self-esteem | Tuesdays with Laurie

Have you fallen in love with yourself yet? I don’t mean like Narcissus in Greek mythology. Rather, love in the sense of full acceptance and appreciation of who you are.

It’s my perspective that the most important relationship we’ll ever have is the one with ourself. By loving and caring for ourself, we’re able to give our best to others. That’s why I carefully tend my inner-landscape; why I nurture my inner-ecology.

Gardening from the inside out — a few of my tips:

Focus on my strengths
Don’t compare myself to others
Cultivate an attitude of gratitude
Treat myself with respect — body, mind, and spirit
Accentuate the positive
Be myself

How do you tend your inner garden?

Find me on Twitter @HolEssence
Find me on Facebook

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

For those of you who are just joining us, welcome to the University of Life. In the previous “classes” we laid the groundwork for this course—The Color of Wellness, and looked at the therapeutic properties of the colors red and orange. Today’s palette features the color Yellow.

Yellow is associated with self-definition, personal power, and social wellness. It enhances awareness, wisdom, and clarity. It’s the color of a shiny rain slicker. Think of the downy feathers on a prothonotary warbler, or the vibrant skin on a lemon or banana. It’s the lively color of daffodil bonnets that herald spring, and the dazzling color of finches at the feeder on an early summer morning. It’s the flamboyant color of bumble bees showing off as they dart from blossom to blossom.

The positive properties of yellow are expressed as motivational, happy, radiant, social, lighthearted, mental activity, clear thinking, rational, and detachment from negative emotions.

The negative properties of yellow are described as critical, argumentative, opinionated, evasive, and restless.

The healing properties of yellow are uplifting and supportive and can address physical symptoms that include intestinal and digestive issues such as constipation, diarrhea and flatulence, water retention, skin problems, all mental processes, and negative states of mind such as depression, low self-esteem, short attention-span, “exam nerves,” and writer’s block. Yellow increases awareness, perception, and understanding. It also stimulates the appetite.

When you need a boost in the areas of personal power and self-definition, indulge yourself with this color. Its frequency resonates with the solar plexus chakra, the wellspring of our power—the hub, the very heart—of our body’s electrical system. It promotes vigor, and improves memory. Yellow energy stirs feelings of well-being, positive thinking, and triggers the outward expression of inner joy.

Closest to sunlight, pure yellow conveys hospitality and promotes deep feelings of well-being. The muted hues make quiet backgrounds for busy lives, while the shaded yellows have a soft, glowing presence which speaks of home, harvest, and abundance.

What we do with our physical environment—our personal space—speaks to our heart and helps us to flourish. Add a dash of yellow to your wardrobe. Wake up your bathroom with a dazzling yellow shower curtain. Cheer up your kitchen with a bright yellow cookie jar or ceramic teapot. Take advantage of the healing frequency of yellow crystals such as citrine, golden tiger eye, or imperial topaz.

A special thank you to Joseph’s Market for allowing me to take photographs in their produce department.

Listen with your heart,

Laurie Buchanan

“Whatever you are not changing, you are choosing.”
– Laurie Buchanan

www.HolEssence.com