If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not 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 have not love, I am nothing.
If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.
It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away.
For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when perfection comes, the imperfect disappears.
When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put childish ways behind me.
Now we see but a poor reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love.
These words were taken from 1 Corinthians 13. How often have you heard these words spoken at a wedding? Does this bring to mind the wonderful romantic love that is shared between two people? I invite you to consider this scripture in terms of
the love that we all need to cultivate within ourselves towards each other and ourselves.
What this scripture refers to as love is that unconditional love that transcends all. It is the energy and power behind all of creation. It is to experience the harmony of life.
Love is a positive vibrational energy that will attract to you many positive things, situations and people. Non-love is judgement, criticism and fear. These are negative vibrational energies, but as vibrational energies, will attract more of the same. When your fears and judgements take hold of you, you become imprisoned. Love can set you free.
Fears manifest as the judgements we have about other people.
When you see a person who is begging for money, what judgement do you have?
When you encounter someone who is poor, what judgement do you have?
When you see someone who is overweight, what judgement do you have?
When the sales clerk is rude to you, what judgement do you have?
When people don’t measure up to your expectations . . .
When you put conditions on who you will be loving towards and who you won’t, which situations you feel loving towards and which ones you won’t, you rob yourself of the opportunity
to bring yourself closer to our Creator.
Do you believe that we are all loved unconditionally by our Creator? Do you believe that it is our purpose to live our lives in emulation of our Creator? Then it must be our purpose to project unconditional love towards one another.
As you contemplate this idea, there is a part of you that will immediately come up with reasons why this is impossible. How can I have loving thoughts towards the man on the street who is begging for money? “He will probably just use it to buy more alcohol or drugs”. How can I have loving thoughts towards the person who just rear-ended me? How can I have loving thoughts towards the guy who ran out on me, the parents
who didn’t love me enough . . . The list is endless.
We can find many reasons not to act in a loving manner.
Why change?
Your judgements, criticisms and fears keep you from real spiritual growth. Part of your spiritual journey is to practice becoming more loving, kinder and non-judgemental. When you place restrictions on your love, this puts you in conflict
with that divine source that is all love.
If you want to attract love, you must be love. Nature abhors a vacuum. Make a vacuum by banishing fear based thoughts and attitudes and love will sweep in to fill the void.
What is meant by unconditional love? Unconditional love does not mean loving the act. It means emanating love towards other people and circumstances. It means accepting
people for who they are. It means recognizing that the spirit
that dwells within you, dwells within others. It is with unconditional love that you find your true connection to the divine energy that is in all things.
This requires a shift in perception. A shift from thinking that you are separate from God to knowing that you are one with God. And recognizing that if this is true for you, it is also true for everyone else you encounter. Fears arise from the idea that we are alone and separated from the one divine source.
Will this be easy? Maybe not. If it were easy, we would all be doing it. A part of you will tell you many stories about why you should hate a certain group of people, or why you should act to seek revenge. That part of us, called our Ego, wants us to feel superior to others and would have us believe that the way to do this is to be “better than” the other guy. But who defines what is “better than”? Isn’t this a judgement call? And whose judgement do we use?
The ego is where all fears originate, with constant messages that you need more, that you need to win, to be better in comparison to others. The ego can keep you in a constant
state of turmoil and anxiety. As long as you have thoughts of
fear within you, there is no room for love. Love and fear cannot reside within you at the same time.
Fear is to love as dark is to light. You can’t turn darkness into light, but you can shine light into darkness and transform the darkness. So to can you transform fear by allowing love to shine bright. As Marianne Williamson says in her book A Return to Love, “Love casts out fear the way light casts out darkness.
The shift from fear to love is a miracle. Love in your mind produces love in your life. This is the meaning of Heaven. Fear in your mind produces fear in your life. This is the meaning of Hell.”
Love transforms. Acts of love (in word or deed) releases blocked energy in your body.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.
