in - Self Care | Self Love, MENTAL HEALTH 584 Words

My Body Loves Cream

For most of my life I have had sensitivity/allergies to skin products, with symptoms such as burning rashes, inflammation, sore redness and feeling as if I had been rolled in nettles. Even the most pure oils would set off a reaction. I would find an oil I could use, but even if I put a small amount in the bath water, it still never soaked into my skin, it just sat on the surface until I took it off with a cloth.

3 years 10 months ago I came across Universal Medicine. From workshops and the presentations by Serge Benhayon I started to understand about self-care and from having sessions with Esoteric Practitioners, mainly Simone Benhayon, I was supported to take better care for myself.

I welcomed this with open arms; it was almost like I’d been waiting for someone to say it’s ok to be loving to me. I wasn’t told what to do – this I discovered for myself from listening to within, my inner knowing and guidance – and so I made steps to care for myself as I hadn’t really been doing this.

I did things like … I brushed my hair, washed and dried my face gently. Being gentle with myself in the bath or shower, how I used the soap, the way I got in and out and dried myself. I made myself cups of herbal tea in what I called my tea ceremony, taking time to sit and drink them and enjoy it.

I tended to my nails, cuticles and painted them with focus on what I was doing. I made sure I was warm enough – clothing, putting the heating on if needed to do so, a new warm thick duvet.

During this and other things I did to care for myself I continued to use a little oil on my skin after bathing or showering. What I noticed was that as I gently put the oil on my body, focusing on my hands smoothing the oil on my skin, my body would tingle all over and if I had any pain it would either go or reduce considerably; it was like my body was smiling. Afterwards I would feel more energised.

Over time I noticed there wasn’t so much oil to wipe off and then a while later I moved on to being able to use a cream. Well … when I did this, my body LOVED it.

Today, 3 years 10 months later, when I put cream or oil on my skin it absorbs it straight away, particularly my face; as soon as I put the cream on my face it is almost a race to smooth it over before my skin soaks it up! My skin feels so much softer now and I love putting cream on my face and body.

I found it incredible that something as simple and enjoyable as taking care of myself could have such an outcome! I continue to build and deepen my care for myself.

What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love, but now I am – as my body is showing me.

With love and appreciation to Serge Benhayon and Simone Benhayon for their presentations and support, because from taking care of myself … my body loves cream!

Ruth Ketnor,  London UK

Further reading:
Listening To My Body
Self-Care and Learning to Respect My Body
Healthy Body Healthy Mind

350 thoughts on “My Body Loves Cream”

  1. I just cannot be reminded enough that I too am worth loving and taking care of, and this is one such beautiful, inspiring reminder that slows me down and lets me be with myself who then is more ready to be with others in the world.

  2. When I first saw this article I thought … mmm I used to love cream too , especially clotted on strawberries… then I read that it was about cream on the body , …. And yes … I certainly love this …☺

  3. When we develop self love, our body responds with a resounding yes to anything that is truly supportive and is actually being asked for, beautiful how your body started lapping up the cream once you chose self love.

  4. Although I have come a long way with self care, I can feel from reading this blog that there is still more to go, it’s as if the moment that being gentle with myself becomes my norm it no longer feels gentle and I realise something has to change.

  5. Thank you Ruth, having had many problems over the years with reacting to skin care products I am inspired to deepen the loving care I take when applying cream to all parts of my body. I still have a tendency to be perfunctory in the way I apply cream but can feel how staying present as I gently rub it in and appreciating all my body offers me would expand my relationship with myself.

  6. I am struck by how the way your body absorbs the oil/cream reflects the amount of love that you are treating it with, the greater the love you build into your self-care routine the more your body responds and gets the benefit of whatever you are applying. Our body has so many ways to communicate with us if we are willing to be open to them.

  7. “What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love, but now I am – as my body is showing me.” This is profound. Being gentle in all our movements makes a huge difference. The quality in which we do things is all important.

  8. Amazing story and maybe the same might apply at times with other things like food in that we don’t absorb the nutrients if not eaten lovingly and then never feel nourished.

  9. Beautiful Ruth – a simple example of how our body knows love and how it is simply our minds that we need to settle down. All we need to do is come back to our body & the divine.

  12. The way our bodies transform under true care is astonishing, they change comes not only in how you feel, but also our bodies physically change – it’s like true care allows the body to become what it’s truly meant to be.

  13. It is deeply loving to care for our body in this way. You have inspired me to deepen my self-care and listen to my body’s messages to support me to nurture it and love it more and more. It truly supports our health, well-being and ability to be more ourselves when we apply self-care and self-nurture as part of our daily routine.

  14. Thank you Ruth for this powerful testament of how vital to our health and well-being it is to develop a loving relationship with our bodies. As it is our bodies that are forever guiding us to know what supports us to live in connection to our true and harmonious way of being. When we listen to this intelligence from our bodies we are then guided to move in a way that confirms the love we are in essence. The beautiful thing is that we have this opportunity to deepen this never-ending loving relationship with our bodies every day, through what we choose to be guided by.

  16. Something as simple as self-love, can truly change our physiology… Imagine if this was understood and accepted, what a radical paradigms shift this would be for our society.

    1. Yes, I agree cjames2012 self-love is very simple, yet I feel it is the most neglected aspect of caring for ourselves.

  17. If everything is energy then it’s easy to understand that the most healing energy is love. What we might not expect though is how our bodies respond to love, but what a grand experiment to place oneself in! Over time, practising self love day by day, we may see literal miracles within our own body.

  18. This is an everyday miracle Ruth. I am constantly amazed by the way the body reflects our state of being.

  19. It’s taken me a while but now I find applying cream gently and lovingly to be a beautiful way to connect to the gorgeousness of who I am and a way to deepen the appreciation I have of myself.

  20. In the hustle and bustle and pressures of today’s world it is too easy to put caring for ourselves last on the list of things to do. But as your blog has so beautifully shared Ruth when self-care is the foundations of all that we do it brings a sense of value and worth to our everyday that opens us to a whole new potential and quality of life.

  21. I used to make my own skin cream, because I could make something nice quite cheaply. I occasionally still make it, but I often feel to buy myself some lovely cream. Interestingly my skin is enjoying the bought cream much more than my home made cream and I love putting it on much more. Somehow I don’t think it has anything to do with the cream itself, but intention behind how I use and why I use the cream.

  22. We thrive on self-care. Imagine what would happen if we all began to self-care and then self-love? What kind of turn around would we see?

  23. This is a great example of how our body’s reactions can provide true reflections on how we are living in it, treating it and respecting it. In other words, it replies directly to each of our choices, showing us where we’ve made good ones and not-so-good ones.

  24. Thank you Ruth, I loved your sharing and the feeling of the body soaking up the cream and being nurtured, as you lovingly applied it.

  26. As we grow older, we can either become harder, more disconnected, more and more numb, or… We can turn everything around so that we can experience beauty above in connection in the simplest of experiences.

  27. “What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love, but now I am – as my body is showing me.” I find this both fascinating and powerful Ruth as to how the body communicates with us. This could possibly also apply for those who find it difficult to gain weight or absorb nutrients into their body.

  28. Once we meet ourselves with love, this will be reflected in our bodies. My whole life, there were phases were I was either too lightweight or my body was bloated. When looking in the mirror, I never was able to love myself simply as I was. Through several courses with Universal medicine I got inspired not to blame the world for my problems, but to look at my share in them. With taking this responsiblitiy for myself, gradually a love for myself grew with every step that I made. This has led to a much simpler life and a body-weight that finally seems to fit . And I do love what I see when looking in the mirror each morning.

  29. Self-care is massive. It does not take endless hours of beauty programs or anything like that, but simply basic things like putting cream on my body to nuture my skin or putting on gloves when it is cold – even if I only go out for a few minutes.

  30. I love cream as well Ruth ! If we listen and feel our bodies it will show us what to do, what a great discovery, thank you for sharing.

  31. Thank you Ruth for not holding back to share this amazing experience you have made with being more self loving and self nurturing. It is a little miracle what happened to you and your body and therefore it is so important to share it with the world so that everyone could read and feel that we can change if we chose to be more in love with ourselves.

  32. Our bodies respond to the loving attention that they receive by showing us almost immediate its appreciation. The body does this in very many ways such as better health and bright eyes shining, feelings of joy and love and better relationship with self and others. This is a lovely sharing Ruth

  33. A brilliant sharing on how the body responds to tender, loving care. Inspiring indeed, to go even deeper in my self loving rhythm throughout my day. Thank you.

