So, by this time, some among us are likely beginning to think, "this is getting old!" Admittedly, we HAVE been here before, but seriously, this Subject IS worth exploring, ad nauseam, as it were! Love, at least as most seem to know it in this day & age, IS 'A Many Splintered Thing'! Discussing this with a friend recently, I came to the unsettling conclusion that the object of what most people call 'love' is no more than a piece of meat, whether figuratively or sexually speaking. Objectively speaking, when we love something, whether it be our spouse, or our pet, it is considered normal to look at the object of our affection as if we own it. Thus, when someone other than the true owner pays attention to OUR spouse, pet, etc., jealousy, in its many different forms, tends to rear its ugly head. Love, when viewed in its verb form, causes other issues as well, for whether it's obligational ( conditional ) or what some call 'unconditional love', because it is based on feelings ( emotions ), it can change to hate in a split second. Love, however, is a noun, even a Proper Noun & thus, does not change!
I Corinthians 13 is known as 'the love chapter'. Though I no longer follow the Bible, per se, I still see in it many universal truths. The words, attributed to the apostle Paul, in verses 4 through 7, are some such. "Love suffers long [ and ] is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not [b]puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, [c]thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things." Though Paul here does not necessarily tell us what exactly Love is, he seems to establish that love is primarily a noun, not a verb. In essence, this is what Love DOES, how It behaves! Another such universal truth in the Bible says that "God is Love" ( I John 4:8 ). Note that by using the term 'God' here, I'm referring, not to the Christian God, or the God of the Bible, necessarily, but to the Source of All Life. Being that the Source of All Life is Love, Personified or Objectified, you might say & we, in our Innermost Being, are a part of, though not apart from that Source, WE are Love as well; that is our true Nature!
'Love' is NOT synonymous with 'approval'! In its verbal form, even so-called 'unconditional love' does not mean that we approve of someone's or something's actions; it simply means that we choose to show them love in spite of however horrible or distasteful their actions might be to us, that we accept THEM, though not necessarily the way they're currently acting. Speaking of Unconditional Love; even humanly speaking, It DOES ( necessarily ) involve boundaries! This is because Unconditional Love, again, humanly speaking, starts with Self Love. You're familiar, no doubt, with the saying, "If you don't love yourself, you can't love anyone else": this is a universal truth which is hinted at in the biblical injunction to "love your neighbor as you love yourself". There IS, then, such a thing as 'Unconditional Love', but this Love is not a verb; It's a Noun!
The Universal Truth "God is Love" is reversible; "Love is God"! The question posed above, then, might better be, 'WHO is Love?' Again. the 'God' in question here is NOT a reference to the God of the Bible, or even necessarily to the Christian God. Some, in fact, would say 'Goddess'! The Source of All Life, though, has no gender, as male or female, though for us humans, it is easier, or more convenient maybe, to imagine this 'God' or 'Goddess' so, made in OUR image, so to speak. ( It also gives us Someone else to blame ) So; "God is Love", "Love is God"; whatever: we're really no closer to discerning WHAT or WHO Love is? Or are we?
"Everything is Energy!" This handy little saying is usually blamed on Albert Einstein, who was arguably, one of the smartest human beings who ever lived. "Okay; given that Everything is Energy, does that include the Source of All Life?' Is 'God' simply Energy ( insert 'Goddess' there, if you will )? It would make so much sense if that was the case, because if everything is Energy, it would naturally follow that the Source of all that Energy was, well, Energy!
One argument for the Source of All Life NOT being 'simply' Energy might be the case for 'Intelligent Design". I'm no scientist; I've never studied the heavens to much extent: I barely know anything about 'String Theory', but I know that the intricacies of this marvelous Universe, to say nothing of the Microverse that composes our bodies, our Avatar, if you will, requires a Greater Intelligence that we in our finite humanity can even begin to imagine! It could well be asked then, "Is Energy itself intelligent ( sentient? )?" This could open a can of worms that most are not ready to open, but if Energy requires a Director, them maybe we too, humanly speaking, require one as well!
