"If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing." ~ I Corinthians 13: 1-3
Walking in love is not an easy sojourn and it is not meant to be. As human beings in the earth plane, we are set apart on purpose from all other beings for "giving" and for "getting" love.
"Not only do self love and love of others go hand in hand but ultimately, they are indistinguishable."
~ M. Scott Peck
We are soldiers enlisted by the Creator in a love war and each day we are afforded opportunities to wield a two edged sword. One side pierces through us, the other through the person or circumstance we are called to demonstrate love toward. Each sacred wound provides a place for the Light to enter. It is into these cracks the healing oil of divine compassion can be poured.
Walking in love is not weakness and does not diminish us as individuals, it increases our strength and empowers our humanity. As we begin each week anew, let us open our eyes and hearts to allow love to bloom through our lives into the universal community of humankind like never before.
In the approaching season of peace and giving embrace the occasions to extend love and compassion to others. Expressing hatred toward self or a fellow traveler in word or deed is resistance to the Creator's command that we learn to love as He does. And why would we choose to live in resistance to our purpose?
"One love, one heart, one destiny." ~ Bob Marley
How is your personal definition of love informing your humanity?
What conditions have you placed on extending love to others?
Are you willing to embrace the Creator's commandment that we love fully in your daily life?
"Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them, humanity cannot survive."
~ The Dalai Lama
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"It is always the false that makes you suffer, the false desires and fears, the false values and ideas, the false relationships between people. Abandon the false and you are free of pain; truth makes happy, truth liberates."
~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
"You can't handle the truth!" Jack Nicholson's famous line from A Few Good Men is not far from where many of us choose to live.
Psychologist, Carl Rogers, believed in the fully functioning person concept. His research says in order to achieve a self-actualized state, individuals must learn to operate with genuine openness, self-disclosure, and acceptance of self in each moment. This leads to what he termed positive self regard.
To be whole, fulfilled, and at peace, we must wade through the toxic sea of self-deception keeping us comfortable at one level yet ill at ease on another. Since being honest with ourselves calls us into greater discipline and accountability for our own lives, we often decide to walk in the realities we are best able to cope; blaming others for the circumstances created by our own poor choices. Unfortunately, as a result, we discover we may not be ready to commit to our loftiest goals and aspirations.
"The truth does not change according to our ability to stomach it." ~ Flannery O'Connor
A self-actualized existence is for many a burden to avoid since accomplishing such a state means examining the true nature of one's motivations at the deepest levels. Though more palatable to view our image in a mirror with cracks and distortions that warp our vision, we have to be willing to see clearly the truths attempting to be spoken into our lives.
All truth reveals something within us and much of the time we fear its repercussions. Choosing self-deception only masks deeper revelations that may lead to a much needed healing by way of increased clarity and greater self-awareness.
"The truth will set you free. But not until it is finished with you." ~ David Foster Wallace
Unveiling those dark places of our shadow selves we are unprepared to confront reveals things about our lives for which we have decided not to take responsibility. The late comedian Flip Wilson's alter ego, Geraldine, used to declare "the devil made me do it." When in fact it was her disguised as the devil that wanted to do it and so she did. People often lie first to themselves and then others to avoid consequences.
The truth can hurt, but it can also heal by getting us unstuck. Freeing us from habitual patterns of stinking thinking and unhealthy behavior. Truth liberates. Much of the time we fear this freedom, because what we know about we must decide to do something about and so a retreat into the imaginary realm of self sacrifice that false martyrdom provides becomes a more attractive option.
"The truth is the light," my grandmother used to say. Though some truths are harsher than others when we are courageous enough to embrace them the possibilities for self transformation are endless.
Accept the challenge to be free.
Do you desire to live in the freedom of your true actualized self?
When the truth of self discovery is revealed do you accept it or turn away from it?
What self-created circumstances in your life have you been unable to accept responsibility for?
"Facts don't cease to exist because they're ignored."
~ Aldous Huxley
"People often claim to hunger for truth, but seldom like the taste when it's served up." ~ George R. R. Martin
"But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you're going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you." C. Joybell C.
"Know thyself."
In her book, The Courage to Trust, Ann Wall states, "The person you need to trust first is yourself. No one can be as consistently supportive of you as you can learn to be. Loving and caring for yourself not only increases self-trust, it also deepens your connection with others."
Living with purpose is crucial to overall happiness and personal well being. The goals we set and dreams we pursue must be of our own unique invention. When we were children we were dependent upon others for making decisions and meeting our needs. This was unavoidable and necessary for our survival.
As functioning adults, it is to our advantage to trust God and rely upon self; to develop our wings so we can take flight, venturing to places of our choosing minus the weight of beliefs rooted in another's reality.
"Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings."
~Hafez
We must learn to be eagles that take flight and soar independently upon the wind of faith which empowers us to reach the heights God has predestined in our favor. This requires belief in His will and trust in our ability to fulfill His purpose.
