Circle Of Love
(This is an excerpt from a University Of Metaphysical Sciences course at www.umsonline.org, please feel free to visit the school website)
“Come out of the circle of time and into the circle of love.”—Rumi
One of the primary places we experience the cycle of unconditional love is within the family. A mother or father’s love for their child is the ideal garden within which to nurture the natural human capacity for the higher vibrational, unconditional experience of love. The transformational power of taking part in co-creating with God to bring a spirit into physical form, having that shining, fresh being be completely dependent upon the nurturance from the parent, and the absolute unconditional love which the child naturally offers all seems to be part of the overall design of the evolution of the human heart.
The love between parent and child is unconditional in its pure form, though the limitations of the parent to consciously and actively participate in the expression of unconditional love, the limitations of their own fear and pain, can be an ever-present barrier to this natural experience. Our children, then, can be our greatest and most important teachers of this forgotten, but very natural and effortless, state of being.
In the holographic view of reality, everything that we experience is a result of what we focus on with our consciousness. Relationships within families are especially profound holographic experiences, because these are often our most intimate, open, and natural interactions. If we have barriers to experiencing unconditional love, this is where we will have the most potent experiences of them. This is also the place in which the greatest transformational power lies. Moments of crisis, near losses, or just those moments when a child speaks powerful truth or gives a certain look or gesture, these are times we can experience “windows of opportunity” for being in the vibrational wave of unconditional love. During these moments we feel as if all petty concerns drop away, and the basic truths of oneness, love, and grace are completely obvious. Our hearts open, and we expand in gratitude, appreciation, and the warmth of pure love. In these moments we see our children as they are, incredible light beings, teachers of truth, wise ones in their own right. We can also learn to forgive ourselves in these moments, as we see ourselves through our child’s eyes, as young eyes so often shine with the truth of oneness and light. Our children give us the opportunity to be truly touched by the grace of God, to return to the innocence and clear vibration of our natural state, as beings of unconditional love.
It is true that unconditional love represents our natural state of grace and oneness. This is the truth at the heart of understanding unconditional love, but the proof is in the pudding. Our words and deeds are how we live this practice, and our dedication to living in love, our decision to surrender all to love, this is the path home for us, the path of the heart. Within families, and especially as parents raising children, we have the opportunity to practice love, to decide to love, to choose love in every action. Part of that choosing is to forgive mistakes, ours and theirs. This is the practice. Unconditional love, by its nature, does not depend on perfection, on being perfect all the time, always making the right choices, but on accepting human frailty, on seeing through eternal eyes, through fresh eyes, with the understanding that our actions are not our worth. Our worth is: we are love, light, consciousness, perfect, now and always. We can expand our experience of life, and of our relationships with our mates, children, and others, within this larger perspective. We are eternal in love; this is the truth that sets us free to love unconditionally. It is a softening, a wisening, an expansiveness that says yes to all life experiences, that welcomes the challenge of learning to open more and more and more to the rhythm of life which is love.
The truth of unconditional love is that it can only be seen and experienced in a world in which “other” than unconditional love exists. Those who dedicate, through a leap of faith, their own lives to the realization of unconditional love become the channelers of this vibration into the experience of others. By holding this vibration within our hearts we allow others to experience the sharing of unconditional love. Through the practice of moment to moment choosing creation is validated, truth is invoked. Within families, the practical application of unconditional love is the work of bringing life to a higher level, to an understanding of our spiritual nature, and of the inherent grace, beauty, and light within each of us.
What does a family who practices unconditional love look like? The first step to practicing unconditional love, as we have discussed, is in acceptance. No matter how bad things might appear to be, we can choose, right now, in this moment to unconditionally accept our experience, and to accept the challenge we are being given to be the source of love and harmony we desire. We can do this instead of looking outside us for relief, and this is the first step. Even in situations that seem to be hopeless, when strife and battles of will seem to be all the interaction that is possible, when viewed from the perspective of absolute acceptance, the energy can shift instantly. When we stop trying to “hold our position,” and begin to surrender to being in the flow of love and forgiveness, the results are often very dramatic. We can show our children this way, this path of grace and joy, right now.
A family who practices unconditional love listens to the deeper rhythms of each family member, and becomes witness to the deeper weaving of the family. Differences are welcomed, and the unique way-shower in each family member is encouraged to come out and play. This nourishes the soul of the family.
In the family who embraces this practice, mistakes are opportunities for all to grow and deepen with the experience, for it is recognized that all members of the family are wise beings who are involved in providing experiences for the family to grow and evolve. When we look at a family from the holographic perspective, the complexity and beauty can be astounding! This complexity reveals itself in the way in which each family member reflects certain things for one and other things for another. The beauty is in the way that all members of the family are pieces of a greater whole, an entity which contains the individuals as well as the greater oneness. The family is a holograph of the one being, the one consciousness, the one love that lies behind all the dualistic, materialistic, illusory manifestations of this earth experience.
The weaving becomes bright, shining and beautiful for the family who practices
unconditional love, and it only takes one member to embrace this way for
it to become possible for the whole family. The magic of unconditional love
is that it creates a ripple that goes on forever, for it is a vibration
truly in tune with spirit, and so it is eternal. When a family member begins
to practice unconditional love within the family, this allows all members
to feel this vibration, and to experience the power in this choice. Through
the tools of self-forgiveness and self-acceptance, we can clear the way
to bring this state of grace into our families, which in turn will affect
others who are drawn to this natural, effortless way of being. This is the
magic the family holds to spread love far and wide. The same is true for
other kinds of intentional circles and groups too, and these can, in the
greater scheme of things, be recognized as families as well. All of the
above can be applied to any group who is intentionally forming a circle
for whatever purpose. The power of these types of circles to create beauty
in the world lies within the ability to practice unconditional love. With
this focus, we raise up and celebrate the individual, as well as realize
what can be accomplished when individuals join as one, seeing the circle
as a whole, as an entity capable of creating, teaching, and uplifting humanity.