Are you doing a good job of loving yourself today? It’s important to show the same kind of generous love toward yourself that you show to others.
For instance, do you give yourself time and space to keep your thinking in a heavenly place? Do you respect your right to “think for yourself,” and not let fear, worry, or anxiety think for you? Do you see yourself as expressing the intelligence, wisdom, and creative insight of God that you’ve been divinely created to express? Do you see and honor all the good your individuality includes?
You are a marvelous spiritual being with a unique individuality that is to be honored, appreciated, and valued. Be sure to honor what God created you to be! Value it! Love it!
This is not about indulging a selfish, mortal-centered, narcissistic devotion that focuses on what one can get physically or sensually to gratify the material senses. That’s mortality, the opposite of spiritual individuality. It’s about honoring your God-created individuality, the spiritual you which is filled with merit, worth, and value.
You have existence for a reason. You play a unique and special role in the universal scheme of things. You are worthy of love.
God loves you! Be sure to love yourself—your spiritual self, your only self—which is worthy of all the best God has to offer.
Evan, thank you for your generous spiritual love towards everyone.
I want to be able to do this. Why is it so hard?
Can I recommend this article from CSJ August 1968 called As Thyself . I have found it a powerful reminder.
Is this is, Janet? You didn’t name the author. Many thanks.
https://journal.christianscience.com/shared/view/1mr4jc8u796?s=copylink
Maggie and Janet, thank you. This really stood out in this poem: “…the error that would try
to crucify the Christ in me.” That really cuts to the heart of what needs to be seen and countered.
Wonderful poem. Thanks for sharing Janet and Maggie . And thanks, as always, Evan for getting me off to a good start today
Thank you, Evan, for a wonderful explanation of loving ourselves – it is really helpful.
And I have read the poem now, Janet, thank you for sharing it. It is lovely and very much in support of Evan’s description of how to love oneself. We must love God with all our heart, Soul and Mind, and love our neighbour as ourselves – and not miss out the last bit that completes our understanding of our oneness with the Father and all mankind.
Thank you Evan and all for sharing.
This is so comforting and soothing to the soul. I think in order
to truly love others, we must also love ourselves. Not always
an easy thing to do, as I think we can be our own worst critic
sometimes..
But loving ourselves like God loves us is reflecting that Love in
a way that blesses all. Our identity is unique and we are all
part of God’s universal family…
I too, love the poem. Thank you, Janet and Maggie and Evan
for this wonderful reminder. Love to all and me. LOL : )
Thank you Evan for this inspirational treatment.
….the whole true , eternal Love package…
Love God
Love your spiritual self
Love the spiritual individuality of all men.
Here’s Love to you all here today and everyday❣️
I am grateful for this message today. I don’t think we hear this enough and I have a feeling there is confusion about loving ourselves, spiritually speaking.
Years ago, before I learned of CS, I studied things like positive thinking and affirmations. These were helpful, but still had a more material basis. We affirmed our good qualities but more in a human/personal way, not really recognizing that whatever good qualities we acknowledged in ourselves (or others) were from God, demonstrating our reflection/expression of Him. It was more like loving our own separate personal traits, and separate minds that seemed to need to be “worked on” and improved.
So I will study today’s message more, very helpful. Thank you Evan and all commenters. Blessed day everyone, as we grow in loving ourselves in the true sense, every moment.
Love the photo, nice reminder, lol!
“DO YOU LOVE YOURSELF?” A question and a journey toward healing and inner peace by Fenella Bennetts:
https://sentinel.christianscience.com/shared/view/1ylk07bcarc
thank you J. for that powerful article
Thank you Evan and all. When one begins to see his or herself as image and nothing more, love begins to grow within. One constantly learns to see others in the exact way he sees himself.. This always leads to lots of healing.
The daily messages are always helpful, but if ever I needed “the one for today” it is right now: Here, where I am. Yesterday was “gut-wrenching” as I took personally the hateful sounding rejections and criticisms which were thrown my way by a loved one. If I had thought, and remembered to love myself in the proper way, the whole day and night would have been totally different. I worked on it in my evening prayer time, also reviewing much of Mrs. Eddy wrote, but not until this message and the poem linked to above did I see what I really needed to work on!
Thank you Evan, and Thank You All!
Hi Granny Ginny, sorry you have had to experience this. It resonated with me, as it’s happened to me too, very recently and was, and still is, very painful. Have been struggling with trying to get my thought in line with God, and not very successfully! Today’s post, and your reminder about actively loving ourselves in the proper way during the time this sort of thing is happening, and in the aftermath, was very helpful.. Thank you for sharing
Awww, dear Granny Ginny… your post made my heart melt for you.
I have had many seeming mental abuse lies told about me, also, but
we have to see ourselves and the one(s) falsely accusing us of what
is really not true ~ with… we All as being God’s children.