  35. Well said Michael. It’s more than ‘strange’ that we don’t get taught this as our ‘101’ for life – deeply exposing of just how far we have strayed onto the side of self-abuse, rather than self-love and true and deep care.
    I love Ruth’s story here, for it shows that it is never too late to make our own turnarounds in this regard. Thank God for the work of Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine, for highlighting just how far we have strayed, and how simple it is to truly restore a loving relationship with ourselves. All others cannot but benefit from this. Wow.

  36. What a delightful sharing of a true miracle Ruth! This is beautiful.
    It makes complete sense, that with attending to truly looking after yourself, that your body has responded by being receptive in such a way… ‘Receptive’ being the key word I can appreciate from reading your story.
    No matter how hard we’ve been on and with ourselves, and whatever lack of deeply loving care we may have ‘missed out on’ in our lives, it’s never too late to turn the tide back to loving oneself.
    I will appreciate the cream I apply to my own body, and the way in which I do this, just that bit more today, thank-you.

  37. Ruth it is truly amazing the changes brought about by self-care and nurturing. Each one of us has a story to tell about the new directions we take in life from learning to love ourselves. I enjoyed reading how your body smiles at you when you apply the cream, it is beauty-full.

  38. It’s amazing the affect simple acts of self love can have on the body. Thanks Ruth.

  39. It certainly would be amazing Michael. It is a very natural tendency for a child to be gentle with a baby or a young animal, but this gentleness does not last into adulthood particularly when it comes to looking after ourselves. As you say if this was nurtured as being a totally normal thing to do, our lives would be very different.

  40. I love this blog Ruth! Putting cream or oil on your body could be seen as a little thing, but it is huge. What you have shared is a change in the physical response from your body based on the way you are with your body. The amazing thing that I have found for myself and what I have seen shared in this and many other blogs, is that developing a foundation of self care and self love affects us all in different ways. It seems that our bodies express or respond differently when we don’t care for ourselves and this is addressed when we start caring for ourselves. The power of self care and self love is amazing.

  41. Gosh Ruth it is a miracle that your skin is absorbing cream after all those years of not being able to, goes to show the power in making loving choices.

  42. I too have been putting cream on my body after a shower and loving it so if I am in a rush and there is not enough time to do it, I feel like my body is missing out on this most basic and naturally loving and nurturing choice.

  43. Ruth what a powerful message from your body – taking the time to bring love through touch is a beautiful thing and the body knows when this is done in love and deep caring or not. Thanks for sharing.

  44. For a long time I’ve held the idea of me just not being adorable. I cared deeply for myself, but recently I’ve started to connect and feel more deeply while caring or doing. This makes such a profound difference. Where-ever I touch or cream myself, if I connect, my body’s actually speaking very loudly to me. I am experiencing how often I am the one choosing not to listen. And the body allows, no criticism, at all. But nevertheless a longing to communicate with me. There’s a lot of ignorance and arrogance in me that I’ve never wanted to look at – and still enough to discover, unravel and let go of the arrogance and ignorance! A beautiful unfolding path.

  46. The Power of Love becomes visible once we treat ourselves with love, appreciate ourselves and truly care for our body in the most loving way possible. The changes that brings will be a beauty to behold and feel.

  47. I love the way you describe here how your body responds to you deeply caring for it. I used to think of my mind being the intelligent one and my body coming second. This gave me an excuse to override so many things my body was trying to tell me. Now I realise the immense intelligence within my body, how it never lies to me and how by listening and responding to it and by deeply caring for myself my body and my life benefit immensely.

  48. Your body is fascinating Ruth. What an amazing turn around. How gorgeous as your body was calling for you to pay more loving attention to it and you did. What a blessing for you.

  49. I so enjoyed re-reading your sharing with us Ruth. In doing so I became more aware of not just of the type of cream I was putting onto my skin but the way in which I applied it. For me this was equally as important as the cream itself. Being present at all times during this daily ritual – does make such a difference and leaves my body tingling with appreciation.

  50. Yes Rebecca, its the quality of energy we are in and the loving intention we bring that makes the all the difference. When we choose to live from our loving essence miraculous things happen.

  51. I love how this blog shows us how cherishing and loving ourselves, that our body in return loves you back… Its is a great example of the power and medicinal effect of self love. Thank you for sharing your experience, It’s a lesson for us all

    1. Beautifully said Johanne. What Ruth has described is absolutely ‘medicinal’ – true medicine that we can bring to our own lives so readily, if we are only but willing to make such choices. We have, as a society, severely undervalued the difference we ourselves can make in terms of the quality of our own lives… Ruth’s story shows just how amazingly a difference can be made.
      And who wouldn’t ‘want to have what she’s having’ in her relationship with herself? Feels pretty delicious to me!

  52. Hello Ruth, it’s great to come by and read your blog again. On my first read I didn’t connect to the issues I have with my skin reacting to essential oils and my skin being quite dry. It’s inspired me to go deeper into my awareness of this for myself and to be more loving, tender and gentle with applying love to my skin, and letting that love in.

  53. Yes Michael, it would be amazing….. I work in a nursery with 3 and 4 year old children, and although we may cover body parts in our songs, what I bring to school is the livingness of how I now take care of myself and my body which will be reflected not only to the children but to my 5 colleagues and actually all other staff in the rest of the building….

  54. Yes Michael, I agree. Caring for our bodies should be taught in a way so that everybody can see there is a deep connection happening.

  56. The skin is so delicate and sensitive that it’s not surprising that it reacts so much. It’s a great marker for us to feel how it is when we cream it, and we can relate what we find to the rest of our bodies.

  57. This is incredible when we stop and appreciate what you are sharing here. To have gone from not even considering to moisturise your body to going there in full and feeling the absolute difference that this offers is simply revelatory. This daily act of Love towards oneself is embodied and depend every time.

    1. I agree Natalie, the changes that occurred for Ruth are truly amazing, like magic! Just add self-love and abracadabra – hey presto her skin can now absorb oils and creams. “It is simply revelatory”.

      Many similar experiences from Universal Medicine students have been reported throughout a number of blogs and websites. To name a few:
      http://www.unimedliving.com / http://www.everdaylivngness.com / http://www.womeninlivingness.com It would be great support for humanity to define the depth and breadth of changes resulting from applying self-love and self-care to our daily routines. With the appalling state of world health today, self-care should be a major focus.

    1. Yes Penny and Brendan – I have been blown away by witnessing the enormous response and change in my own body, just by being present and loving with the body as opposed to disconnected and indifferent.

  59. The skin is one of our largest ‘organs’ and is super sensitive and so caring for the skin is just as important as caring for any other part of our body. However crazy it may sound, the skin is also a big reflection of our guts and digestive capacity, so that when we begin to care for our diet and our digestive tract then amazingly the skin can follow suit and clear up too. What you share here is true that by introducing deeper levels of care, the body responds more deeply to it too and this is gorgeous, and this care is often something that creeps into all parts of our lives from the things we eat to the way we handle stress etc. Amazing how such changes over time and with consistency can offer such beautiful responses.

  60. I got an internal infection under my skin on my right leg last week. When it was possible to touch the skin again, I felt like massaging and even creaming my leg. And almost instantly I felt how my leg actually loved to be touched and / or creamed. And it didn’t only have an effect on my leg- my whole body surrendered and filled itself with very Sacred and Loving energy. What I am learning is how delicate my body is and how much it Loves to be treated this way. There’s nothing better for me to surrender than to touch myself tenderly and feel myself inside my body. And I found out that this is also a Beautiful way to get to know myself a lot better. There’s so much held in my body that I’ve actually never paid any attention to. This is the (only) gateway to my own Sacredness. How Wonderful is that.

  61. Accepting ourselves and thus our body will let us see how beautiful and worth of care we are. The results will be an ever deepening relationship, the most amazing relationship we can have, a true relationship with ourselves.

  62. Yes I agree Elizabeth, it is the quality with which we do what we do that makes it truly loving and nurturing for us, otherwise it just becomes routine and automatic without any real connection.

  63. True, the body is the best geiger counter, thermometer, barometer plus every other instrument and device that measure and reflect, all rolled in one.

