{"id":22490,"date":"2026-02-11T11:11:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-11T16:11:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/?p=22490"},"modified":"2026-02-15T16:44:44","modified_gmt":"2026-02-15T21:44:44","slug":"self-love-excerpt-from-my-memoir","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/self-love-excerpt-from-my-memoir\/","title":{"rendered":"SELF-LOVE: EXCERPT FROM MY MEMOIR"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>For this <strong>Valentine\u2019s Day<\/strong>, I\u2019m sharing an excerpt from a manuscript I\u2019m currently working on. It begins with a simple, vital truth: every love that transcends time and space originates from the love we hold for ourselves. Before we can recognize a love that nurtures rather than diminishes us, we must first become whole within. The love we are able to accept from others will only ever be as deep as the love we\u2019ve cultivated within.<br><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"431\" src=\"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-6-1024x431.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-22494\" style=\"width:448px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-6-1024x431.png 1024w, https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-6-300x126.png 300w, https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-6-768x323.png 768w, https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-6.png 1536w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-premium-content-container wp-block-premium-content-container\">\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-premium-content-logged-out-view entry-content\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Subscribe to get access<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Read more of this content when you subscribe today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-premium-content-buttons wp-block-buttons\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-recurring-payments wp-block-button\"><div class=\"wp-block-jetpack-button wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" data-id-attr=\"recurring-payments-11331\" id=\"recurring-payments-11331\" href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.wordpress.com\/memberships\/?blog=251882242&amp;plan=11331+10992+11330+10991&amp;lang=en&amp;pid=22490&amp;redirect=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.andreamaicreative.com%2Farchive%2Fwp-json%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fposts%2F22490\" target=\"_blank\" role=\"button\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" data-wp-class--is-submitting=\"state.isSubmitting\" data-wp-bind--aria-disabled=\"state.isAriaDisabled\">Subscribe<span class=\"spinner\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><span class=\"is-visually-hidden\">Submitting form<\/span><\/span><\/a><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-premium-content-login-button wp-block-button\"><a class=\"wp-block-button__link\" href=\"https:\/\/subscribe.wordpress.com\/memberships\/jwt\/?site_id=251882242&amp;redirect_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.andreamaicreative.com%2Farchive%2Fwp-json%2Fjetpack%2Fv4%2Fsubscribers%2Fauth%3Fredirect_url%3Dhttps%253A%252F%252Fwww.andreamaicreative.com%252Farchive%252Fwp-json%252Fwp%252Fv2%252Fposts%252F22490\">Log in<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For this Valentine\u2019s Day, I\u2019m sharing an excerpt from a manuscript I\u2019m currently working on. It begins with a simple, vital truth: every love that transcends time and space originates from the love we hold for ourselves. Before we can recognize a love that nurtures rather than diminishes us, we must first become whole within. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"everybody","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":10991,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":true,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[77,66],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22490","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-library","category-personal-development"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":22508,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/affirmations-for-self-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":22490,"position":0},"title":"AFFIRMATIONS FOR SELF-LOVE","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"February 14, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"For this Valentine\u2019s Day, I\u2019m gifting my readers a collection of affirmations for self-love. Before a heart can truly recognize another, it must first learn to beat in its own rhythm of worth. This is the sacred prelude: the love we are able to receive from the world, or from\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Personal Development&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Personal Development","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/personal-development\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-7.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-7.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-7.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-7.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-7.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Sketch-7.png?resize=1400%2C800&ssl=1 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":22952,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/excerpt-from-my-novel-condozilla\/","url_meta":{"origin":22490,"position":1},"title":"EXCERPT FROM MY NOVEL, CONDOZILLA","author":"Mai","date":"February 3, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"A Novel Based On The Real-Life Story of A Self-Rep Being a self-rep in court, I felt like I\u2019d stepped into a foreign land where I didn\u2019t speak the language. Sitting in the hallway waiting for my number to be called, I\u2019d watch the chaos unfold around me and listen.\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4724,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/stationery-love-personal-embosser\/","url_meta":{"origin":22490,"position":2},"title":"STATIONERY LOVE: PERSONAL EMBOSSER","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"April 17, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I'm excited to share something that I've been wanting to get for a very long time. It's a personalized embosser. I'm a lover of classy-looking stationery and this is it! I was over the moon about finding a vendor that does fully customized plates. When I placed my order, they\u2026","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"AndreaMai_Flowers-2785","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AndreaMai_Flowers-2785.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AndreaMai_Flowers-2785.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AndreaMai_Flowers-2785.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AndreaMai_Flowers-2785.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/AndreaMai_Flowers-2785.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4875,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/hear-me-speak-on-love-is-a-verb-podcast\/","url_meta":{"origin":22490,"position":3},"title":"HEAR ME SPEAK ABOUT SELF-LOVE","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"July 27, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I know it's been a while since I've posted. Been busy working o a project set to launch in September. It's called Love Bomb. See here. In the meantime, check out the Love Is A Verb podcast with Lauren Herrera, where I talk about self-love, disability, Numerology and intuition.\u00a0http:\/\/www.laurenherrera.com\/andreamai For\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Psychic Intuition&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Psychic Intuition","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/personal-development\/psychic-intuition\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"13775626_1103221486409651_8539361224815167666_n","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13775626_1103221486409651_8539361224815167666_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13775626_1103221486409651_8539361224815167666_n.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/07\/13775626_1103221486409651_8539361224815167666_n.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3625,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/selfie-love\/","url_meta":{"origin":22490,"position":4},"title":"SELFIE-LOVE","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"September 29, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Sometimes the hardest person to love is yourself. You know about every flaw you have, every mistake you\u2019ve ever made. You can hide from the world, but you can't hide from yourself. To know yourself is to love yourself. To see yourself for who you are and to accept it,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Photography&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Photography","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/art\/photography\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"AndreaMai_Selfie4","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_Selfie4.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_Selfie4.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_Selfie4.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_Selfie4.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_Selfie4.jpg?resize=1050%2C600 3x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/andreamaicreative.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/09\/AndreaMai_Selfie4.jpg?resize=1400%2C800 4x"},"classes":[]},{"id":7775,"url":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/recording-prince-in-the-afterlife-reflections-one-year-later-evp-valentines-day-2018\/","url_meta":{"origin":22490,"position":5},"title":"RECORDING PRINCE IN THE AFTERLIFE &#8211; REFLECTIONS ONE YEAR LATER &#8211; EVP VALENTINE&#8217;S DAY 2018","author":"Andrea Mai","date":"March 17, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"","rel":"","context":"In &quot;EVP \/ ITC&quot;","block_context":{"text":"EVP \/ ITC","link":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/category\/evp-itc\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22490","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22490"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22490\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22680,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22490\/revisions\/22680"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22490"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22490"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.andreamaicreative.com\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22490"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}