“American artist, musician and Instagram personality Bunny Michael, is teaching us a new way to love ourselves – listen to your Higher Self”
BY MEGAN EVANS. IMAGE BUNNY MICHAELS SPEAKING IN LONDON.
Nowadays adverts, influencers and self-help books tell us that it’s not only ok to be single, but it’s better because being single means we have more time (and perhaps money) to visit our local yoga studio, make extravagant green juices, bake vegan cakes and strive for our latest career goal or promotion.
But American artist, musician and Instagram’s “resident therapist” Bunny Michael, is teaching us a new way to love ourselves – one that doesn’t involve exterior actions or change.
They argue that self-love is actually already within us and we channel it by accepting and listening to our “Higher Self”. At Corsica Studios in London recently, Bunny gave a one-off Higher Self talk and taught all of us in the audience how to listen to our kinder, internal voice. A voice that is often lying dormant…
1️⃣ We’re not taught to love ourselves
Think back to your childhood. You’re rewarded if you meet your grades, win a race at sports day, get an answer correct in class, and are therefore condemned if you make a mistake on your test or drop down to a lower class.
Bunny argues that, “We are taught to seek validation outside of ourselves, but then feel shame when we’re not good enough”. Through our looks, talents and status, we’re taught to be better and do better as our natural self simply isn’t good enough. Part of the problem is that the people who teach us this (our parents, bosses, teachers) are all well intentioned – they were taught these same rules when they were younger.
However, the natural infrastructure of the world doesn’t “teach love”. Bunny explains that, “Your Higher Self knows you weren’t given a guidebook on how to love yourself and is patient.”
2️⃣ We don’t listen
We’re almost too used to being in uncomfortable situations and often it’s “comfortable” to be in loveless situations. We know that our Higher Self is inside of us, however it’s often easier to ignore it.
It takes effort and discomfort to remove yourself from loveless situations and therefore takes practise to listen to your Higher Self. As Bunny explains, “Even when we don’t listen, it’s there waiting for you to acknowledge the truth.”
3️⃣ We want more of the “wrong” thing
We’re constantly striving to be “better” versions of our selves. Bunny states that there isn’t anything wrong with striving towards our goals, however we need to be aware that we’ll always want more. When we reach our goals, we’re likely to be disappointed and the happiness we feel is often short-lived. We’ll swiftly look for the next “thing” to make ourselves happier.
They explain this can be seen as greed and often, “The need to have more and be more than other people has dangerous consequences.” Our Higher Self tells us that we deserve love just the way we are and “makes us feel like we already have something to give.”
4️⃣ We don’t know what our purpose is
People often lose their way when a sense of purpose is lost. However, Bunny invites us to recognise that we’ve all been given talents to help others. Tapping into our Higher Self allows us to accept and recognise we are here for one purpose only – to bring love to the world.
So this Christmas, don’t scroll through your Instagram feed comparing yourself to celebrities, couples in über loving relationships, models with unbelievably attractive families. Take time out with your Higher Self which is telling you, “You do love yourself, you are love and there’s nothing that can take that away from you.”
For more information on how to listen to your Higher Self follow @BunnyMichael on Twitter and Instagram. Visit bunnymichael.com for more.
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