  64. Ruth my skin as always been extremely sensitive and I have gone through very similar circumstances that you describe in this article. There has been unexplainable reactions to creams. One day I will react to something and the next week it will be fine, endlessly trying to find different products. My nick name when I was younger in my house hold was rash girl but when I met Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine I had such a dramatic life style change and this helped enormously with my skin condition. Now its miles away from where it was but what I feel from reading your blog is there is so much further I can be taking this, as the quality that I am in while applying the cream I have not fully associated with being linked to the rashes, this blog is a huge gift for me, thank you Ruth.

    1. These blogs can be such a gift to us – well said Sarah. I find that through reading them that a line or an example will ‘drop in’ during the day and remind me to return to the basics (self-care, self-love, gentleness) that help us return to who we truly are (or the essence – harmony, joy and love). I read on the other day that talked briefly about how they were in the shower and feeling the delicacy of washing their hair. And when I was in the shower I was almost scrubbing my hair like on a deck of a ship, I remembered that line, and washed my hair with much more gentleness. A gift for sure.

      1. I agree Sarah, I find reading these blogs and commenting invaluable, especially when I start feeling like I’m putting everyone else before myself. I read a blog about self care and immediately come back to myself and do something that is more loving than it was in the moments before.

    2. Very interesting Shirley, I have not had any problems around my eyes but more on my tummy and arms. Thank you for sharing as it is always wise to read the whole situation on an energetic level and beautiful when we take in all parts.

  66. Self-care is a forever deepening process. In my experience it has become the latest tick box in society to bring more self-care into our workplace for instance which is absolutely needed and a great start for those who give so greatly to others yet not to themselves however do we sell ourselves short by not applying self-care to all that we do in every moment in all aspects of our life? Self-care is far broader than many of us yet understand is a forever deepening and refining process.

  67. It was so lovely to read your blog Ruth and it has been such a joy to see you unfolding and claiming your innate inner beauty and joy. It is amazing how our body responds to the love that comes from a heart that is open and loving – and when this heart is our own it feels divine.

  68. “my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself”
    I love what you are saying here Ruth and how simple it was for you to change the lack of self care and pay attention to your body and things changed. It really is quite amazing how our body responds when we genuinely pay attention and are willing and open to take care of ourselves.
    What I have noticed in myself is that my skin is no longer dry and my hair and nails seem to have a new quality and yes they actually shine without the need for anything. Its like the oils are coming free from inside me. Could it be possible that how I am choosing to live every day is making the difference?
    I cannot thank Serge Benhayon enough for presenting such simple ways of living that make a difference. He gave me a template and then I worked it out myself and have my own way of supporting my body and I do my best to stay open as there is always more to learn and develop when it comes to my body.

    1. Bina I love what you have written. It seems to me that when we don’t fight ourselves our bodies respond – they have the love and the energy to grow and blossom. I’m heartened by their ability to cleanse themselves of accumulated disregard. Our bodies are amazing!

    2. Beautiful Bina. So true that the way we live everyday makes a huge difference to our bodies. The body is the marker of truth.

    3. These are true miracles Bina, that all deserve to be shared with the world.
      My own skin and hair has transformed also – once very dry, my hair no longer gets split ends, etc. Heading into my later forties, it’s the healthiest it’s ever been.
      Were it not for the work and depth of inspiration that Serge Benhayon presents, I can’t imagine how ‘downhill’ I would have gone these past 8 years or so, as I’ve entered the decade of my forties. The truth is, I feel more vital, alive, consistently joyful and committed in my life today than I ever have – without question.

  69. For so many years I struggled to do this, “Being gentle with myself…” I would lie in the bath and check out but I could not be gentle with myself in truth..Learning and I am still most definitely learning, how to be gentle with myself is a revelation, it is offered me so much more clarity and awareness in my life. I feel this has occurred because being gentle ultimately means to honour what we are truly feeling, and so more awareness grows.

  70. How lovely Ruth, truly nurturing your body and deeply taking care of it I have observed is so supportive. It’s like every choice I lovingly make toward it, it responds with two steps back toward you. Most of my life I lived constantly in disregard to it – it was not considered. It’s now my tool and compass to guide me. How I feel is everything to me. This supports me to be confident to know and trust in what I do. I can act and feel me in my life – the joy bursts in all I do and it does not matter what it is!

  71. The little things we can do, like caring for and creaming the body, really do feel like they make a big difference to how we feel in ourselves. with these actions, we are saying to ourselves that we are worth it.

  72. From your beautiful sharing Ruth, its pretty obvious the effects that self care has on the body and definitely inspires some self loving choices.

  73. I experience this too Alexis and am learning to appreciate each moment as equally important. The ease and simplicity you have described feel like “markers” in my body – where my body gets to feel what is possible when I choose to be present and make loving choices for myself. As this is not how I have always lived, I am accepting that I am learning to live life in this way may take a little bit of adjustment – perhaps forever. Accepting and therefore appreciating myself and every single one of my past choices for where they have got me today feels key in understanding myself and not worrying if I forget lessons or not.

  75. I agree Lee, sometimes rubbing cream on can become rote, instead of the gloriously loving ritual that it can be, done in absolute self love. This calling out of a ‘baseless action’ opened my eyes to being more aware of how I am doing things. Thank you.

  76. Thank you for this blog, Ruth -for your description of how simply applying cream to your body lovingly has transformed your life. I have also found that it is the simple things that can make a difference in my day, starting with (even) choosing to have a shower, then to apply moisturise gently to my body, without the rush I used to go into (slap dash). This care for myself can then carry on into my day so that it is a foundation for how I am with myself during the day, whatever the day may bring.

  78. Wow, how amazing is that. By taking more care for yourself by eating nourishing foods and with that nourishing your body from the inside out the nourishing demand from your skin has diminished. How beautiful our bodies are designed to show us this delicateness of it.

  79. Thank you Ruth for sharing such a lovely confirming story, when we allow our body to be the love it is every particle comes alive and soaks up all the love that is on offer.

  80. This is a great blog Ruth. What a superb observation you have made and it’s quite incredible what a little love can do for the body. The relationship we have with ourselves is one to nurture and continually develop and unfold. From a medical perspective, what you experienced with your skin is huge.

  81. I was talking with a colleague only recently about self care and why it seems to elude most people, even the thought of looking after ourselves is generally left for another day. It makes so much sense that self care is never given a thought without your own self love feeling the impulse to be more loving and this can only happen if we choose to stop and feel our bodies, something that is not promoted or even a thought within most peoples busy, distracted lives.

  82. Hi Ruth.. It was beautiful reading your blog and feeling the delicacy in the care you now take when looking after yourself. This line “What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love” felt huge to me – it’s like, the body doesn’t lie… so it wasn’t going to accept anything less than love – and it was about you establishing a relationship with yourself where you felt you were deserving enough to accept the love. So beautiful that you went there and amazing how your body responded!

  83. AMAZING Ruth! I love it and totally get it, you allowed love in! and the in physical symbol of this was that your skin was able to absorb the loveliness you were offering it. Super cool thank you for sharing.

  84. Reading the title of this blog again, made me remember that my body not only loves cream, but especially if I take a moment to Truly connect to the part that I am actually creaming. As soon as I connect it feels as if my whole body’s responding. It drops deeper into the Lovelyness that I am actually connecting to with my hand or fingers. How Magic is that!

  85. “What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love, but now I am – as my body is showing me.” Thank you Ruth for sharing this with us!

  86. I am loving the ritual of rubbing cream into my chest and shoulders before bed. It’s a great part of my winding down process.

  87. I love the gentleness that you describe as the basis for the nurturing that allowed your body to open up and accept the products on your skin. There is a beautiful feeling from this that emanates from your writing. Thank you for sharing Ruth.

  88. I keep being drawn back to reading this wonderful blog. It remains a constant inspiration to care for myself with the little things, the details. How am I showering, what quality am I in, what quality am I in what I am in the ‘doing’. We all have to get on with life, but I bringing more awareness to myself each and every day, asking myself – what is the quality, that I am in? This is a work in progress, but love coming back to read this to remind me to make it all about self care and the details.

    1. I love this Raegan, to ask yourself in all that you do – what is the quality that I am in? And you are right, that is what makes the difference, the quality we are in, it is either love or not love. It is a huge difference and important to become aware of.

  89. A gorgeous reflection of the body’s innate wisdom…and how it has constantly being saying to you ‘I will only accept love’ nothing more and nothing less. As soon as the cream was applied lovingly your body soaked it up!

