Why Everything is Rooted in Self Love

even when you feel hatred

Everything is self love 

Recognizing our inherent love

I attended a meditation retreat, learning from a wise monk that everyone has self love within. 

No matter who you are. 

24 hours a day. 

Even when you feel hatred.

“Begin with self”

— Neville Goddard

Peaceful energy filled the room as we all enjoyed his teachings. 

When the monk finished his lecture, I couldn’t help but stop and share with him: “The idea that everybody has self love is wonderful. I like it. But I don’t have self love. Maybe others have self love. But not me. I feel hate for myself. I don’t think it’s possible everyone can have self love.”

He listened to me, and asked, "Why did you come here?"

I replied, "Because I want to learn something from you." 

"Why do you want to learn from me?" he questioned calmly and curiously. 

“I want to be free from the feeling of hatred. This is why I came to you, so I can free this feeling, so I can be happy." I told him.

Then, he enlightened me. "Actually, you do care for yourself. You want to be free from this hatred. And you want to be happy. You came all this way. You came from far away, took the time, and made the effort of this journey. Out of desire for your happiness." 

Finally, I understood. 

Even though sometimes we feel like we hate ourselves. And we may feel, "I’m useless. I’m not good enough. I’m not loved." 

Even if we have these feelings… on a deeper level all these feelings are, actually, coming out of love. From our deep desire to be happy.

Connecting with our fundamental love for self

First, we understand our own feelings and motivations.

Of course, when we first do this, what we experience is that we only see the surface level: There may be a lot of unpleasant concepts, including self-hatred, aversion, and avoidance. 

Our mind is so attached to one single idea. And we don’t want to let go. 

We grasp tightly. Our mind becomes too tight. 

Stress, panic, feelings of depression and hatred — all and more may come up. 

That’s okay. 

We are just aware. And we continue to be aware of that. 

From a witnessing perspective, we can recognize that with awareness. 

On a deeper level, we just want to be free and happy. 

Unconditional love is within us all the time. 

The more we recognize it, the more we connect with it. 

How to Love Yourself Unconditionally ⟶