Along the road of life, disappointment is to be expected and cultivating that most important love relationship between the Creator and self helps us determine what we are willing to sacrifice and what parts of our being might be for sale.
Your wings will work when you trust God, commit to self love and self knowledge and nurturing of your authentic purpose.
How well do you know yourself?
What current circumstances prevent you from embracing your authentic self?
Do you have the courage to trust God and test your wings?
"If you were born without wings, do nothing to prevent them from growing." ~ Coco Chanel
"We have to continually be jumping off cliffs and developing our wings on the way down."
~ Kurt Vonnegut
"Affirmations are like screaming that you're okay in order to overcome this whisper that you are not ... maybe you're not okay. Well, no big deal. None of us is okay and all of us are fine." ~ Pema Chodron
I was blessed to be present at the passings of my grandparents and to have been chosen to facilitate the earth light emergence of my two children. At each event, I was overwhelmed by the gravity of the "pain" as it worked its way through my vessel, but never have I experienced love in a more sacred form.
At the transition of my grandparents I felt the energy rush into my root chakra, muladhara, up and out through my crown chakra, sahasrara. When my children were born I was filled from the top of my head down through the bottom of my feet. Though for me, one sacred experience produced extreme grief and sadness and the other resulted in profound joy each expanded my capacity to love and I am grateful.
"When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it is bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast, and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space."
~ Pema Chodron
We must "feel" our feelings. Love is a never ending healing stream. When we close our anahata, the heart chakra, love can neither be given nor received and this resistance creates a self constructed prison of pain.
Shenpa is a Tibetan word meaning attachment and triggers our habitual tendency to close down and reach for relief from what we wish not to feel. Instead, consider the opportunity for growth in each love experience no matter how lasting or temporary its nature and welcome it whether or not it suits your comfort. The less joy filled episodes of separation resulting from physical death or loss of affection provide the most intense lessons and thoughts of gratitude can help us settle into each experience.
Love never dies, it is re-purposed in the ways it is most needed and the more we allow it to pass through us, the greater our capacity to give and receive it.
Each occasion carries its own fragrance and moves with the force necessary for inner expansion. Observe your thoughts about love. Breathe in acceptance permitting the spirit of compassionate abiding to fill your temple. The energy of love is ever present and empowers each step forward in our humanity. Release attachment, bow in gratitude and be transformed into a new sense of knowing.
Never fear love and trust that love never fails.
What do you imagine you have lost and gained in your love experiences?
How do you define love and the thoughts you have attached to it?
Are you allowing each love episode to expand your capacity to accept and give love to others?
"Riches take wings, comforts vanish, hope withers away, but love stays with us. Love is God."
~ Lew Wallace
"I never really understood the word 'loneliness'. As far as I was concerned, I was in an orgy with the sky and the ocean, and with nature." ~ Bjork
The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is a psychometric questionnaire. It was designed to measure psychological preferences based on theories proposed by Carl G. Jung. According to his research people perceive the world and make decisions according to the principal psychological functions of sensation, intuition, feeling, and thinking. He believed one of these four functions is dominant most of the time.
No matter which function dominates our personality type we all need quiet time for reflection, rejuvenation, and renewal. In her book, the Artist's Way, Julia Cameron suggests weekly artist dates; a solo expedition to explore something that interests you, "a time to replenish our inner well of images and inspiration."
"We need solitude because when we're alone, we're free from obligations, we don't need to put on a show, and we can hear our own thoughts." ~ Tamim Ansary
Writing is a solitary vocation that requires a setting with minimal distraction and over the years I have grown fond of introverting, however, you do not have to be an artist to appreciate Ms. Cameron's advice. Consistent mind, body, spirit check-ins lead to improved balance, increased peace, and greater wisdom which makes tuning in to self a necessary and important challenge.
Solitude, unlike monophobia, is a conscious decision. Some find it difficult to dine in a restaurant, take in a movie, or embark on a weekend retreat alone. While there are others suffering in loneliness with powerful feelings of isolation that make it difficult for them to have meaningful human interactions, I make the conscious choice to hibernate at regular intervals. There is beauty in my alone time that infuses my enjoyment upon my return to my close circle of family and friends. I find that following brief periods of self imposed solitude, I grow into a freer, truer version of self.
Release the social pressures of perpetual connection and begin to embrace your alone time. When you embark on much needed sabbaticals to commune intimately with self, you discover, recover, and uncover your true nature in the deeper realms.
You are your most valuable resource and your very best thing. Make alone time a priority. There is beauty to be awakened there.
Which of Jung's four principals dominates your psychological functioning?
Do you make time for introverting a priority?
Have you avoided being in your own company? Why?
"There are people who like to be alone without feeling lonely at all." ~ Toba Beta
http://www.personalitypathways.com/type_inventory.html
