Marry Yourself

 　　You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.

　　你自己，比全世界的其他人，更值得你的关爱和喜欢。

　　Prepare “soul vows².” These vows were deepest commitment to love, cherish, and deeply care for all parts of yourself in sickness and in health, until your time on the planet comes to an end.

　　准备好“灵魂誓言”。这些誓言是你内心对爱情、珍爱、和深藏在你内心的所有一切的最诚挚的承诺，无论生命健康与否，会跟随你直到你在这个世界最后一天。

　　Seeking love outside yourself will never bring fulfillment unless you possess radical³, unshakable love for yourself.

　　在外面寻找真爱不能让你有完全的满足感，除非你对自己有彻底的不可动摇的爱。

　　With that knowing, these are some of Soul Vows:

　　有了这些共识，我们可以做出以下的灵魂誓言：

　　I vow¹ to comfort myself during times of hopelessness, despair, depression, disillusionment, or any difficulty that arises.

　　我发誓，在绝望、沮丧、幻灭或任何困难出现的时候，我会安慰自己。

　　I vow to be my Beloved always and in all ways.

　　我发誓，我会一直，并以一切方式，做自己最心爱的人。

　　I vow to never settle or abandon myself in romantic partnerships⁴ again.

　　我发誓，我不会把自己再次扔进并沉湎与浪漫爱情之中。

　　I vow to live in the faith my life unfolds in mysterious divine perfection.

　　我发誓，要活在我的信仰之中，让生命展现神秘神圣完美的一面。

　　I vow to honor my spiritual path and create an amazing life whether I am ever legally married or not.

　　我发誓，以我的精神道路为荣，并创造出让人惊讶的人生，不管我是否合法结婚。

　　I vow to honor my calling and live my life as a work of art.

　　我发誓，以听到的号召为荣，让自己的人生活得像艺术品一样精彩。

　　Some vows were tender and some fierce—some private, and some to be shared with the world.

　　誓言有些是温和的，有些是激烈的，有些私人的，有些可以与全世界分享。

　　All vows were an expression of my soul’s calling and a deep desire to love myself and care for myself at the deepest possible level in all areas of my life.

　　所有的誓言都体现我灵魂的召唤，以及要爱护自己的强烈渴望，以尽可能深的程度在生活的各方面关爱自己。

　　These vows were the gateway⁵ into a life that was deeper, richer, and more connected to my soul’s guidance.

　　这些誓言都是进入生命的一个途径，它们更深入更丰富，与灵魂有更密切联系。

　　Here are 4 ways to say “I do” to you…

　　用以下这四种方式，对自己说“我愿意”：

　　1. Write your soul vows.

　　1. 写下你的灵魂誓言

　　You have a deeply cherished vision for your life, and your soul vows are a way to get it out of your soul and on paper. You could create a video, write a poem, or use fancy writing. Throw yourself a party. Register for gifts! Why not?

　　你对自己的生活有最珍视的视角，所以你的灵魂誓言是你用文字把心里的话记载出来的。你也可以做一个视频，写一首诗，或者写篇小说。然后为自己举行一个宴会，登记收到的礼物，有何不可？！

　　2. Create a vision board.

　　2. 创造一个愿景版

　　The soul speaks in images. Your soul vows may be magnificently revealed in a vision for your life. Carve out some time to craft a vision board from images that resonate with you. Allow yourself to be intuitively drawn⁶ to these images and don’t rely on your rational mind.

　　灵魂会以形象说话。你的灵魂誓言将以最大程度展现你生活的视角。留出一些时间，制造一个和你形象有共鸣的愿景版。允许你自己直观地绘制出这些形象，不要依赖你的理智。

　　3. Sacred jewelry⁷.

　　3. 神圣的珠宝

　　Procure⁸ a piece of jewelry that has heart and meaning for you, such as a silver heart necklace inscribed⁹: “You make the world a better place.”

　　A lady actually created a sacred jewelry business after marrying herself. She’s finally found her path after years of meandering¹⁰.

　　取一件对你来说是有心意及意义的珠宝。如一件银项链，上面雕刻着“你让世界更美好”。

　　曾有一位女士在“嫁给”自己后，送了自己一个神圣的珠宝。然后在经历多年的曲折之后，她终于找到了属于自己的道路。

　　4. Be witnessed in your sacred vows.

　　4. 见证自己的神圣誓言

　　While making a soul vows, perhaps a ceremony with a few close friends? Find a way to have others acknowledge this transformation¹¹.

　　在做灵魂誓言时，不妨举行一个小型典礼，让其他人也承认你的这种转变。

　　And while the marrying myself was a lovely starting place, it was really just the beginning. In the wise words “Your task is not to seek love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

　　“嫁给”自己是一个可爱的起点，但它也仅仅是一个开始。一个智言说到：“你的任务不是要寻觅爱，但只有寻觅并发现挡住你的障碍，你才能去冲破它。”

1 vow   

n.誓(言)，誓约；v.起誓，立誓

参考例句：

• My parents are under a vow to go to church every Sunday.我父母许愿，每星期日都去做礼拜。
• I am under a vow to drink no wine.我已立誓戒酒。

2 vows   

誓言( vow的名词复数 )； 郑重宣布，许愿

参考例句：

• Matrimonial vows are to show the faithfulness of the new couple. 婚誓体现了新婚夫妇对婚姻的忠诚。
• The nun took strait vows. 那位修女立下严格的誓愿。

3 radical   

n.激进份子，原子团，根号；adj.根本的，激进的，彻底的

参考例句：

• The patient got a radical cure in the hospital.病人在医院得到了根治。
• She is radical in her demands.她的要求十分偏激。

4 partnerships   

n.伙伴关系( partnership的名词复数 )；合伙人身份；合作关系

参考例句：

• Partnerships suffer another major disadvantage: decision-making is shared. 合伙企业的另一主要缺点是决定要由大家来作。 来自英汉非文学 - 政府文件
• It involved selling off limited partnerships. 它涉及到售出有限的合伙权。 来自辞典例句

5 gateway   

n.大门口，出入口，途径，方法

参考例句：

• Hard work is the gateway to success.努力工作是通往成功之路。
• A man collected tolls at the gateway.一个人在大门口收通行费。

6 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

7 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

8 procure   

vt.获得，取得，促成；vi.拉皮条

参考例句：

• Can you procure some specimens for me?你能替我弄到一些标本吗？
• I'll try my best to procure you that original French novel.我将尽全力给你搞到那本原版法国小说。

9 inscribed   

v.写，刻( inscribe的过去式和过去分词 )；内接

参考例句：

• His name was inscribed on the trophy. 他的名字刻在奖杯上。
• The names of the dead were inscribed on the wall. 死者的名字被刻在墙上。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 meandering   

蜿蜒的河流，漫步，聊天

参考例句：

• The village seemed deserted except for small boys and a meandering donkey. 整个村子的人都像是逃光了，只留下了几个小男孩和一头正在游游荡荡的小毛驴。 来自教父部分
• We often took a walk along the meandering river after supper. 晚饭后我们常沿着那条弯弯曲曲的小河散步。

11 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。