    1. Our body surely knows Love and calls out instantly all that is not Love for us to heal and discard. This is Love.

  90. I love this Liane – “our bodies are thirsty for love” and we each know the perfect “drink” – for Ruth it was lovingly applying body cream and oil. It is so cool how our body speaks to let us know exactly what it needs.

  91. Ruth its wonderful to nurture ourselves in this way and the delicateness that can be felt when I do this. Caring for ourselves as women was not something that was encouraged when I was growing up, however I remember my grandmother being quite nurturing with her creams and the way she did her hair and wore her dresses. She was very tender and I remember as a child enjoying her soft skin and her smells when I sat next to her.

    1. Donna, If I’d had a grandmother like yours I may have paid more attention to caring for my skin. As it was my ‘beauty routine’ was basic to nonexistent, until I began to care lovingly for myself. Now, like Ruth and others who have commented here, my body loves the caring attention I give it, and what a gorgeous feeling it is to have that love in me.

    2. It is beautiful to capture these bygone eras in our memories, and to remember what they feel like in our bodies – I too can remember my grandmother at her dressing table. There was no make up, but a brush to sit and delicately brush her hair with until it was smooth and silky, and even curled up and under, there too was a perfume with one of those silky squeezy things with tassels on the top from which you sprayed the perfume, all much more precious and delicate in nature and appearance than the practicality we seem to have opted for over the ensuing years.

  92. Not accepting love is a huge epidemic in our world. We are in effect, rejecting who we are and our bodies appear to react with symptoms of this in all ways and signs. When we begin to accept the love that we not only deserve but actually are we are opening ourselves up to amazing healing and expanding ourselves into a body of love that has no end in sight, it is unfathomable how much love we can actually feel and live with ourselves and each other ~ if we but only accept.

  93. The feeling of someone saying it’s Ok to treat yourself with the care you deserve is a blessing, one I too have come to deeply appreciate as we are or have been usually told the opposite.

    2. So true Francisco. Appreciating ourselves enough to spend the time making the loving choices that confirm and support us in our daily living.

    3. So lovely to read your comments Francisco and Michael. Just recently someone I know decided a little nourishing cream might be in order as the skin on the legs was as was stated ‘mildly reptilian’ in appearance. Why is it that some of our wonderful men in the community wait so long to feel it is ‘okay’ to choose a little extra self care and nurturing. It seems there may be still a stigma, a belief system of sorts, that it is not manly, and indeed could be called ‘girlie’ to care for oneself and nourish the skin. Thankfully there are men like yourselves in the community who are expressing from within and showing humanity there is another way – the Way of the Livingness, and that connection with one’s true self via the inner heart.

  95. Wonderful how the body responds to self-care and to lovingly pampering and adoring it! I too am deepening my self-care ritual and as a result, I can more easily feel and listen to what mine communicates, in that, what is truly supportive for it.

  98. I was reflecting in the past how no amount of cream was ever enough – my skin would absorb it instantly and need more. I can feel that my body was crying out for nourishment and love for although i was young on the outside, my body was ageing rapidly on the inside by my lived way and although i did apply cream and care for myself on one level, this came late in the day when my body had already reached a point of being neglected and uncared for and the quality with which i applied the cream lacked true love for myself or self-honour – it was about fixing the problem and applying the bandaid rather than seeking the cause.

    2. Absolutely Victoria – and what we are presenting is by no means skin deep for there is a superhighway of messages flowing throughout the body at all times.

  99. It is amazing to see the physical results of taking loving care of ourselves from the smallest of things to the bigger.

  100. Thank you Ruth, what you write says so much about Universal Medicine and the significance of being loving with ourselves.

  101. Like you Ruth I have observed and taken on board how committing to treating my body with gentleness and especially in applying cream. You can feel with that self nurturing act that our body responds so openly back to us. Before bedtime (infact, any time of the day) this is a beautiful way to bring a stillness and and a deep connection.

  102. I was also reflecting on your statement ‘it was almost like I’d been waiting for someone to say it’s ok to be loving to me’ – it is so true that we don’t give ourselves permission to love ourselves just for who we are.. however once someone supports us through their own lived inspiration, we can feel this love and know that it is inside us just waiting to come out.

    1. This is very true – 24/7 messages, often on megaphone. Its more often a case of whether we care to listen.

      1. The Truth our body presents is a strong reflection of where we are at and the choices we are making and this can be confronting but it also can bring about a needed correction in how we are living our lives should we choose to consider the wisdom on offer.

  104. It felt to me Ruth like you were applying love to your skin, both in the choice of product and through how you were living and what energy was coming through your hands as you applied it. What a great sharing to bring the simplicity of healing to humanity!

  105. A lovely simple story of a body responding positively to being nurtured; not to imagine you how feel Ruth! Thanks for sharing.

  106. Thank you Ruth, your consistency with taking care of yourself is very inspiring, and it allows our body to open up, feel more spacious and be love. I love how we can build a body of love where the support is mutual: we support our body, and our body supports us back.

  107. Well put Liane, there is much wisdom our bodies can share with us when we treat our ‘body of love’ with the tender care that it so naturally is and deserves.

  109. Ruth, thank you for sharing how well your body responds to your loving touch, it is like your body is teaching you how to take care of it.

    2. Yes, it is as though the body is its own wisdom ready to teach us exactly what it needs and how it wishes to be treated (nothing less). There is much to be said and taught when it comes to listening to our bodies and honouring what is felt, this brings a solidness and a confidence to who we are in every arena in life.

  110. This is beautiful Ruth, you make it simple and yet what you’ve shifted is quite profound. I know many who struggle with making self-loving choices, and I know how hard it can feel to ‘go against the tide’ when we are so used to a different way, I have also discovered the power of being truly inspired, which only occurs when that person you are looking at, has already taken the same steps you are about to.

  111. Beautiful Ruth . So lovely to hear how our body so naturally responds to being loved and nurtured . As your experience has shown it literally soaks it up. Thank you for sharing your experience it is beautifully inspiring in its simplicity.

  113. I agree Liane that our bodies are thirsty for love and when we listen to what our body wants, it responds beautifully, as Ruth has shared. ‘All you need is love’ is not likely to be seen in the adverts for expensive creams but they could put ‘apply lovingly for optimum results’!

  114. Reading your blog Ruth made me realize just how much we can trust the body to tell us the truth of what is going on. It is a very definite marker of truth and we need only to listen to it as you have Ruth.

    1. What an amazing gift the body is – a treasure chest of wonders, of responses, wisdom and Love, compass and historian.

  115. Reading this title again is reminding me about what I felt this morning about my body. That my body actually loves to be loved, getting attention, is cared and nurtured for. How could it be any different… To me this is very new and I’ve never felt it. That’s really different than thinking, trying or (small) talking about it. How Precious.

  116. What a wonderful understanding and sharing Ruth, thank you. To feel the gentle loving steps of caring for yourself, your body has shown that caring makes a huge difference. I know my body shows me in various ways but the same truth applies to us all. We only need to slow down a little and start paying more attention to our care and the answers start to reveal themselves. I agree 100% with a deep appreciation for Universal Medicine presentations and practitioners for the deep loving support and reflection.

  117. There are many ways to be loving with our bodies, but applying cream or oil is a beautiful way to be loving and gentle with ourselves and to take time in the day to honour our bodies and connect with them. I’ve been building this into my daily rhythm more and more and what I have been noticing is how the love that gets rubbed in with the cream in the morning still emanates at the end of the day.

    1. That is so cool to hear nikkimckee. A friend of mine shared the other day how she has been taking “stop” moments in her day to apply hand cream. A loving way to check in with and feel her body. Such a simple thing, but when done with love, can be so healing – as Ruth has shared here.

  119. I wonder Steffi, I know mine would have had a few choice words to say to me about the way I used to treat it! The funny thing is our bodies do speak to us all the time, we have just developed an incredible ability to ignore what they say.

    1. So true – it is so convenient that we can have deaf ears to our body so easily… But boy oh boy, when your body really makes you listen with a desease or serious illness.

  120. “It was almost like I’d been waiting for someone to say it’s ok to be loving to me. I wasn’t told what to do – this I discovered for myself from listening to within, my inner knowing and guidance – and so I made steps to care for myself as I hadn’t really been doing this”, Ruth, this was my story as well when I discovered Universal Medicine and started to attend the presentations by Serge Benhayon. Like you it was a gradual process as I started with the little things and built from there, continuing to deepen my care for myself. I also discovered that it is “incredible that something as simple and enjoyable as taking care of myself could have such an outcome!” Prior to hearing Serge Benhayon present, I had always been told that caring for self over others was selfish!