As I've said before ( so really; I'm quoting myself here ); "Some cans of worms just need to be opened", some pots just NEED to be stirred, etc, etc., ad infinitum. So, here goes: maybe the reason that most religious people have a problem with the notion that God is Energy, is that, if Energy has its own Intelligence & thus has no need of a Director, than it could be construed to mean that we too, being Energy, have no such need either. In such a case then, as the song goes, "what would you have to complain about?", who would we blame for our misfortunes or misdeeds, if not a Director, like 'God' or 'the Devil'? In such a case, as the Scotsman said when a book fell on his head, "I can only blame my shelf"!
We ARE energetic beings! Not only do we call our motivation ( or the lack thereof ) 'Energy', it is a scientific fact that the makeup of our physical body is Energy. It's a bunch of atoms dancing around ( vibrating ) at various speeds ( frequencies ). 'Is it really that simple?' Well, no; of course it's not that simple, though it might be noted that it's no more complex than, "the Lord God formed man [ of ] the dust of the ground" ( Genesis 2:7 ). This too, is a fact, because Science tells us that our physical bodies are composed of the same materials as the Earth Herself & indeed, our Energy, in some sense, comes from the Earth, in the food we eat & the water we drink.
Of course, we are not simply energetic beings because our bodies are motivated by Energy, because they are composed of Energy; as part & parcel with the Source of All Life, we ARE Energy! In the greatest sense, then & by extension, We are Life! Since Life, then Love; as the rest of the verse above says, "and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being". Again, as written in I John 4:8, one of the Universal Truths of the Bible, "God is Love". "Love is Life', it could well be said, just as "Life is Love". Love makes the world go 'round, so thus, Love can be equated with Energy. If Love is simply Energy, then where does that leave us? Where does that leave the World?
One doesn't need to have studied the metaphysical to be familiar with the phrases, "they just have bad energy" or "they have really good energy". This may be true enough, humanly speaking, or in actuality, but really, or spiritually speaking, there is no such thing. Energy is neither 'good' nor 'bad' ( kinda like 'God' is not male or female ); It just is. We encounter issues when human beings make the choice to manifest this Energy from their lower, instead of their Higher, or Highest Nature. The energy which manifests from this lower nature, at best, acts as if Love is a verb, while the Energy that manifests from our Highest, our True Nature portrays Its True Form, that of a Noun!
"God is Love"; "Love is God"; what does that mean?! While "God is Love" should be fairly easy for say, a Christian to understand; to say "Love is God" might not go over so well, because for most human beings, love is a verb, not a noun ( definitely not a Noun ). For the overwhelming majority, love is merely a conscious choice that we make ( or not ) in regards to another. While, humanly speaking, We DO make a conscious choice as to when, where, how & with whom we share that Love, not everyone understands or acknowledges where this Love truly comes from. To be honest, though most, if not all freely acknowledge where Love originates ( "God is Love" I John 4:8 ), there are but few, though this Number is growing, that have realized We are part of that Source. What then is Love? Or better, "Who is Love?" Love is Energy; Love is the Source: Love is Life!
By this time, maybe my readers, along with myself, of course, understand a little better what Unconditional Love is. Unconditional Love is not something we choose to do, for as my friend has pointed out, there is always a condition ( of whatever sort ) when we understand it in its verb form. However, since we ARE Love, the only condition here is whether or not to manifest from our lower nature, which does not realize this glorious fact, or from our Highest Nature, which helps us to embody It & that without condition.
Love does not change! As human beings with natural ( not good or bad ) feelings & emotions, we are subject to change, both from inside & outside forces, but from a spiritual standpoint, We are what ( Who ) We are; THAT will NEVER change! Even as human beings, though, we always have a choice: whether from outside influences or inner motivation, we must decide for ourselves if we will act or react, with Love or with Fear. As the Energetic Beings that We are, being primarily Spirit, or Love, We have no choice ( no condition there! ); We ARE Love, immutably so!
Namaste' & Blessed Be,
Sage Charles
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