The source isn’t really important, it’s the inspiration to love that matters.
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“You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.” ― fake Buddha
This quote appears in multiple sources as attributed to Buddha, yet its true origins are unknown. Several other sources have called it out for being fake, but I still like it.
Any quote from Buddha (or attributed to Buddha) hits me just right with its nurturing tone. At the heart of Buddha’s message is self love.
I just recently started getting up each morning and spending up to a half hour (sometimes more) just with myself, in quiet. During this half hour I sit on my floor, legs crossed, reciting a few “mantras” in my head which are really goals. I talk through each mantra with myself digesting where I’m headed in life, where I’ve been, what I desire, what I want to be for myself and for others. I’m spending time with myself. I leave the interaction loving myself, aware of my value and ready to start a day filled with activities which nurture who I am.
As an author, my writing is about loving yourself. I’m currently writing books which empower people to learn and accept they are worthy of love and happiness.
I’ll share with you another quote.
“In the end these things matter most: How well did you love? How fully did you live? How deeply did you let go?”― fake Buddha (actually reportedly from Jack Kornfield’s 1994 book, Buddha’s Little Instruction Book )
I recently wrote a sexuality book. Its spicy title has definitely turned some heads. But it’s really about nurturing yourself. We are sexual beings. Sex is a beautiful thing in a nurturing environment, which is where it should occur. As adults many of us are still living in shame and embarrassment when it comes to sex, instead of embracing sexuality.
I really like what Deepak Chopra has to say about sexuality. He says, “Sexual desire is sacred and chaste. The suppression of sexual energy is false, ugly and unchaste.” He also has a lot to say about the shame of sex, “Sex becomes a problem when it gets mixed with hidden emotions such as shame, guilt and anger,” and I love this statement, “When sex is used to fulfill needs, it leads to addiction. When sex comes from playfulness, the result is ecstasy.” and this, “All problems related to sex, neurosis, deviancy, sexual misbehavior, violence, abuse, can be traced to resistance, to suppression and repression, not to the sexual urges themselves.”
This goes back to self love. You can’t truly love someone else, or be vulnerable to someone else until you love yourself.
Sex is about vulnerability. I feel vulnerable talking about it. I definitely feel vulnerable in the moment. But vulnerability is what allows us to feel pleasure. Letting go, trusting, being willing to take a sexual journey with someone. It is what so many are afraid of when we engage in a sexual encounter.
Each day I want to wake up and love myself, fully live, fully love, open myself up to others and be vulnerable.
R. Leigh writes books which share her most intimate experiences in order to help other women (and sometimes men) learn to accept they are worthy of love, pleasure and happiness. Her first book, Squirting: It's Easier Than You Think: A Holistic Guide To Female Pleasure, is available on Amazon.com and BN.com. She is currently writing a book about surviving after leaving an abusive relationship. You can find out more about her at www.AuthorRLeigh.com, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter .
