LOVE
Of course there are many meanings of the word love including romantic love where there is a deep feeling of affection toward another. Here I am discussing Love in a different way without what we call attachments or arbitrarily seeking fulfillment in another.
This Love nourishes our spiritual freedom. Blood nourishes the heart, food and water give us energy, and true love flowing nourishes the spirit. This is the love we can learn to cultivate and feel even when things are unpleasant in our lives. To cultivate this love we practice the following 4 characteristics of love known as the Four Sublime States. This is part of a Buddhist practice but of course one does not have to be a Buddhist to practice.
These qualities reside in the heart of everyone:
. Loving kindness-(metta) this means tenderness and consideration towards others. It means benevolence, amity, good will and active interest in others. Please see my link, Opening your heart
. Compassion-This involves compassion for yourself and others without the element of judgment.
. Sympathetic Joy-This refers to the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people’s well being
. Equanimity-This word has many meanings including having an even mind and psychological stability. In Buddhism it is the ground for wisdom and freedom and the protector of compassion and love. It produces a radiance and warmth of being. (Wikipedia)
Noah Elkrief lists three inherent qualities of love:
Love is complete acceptance.
Love is unconditional.
Love is Selfless.
Love involves living in the moment. To love yourself is to love others. Practicing gratitude for your loved ones as well as your environment is a source of joy for yourself. Self love includes caring for your body by healthy nutrition, engages in some type of physical exercise and taking time out to rest and restore to name just a few.
“You yourself as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserves your love and affection “~Buddha
In the end these things matter most: How well did you love–how fully did you live-How deeply did you let go.” ~ Buddha
references-insightmeditationcenter.org-The Buddha’s Teaching on Love, Wikipedia, liveinthemoment.org-Noah Elkrief
Click link to download a helpful PDF on ways to practice gratitude and love:
Love handout – Peace Mountain Yoga
I like the photos and the writing is really inspirational