  121. The experience you describe here is a great reflection of the power of a lived way of caring for the self that isn’t all about the external body. It’s our relationship with what is within it that counts.

  122. Ruth, such a simple thing that most people would take for granted, putting on a skin care product, has been your ‘opportunity’ to come to a state of self-love that is gorgeous to hear about. We all are given these opportunities by our bodies – eternal gratitude to them! And to Serge Benhayon for showing us it’s possible and quite powerful.

  123. I agree Danna how listening to the signals my body gives simplifies living my life, and I notice it when I don’t listen as my body wont feel good and I’m distracted by this for as long as it lasts. When I listen to my body there’s no distractions and it is so much easier to do what I do.

  125. Isn’t it extraordinary how our body gives us such clear messages…and how quickly it responds when we make such simple, self-loving choices to nurture ourselves. This blog also exposes the fact that it isn’t just about nurturing our physical body – there are always the ideals and beliefs to acknowledge and discard in the healing as well.

  126. If I had no idea about how the body responds to the way I live, I would have reacted to my body not absorbing cream as there being something wrong with me and a failure of my body. And little would I know that my body was communicating the whole time.

  127. Put this way Gina, it shows how obvious and simple the symbology is. The body is always letting us know but too often we don’t stop to listen and read what it is really telling us. Once we stop and pay attention we’re open to healing and in this surrender, miracles can happen.

  128. Ruth, the same thing happened to me with my digestion; – I wasn’t absorbing the nutrients from food and it wasn’t until I started to accept myself more that my body could accept food as nourishment. It also mattered how I prepared the food and ate it. If I did it in a rush the food would go straight through me undigested and I’d have diarrhea. So, now even though I absorb the food much better, I have to be careful how I eat it otherwise I get bloated. The more loving I am the more easily the food is absorbed.

    1. Great sharing Sandra. I had a very similar experience with digestion for most of my life up until recently. These days I am able to absorb so much more in the way of nutrients from what I eat, but it is great to have the deeper understanding (and reminder) of why this was occurring.

  129. I love the many ways my body says, “Don’t give me that, I don’t like it.” My body has involuntarily spat things out, vomited them up, diarrhoea – d them away, dropped things on the floor so I can’t ingest them, dropped the cup so I couldn’t have that particular drink, given me a rash: I love how clear and unambiguous such messages are.
    Bodies rock 🙂

  130. That’s amazing, Ruth, that your body reacted to the cream because of how you applied it: what a wonderful endorsement of the fact that it’s not what you do, its how you do it, the quality in which you hold yourself, that is truly important. Fabulous!

  131. I love the simplicity of how you’ve shared your experience Ruth. The strength and direct communication your body gave you, the direct cause and effect, very beautifully illustrates the body’s willingness to respond to love, and therefore, once again remind us of its divine nature.

  132. I love the fact that your body is smiling with the love and deep care you are so tenderly giving it.
    What an amazing transformation, thank you for sharing your experiences and wisdom.

  133. It will be amazing when all of humanity reawakens to the wisdom of the body and how listening to what it needs can create such powerful change to ones life.

  135. Our body responds so openly to love, and your blog is such a beautiful testament to this, thank you Ruth.

  136. I love the fact that everything is traceable in my body. It brings an awareness and an understanding of everything that goes on, and allows me an opportunity to embrace or reject all that is on offer for me in that moment.

  137. Yes steffihenn, I have a feeling the body would have a lot to say. The body is non-verbally communicating with us every moment of every day; the difficulty I feel is we often are not listening.

  138. RWhat you have written is so beautiful Steffi. The thought of my body singing to me has made my whole body smile with aliveness…..perhaps this is my body’s way of singing to me!

  139. What Ruth describes is extraordinary, and has me wondering, if simply taking loving care of herself can bring about a fundamental change in how Ruth’s body responded to cream, what else are we in fact all in control of, without us having realised it?

    1. Great point Catherine. It’s pretty amazing to consider the changes that are possible. I had a different but funny experience of change. I used for a while to have a particular aversion to time, I hated rushing, and felt pushed around by the clock, to the extent that whenever I wore a watch it broke, very soon after purchase, reliably and every time. A dear gentleman asked me if I approached it differently and the watch was just to support me for a marker to not have to rush, – if it might be different. I now love wearing a watch and have never had one stop since that moment, as soon as I felt the support it offered, it all changed.

    2. Great point Catherine. There is probably so much more healing going on… on a cellular or even DNA level, than we know about. Self love certainly is true medicine for the body!

    3. I agree Aminatumi, there is a lot of control in most of our behaviour, which is not supporting the love we are. To let go of this control can be very scary. As Ruth is sharing nothing has supported her skin only when she chose to be consistant in putting oil on it not knowing what the outcome will be at that time, she felt a difference after some time.This means in being present (creaming the skin) and staying consistant in doing so will build love in the body.

  140. I find this too Danna. Throughout the day I receive tons of different messages from my body, be it bumping my toe on the table because I need to slow down or getting a small headache because I’m focusing too hard on trying to solve others people’s problems… It’s pretty cool that we have this constant marker for what we need to work on, that supports us to observe how we are in different situations throughout the day and see when we stress ourselves out, take on others issues, begin disregarding our body etc.

  141. Ruth it feels like as you let more love in to yourself your body let more cream in as your body responded to the way you applied the cream. To me the cream symbolises the love that you showed yourself. Thank you for this lovely and inspiring blog.

    1. This is lovely Bernadette. It is so great to see the symbolism of life and understand the messages that we are receiving from God through this. Thank you for bringing awareness to this Bernadette.

  142. This is very true Carolien, ‘undeniable proof of how our body responds to how we relate to it. Just imagine the same for the food we eat, what we drink, and even in taking medication’, I can feel that if I eat in a rush or if i eat because im anxious then my body hurts, I get a lump in my throat or i get drowsy, whereas i could eat the same foods lovingly and they have no adverse effect.

  146. Ruth this is so beautiful, the more you were able to express the love that you are the more your body was able to accept and absorb it. The more openly tender you became so too your body responded by tenderly opening. Life too responds in this way reflecting as much love as we are willing to be. Thank you for this precious reminder.

  147. I love this so much Ruth, our bodies are truly glorious in the way they speak to us and teach us the truth. It is very inspiring to read your experiences since becoming more self-loving and self-nurturing and how your body was showing you that it wouldn’t accept any less than that level of care.

  148. I agree. This is a gorgeous part. I can feel my body smiling whenever I honour what i am feeling, be it to walk alone for 10 mins, to resting and allowing myself to surrender, sitting and enjoying a herbal tea, visiting the beach, gently and delicately applying cream or enjoying my makeup time.

  149. Yes I love that part too Robyn – ‘ it was like my body was smiling’. This sentence immediately brought a broad smile to my face too.

  150. Yes Ruth – I find the same : “… when I put cream or oil on my skin it absorbs it straight away, particularly my face; as soon as I put the cream on my face it is almost a race to smooth it over before my skin soaks it up! ” And reading your blog I can also be more self-loving when I put cream on my body too, as I tend to rush at times. With my face i take loving time and care and for the rest of the body I will now be more loving too.

  152. What a beautiful discovery Ruth. It makes me question just how different things could be in all areas of our life if we applied the same love and care.

  153. Your blog Ruth is testimony to the fact that love is a deep energy starting with self love and care, it is one of the missing links for true health and well-being that humanity needs, Serge Benhayon lives and teaches this.

  155. What stroke my attention was that you said that nobody told you that you can take care of you. That you are worth it and that it is actually very self-loving. Once we get aware of this hurdle to accept that we are worth of it, we start to explore our nurturing ways very naturally as you did, Ruth.

  156. It is beautiful to read how you are so committed to loving yourself and how your body is now showing you that you are accepting the love you have been offering it… your dedication to building and deepening this love has absolutely paid off and is truly inspiring.

  158. This is such a confirmation of the impact of how we choose to do things. It is not the what but the how. Everything can look good on the surface but if there is not true tenderness and care our bodies will show us. The moment of rush when we bang our shins/elbows, shoulders; the discomfort when we hurry or disregard when we eat; and here, so clearly shared, our skin unable to absorb cream or nourishment if it is not being received with loving care. Thank you, Ruth.

  159. Ruth this is a beautifully rich blog. True self care, love and attention to ourselves is the best medicine. I enjoy making my own creams and oil mixes to apply to my body and face too, its so much fun and my body just adores it.

