Love Light Recovery

Throughout life it is easy to feel purposeless. To wonder why you’re here, and what the point of things are. Service is a beautiful thing because it brings instant purpose. Your purpose becomes increasing the wellbeing of another being. And when you increase the wellbeing of another – the wellbeing of the self is often indirectly increased because there is a feeling that you have done something useful – you have made a difference – you have been of service. Service increases the wellbeing of all parties and at the same time fosters a great sense of love and connection between all parties. When you’re being of service – you’re not just helping someone – you’re interacting with them. Getting to know them – empathizing with them – becoming one with them. Through service comes a profound sense of love and connection.

As mentioned above – each of the 8 pillars will look vastly different for different individuals. This holds very true with the pillar of service. To enact this pillar all one has to do is attempt to be of service to any being (it’s not limited to just humans!). And it’s very important to couple service with purpose and passion. For instance – say you love cats. Well then try to work to be of service to cats! One might go around feeding and connecting with hungry cats, helping them through the difficulties they may be facing. Maybe you have a passion for plants – go help the plants. Water and fertilize them, comfort them through the winter. Whatever you can do to be of service to the things which you feel most connected to. You could do it in whatever way you please. The pillar is entirely subjective and up to you! The important thing is to just work to be of service to others.

Connection and love is the opposite of isolation. Oftentimes in life it feels as though we face our hardships alone. As though no one around us could understand what we were going through and therefore it’s pointless to try to talk to them about it. This is an illusion the mind paints – and no matter the experiences one is experiencing – there are people out there who are experiencing those things as well.

When an individual has troubling thoughts within the mind if those thoughts are not released, they often spiral and become more and more consuming. However, when one makes connections through love and develops a network of people whom they feel comfortable talking too they can release these thoughts into the open. And when such thoughts go into the open, we begin to see them with less distortion – helping free us from their consumption.

Not only does making connections and talking to those people about your struggles help you, but it also helps those other people you’re talking to too. For when one becomes vulnerable it creates a safe space for the others to be vulnerable and talk about their struggles. Cultivating this safe space through connection and love is truly a beautiful thing which brings more serenity to all parties involved.

Connections can be made anywhere and everywhere. Of course, it is harder for some than others to make connections and be vulnerable. But as one continues to grow internally through introspection and reflection (pillars talked about below) it becomes easier to open up to people and form connections. And, as noted above – during acts of service especially those in which one is helping another through hardship – such circumstances already often create a vulnerable space conducive to cultivating love and connection.

A higher power is often defined as anything greater than oneself – that one feels connected too or a part of. And with this definition in mind anyone – no matter their system of beliefs about creation can find one. What constitutes one’s higher power is completely subjective to each individual. It’s whatever speaks to that individual. For some it’s the god of their religion, for others it’s the universe, consciousness, the land, the family. It really could be anything greater than oneself – that the self feels intertwined with.

The importance of a higher power is that one is able to view themself as a piece of an interconnected whole. Perception of self and how the self relates to the world around it makes a monumental difference in the experience. Imagine a grain of sand – which only knows that it alone is a grain of sand unaware of the beech it is part of. Now imagine a grain of sand – that knows it’s one small piece of a vast beach. This grain may rest within the comfort of the beach which it perceives easing the hardships of experience; The grain which does not see the beach then perceives itself as facing all pressures alone with nothing to rest within. In this case of the two grains of sand – the mere acknowledgement of the beach eases the hardships of life and gives a sense of guidance and comfort.

Perceiving the self as a piece of the puzzle rather than the puzzle itself brings great comfort through a feeling of oneness and unity. In addition to this it opens the door for very beneficial practices such as prayer and meditation to the greater whole (whatever your higher power may be). Such practices can help ground oneself – reset one’s state of being through clearing of the mind – and allow one to refocus on the things that they consider truly important in life rather than being bogged down by the chaos of the daily happenings of life.

The practices of prayer and meditation can also be extremely healthy ways to start and end the day. Starting and ending the day in a way which clears the mind and brings it to such things which one considers of true importance often contributes to a heightened mood over the course of that day.

A cornerstone of LLR is striving for continuous growth – and using hardships as catalysts for growth. Introspection of self allows individuals to use all hardships both mental and physical as catalysts to propel themselves forward into growth.

Introspection of self comes in three phases.

• Acknowledgment of the troubling aspects of self
• Acceptance of those aspects
• Choosing to react in more positive ways when such Troubling aspects arise

It is helpful in the acknowledgment stage to write down all troubling aspects of self as they arise in a journal. Maybe you find yourself being quick to anger, maybe you feel impatient, maybe you feel lonely. Of course some things which are troubling may come from the external world – however one can always work to respond to those external troubling things in ways which may them less troubling to the individuals (leading to growth). And so, one can journal these external things which are troubling as well and how they lead one to feel and react internally.

