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Praise for Madly in Love with ME
“Loving ourselves is one of the most challenging and essential elements of healing, growth, and transformation. Madly in Love with ME is a passionate call for each of us to make peace with who we are and love ourselves unconditionally. As a man, father, and husband, I can think of nothing more important to do for ourselves, our partners, and our children.”
— Mike Robbins, author of Be Yourself, Everyone Else Is Already Taken
“The greatest relationship we have is with ourselves. Christine Arylo brilliantly shares a pathway for women to fall in love with the essence of who they are. This book is a great gift to all women and their daughters and dares us to love with all our hearts.”
— Kristine Carlson, New York Times bestselling author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Women and Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff for Moms
“For any woman who wants to love herself, not just in theory but in everyday life, Christine Arylo has written the go-to guide on self-love. Christine is a brilliant teacher and catalyst who leaves readers feeling connected and joyful. Fresh, smart, and fun, Madly in Love with ME belongs on every woman’s nightstand.”
— Amy Ahlers, author of Big Fat Lies Women Tell Themselves
“Self-love served up on a sparkly silver platter? Sign me up for a heaping helping! While self-love gets a bum rap by those who mistakenly think it’s selfish or narcissistic to love yourself, in Madly in Love with ME, Christine Arylo reframes self-love as a spiritual practice aimed at increasing your awareness of the divine spark that lies within us all. By learning to love and accept the true nature of who you are, radical transformation — and true healing — naturally follows.”
— Lissa Rankin, MD, founder of www.OwningPink.com and author of Mind Over Medicine
“Every woman wants to fall in love with herself and then share that love with the world. Revel in this book and you will. Much more than a self-help book, Madly in Love with ME is an illuminated self-love guidebook that shows you exactly how to love yourself well and live your happiest life — no matter what.”
— SARK, artist and author of Glad No Matter What
“Madly in Love with ME is like a magic elixir — just the potion we need to recapture that powerful, transformational force of loving ourselves fully and fiercely. Christine reminds us that loving ourselves is not just a crucial individual act for the quality of our own lives but a radical act of social change for women and girls everywhere. This is a practical, fun, and radiantly clear handbook to meet the love of your life — you!”
— Meggan Watterson, author of Reveal: A Sacred Manual for Getting Spiritually Naked
“The world is in desperate need of more love, and the fastest path to doing your part is to read this book and begin to love yourself deeply and joyfully. The only ‘selfish’ thing about self-love is withholding it from yourself and everyone else!”
— Arielle Ford, author of Wabi Sabi Love
“Madly in Love with ME is a manual for your soul. Christine Arylo teaches the essential practice of self-love in a way that is deeply healing, profoundly transformational, absolutely brilliant, and fun! This book will free you from beliefs and patterns that may be sabotaging your life and crack your heart open to infinite, unconditional love.”
— Christine Hassler, author of 20 Something, 20 Everything
“Christine Arylo is an inspirational guide for anyone on the journey to selflove. Through her personal growth and experience, she has crafted a book for you to release all that blocks you from true freedom and peace. Allow Christine to be your teacher on your miraculous journey inward.”
— Gabrielle Bernstein, author of May Cause Miracles
Copyright © 2012 by Christine Arylo
All rights reserved. This book may not be reproduced in whole or in part, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, or other — without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer, who may quote brief passages in a review.
The material in this book is intended for education. No expressed or implied guarantee as to the effects of the use of the recommendations can be given nor liability taken. The author’s experiences used as examples throughout this book are true, although in some cases identifying details such as name and location have been changed to protect the privacy of others.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Arylo, Christine, date.
Madly in love with me : the daring adventure of becoming your own best friend / Christine Arylo.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-1-60868-065-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Self-esteem. 2. Self-acceptance. I. Title.
BF697.5.S46A79 2012
158.1—dc23
2012031886
First printing, November 2012
ISBN 978-1-60868-065-8
Printed in the USA on 100% postconsumer-waste recycled paper
 | New World Library is proud to be a Gold Certified Environmentally Responsible Publisher. Publisher certification awarded by Green Press Initiative. www.greenpressinitiative.org |
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To Lucy McIntyre Shapiro and Jane Roberts Wagner — my two goddess-daughters — and their mother, Anne — my soul sister — whose love and presence in my life made it possible for me to devote my life to sharing the message and teachings of self-love with the world
INTRODUCTION : Imagine a World of Love
Part 1. SEE the LOVE! The Truth about Self-Love
CHAPTER 1. Why Is It So Hard to Say “I Love You”… to Yourself?
CHAPTER 2. Self-Love Isn’t a Dirty Word, and You Can’t Catch Narcissism
CHAPTER 3. What Is Self-Love…and How Can You Receive More?
Part 2. GROW the LOVE! The Self-Love Tree and the Ten Branches of Self-Love