  160. The positive benefits of looking after ourselves with love and care are numerous. Isn’t it odd that we need permission to care for ourselves, that this isn’t something we are taught or shown from a young age?

  161. Ruth this is a beautiful testimony of how our bodies are constantly responding to how we treat ourselves. Thank you for sharing how though self-love and care we are able to honour ourselves and our bodies more, and live with more of this love in our lives.

  163. How lovely that your self care led to your body accepting oil and cream and no more uncomfortable rashes etc! Your line “it was like my body was smiling.” was just gorgeous and I bet your body was! Imagine if we taught this kind of self care and self support from childhood onwards – how different might the world be?

  164. Ruth that’s amazing! How accepting love allows your body to accept what nurtures it. I feel this is the same with food and absorbing nutrients.

  165. Tending to oneself is so often neglected; many would tend their gardens over themselves with greater care and love. Something to look at and admire – outside of the body that was pushed and pulled to take the weeds out. so beautiful to read and feel that tending to one’s own body is constantly sending back messages of love, encouragement to go deeper, to be more loving.

  166. It is amazing how many of us are not caring for ourselves, even though it comes very naturally to us. It’s like we are waiting for permission from the world that it’s ok to love and care for ourselves. This is one of the many ways that Esoteric Practitioners assist clients, to realise that they don’t have to wait for a green light from the world. We are the only ones who need to give ourselves permission. This is truly liberating and when we make this choice the result is life changing.

  167. Wow Ruth, this makes sense to me the way your body responded by then allowing the infusing of oils and cream following on from how you changed your response to it through loving yourself. It’s like a whole opening of self-acceptance towards an appreciative embrace. Beautiful.

  168. This is cool as so often we can blame the body or go into reaction rather than listening to it’s messages, signs and signals and perhaps changing the way we are with ourselves. Symptomatic relief is easy, with medicated creams and such for rashs etc – but the pure gesture and intention to bring more care and awareness to ourselves and how we do things is a real cure. I love this transformation you’ve shared Ruth.

  169. That is an amazing turnaround Ruth. I am awed by the many different ways the body is able to restore its balance once we start co-operating by treating our bodies with love and respect.

  170. It is amazing how responsive our bodies are to how we treat them. A beautiful example you give Ruth of how healing it is to give ourselves permission to develop how loving we are with ourselves.

  172. Love this Ruth, thank you for sharing. Being the love we are allows us to let love in on so many levels. Every cell in our body responds.

  173. How wonderful Ruth that by being introduced to self-love you chose to be guided by your inner-knowing on ways to care and nurture yourself and the body has joyfully responded to this loving care.

  174. Nothing short of a heavenly miracle Ruth and a beautiful example of how we hold the true power of healing within ourselves.

    1. Well said Tamara. We all ‘hold the true power of healing within’. And though connecting to our divinely designed bodies, when we choose to listen to and honor the truth being reflected, we are always guided back to the love and harmony that we are truly designed to live.

    1. Yes Mark, I agree, we cannot expect from a flower in a pot to blossom in its full light and beauty if we do not care about it in a consistent, loving way and adjusting where it is needed.

  176. It’s lovely to feel how the small things you do for yourself, in the way you do them, build into a foundation of love…

    2. So very true, Michael. It is the accumulation of those small things done with care and love for ourselves that changes the momentum of life. The big things are rare an can be life changing, but the small, consistent changes are what build the foundation for the big ones to take hold.

  177. hi Ruth, your blog goes to show it’s not the cream, it’s the way we are with ourselves in applying it. A great beauty tip, it always comes from within.

    1. Exactly SusanG, it doesn’t matter if we are using the most expensive, “amazing” cream in the world, if we are just “going thru the motions” then there is little true benefit to the body. It is all about the quality in which we choose to do things.

    1. As I read this article I could sense how our bodies respond on a cellular level to the quality with which we treat them. Ruth’s cells were able to receive the cream when she established love in her relationship with herself. So cool.

  179. What a wonderful example Ruth of how when we take true care of ourselves, our bodies respond in a very beautiful way. And the results are plain to see.

  180. Wow Ruth what a contrast from your skin reacting to any sort of oil to now loving cream being applied just shows how amazing our body is at communicating to us. By you choosing self-love and self-care your body is responding and healing. Very inspiring, thank you.

  181. It is amazing how our bodies begin to change in sometimes unexpected ways when we start to pay attention to the quality we do things in. It is as if we are finally giving ourselves permission to be more, and in doing so we are able to accept that we are more than the things we struggle with, so they aren’t a struggle anymore.

  182. The body shows us so much in so many different ways. I really love the simple and profound changes that your body adapted to, once bringing self love into the mix. I adore your tea ceremony idea as well.

  184. It was really lovely to read how much you have changed and how you look after and care for yourself.

  185. Ah Ruth, beautiful. It feels so good to put cream on and care for yourself and your skin. Not just slap it on and rush out the door like a chore, but take time to lovingly apply it. Thank you for sharing about the possibilities of self care.

  186. It is astounding the depths of understanding we can go to in regards to how our bodies respond and interact with how we are a feeling about ourselves. The observations of how our choices and emotions play out on our bodies is truly amazing and fascinating and needs to be studied and explored no end! This is very very beautiful and powerful. Thank you for sharing it.

  187. Thank you Ruth – everything is a reflection and the body is quick to respond to everything that is happening within, to and around it. The Magic of God’s communication.

  188. Wow Ruth, this is just lovely to feel your loving application and dedication to you, and how your body responded. This is beautiful.

  189. My whole body smiled reading this line – “it was almost like I’d been waiting for someone to say it’s ok to be loving to me” and continued to do so reading the whole blog. I loved loved loved what you wrote Ruth – I could feel the joy and simplicity in which you write about the miracle of you choosing love and gentleness. Most awesome.

  190. It feels like what you reveal here Ruth – with words like a gentle massage – is that some times when we say things ‘don’t work’, what we are actually seeing is that quality of love and care is not there. I simply loved it when you said how your body ‘smiled’ when it was. Imagine what our days would feel like when we live in a way that gives it a permanent grin?

  191. What a perfect timing for me to read this blog. As I have been experiencing pain for the last 2 days I could feel myself harden to be strong and tough. In the afternoon for the first time I allowed myself to feel how it actually really hurts and instantly the tears were flowing. That made such a massive difference and as a bonus, the pain became less as well. How are bodies are actually Great Markers of how we Are with ourselves.

    1. Your comment to Ruth’s beautiful blog Floris reminded me to continually come back to me, to my gentle breath, to that place of stillness where we allow and give ourselves permission to ‘feel’ what is really going on. How amazing the body is, as it seems it truly is the greatest marker indicating to us of any new layer of potential disregard that we are being asked lovingly to now address.

  192. “…I’d been waiting for someone to say it’s ok to be loving to me.” I can totally relate to this Ruth. It is absurd that we need someone else to tell us that it is ok to love ourselves and to take care of ourselves. This should be the most natural thing to do in life, look after ourselves, but there is often a feeling of guilt or lack of self worth that prevents us from taking care of ourselves. I have experienced some amazing changes in my life having now given myself permission to care for and love myself. Thank you for sharing this Ruth.

  194. What an awesome case study your sharing would make Ruth, and thank-you for sharing, it was a delight to read and feel the true loving care you now choose for yourself.

  195. This is a lovely reminder of the power of self love. Little by little I am getting more self love into my routine. My new thing is to start using marigolds when I do the washing up, as I have noticed my hands feeling more dry than usual. I can still feel a resistance in me when spending quality time on loving acts like caring for my nails. I sometimes feel an impatience when doing them, which is just a reminder of how the connection I have to my love has plenty of space to deepen.

  198. Ruth I can nearly feel the silkiness and suppleness of your skin as it breathes in the cream and sighs of pleasure at the nourishment of love you are giving it.

  200. It’s amazing what happens when we get in sync with out bodies, as your lovely blog demonstrates Ruth. I can go from frustration and irritation around something to discovering deeper layers of myself just by taking steps to come back to my body. Thank you for giving me the reminder to stop and consider if I am being gentle with my body right at this minute.

  201. I am amazed every time how loud and clear our body talks to us and lets us know what it wants. Our body shares with us also about the way it wants to be treated. If we are willing to listen, act and experiment our health benefits enormous from this.

  204. My body soaked up what you have shared here, thankyou Ruth. What a gorgeous example of what can happen when being more loving and gentle towards oneself.

