Discover The Love Below

Yup, life is a layer cake folks!

Most of us are enticed by the allure of the sweet icing - the silver lining - the promise of everlasting happiness that spreads over the surface of each day to keep us smiling and going in for more.

But have you ever had a cake that was just frosting? It would just be a pile on a plate! Where’s the substance, the form, the part you really get to sink your teeth into?

We need the batter to give life form, to give our days context, shape and volume, so in turn we need to go deeper than just the surface to discover how those sweet experiences can be upheld. It takes effort and a bit of courage to build structure by going deeper within, because past the icing of life is a much thicker layer of dedicated work to support it.

In the same way, if life is all work and no play, and I’m not just talking about a job but relationships too, who wants to keep going through layers without tasting some of that frosting - the great times, the sweet memories, the feeling of rapturous love pressed up against a cheek when a partner is feeding us?

Mmm. Add on another layer of icing between that cake! It’s like incentive to keep going through the seemingly more bland or dry times of life when we’re focused on the work that helps to maintain the structure of the lives and relationships we see fit to create.

And what’s the one magic ingredient that blends perfectly into any recipe, giving it that little something extra special?

That’s right, it’s love, people!

What?

You’re out!? Feeling like you’ve got little to be happy about and lots to endure, or looking for love in the wrong places, or the packaging didn’t accurately depict what was inside?

Nonsense!

All you need to do is go into your soul kitchen and take out some more. There’s an endless, abundant supply in there, and I’ll help show you where to find it. So then, you’ll know and rest assured in the feeling that you’ll always have enough nourishing love for yourself first and plenty to sprinkle around in everything you do and every life you touch.

Bake Me a Cake

Although you can always appreciate the love and sweetness received from others or shown to you in life through fortuitous events, we’re going to focus on that endless supply that comes from deep within - the love below the surface. That’s what I mean by your soul kitchen. Because no matter where you are in your life or what you’re doing, doing it with love for yourself allows you to share that with each effort in how you apply yourself and interact with others. They feel the love too, and it influences them, but you’re not doing it to please them - you’re doing it for yourself.

When you don’t have to search outside yourself for the ingredients that help you feel satisfied, you begin to discover the bottomless pantry of your soul kitchen - your heart center - from which you can create a passionate life with confidence, because now you know you’re tapped in to an infinite source of love for yourself that you can feel and share at any time.

Let’s get started tapping into that sense of the soul kitchen here by whipping up a bit of the imagination and folding in the desires that fit your personal taste. Yes! We’re going to imagine our ideal dream cake, and trust me, you’re going to feel the fruits of your labor long before you wonder where I’m going with this.

Find a comfortable place to sit and start breathing deeply and rhythmically.

Close your eyes and place your focus on the center of your chest, deep within, next to your heart.

Start to imagine, sense and feel a coaxing warmth generate within this center like a bun fresh from the oven. It feels relaxing, soothing and supportive. Note how it feels in your body, this ball of warmth, and use your imagination to help it grow throughout your chest. You might even start to feel it just below the rib cage where your solar plexus is located.

Now that you’re feeling that warmth, the ball begins to transform. It changes shape into the dough of your preference. Picture it taking form. Sense the texture. Is it vanilla cake? chocolate? German chocolate? Carrot cake or perhaps a nice thick cheesecake? Maybe you’re a pie person. Maybe you don’t even have a sweet tooth and prefer a crepe with fresh fruit inside instead. The idea is to make it your own and what appeals to you most, but make sure you’re treating yourself!

Once you can picture the shape and consistency, go ahead and add layers if you like. Spread on the icing of your choice. Add sprinkles or those delectable chocolate shavings and perhaps some raspberries on top. Decorate it to your complete satisfaction, feel that supreme satisfaction within you while you continue breathing.

After you’ve dressed it up to your liking, take a step back in your mind and envision the whole thing. Now imagine that a slice is being cut just for you, just your size, and put on a plate. You are serving yourself.

On the plate with it is a note attached. It says the most loving words you can give yourself at this moment. You can imagine what those are - they’re coming from the love deep within that you’re giving yourself. If you need help, you can serve yourself the words, “This is for you. You deserve this, I love you. And P.S. ~ Enjoy fully and guilt-free - there are no calories!”

You can go further with this meditation if you like, going through and actually eating your cake, incorporating the sensations of the texture and taste in your mouth, spreading those throughout your head and your body along with any other positive feelings and elation it brings you. This is the food made with love from your soul’s kitchen, immerse yourself in it.

Serving Yourself A Slice Of Love

Now that you’re all warmed up, here is where that sweet little practice leads up to.

The biggie question is, why does it sometimes feel easier to dedicate our love and devotion to others than to do the same for ourselves?

The answer is simple: without actually teasing the brain and the heart to figure out the why, it makes more sense to just start nurturing, caring and loving on ourselves. By basking in the self-appreciation that gets us to cruise through our day in stride, we naturally tend to share that with others, to be more open, creative and expressive, loving and appreciating our ability to make things happen at any moment.

There are plenty of ways to do this and many meditations provided by Sheila Applegate that use guided imagery for you to explore entire worlds, where you learn to manifest your desires in an instant then apply that learning to work for you in your daily life. It’s called Consciously Awesome for a reason! Talk to Mariesa Dranschak about it over a virtual cup of coffee, she knows what it’s like to live a life of passion from the heart!

Similar to doing a garden meditation, I myself have applied these Conscious Meditations of the program to create a home of my desires. There’s a geothermal spring nearby where I go when I feel the need to recharge or just relax if stress tends to build up in my life; even if I just want to play in my imagination. In fact, that’s where I went to expand the idea for writing this piece.

It works much the same way that we just did with the layer cake meditation. Can you imagine giving the same love to yourself as you feel for someone you’ve fallen in love with? You cut the work out somewhat because you’re already there for yourself, and with practice you give yourself the attention you truly need at any time. Reach within, feel the sensations and emotions when you think of what it’s like to be in love, then receive that from yourself. And hey, why not express some gratitude to yourself too for doing so?

It goes like this ~ anytime throughout my day or night when I feel I need a boost of nurturing or care, some love or personal attention in some way, instead of looking outside myself for something or someone to provide that for me, that I may or may not be able to depend upon, I turn within. I go below the surface of my thoughts and tap into the feelings I want to give myself: deep relaxation, bliss, confidence, inspiration, whatever it may be. Tapping into the sensations are everything.

I’ll go to those geothermal springs in my imagination for example, dip in and relax with the heat of the water. That’s right! You can use the imagination to actually feel sensations in your body! Sometimes I like to turn up the temperature so hot that I can just barely stand it. Then I can imagine the water cooling off, and I feel cooler. I feel the motion of the water moving on my body, where the height of the water level is. I sink into it a little deeper. My physical back responds by loosening up, the aches of my lower back diminishing. I incorporate the imaginative into the physical, and sometimes my imagination leads. And then I start thinking about cake.

Layers, my friends. Our world and our lives are full of them. Go out and explore! And when you need rest, come back within your soul kitchen and give yourself some good lovin’ food.