Self Love is not Narcissism: Marc Gafni
Below is some notes on a talk I gave at a wonderful teaching center yesterday in Carmel Ca., the great town where Clint Eastwood was mayor for a time.
There were about five hundred gorgeous and holy people there gathered by their wonderful liberated leader Dr. Bil and assisted ably by the perceptive, funny holder of sacred space Rev. David. The brilliant teacher and partner in our new movement iEvolve Global Practice Community, Sally Kempton was there which always raises the level of Consciousness. Sensei Diane was with us in Spirit as always. Dr. Rick did an elegant expansion and Integration and led a warm hearted and perceptive post service group. It was great to have John and Maneesh, emerging iEvolve Evolutionaries with us. There was a lot of love, a lot of depth and true spiritual investigation, and most important, a lot of integrity. So here are some notes from the talk…
Gorgeous day to all.
As You Love Your Self
What does self love really mean? Israel, Master of the Good Name has a wonderful teaching on the Biblical mandate “love your neighbor as you love yourself.” First it is a statement of fact — you love your neighbor precisely as much as you love yourself. For in the end, you can only perceive another’s greatness if you have glimpsed and believe in your own. Self love is self perception.
If this is so than a powerful question arises! How do you love your self when you know all of your foibles, pathologies and blemishes. Isn’t self love self perception. And does not honest perception yield all of the reasons that we are not lovable. And yet most of us manage, at least to some degree to love ourselves. Is it just self deception? No, not at all. Love —as we have unpacked together is not merely perception, It is a perception-identification complex. Self perception means that although I aware of the full complexity of my personae — the good the bad and the ugly- I identify the essence of who I am with my good. Good, loving, giving, creative and generous self.
That does not mean I deny my beast. It is, of course, critical to integrate all of Me into my self picture. But the essence, the core of who I am, remains my goodness, virtue and beauty. To love your self is to identify your self as part of the Shehina. Perception – Identification. Writes Master Israel, “To love yourself is to love the Shehina”. Not to love yourself is to send the Shehina into exile. So proclaim the Kabbalist, to which Rumi adds:
By God, when you see your beauty
you will be the idol of yourself.
Okay so now your internal skeptic challenges this whole teaching by saying – Isn’t that Narcissism?
Self Love is when you enter your holy of holies and realize your true nature.
Narcissism is when you are alienated from your true nature – so you desperately cling to your mask – obsessing and insisting to your self and others – about it’s grandeur and singularity.
marc gafni
posted on marcgafni.com
share comments on info@marcgafni.com