  206. I really love reading and feeling your joy Ruth, in how a simple act like putting oil or cream on gently and lovingly can have such a positive impact on our bodies.

  207. What first came to me after reading this Ruth, is that just as the cream you used to use did not get absorbed into your skin when you were not accepting of this type of self-love, it may have been a powerful message that you were also blocking love coming from other people as well. How cool is it that our bodies communicate to us in many ways what is happening on a non-physical energetic level!

  208. Thank you Ruth, this is so inspiring. I love how through your own care and love for yourself your body responded and opened to more love.

  209. A wonderful blog Ruth, and a beautiful example of how the body can respond when we truly connect in a loving way to it.

  210. Beautiful Ruth, it is mind blowing how much the body responds to how we are treating ourselves. Your fabulous experience is one of countless stories of how people have turned their lives around by applying self care in their lives and by deeply honouring their bodies. All inspired by Serge Benhayon and Universal Medicine.

  211. Thank you Ruth. This is an awesome testimonial of how simple it is to truly change things in our lives.

  212. Until coming across Universal Medicine the idea of using creams or cleansers on my skin was just not even on my radar. Now I have a daily routine that I wouldn’t go without. It’s not just about washing my face because I have to but I feel it refreshes me in the morning and washes away the day at night. And the days I feel off centre and I forget to do my face routine I can really feel it. The support to our well-being from these simple acts of self-care are massive.

  214. Love this sharing Ruth. Making self-loving choices everyday and noticing the big changes that this brings – How beautiful your body is now reflecting back to you the tender, loving care you apply each and every day.

  215. I also found it amazing that it was like someone had to give me a green light – go for it it is OK to nurture yourself and then rediscovering what this meant was really eye opening in reflection the one thing I can’t believe I used to ignore was how how cold I would let myself get, not dressing warm enough or with enough layers, I now realise how draining this is and I love taking care of myself with warm jackets and gloves.

  217. That is amazing to read Ruth. Just goes to show the choice we make is the medicine that is available to us at all times.

  219. The examples you share of what you did when you began to ‘love yourself’ are wonderful and a great how to guide for starters, not to copy, but to understand what nurturing is all about. So many people, both men and women need support in this area because of living so far from this nurturing way.
    It is a miracle you have experienced here, your body changing so much because you gave yourself permission to be gentle with yourself, well done.

  220. Thank you Ruth, this is living proof that caring for yourself works. I too have learned to care for myself thanks to the teachings of Serge Benhayon and it has changed my life.

  221. Beautiful Ruth, I feel the appreciation you now have for yourself is an important part of the self care you are giving to your body. Just like you I have observed and enjoyed how my skin is becoming more soft, a very delicate feeling to touch my skin and a great reflection of the love we allow ourselves to feel on the inside.

  222. Ruth this reminds me of how I felt when I happened across an oil, and found that my face just loved it. It’s rose hip oil, four tiny drops applied at night, and in the morning my skin, still smiling and feels gorgeous.

  224. I love this blog Ruth as I can completely relate also. I have dry skin & my skin loves cream – especially when I’m aware of rubbing my skin gently & lovingly, it makes a huge difference.
    Sometimes there are days my skin doesn’t need as much cream but it’s a beautiful caring thing I feel I do for myself daily. Thank you for sharing how it has been for you

  225. Wow this is nothing short of a miracle, this should be scientifically documented. Thank you Ruth for sharing something that is so simple and yet at the same time so powerful. What a blessing Universal Medicine has been to so many of us. This just adds another miracle to the long list.

  227. Great to read your story Ruth of how you have developed and continue to deepen the care you take for yourself. Life is all in the little details of how we can live with the level of care and appreciation for ourselves that means those problems and issues that were there before simply disappear.

  229. A beautiful sharing Ruth – how you have enriched your life by accepting yourself and saying yes to Love.

  230. The body is very wise and shows what is true for us and what is not – all the time. Sounds like your body is enjoying soaking up all that love you are now offering it, beautiful.

  231. Isn’t it amazing how our bodies react to something and we instantly think there is something wrong with us and there is, we just stopped loving ourselves and our bodies are reflecting how painful this is to us. How lovely Ruth that you have discovered that your body responds to love.

  232. What a beautiful realisation Ruth: “my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love”. And as you have found, by treating your body with the tenderness and love that it deserves, your body begins to love you back in so many and often miraculous ways.

  235. Ruth, you have an incredibly responsive body. What a blessing. You are also managing something very difficult for most people – taking care of yourself. That is much more difficult and much more important and valuable than most people realise.

    1. That’s an interesting and really wise point Christoph, it’s true, looking at the world around me it seems that people have a lot of trouble taking care for themselves, which makes this story all the more valuable.

  236. This is so profound Ruth but make a lot of sense. Our body is very receptive to ALL of the ways in which we are with ourselves. Beautiful to read.

  237. Wow – the cream is simply the carrier of your love and the more we love ourselves, the more readily our bodies respond and soak it up – gorgeous

  238. I can feel such a celebration in your discovery Ruth, its as if your body has opened to share its finding with us all, thank you for this invitation to deepen my own care for me.

  239. Ruth, what a beautiful reflection your skin is giving you, of how deeply you have accepted your naturally tender and gentle way with yourself.

  240. This was lovely to read and I can’t wait to wake up and observe in more detail my own morning routine and the cream and oil application aspect of it.

  242. This makes total sense to me Ruth – it might not make a peer review journal (or whatever they call those evidence based research publications) but your first hand experience, shared in the way you have leaves me with no doubt whatsoever that the level of love we treat ourselves with (or lack of it) is reflected back to us by our body.
    This is a marvellous 2 year and 10 month case study!

  243. What an amazing change to your body from listening to your inner knowing of how to look after yourself. I love that this is something that we naturally know and love doing. So many people experience severe skin problems, and often people feel its just the skin that they were given and there’s nothing that can be done. As you and Laura share – the power is in the quality in which we do things. Thank you for sharing the ways you look after yourself, it reminds me that there is a world of self-care/ self-love choices and quality in the way I do things to keep exploring.

  244. Self-care is the new black… It is a way of living that surpasses the ideals of wellbeing and takes it back to basics. Tender caring love of self can change everything.

  245. This is so beautiful Ruth, really taking the time to lovingly make other choices, to make time for yourself, putting oil and cream on yourself. Otherwise seen as simple daily things one can do, have become self loving and life changing, very inspiring.

  246. Thank you Ruth. There is such delight in the way you have discovered the joy in tending to yourself in such a loving way. No wonder your skin is singing.

  247. I too had a similar thing going on with my skin when I first came to the Universal Medicine work. My skin was super dry, my feet were cracked and hard and I would break out in eczema all over my hands and feet. This had been happening on and off for years and it was super painful. I could hardly walk and could do nothing with my hands when an outbreak would occur. Two years into the work my skin become soft as a baby’s and is still this way at 57, all the deep crevices and hardness in my heels and feet have gone and I have had no eczema since. How did this change so quickly and never to return…Through the teachings of Universal Medicine I learnt to love and care for myself.

  248. Beautiful, Ruth. “I found it incredible that something as simple and enjoyable as taking care of myself could have such an outcome!” – I agree, and this really exposes how much energy I had actually invested in resisting this most simple and loving way of living.

  249. As we enter the wonderful world of self-love, and start to feel what it is like, to actually feel enough to look after ourselves more, there are many beautiful and subtle experiences to be had that will allow us to feel even more, and the deepening the already growing connection with ourselves.

    2. I have entered the wonderful world of self-love recently and cannot believe what I am feeling and how my love is deepening for everyone and everything around me.

    3. I have entered the wonderful world of self-love recently and it is very powerful what I am feeling and how my love is deepening for everyone and everything around me.

  250. A beautiful account of deepening your relationship with yourself Ruth. There is little more important than first loving ourselves!

  252. Beautiful Ruth what a loving testament to the power and feeling of true caring for yourself with an honouring and beauty absorbed by your body so lovingly. What a difference our love and intention can make. This is very inspiring and a joy to read and appreciate all you have come to with your honouring ,sensitivity and gentleness.Thank you

  253. “What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love, but now I am – as my body is showing me.” That’s amazing to observe Ruth. I can feel your joy with your turn around.

