Chapter 6: The Star
Love is a nurturing act, both toward yourself and others. By creating a foundation of self-love and a positive, self-supportive approach to life, we set the stage for healthy, stable relationships to grow.
It’s important to build a nurturing relationship with ourselves first; enjoying our passions, maintaining our routines, and honoring our own worth. When we prioritize emotional, physical, mental, and spiritual self-care, we cultivate a sense of inner stability and self-worth that naturally attracts healthy relationships. This internal nurturing helps us clarify what we truly need and desire, and builds resilience against setbacks or disappointments.
Taking time for activities that nourish us, whether it’s rest, creative expression, mindfulness, or connecting with nature, reinforces our sense of being enough just as we are. When we feel grounded and fulfilled within ourselves, we project confidence, warmth, and authenticity, which are inviting qualities that draw others in.
Physical self care
Of course, nurture our body’s health and energy creates a strong foundation for overall well-being. But it’s always good to check in with basic practices like diet, hydration, exercise and rest and to optimize these to reflect our enhanced sense of self-worth. When we prioritize physical self-care, we’re supporting a balanced mind and spirit and amplifying our confidence, vitality, and a sense of self-respect. In turn, this strengthens our capacity to pursue love and fulfillment with enthusiasm and self-assurance.
Emotional self care
As we are doing in this Program, emotional self-care involves intentionally nurturing your emotional well-being to maintain balance, resilience, and a sense of inner peace. It's about creating space to acknowledge our feelings, practice compassion, and develop healthy ways to process and express emotions. In this way, we build a stronger relationship with ourselves, fostering self-awareness, reducing stress, and cultivating resilience. When we tend to our emotional needs consistently, we create a foundation of stability that our nervous system responds to on a profound level to facilitate our transformation. It also makes it easier to connect authentically with others and navigate life’s challenges with grace and confidence.
Mental self care
Ironically, we don’t often think directly about mental self care but it’s a vital aspect of our well-being and mental health. When our minds are clear and balanced we’re able to handle life’s ups and downs more easily, our focuses is clearer, and we promote a sense of peace and positivity that is inherently attractive to others.
Spiritual self care
Spiritual self-care involves nurturing our inner life, aligning with our core values, and cultivating a sense of purpose and connection beyond the material world. When our spirits are cared for, we feel more grounded, authentic, and resilient, better able to navigate life’s challenges and build meaningful connections. Ultimately, it deepens our self-awareness and sense of belonging in the universe, fostering inner harmony that radiates into every aspect of our lives, including our relationships and capacity for love.
EXERCISES
Physical self care
~ See if you can fine tune your diet further to reflect your increased self-worth.
Take a week to keep a food diary. People usually are very resistant to doing this, but it can be really helpful to have an accurate picture of where you’re at (especially if filled in honestly!). Often we find our perception of our diets and what we actually eat are wildly different. At the end of the week take a look and see any unhealthy patterns you’d like to address.
Intuitively sense which nourishing foods your body would like more of by closing your eyes and asking your body to show you. Be open to receiving any guidance in the form of visions, smells, tastes, colors or signs in your daily life.
Practice mindful eating. When you eat your regular foods, tune in to the energetics. How did you feel before, during and after? Foods that you crave beforehand and leave you feeling dull or depleted afterwards for example may not be giving you what you need
Experiment. Overcome resistance to changing your regular habits and try something different for a week or two. Perhaps it’s adding, changing, or reducing your protein. Perhaps it’s adding more raw food, or more cooked, nourshing stews. Let yourself become curious about food and your diet, to see what’s actually best for you.
Remember that you may experience detox symptoms from some dietary changes so allow for this in your timing and assessment.
What you need may constantly change depending on weather and the seasons, what’s happening in your life, where you are etc. Stay open and inquisitive.
You can also read more about nutrition or visit a nutritionist for guidance, but utimately, trust your own body.
~ Take an honest assessment of your movment and exercise habits. Are you engaging in the right movement or exercise? Ideally you would have a mix of cardio, strength (external and core strength), more mindful, integrative movement and flexibility aspects in your routine. What can you practically do to support your body in a healthy, sustainable way?
~ Take some time to listen to your body’s signals. Recognize when you need downtime, or a massage, and honour that. It’s also good to scan through your body and check in on any areas that might need medical attention as we can often get habituated to little ‘niggles’ which can easily escalate. Make sure you’re going for regular assessments and check ups, having your teeth tended to, and so on.
~ Let others support you. Invest in what you feel you might need. There are so many wonderful holistic practitioners these days that can help to keep you in great shape.
Emotional self care
~ We’ve already been doing this here but through journaling and self reflection, mindfulness or meditation, as well as conscious movement, talking openly with trusted friends or a therapist, or other nourishing activities, you’re creating spaces for your inner world to be heard and tended to.
~ Emotional self care also means setting boundaries to protect your emotional energy, recognizing when you need rest, and giving yourself compassion during difficult times.
Mental self care
~ Take time each day to observe how your mind has been. Notice if you’ve felt scattered or sluggish, bright or dull, clear or foggy. Notice any repetitive loops, beliefs or stories that have been dominating your day. It’s helpful to think of your mind as the sky and all these conditions as the weather, and to take time to observe what it’s like until the weather clears.
~ Be honest with yourself and recognize if you’re really struggling. Seeking professional help through therapy or support can be just what’s needed to lift you out of any patterns you’re not able to clear on your own. We don’t have to do this alone by any means.
Spiritual self care
~ Take time for your own personal practices that foster inner peace, reflection, and a deeper understanding of yourself and your place in the larger universe. This can include meditation, prayer, mindfulness, spending time in nature, engaging in creative expression, or exploring your beliefs and values through reading or introspections. Be open to how Spirit wants to connect with you, and to ways that you can connect with Spirit, and have confidence that that connection is deeply available for you.