After acknowledging the initial troubling aspects, it is helpful to continue to write about the problem going deeper and deeper into the why of this aspect’s existence. Getting to the core of each aspect helps with the acceptance of why it exists in the first place. Treat each troubling aspect with great care and understanding for they all mean well and have a purpose.

Finally, once a troubling aspect has been identified and accepted – it is important to recognize when it arises in daily life and try to choose to react more positively. For instance – your boss was being a real dick and made you extremely angry. You recognize a troubling aspect of self has arisen (anger) and you attempt to consciously choose a healthier way to channel that anger. Say instead of going to your boss and yelling at them you take some time and journal why you are angry in the bathroom – at the same time practicing some breathing exercises. Give yourself a chance to cool down and then talk to them about how you felt when they acted like that. Obviously, this is the ideal standard – and probably not how it will play out in reality. But it’s all about recognizing when the troubling aspects arise and just working to respond a little better each time (and if you don’t, that’s totally okay) it is about very small steps which in the long run lead to growth.

Troubling aspects of self are abundant in every human – and the goal is not to try to extinguish them. Rather to accept them and react more positively when they arise. Troubling aspects of self are EXTREMELY IMPORTANT for they allow us to learn and catapult us towards growth when we learn to react to them in more positive manners.

Life is a chaotic place. There is so much going on day to day it is so easy to get sucked into the daily happenings and miss the true beauty which surrounds us at all times. For this reason, it can be very helpful to take some time every once and a while and immerse yourself in what you perceive as beautiful.

Again, this is subjective to the individual. Maybe it’s watching a sunset, watching the birds, laying in the forest, sitting in the rafters of a city watching the inner workings of human life. Whatever it may be that you perceive as beautiful – take some time and just sit there and take it in.

This practice helps ease the mind and body allowing one to just be for a little while. And while just being – it is refreshing to be reminded that we do live in a beautiful place – and there are many beautiful things within this place. It is easy to take them for granted.

A human is a complex being which feels vast amounts of emotions each and every day. At times it is hard to understand how we are feeling and why we are feeling the way we are. Expression of self is a helpful tool to release these things we are feeling into a physical form which can help us better understand them.

There are countless different ways to express oneself. Art, writing, music, dance, or even just talking (to others or to the self). The point is – you make a feeling, emotion, or thought – which has no physical form – have a physical form. And there is great power and understanding in giving whatever you are experiencing a physical form.

Like all the pillars this is subjective, and it is helpful to find a method of expression that you really enjoy doing. Expression of self is often intertwined with both connection with others (in methods of talking) as well as introspection (for here we are working to understand what we are experiencing to a greater extent).

There are now countless studies which show that the body and mind are intertwined in a way where properly supporting the body directly influences how one’s mind feels in day-to-day life.

This pillar is all about becoming in tune with the body and listening to what it has to say. The body makes requests all the time. It asks for food, it asks to rest, it asks for sleep, it asks for water, exercise, ect.

It is important to always be listening – and to give the body what it is asking for. Obviously, this is not always realistic. Sometimes we have to work all night to make ends meet – or don’t have the time to exercise. But the point is to try your absolute best to listen and fill the body’s requests as soon as you can. It can make an extremely large difference in one’s life.

Some crucial categories in regard to nourishment of the body consist of but are not limited to:

• Food
• Water
• Sleep
• Exercise
• Rest

The proper amounts of these subjects depend on the individual – and it is important to work to be one with the body to figure out what the prime levels of these categories are for one’s own body – and to work to maintain those levels when possible.

When the body makes requests – and they are continuously not granted the body and mind begin to get out of balance and one’s sense of wellbeing begins to drastically decrease even if they do not consciously recognize it.

Habitat in this context means any space that an individual frequently occupies. A living space, a car, an office, a locker, etc. These things would all be considered part of the habitat. Basically, Nourishment of the habitat means working to keep these frequently occupied areas somewhat clean and organized.

Why is this important? Well just as the mind is tied to the body – the mind is also tied to the habitat. At times it may be hard to see the interconnectedness between the two. One may occupy a very chaotic and disheveled habitat and feel as though it is not affecting them in any way that they can see. But often the effects are subconscious and manifest through more frequent discomfort or dissatisfaction arising in other areas.

Different individuals have different baselines of preference for organization and cleanliness of habitats. What one considers chaotic and disheveled another might consider very well kept. This pillar is not suggesting to keep one’s habitat in perfect shape all the time. Only to interwork a time in the daily routine to organize and clean so that the habitat is kept at a reasonable level for whatever one’s baseline may be. (again, every pillar is subjective)