A World Full 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)
“Down from the deep and high up to the Stars LOVE is flooding the Universe…”
—Hildegard of Bingen
When we pay attention to the presence of love, to the uninhibited flow of this creative energy, we begin to notice more and more the manifestations of love on the planet. One such emergence of unconditional love is beautifully shown in the work of Barry and Suzi Kaufman. After learning about the power of beliefs, Barry and Suzi Kaufman began to look differently at their son, Raun, who was diagnosed with autism. Many people would continually say how sad their family’s situation is, but despite these remarks, Barry and Suzi Kaufman began to focus on the beauty in the situation. They focused on the gentleness of their son and the hope in that he was alive. They focused on loving him unconditionally. Instead of trying to make Raun fit into the societal views of what it is to be normal, they instead focused on flowing their love to him just as he was. Through years of being with his accepting and loving parents, Raun completely outgrew his autism. Barry and Suzi Kaufman have worked with many children and adults using this process, which they call the Option Process. Barry Kaufman explains that the Option Process means that “you decide to love other people―and yourself, of course―by being happy with them just as they are, without needing to change them in any way, although you certainly could want and try to help others to be all that they want to be for themselves.” (www.context.org) While people are being cured by the Option Process, Barry Kaufman draws our attention to what he feels is the real miracle: the way that we can all extend and respond to unconditional love.
As we express love more and choose love as the path and focus of our lives, we begin to naturally gravitate toward more loving action. As these practices become natural and effortless, we develop and refine the heart chakra energies so that we are able to stabilize and ground the energy of unconditional love in our daily life. When this practice takes on such a focus, and the old patterns are replaced by a more unlimited way of thinking and being, we can come to see the world in a new way, as a place in which every interaction and relationship is our teacher, and our lesson is to be love.
It is very helpful, within this practice, to begin to focus less on the manifestations of conditional reality, and more on the manifestations of unlimited creative divine love. As you practice this way more and more, you may find that you become witness to more beauty than you thought possible. You may experience that “seeing through fresh eyes” feeling, and the miracles in small, everyday experiences and interactions. You may begin to become more sensitive to the kindness of others, and feel filled with gratitude. You may be transported into a blissful state by the sight of a tree on the horizon and catch your breath in wonder. You may also feel compassion and understanding when others are acting out of fear, and see these times as a way to expand into even greater experiences of love. When you are having these experiences, your heart chakra is opening and becoming more developed. You are grounding your true nature in your human experience.
Even though it seems that there is much in this world that is “wrong,” when we begin to shift our focus toward experiencing life from the heart chakra perspective, we can then begin to experience conditional reality from a different perspective. We may begin to have greater flexibility in our consciousness, and right and wrong may not appear to be black and white any longer. An example is the thoughts that might occur when seeing a homeless person on the street. From a conditional perspective, we may think “Why doesn’t that guy just go get a job?” or “I wish I didn’t have to drive this way, I don’t like to have to see this suffering.” You may also just feel fear, as if of some unnamed threat, as you experience the contrast between your perceived security and their perceived lack. Now look at this homeless person from an unconditional perspective. You may think “I wonder what his story is. He looks like he has had an interesting journey.” You may have the experience of understanding that suffering is placed before us for us to learn and grow, and that our soul-family teachers hide behind those ragged clothes.
The population of homeless in our towns and cities tells us that there is an imbalance in the sharing of unconditional love and goodwill between people. This can become an observation, with no judgment. It can be a signal for us to increase our generosity and goodwill in our own lives. When we see young homeless people, we can celebrate their courage to stand out, to decide against conforming, and to strive to express their free nature even if it means to be challenged and to face struggle because of this decision. These young people are often following their own inherent wisdom. Sometimes this seeking leads them to turning toward such escapes as drugs and alcohol, which presents a challenge for those of us who are waking up to the power of love to share this message with young people, for they are in great need of unconditional guidance.
If we look around in the media, we can be deluged with manifestations of violence, hatred, injustice, and conditional reality. This can be overwhelming, and we can quickly connect with the flow of planetary grief, suffering, and fear. What this does is strengthen and validate the existence of these manifestations. How do we handle this, when opening our tender hearts to unconditional love? One suggestion is to pay attention to what is before you, to the relationships and experiences in your life, and to focus a flow of unconditional love, acceptance, and forgiveness into all your experiences. The Hopis believe that their sacred village of Oraibi is a microcosm of the universe, and every lesson that is occurring outside is occurring within as well, but on a personal level. Their focus is on paying close attention to all that occurs in this intimate setting, and focusing all their love, blessings, and healing energy toward resolving differences within their own community. This is how they feel they can be most effective in having a positive impact on all that is. This can be a very valuable practice for those committing their lives to realizing unconditional love and freedom.
Another very beautiful approach is the Tibetan practice of Tonglen. This practice involves meeting the suffering of others by finding our own places of pain and feeling them fully. It also involves letting go of judgments about pain and suffering, toward an understanding of these experiences as lessons to bring us into our fuller nature. In his beautiful book, The Prophet (1976), Kahlil Gibran wrote “Your pain is but the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding.” (www.columbia.edu) Within the practice of Tonglen, you would begin a meditation by focusing on someone you know who is suffering, someone you would like to help. You would then consciously breathe in the pain and suffering of this person, allowing them to be free of this energy as you bring it into yourself. On the out-breath, you would focus on filling them with love, joy, and healing energy, visualizing this shift for them, seeing them filling with light and love. Next, if you find yourself holding this pain, unable to transform it within your own body, you can breathe in the pain for yourself and all others who suffer from this pain. This is a form of alchemy, in which we develop our compassion to a degree where we can work with this energy in our own bodies, for the good of all beings. Zen teacher and author Pema Chodron, in an article on the practice of Tonglen, inspires us to, “Breathe in for all of us and breathe out for all of us.” She says, “Use what seems like poison as medicine. Use your personal suffering as the path to compassion for all beings.”
There are many, many amazing practices to help us open our hearts and anchor love solidly in our bodies, on the planet, and in our experience. There are many who are quietly leading lives of compassion and dignity, and focusing, like the Hopi, on their own neighborhood, in their own families, in schools, hospitals and churches. The evidence of love in action is all around us, and we can bring this love fully into being through our own experiences right now. When you seek this path with an open mind and fearless heart, you will see that love really is all there is.