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Happy Mother's Day: Are You Mothering Yourself?

5/10/2020

 
...how we mother our children
can never be anything other than
how we mother ourselves,
because it is all one life. 

                                                                           Karen Maezen Miller
Happy Mother's Day--to all moms, mamas, and mothers!  Today

is such a wonderful opportunity to celebrate all mothers, to

honor our own mothers and the influence of all mothers in

society. Mothers have been celebrated for centuries across

cultures, including by ancient Greeks and Romans who honored

mother goddesses during spring festivals. Today Mother's Day

is celebrated during the spring in several countries including in

the US, UK, India, Denmark, Finland, Italy, Turkey, Australia,

Mexico, Canada, China, Japan and Belgium. People take the

day as an opportunity to pay tribute to their mothers and thank

them for all their love and support. 


So…thank you mothers for doing such an amazing job of

aligning with the Divine Feminine energy to give birth, for whole-

heartedly loving, nurturing, and caring. Mother’s Day can be an

opportunity to celebrate our earthly mothers, thanking and

honoring them for the wonderful job they did in bringing us into

the physical world, using the principle of the Divine Feminine to

birth us, unconditionally love and nurture us for so many years

and then selflessly launch us on our own spiritual journey into

the human experience.



You may have (or had) a loving relationship with your mom

or for any number of reasons, experience strain and tension in

your relationship with her.  Regardless of your current

relationship or the amount of nurturing you received (or didn't

receive) as a child, it’s important to nurture positive

qualities in yourself, to honor the Divine Feminine, the light of

unconditional love, within.

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I'm conflicted about

celebrating Mother’s Day for

a couple of reasons. One, I'm

not a biological mother. Two,

my mother didn't have the

capacity for mothering, for

loving or nurturing my brother

and me. As a child, I couldn’t

understand why she didn't


seem to be like other mothers; I thought it was my fault, and I

came to believe I was unworthy and undeserving of her love.

For many years I held those beliefs and tried to win her approval

(and just about everyone's approval).  Fortunately, I learned

spiritual practices in my early 20s that set me on a lifelong path

that helps shift my perception of myself and of my mother.  The

realizations help me accept that she did the very best she could

at the time. I feel deep compassion for her suffering.  Although

she couldn’t model mothering, unconditional love or nurturing, I

have been blessed by the gift of mothering from a really

wonderful relationship with my grandmother, an aunt, and loving

friends--both male and female.  I've learned that mothering

transcends the female–I can be mothered by anyone (or thing)

that offers acceptance, nourishment, and unconditional love. I've

learned nature is one way I receive the mothering I need;

gardening enriches my soul; trees wake up my mind; flowers

remind me of my wholeness.


No doubt there are others who didn't (or don't) have a happy

and healthy relationship with their birth mother, which is why it is

important to celebrate the many ways in which we are all

uniquely mothered and appreciate the gift we have of seeing

that mothering as more than a trait of female humans.  I invite

you to think of the word mother as a verb (“to mother”), versus a

noun. Why? 


Mother’s Day can be a chance for each of us to consciously

reconnect with the principle of the Divine Feminine within

ourselves, which is where the power of unconditional love

resides, waiting to embrace and nurture us.  Dr. Ernest Holmes,

a great spiritual teacher, refers to the Divine Feminine as the

…Universal Womb of Nature,
an omnipresent principle
operating through all living things
that knows how to unconditionally
nurture and grow to fruition
   whatever falls into its embrace.

The mandala reminds us that “Unconditional Love” is the most

powerful force in the universe because it aligns us directly with

the highest vibration of the Infinite.  It is very important to

remember that to thrive (not just survive) you have to learn to

strengthen your relationship with your inner self by loving

yourself unconditionally.


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It's time to start mothering yourself.

Choosing to love yourself unconditionally

means you love yourself enough

to nurture yourself

as you continue your journey of

becoming your own best friend.


Unconditional Love Exercise:


In this simple, yet powerful exercise, I invite you to celebrate the

light of the Divine Feminine within and  connect with the power

of unconditional love that nurtures you.


Give yourself plenty of time without interruptions to dive deeply

into this exercise. Meditate, journal, create and bless your

sacred space.


Make this exercise your own. Invest your time and attention.


Don’t rush.


As you sit quietly in your space, light a candle that welcomes

“Unconditional Love”.


Close your eyes. Bring your awareness to your breath; just be

with your breath. Take a deep breath in. Breathe out. Take

another deep breath in. Breathe out. Notice the sensations as

you exhale—without judgement.  Feel the body breathing. Bring

your body into stillness.


Open your eyes and bring your attention to the mandala; allow

the mandala energy to fill your heart; be with whatever is there.

Invest a few minutes toward allowing the “Unconditional Love” 

energy to flow to and through your body.  Imagine that energy

bursting through your crown chakra & extending far into the

heavens.


Imagine the “Unconditional Love” energy flowing through you

and down deep into the earth. Imagine it radiating from your

heart and extending out in front of you and behind you. Imagine

the “Unconditional Love” energy is a radiant ball that encircles

you.


Now, sit with this energy for a few minutes.


What about the mandala captures your attention?


Notice and Wonder--Something in me is feeling...


I wonder what it wants me to know?


Relax into your body and its quietness. Be with the energy, be

present, listen.


Now, ask yourself:


How do I mother myself?
  1. In what ways am I kind and forgiving toward myself?
  2. How do I give myself quiet attention?
  3. How do I encourage myself?
  4. In what ways am I tender, careful and trusting with myself?
  5. How do I make space for all my feelings, even the ones I’d rather not feel?


When you've answered the questions,  find (or imagine) a

picture of you as a child, and write your “younger self” a love

letter as if you were her mother. Affirm her. Empower her. Tell

her all the great things your mom told/taught you or say what

you would have wanted her to tell you.




When you celebrate the Divine Feminine within you begin to

notice how loved you really are. It's this mothering that helps us

grow.  We need to acknowledge our unmet needs and to reflect

on how we nurture ourselves and find ways to reconnect with

the presence of the Divine Feminine within.  Here are 10 Ways

to Mother Yourself
. Begin to notice just how loved, blessed

and supported you are.



Peace and joy to your seeking heart,                  



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    Author

    Sheryl Harrell, Gardener
    of the Soil and of the
    Soul & Co-Creator of
    Mandalas. Happy you
    found my Blog!

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