A Valentine's Day Ritual to Celebrate Finding Love

Finding love is an experience we all want to have. It's a feeling of warmth, connection, acceptance, appreciation, and arrivinghome. When we feel love, we know who we are. We're happy and at peace. Life makes sense through the eyes of love. 

But as you know, many of us aren't connected to the essence of love as much as we'd like to be. Instead we feel "off," like something's missing, confused, and searching for the answer "out there."

When we're disconnected from the internal flow of love, we use people and experiences to fill the void within. We become compulsive, chasing, antsy and emotionally starving for that feeling we all desire - oneness, completion, peace, happiness… the feeling of love.
 

In the long-run, chasing love will never work because love is not found on the outside.

Of course there are people, places and things that enhance the love you feel. However if you rely on these outside circumstances to make you feel good, you'll find yourself in a state of dependency: happy when you get what you want, devastated when you don't.

We all know what that process is like; I'm sure we'd all agree that it doesn't lead to the love we want.
 

That's because love is cultivated from within.

This is the most important lesson there is to create a life overflowing with love.


While Valentine's Day is typically seen as a hallmark-holiday reserved for couples, I encourage you use this time of year to celebrate something more: Let Valentine's Day be an opportunity to celebrate Love itself. 

Below is a simple love-ritual - a sequence of inquiries that will guide you to create love from within. Set aside 30 minutes and sit down in a quiet space with your favorite journal. Move through the exercises to honor the essence of love within you. Doing so will guide you to shine with love from the inside-out.

Love-Ritual: Celebrate the Essence of Love
 

1) Appreciate the love you feel for yourself.

 

Loving yourself is the best way to practice feeling more love. It is also one of the most difficult expressions of love we can make.

Many people get confused about what self-love is. In my mind, its something very simple: self-love is the act of treating yourself with kindness, compassion, appreciation, and generosity. It's treating yourself the same way you'd treat an old, dear friend.

:: In your journal, make a list of 10 things you appreciate about yourself. As you create this list, pause after each thought to honor the love and gratitude you feel. This exercise will feel like a big hug, and you'll notice the essence of love rising from within your heart.
 

2) Appreciate the love you feel for others. 
 

There are probably many people on this planet that are easy for you to love (and if there aren't many, there's at least one!). Take a moment to honor the love you feel for the people who have blessed your life.

:: In your journal, list 5 - 10 people you feel grateful for; pause after you write each name to honor this person in your heart, silently thanking them for how they've touched your life. As you do, you'll feel your love growing from the inside-out.

 

3) Appreciate the love you feel for nature, animals, places and our planet. 

 

Nature overflows with love. Animals overflow with love. Even flowers overflow with love!

Have you ever noticed how your body and mind reset when you spend time with the natural world? This is because nature is uninterrupted life-force; it connects us with the essence that we're all made of (yes... the essence of love).

:: Make a list of at least 5 places, animals or aspects of the natural world that you feel grateful for. Let your heart run wild - feel love for the moon, the stars, a park near your home, your pets, or whatever feels right. Pause after each item on the list to notice how your love grows.

 

4) Appreciate the love you feel for what's to come.

 

We are creating our realities from the inside-out. When you combine intention with the feeling of love, your desires become your reality.

:: Make a list of 5 - 10 experiences that you want to have in the future, and feel grateful for them as if they are occurring right now. Notice how the feeling of aliveness and gratitude already exists for a desire that is yet to come. Hold your dreams in the essence of love, and you will create them from the inside-out.

 

5) Appreciate love itself.

 

To complete this ritual, take a few moments to appreciate love itself. Appreciate that you are able to grow this feeling inside yourself. Appreciate how good it feels to bathe in the bliss of your true nature - the experience of love.

Always remember that love is found within; it's waiting for you to discover it. If you find yourself chasing love on the outside, stop and drop into your heart. Celebrate the essence of love everyday of your life, and you will shine from the inside-out.

Please leave comment below telling us the most potent thing you experienced from doing this love-ritual. We'd love to hear from you!