I wrote this non fiction book in 2013 with the idea of supporting those people who struggle with self-acceptance, who are religious refugees, or who , like me, just want to have a belief that is consistent with love, science, humanity, ecology and common sense.
It has behind it a premise that love is what the universe is built from, supported by the emerging understanding of quantum physics, but also a long held understanding that I believe has always been a part of human consciousness. I have included lots of interesting support for this thinking, but this is not a book that tries to convince the reader of anything. It instead offers the opportunity to consider some mystical thinking, a way which I like to think is about friendship.
The majority of the book deals with wisdom about friendship, love and the eternal, but without rules or theology. It is an invitation to lead an abundant life, and to live that life with gratitude, as I do.
OK enough about the book, here is a sample of the writing for you to consider:
When we love something it has our concern, our attention, its welfare is in our heart. Yet Negative-Ego often creates a view of self that leads us to follow others’ points of view, that we should be ‘selfless’ (i.e. be good slaves to another’s wishes), that we should ‘ignore our sinful needs, especially emotional or hormonal’ (i.e. don’t pay attention to what is going on inside) and that we should ‘love others before ourselves’ (contrary to the rule which every flight promotes, namely “pull down the oxygen mask and place it on yourself first, before attending to those around you”).
“Don’t forget to love yourself,” said Soren Kierkegaard.
You cannot love someone else with abundance and freedom if you have not attended to your own inner needs. I am not saying this about material things, though St. Francis gave away all his wealth and it was a blessing to him. This is about spending the time to embrace your own being, to recognize love energy within, to respect that, then to go on, and from that starting point to spend time regularly on your physical health, your spiritual journey, and your emotional and psychological needs.
It seems so logical that it should be unnecessary to say it. But most of us battle with this issue of loving ourselves, because we were taught we were bad, unworthy, difficult etc. Burney says, “Learning to love ourselves, and remembering that the God-Force loves us, is what will bring peace within.”
Everyone expects and wants love.
You may accept that you have to give love in order to attract it into your life. However, you can’t give what you don’t have.
The only way forward for this world is to discover that the love inside you is already there, and it provides a connection to the source of love, energy. Once this truth is admitted you can relax and concentrate on being yourself, for in your joy and daily passion you will automatically draw from the deep well of Love inside.
As Lucille Ball from the Iconic I Love Lucy show said, “Love yourself first and everything else falls into line.”
Embracing yourself involves accepting your value and worth, and following your own inner guidance system.
You can purchase a copy from John Hunt Publishers in the UK, or from Amazon.com