I’m singing a song tomorrow for Martin Luther King, Jr.’s celebration at our Center. It is from a musical called Aspects of Love. The song is “Love Changes Everything.” This happens to be the name of this blog site, too. It is something I truly believe. Love does change everything. It does so because when we recognize that this is all we are – Love, everything takes on a different meaning. In the song it says “…days are longer…words mean more…pain is deeper than before.” Love changes everything.

So, where am in regards to this belief? Do I believe that Love changes everything? Yes, I do and I believe it starts with self-love. It is the greatest love of all because from self-love comes a heart that is so big that it can heal everything it touches.

We live and move and have our being in the Field, the One Mind, God, Source, whatever you want to call it. It has never been touched by anything in the purest sense. It is continually creating from itself. We are affecting it in every moment with our feelings and thoughts, yet it never stays the same. It is expanding right now. Each of us is a point where the Field expresses Itself. Although it is unlimited, we can be limited. This limitation comes from not fully embracing the heart of the Universe – Love – fully.

I love to listen to Louise Hay because she really explains self-love in perfection. She healed herself with self-love and she assisted so many during the AIDS crisis. She knew that everything in the world of dis-ease came from a lack of love for oneself. Loved changed everything in the world of so many because of her ministry.

Love changes our brain. As we love ourselves, we release so much good chemistry into our bodies that have a healing effect, such as oxytocin which is labeled the love hormone.

However, how can this esoteric concept of self-love be concretized? It seems so abstract to say “just love yourself.” It is both a simple process and a difficult one. The simplicity of it is that once one allows oneself to practice it, it becomes automatic. The difficult part is actually taking the time to do it. This takes sitting in meditation, being willing to surrender the past, forgiveness, feeding oneself positive messages of love, and the realization that right where we are Love is and always has been.

It takes a decision to change our beliefs about ourselves that will allow Love to express itself through us at a more expansive level. As is written on our Labyrinth of Love at Center for Spiritual Living Kaua’i. “This labyrinth is dedicated to the love that brings peace to the world – Self-Love.” This is a true statement.

I invite you, if you haven’t already done so, to begin the journey to self-love. There is plenty to help you along your way in the way of teachers, books, YouTube videos, etc. However, the most powerful teacher lies within you and is just waiting for you to turn to it.

Love and Aloha,

Rev. Rita Andriello-Feren, Author and Spiritual Director Center for Spiritual Living Kaua`i