litany:
“I know that. That’s stupid. Of course! Who doesn’t know that? Give me a break, that’s so kindergarten. Duh!”
That little voice is resistance. It is a trick from your Shadow. It makes you believe that because you know it intellectually, you already know it existentially. Once your mind convinces you of this, you go off and forget about what you “know.” You forget to live it. But, like my friend artist Gabrielle Le Roux says, “wisdom is knowledge that is lived.”
Daylle Deanna Schwartz describes herself as a recovering doormat. She’s been there. She’s done that. She knows that tiny voice. So she takes you by the hand like a good friend does and SHOWS you the many ways in which you do not love yourself. Then she shows you the many ways in which you CAN love yourself right now. Today.
Daylle makes it easy. She makes it fun. She makes you smile at yourself. She shares many stories from her life and from other people’s lives that really get into your skin, allowing you to feel how easy and fundamental self-love is in your life.
Here is an excerpt from Daylle’s book that will help you begin the New Year with the clear intention of practicing self-love.
| Are you waiting for the “right pieces” to be in place to be happy? As you get more, you often need more. That keeps happiness on the horizon but out of your grasp. Happiness isn’t a future goal. Make it an operative word for every day. Since I began practicing self-love, I’m happy most of the time. You can be too, by being more loving to you! |
What I love about Daylle Deanna’s message is that she helps you to develop self-love as a daily practice, no matter what that tiny voice says, no matter how your fear-based defensive Shadows put you down, no matter how defective you have learned to perceive yourself. One day, one word, one glance in the mirror, one action at a time. Her book is plastered with inspiring quotes, one-line tips for daily practice, do-able exercises and motivational stories.
And I love this daily practice approach because it is the only approach that works to change a bad habit.
When and how to start loving yourself?
So if there’s no perfect time to begin self-love, when do you start? If you want to start during the New Year, does this mean that you have to add a new to-do list to your holiday?
No! That’s the beauty of Daylle’s approach. She helps you to relax into your new self-love practice, instead of pushing, then punishing yourself. That changes the texture of your New Year’s resolution. It makes it more about expanding your awareness than about pressuring yourself to perform.
| Don’t rush to break lifetime habits. For now, raise self-awareness. It took years to get where I am. Become aware of how you think of yourself in various situations. Are you loving or unforgiving? Do you expect more from you than from others? Identifying habits helps you develop better ones. A powerful tool for developing self-awareness is writing things down. It increases consciousness about what keeps self-esteem lower than you’d like and transfers feelings to paper. |
Daylle’s language is clear, simple, kind and self-reflective. She takes you into a place within yourself that allows you to understand with your heart. Then she gives you simple tools to practice. Daylle gives you practical, spiritual and concrete tools to love yourself.
If you can’t rush it, how do you start? Should you start by changing your appearance, as fashion magazines often suggest? Or should you write down some goals? Should you lose those extra pounds?
Again, no and no!
| If self-esteem is based on external achievements, it doesn’t last! Do you like seesaws? You lose 5 pounds and feel great./You regain it and hate yourself. Your partner praises you and you feel wonderful./She puts you down and your self-esteem tanks. If you like seesaws, go play in the park! Good self-esteem is an inside job. You can’t get the real deal from anyone but you. |
Start today. Start by committing 100% to loving yourself unconditionally, without judgment, no matter what you do, what you have, what’s good or bad about your life or anything else that happens.
Your New Year’s Resolution: Self-love
Kiss your doubts, self-badgering, self-judgment and self-pushing goodbye with the year that’s dwindling. Begin the New Year with a pledge to love yourself and a beautiful book that shows you how and like a good friend, supports you through the process.
And you have no money excuse, because both tools are free!
- What’s your 2011 evaluation yielding so far?
- What have you procrastinated?
- What’s holding you back?
- How do you judge yourself?
- Why do you feel that you have failed?
The answer to all these questions is one: lack of unconditional self-love and acceptance without judgment.
Your best New Year’s resolution is to kick the habit of kicking yourself and install the habit of loving yourself, flaws and all. Do this, and everything else will take care of itself.
RESOURCES:
Get the free ebook here: http://howdoiloveme.com/the-book
Make your New Year’s self-love pledge here: http://howdoiloveme.com/the-pledge
Send to KindleAbout Maria Mar
Maria Mar is a Sacred Storyteller and shaman who champions you to change your old limiting story to create the new story of your brilliance illuminating the world. She helps you awaken your magic, express your creative genius, embody your purpose and live your potential now.