An experience I had where I used to live gave me this opportunity…
one of the many, many.
I was walking (my two sweet dogs at the time on leashes) and was
almost home when I heard the neighbor’s teenage boys say, “Here she
comes”. They deliberately hit a ball over to my property right in front
of me, causing my large dogs to lunge almost uncontrollably towards
their dog who always retrieved the ball for them. I felt I had to firmly
confront them this time because they always said it was “an accident”
and just couldn’t let the error that was trying to cause them to be so
mean, continue, or just walk away. The one told me, in not so nice a way,
to be quiet and “Get in the house!!” Sadly they were used to treating their
mother this way, following their father’s “guidance”. It was extremely
difficult seeing them as “God’s children”, but I knew I Had to and every
time they deliberately tried to get me to react to the error that was trying
to influence them, I would just mentally try to Love them as God’s children
even more. It was not easy.
You know, “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do”.
I had been trying to see the mother (whom I seldom saw) as well as
myself …as Loved by God and would often send flowers from my garden
over to her via the sons.
They eventually did become more neighborly and towards the end of their
time living there ~ I woke up one morning to the sound of their shoveling
my driveway. Big Hug to you and Jennifer, also. False accusations are evil
attempting to be real. We are all loved in Spirit and in Truth.
Just wondering, you mention the universe. Is the universe spiritual or material?
I’ve been wondering about this for a while.
God’s universe is spiritual. The realm of reality!
When you look out through the eyes of spiritual sense, you see a spiritual universe. Perspective is everything.
ALways great to get your response to a heartfelt question, Evan. It seems so very very VERY important to me that CS students always remember that there are not two of us, two universes, two minds-God’s and ours!- Etc.
This dualism of belief must be MET and the sooner the better, huh! Always appreciating SpiritView.net in every way. Love, Sue
Hi Nancy, As I understand it, Since God created all that exists, and as He is Spirit, the universe must be spiritual. And since God is infinite, there can be no material creation or universe. There may be a belief of a material creation or universe, but this is just a false belief about it. Christian Science corrects this belief.
Just posted a reply to Nancy, and find that Evan has got there before me!
Thank you Evan.
I’m not sure if I have this correct, Nancy, but how I
understand it after Evan’s and Maggie’s answer. To
me, the universe is like a flower. What we see
“humanly” is an Expression of what the flower is.
The flower’s seed/plant may be hidden during winter
(dormant), but in the Spring, it’s beauty blossoms forward.
When it wilts and Seems no longer vibrant or “with us”,
the Expression and True beauty of it still exists and always
will in the Spiritual realm of it. We can capture it’s true
essence in Spirit in a photo, like the Hubble space cameras,
but as Evan stated, it’s real existence is ~
“God’s universe is spiritual. The realm of reality”.
I am trying to grasp the understanding of this, as well as
our journeys through life, also, so thank you for the question,
Nancy.
Thanks Evan for explaining about” loving ourselves’ in beautiful manner. Loved the idea of “loving your worthy spiritual self”. Thanks Janet & Maggie for sharing poem As Thyself
Thank you, thank you Evan! What a powerful, loving, helpful treatment of us all!
I will surely return to this often and work to make it happen much more consistently in my thought.
Thank you for this gift!
Thank you, Evan.
What a Wonderful Family of Thinkers, that is: Mind’s ideas reflecting Mind in infinitely various expressions!!
Mind’s Universe is the ONLY Universe!!! We need not struggle to “overcome” another, messed-up one!!!!!!
Much love,
Sue
Thank you very very much, dear Evan for your so loving SpiritView here with such nice foto. I am utmost grateful for the divine clarity with which you let us understand our true identity as God’s offspring. I love my spirituality, so as Mrs. Eddy teaches us in her Scientific Statement of Being: “Spirit is God and man is his image and likeness, therefore man is not material he is spiritual.”
It’s a good question what Evan asks “do I see myself as expressing the Intelligence, wisdom and creative insight of God I have been divinely created to express? Do I see and honor all the good my individuality includes.” The eternal answer should be a “yesss!” Specially when I need in trying times, I like to thank God with the Bible Verse “I thank you God that I am beautifully made. Wonderful are your works, that my soul knowest very well.”
Thanks Uta, I love the verse you shared above from Psalms 139:14. This verse makes it easier to love ourselves because we do so in praise of God and how He made us, spiritually and wonderfully.
Another translation (The Voice):
I will offer You my grateful heart, for I am Your unique creation, filled with wonder and awe. You have approached even the smallest details with excellence; Your works are wonderful; I carry this knowledge deep within my soul.
It is said that we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), similarly we can love ourselves because He first loved us.
Thank you very much, dear Rose!
I love the prayerful Verse from “The Voice”!♡
“t is said that we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19), similarly we can love ourselves because He first loved us.”
Thank you Evan, Rose and all the shares….Truly needed this wake up call.