I don't how people here feel about Dan Harris and his podcast. For me, his book was tthe one that got me to meditate but the question/issue is about his podcast. I frequently got disapointed at the subjects in the podcast because i don't think they are not Buddhist. But then, I am wondering if my view of Buddhism is on the "cool" things like emptiness, Dzogchen, POI, etc.

This week Dan is begining a 2 week series on self-love or acceptance. I am questioning whether this is Buddhism or New Age squishy McMindfulness added on or is part of Buddhism? My view is based on the Tibetan view that we are all enlightened already if we could only see through the obscurations. I don't like when Buddhism is used as a self-help project. That's new age. Am I wrong?

Edit: I just had a thought. Self-Love = Self-Compassion and the BrahmaViaharas are huge part of Buddhism..

I think everything except Pari-nibbana in Buddha's teaching was a "self-help" to counter suffering/struggle/dukkha and the man was basically teaching it all the time via Jhana. Hell he kept on sitting in Jhana all the time, even after his awakening. Why? Because being conscious sucks? So getting a relief via Jhana is a good thing?  

We are this human being, this person that is part of his planet, nature, universe, family, social animal and all sorts of things will happen during our conscious hours. Stress will creep into our life weather we admit this or not. So what can I do but love myself and do what I can do to counter this suffering. I can enther Jhana and have some joy/rapture/bliss/equanimity and even get that tranquility off coushion once out of Jhana. But I need to keep topping this up as Jhana is very much like petrol in cars it burns out and needs topping up!

Self-hate certainly is not helpful as this path needs heeps of Acceptance and hate is just too huge of a party pooper! Self-love is as much needed as is love for all other beings. One meditates and one starts to see how this suffering comes about. One understands that all humans get to suffer in this way and I can also see that this human person that I m also suffers in the same way. So I feel compassion for both, this me and all those who share this same suffering.

Im starting to think that buddhist Awakening does not free from suffering. It might show the nature of how this suffering comes to be but we can not avoid the old age, sickness and death nor can we avoid our kids calling us "stupid" and our boss being a compete ars with us and money being an issue, loosing beloved people and animals and suffering thats connected to it etc ... 

I mean even Ingram goes to get massage for his body as he experiences body aches why does he do that? Maybe because Fire Kasina and Jhana cant deal with that off the cushion and even his Awakening can not deal with it. But a masseur can  
Kenneth Folk takes IV when they perform colonoscopy on him! I mean he could certainly enter some high Jhana states and not feel that colonoscopy even enter Cessation/Nibbana but still he takes the IV instead? Why? I mean he could even go as far as using the Awakening to see the suffering without cligning to it while they perform colonoscopy without the IV ouch!  

Ok, Im gone far and wide with this and I hope to have confused you even more  

Best wishes mate! (honestly I hope someone serious answers your question)

I view Buddhism as the ultimate self-help project. In many ways, Sam. 

What we dislike in ourselves tends to trigger us when we see it in (or project it onto) others. We aren't as separate from the rest of the world as we tend to think we are. We are included in "all sentient beings" after all. 

Interesting. Can you say more what you mean?

Sam, I began meditating to understand the nature of my relationship to my ongoing experience. This eventually led to a new quest, which was to understand the nature of mind, which led to several pretty radical changes. These realizations have changed everything about how I live my life, and most of this would be characterized by any observer as positive. Isn't that self-help?

And then there's that old Buddhist saying about fixing one's self before attempting to fix others.

Helpful?

Yes, thanks Chris

Self-love is a 'conventional' or 'moral' notion in Buddhism. Refer to the following scriptures: 

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/kn/dhp/dhp.12.budd.html

https://www.accesstoinsight.org/tipitaka/sn/sn03/sn03.008.wlsh.html

Thanks.