“There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love. When we are afraid, we pull back from life. When we are in love, we open to all that life has to offer with passion, excitement, and acceptance.” John Lennon

Living in love creates a constant flow of positive energy which dissolves fear, insecurity and negativity. We are love-a whole and complete energy without limits or boundaries. Living as the embodiment of love, we obliterate all negativity and sustain all that is well and good. It lifts us beyond the drone of the human condition and reminds us that we are this divine energy source capable of creating a fulfilling and purposeful life.

How do we live in the flow of love? By practicing these principles everyday as consistently as possible.

Begin with the inner knowing that you are love so everything you positively intend is open and possible. Let every thought resonate with an intention of love to support yourself and others without harm or hurt. Catch or change any negative thought as soon as you become aware and replace it with a loving one even if you are still angry, upset or irritated. Then, repeat this mantra until the feelings dissipate or subside.

Wake up everyday in gratitude which is an aspect of love. Acknowledge the blessings of who you are and what you have even if you are having difficulty feeling this way. Begin each day with an image of the best your life has ever been and create from there no matter what has happened in your past.

Include instead of exclude. You’ll be surprised how much more love will come into our life. Share, open and include others to play. Let go of any attachment to having it a certain way, coveting a particular time or experience or holding on to a person or thing.

Listen to the inner voice of spirit and make discerning choices in alignment with your true being. If someone or something doesn’t resonate or feel right to you at this time, then it isn’t in the flow of love. Shift it, dissolve it or move out of the situation as soon as possible.

Find the awe and wonder in the simplest experiences-a rainbow, a child’s smile, a favorite piece of music or a loved one’s warm embrace. Do whatever makes your heart sing and thread these delights throughout your day. Take the necessary break to close your eyes and see a favorite image of a sunset or person.

Let others be. Focus your energies on yourself and your own life. Stop micro-managing others and make the choices to change your life and create it as an expression of love-every thought, feeling and action. Be the flow of love in your life so that others will shift by example.

Trusting ourselves gives us the courage of heart to take that first wobbly step into the unknown territory of vulnerability. Courage comes from the Latin word “cor” which means “heart.” Having courage means seeing and engaging in every situation as a blessing where we can rise to meet the challenge of each moment with trust, knowing that we are prepared for it. Courage sources deep within our hearts as self-love, self-acceptance, and self-compassion. The Serenity Prayer used in AA and other twelve step programs acknowledges the power of courage when it emphasizes that we have the courage to change the things we can and the wisdom to know the difference. Most of all, we can have the courage enough to love ourselves.

According to Brene Brown in her book, The Gifts of Imperfection, “ordinary courage is speaking honestly and openly about who we are, about what we are feeling, and about our experiences (good and bad)…it’s about putting our vulnerability on the line.” She declares that it takes ordinary courage to express who we are. In other words, ordinary courage doesn’t mean we have to perform feats of external bravery and strength. Quite the contrary, in sourcing our inner strength, we acknowledge our fears, hurts, and imperfections and boldly act in the face of them. Loving ourselves enough to open and share our woundedness is the most courageous choice we can ever make.

To courageously stretch spiritually, we have to seek the divine power within us and uncover it by shedding all that is not genuine. We need to give ourselves permission to unravel, shake loose, and fall apart. We must make mistakes, experience disappointment, acknowledge our failures, and create messes. As Anne Lamott suggests, “Perfectionism is a mean frozen form of idealism while messes are the artist’s true friend. What people forget to mention is that we need to make messes in order to find out who we are and why we are here.” Trusting ourselves to let go into our vulnerable pain may not be neat and tidy; however, it puts us in touch with all the power in the universe which is who we were truly born to be.