  254. Love this Ruth. I’ve discovered this in the last year too – when I take off my makeup at the end of the day due to my sensitive skin my face can feel a bit raw or sore, so afterwards I’ve made it routine to put cream on my face each night, and it feels hugely different. The next step is definitely to start better looking after my legs and feet – I swim a lot so they can get quite dry from the chemicals.

  255. I love how the body is so responsive to the love. It´s like the body is there waiting for us to come back to treating it with tenderness and care. Like a child, it knows what is true, and does not let it slip. In that sense it is perfectly aligned to our essence.

  256. What a lovely story and way of looking at oils and creams. The enjoyment you have from taking care of yourself really comes through in the blog and reminds me of the fact of almost being given permission to take care, love, nurture and look after ourselves. When I look around in society there are many adverts to “look good” but thats not truly taking care of oneself. We often try and “look good” to get “loved”. Its very different to the story you’ve shared of loving yourself and with that the fact your body responds and welcomes more love and nurturing.

  257. Beautiful sharing Ruth. I just recently have experienced rashes over both my legs whilst travelling overseas. I have been walking a lot in the hot sun. I was being reminded of the need to take more loving care of my legs and appreciate my body eg the quality I was walking in- was I walking with conscious presence or constantly worrying about things that I had to do, or needing control over. Also the physical needs of my legs eg to stop walking and rest when tired; to lovingly apply sunburn cream over my body before walking in the sun; and after a long day- to soak in a bath – a luxury in a hotel overseas. I also lovingly applied esoteric body cream to the rashes twice daily. And yes- my legs and body are loving me for it.

  260. What a lovely finding!, your whole body smiling, accepting and loving all the love you give it.

  261. Absolutely a great case study that needs to be shared with dermatologists! Your body was not absorbing the “caring product” as it was not put on in a caring and loving way. This is revolutionary! The body speaks absolute truth and is the holder of all wisdom. How did we get so far away and stopped listening to our bodies and focused so much on our minds? The more intelligent/advanced we seem to get the less intelligent we are!

  262. Ruth I love hearing about your experiences and what a difference self care and nurture is having on your life. There is a such a gentle joy about you. Thank you so much for sharing.

  263. Ruth your example of how you gently put the oil on your body and how your body would tingle all over and any pain would either go or reduce considerably shows how easily the body responds to loving touch. Imagine if we all treated ourselves this way how much would we save on medical bills and imagine the savings within the Public Health System

  264. Ruth this gorgeous sharing demonstrates how you are regarding yourself has an impact on what your body will accept. How beautiful to read about the turnaround and how your body has shown you clearly what it loves 🙂

  266. Ruth I totally understand when you say – ‘it was almost like I’d been waiting for someone to say it’s ok to be loving to me.’ I think I felt the same, it’s like you secretly KNOW you’re body would love more care and attention, but it’s so alien to everything else you see in the world, you just need someone to whisper in your ear that it’s ok to take that time and care with yourself.

  267. An inspiring read Ruth. How amazing the body is – take care of it lovingly and it then feeds this same quality back to us confirming the self nurturing and care we are bringing to it.
    Our own personal science laboratory which is the marker of all truth and never lies.

  268. Ruth, thank you for sharing the simple joy of taking care of your body. The way we go about things is crucially important. Being present in all we do adds such quality to our lives, no matter what we are doing.

  269. What an amazing realisation Ruth, that your body was showing you how much you were rejecting love by not allowing any oil to penetrate your skin. What your sharing shows me is that when we harden up to protect ourselves from the world, we ask our body and all its millions of tiny cells to do the same thing, hence our skin turns into armour plating rather than remaining soft, breathable, flexible and delicate. And what a transformation you have made in just 2 years and 10 months, having lived with this condition for so many years. It truly demonstrates that the real way to deal with all our issues and problems is by bringing our awareness and focus back to loving ourselves and that when we do, our bodies sigh a big sigh of relief as they open up again.

  270. Love the way that your body has so obviously changed as a result of the way you treat it – showing that we have the ability to make simple choices ourselves that can have a great effect on our health… healing from the inside out.

  271. Wow Ruth, letting the love in, literally.
    Isn’t it awesome how responsive the body is?
    Thank you for sharing this, it is so inspiring to love my body even more, as I experience too, that it just soaks it up, it loves to be treated with tenderness and care.

  272. Beautiful Ruth, “What it felt like to me was that my body wasn’t absorbing the cream or oil because I wasn’t being loving to myself and accepting this love, but now I am – as my body is showing me.” Our body gives us messages all the time, if we only listen, and paying attention to the quality in which we do things for ourselves and others is so important.

  273. Ruth, it is really beautiful to read about how you are now taking care of yourself, such lovely simple examples of the power of self-love and self-care and what effects this has on our bodies.

  274. This is a great example Ruth, of the importance of self care. I must say that before discovering Universal Medicine, I had scant regard for self-care, but now I pay much more attention to what my body is trying to tell me.

  277. After reading this blog I can see how important it is to pay more attention to the details of how I care for myself in more areas of life beyond where I feel there may be certain problem issues, and that this is a care that ultimately leads to self acceptance.

    1. I agree Laura, so often we can place focus on what we do neglecting the way we are doing what we are doing. The quality we do things in, no matter what they are makes all the difference.

    2. Exactly Laura & Ruth. We can bring this dedication, love and commitment to every moment in our lives and by that lead a truly joyful and inspirational life instead of an existence governed by stress and by goals that we aspire to reach.

    3. A great point Laura – we can spend a lot of time on doing things, but if we are not present and connected with ourselves while we are doing it, no true change can happen.

    5. Thanks for sharing your experience with cream and oils Ruth. As Laura has written, it is not about what we do, but about the way we do it, and as soon as you did it lovingly, your body lapped it up.

    7. That’s amazing Aimee Edmonds – I feel the absolute beauty! Beauty that comes from within and shines without, instead of the beauty that comes from outside of you and focused on ‘covering up’ those thoughts.

  279. An exquisite case study Ruth, of the power of listening to your inner knowing and deeply treasuring yourself.

  280. Ruth thank you, your story has inspired me to go to a deeper level of care with myself too. I love how you found that the more care and love you showed for yourself the more your body responded to your loving care.

    1. I like that Susan – who doesn’t want more love, or just actually having love. More love for yourself — more love for others. You create how much love you want for yourself – a revelation and so simple to act on!

  281. Ruth your experience although so simple is so incredible in the confirmation in making the choice to care for ourselves truly impacts our body!

  283. The first time I heard about self-nurturing for myself it was a foreign phrase that was something women do, but was not sure what it was they did? I have found out what it is to self-nurture myself and it is part of my daily routine… because I deserve it.

  285. What a powerful testament to the healing power of self-care and self-love. It is a great joy to see the changes that have taken place for you during this period. You are a living example that our state well being lies within our own hands.

  286. This is so beautiful Ruth, it is amazing what a little self-care and self-love can do. As a guy, any sort of self love like that was totally foreign to me but now I regularly use moisturiser because I’m worth it.

    1. I’m the same now (worth it!!) Kevmchardy, I am so open to nurturing my body whenever is possible and is practical. I honour it if it needs cream or even a stretch to support and respond to what my body is asking for that day. It certainly is apart of my weekly rhythm and I am worth it.

    2. Totally Kev, my partner bought me some lovely moisturiser a few years ago and as I began using it I realised what a lovely ritual it was…and it’s not just for ladies. It’s now part of my daily rhythm and I love it.

  288. This is an incredible story you have shared, how many people in the world are ‘allergic’ but maybe their bodies are just sharing with them that they are being too rough, not loving with it so the body shouts – stop. But we right it off as an ‘allergy’ and don’t look any deeper. Really amazed by your story of how being gentle and caring with yourself changed your bodies response to cream.

  289. This blog for me is a testimony of how grand the intelligence our body is Ruth Ketnor. Our body gives us a great refection of where we are at, if we are prepared to receive its messages. As where you came from that your body could not allow you using any cream or oil, your body actually told you something, that you were not loving to yourself. And now you have regained the love for yourself your body does love you applying cream and oil to it. It sounds all so simple, and it actually is, but while in the veils of being entrenched in our issues with life and ourselves, we are not able to see this simplicity as we are faced only with the complications that living in this way brings.

  290. Thank you Ruth, your blog reminds me that my body loves to be tenderly touched and massaged and it loves an esoteric yoga session. I will make time in my day today and in other days when I can to give this to myself.

  291. Just goes to show that not only some people, we all, love to be loved, but our body does so equally and the changes and improvements are truly remarkable.

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