Why Love HealsPeople have always intuitively known that love heals. We offer loving touches and special care to friends and family members when ill. What you may not know is that to offer love to yourself is perhaps the ultimate form of self-healing. "Love is the great miracle cure. Loving ourselves works miracles in our lives." Louise L. Hay Dr. Bernie Siegel explains that when you don't love your life your body suffers. He says that it's the "good girl" who gets breast cancer. She's the one who takes care of other people's needs and desires at the expense of her own. The "good girl" may equate love to conforming. This stifles creativity and living an authentic life. This creates stress and chronic stress leads to illness. People often feel this stress on Monday - the most popular day for suicide, heart attacks and illness. On the physical level, you are either sending your cells messages of love, acceptance and healing, or messages of attack. Attack puts us in the negative stress mode. It damages our mental and physical health. In this state we limit ourselves and make choices that aren't in our best interest. It isn't until you learn to love yourself that you attract healthier relationships, healing, and blessings from the universe. Not only does self-love heal, but so does love received from others. Dean Shrock, PhD, author of Why Love Heals cites scientific proof that love heals. Dr. Shrock served as Director of Mind-Body Medicine for 40 cancer centers. He found that his patients lived much longer than those receiving only conventional medical care. Much to his surprise, he realized that it wasn't programs or what he taught that greatly impacted his patients. His research concluded that what made the difference for these cancer patients was that felt loved and cared for. Connecting with someone emotionally and spiritually is the essence of life and health. Dr. Shrock defines love as "the all pervasive energy that flows through everything". It's our essence. He explains that love is oneness because on a subatomic level all of us are connected. When you experience love you are resonating with the essence of the universe and who you are. The quantum field flows freely and health is its natural consequence. You yourself are source. Loving yourself involves accepting love and care from others as well as loving yourself. This is a far cry from what most of us grew up hearing. You may have heard that your love heals others, but you were never encouraged to direct this love healing and nurturing energy to yourself. Perhaps you were raised to 'put others first', or 'not to think to highly of yourself'. Maybe you even heard, "Who do you think you are?" You may have been raised to believe you are a sinner, that you don't deserve or aren't worth it. The truth is that you are worth it. The truth is that you can only give what you have. If you do not love and accept yourself unconditionally, you cannot truly love and accept others either. We aren't talking about ego here. We're talking about valuing and accepting yourself just because you are, because you were created and you exist. Because you are a part of the divine, you are worth it. You may feel guilty about valuing and accepting yourself. But learning to love yourself is one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself and others. Love heals, not only your body, but your mind and relationships as well. Others can only benefit from this gift. We are all one. Research now proves that love is wired into our chemical make up. When we give and receive love, the brain releases the love hormone oxytocin which promotes bonding, protects us from the effects of stress and literally heals our hearts. Learning to love yourself and practicing self-care truly forms the foundation of your own health and your relationship with others. Continue to How to Love Yourself.
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