Valentine’s Day

Last Wednesday was Valentine’s Day. So, of course, we did a meditation based on love; both receiving and extending the felt sense of loving care. During our meeting we discussed that there are different kinds of love.

Our felt sense of each of these types of “love” could be completely different. Yet on a fundamental level, there must be some connection.

I offer you two definitions of love. The first is from the book Awakening Through Love by John Makransky.

“Love is the power to commune with someone’s fundamental goodness while wishing that person deep well-being and happiness.

Strong love that wills the well-being and happiness of persons is essential to accomplish everything we most value for ourselves and others.  …helping strategies only help when they effectively carry out a genuine wish of care, of love – the wish for someone’s well-being and happiness.”

The second definition comes the Non-Dual Teacher, Rupert Spira.

“Love is the recognition of our shared beings with others. And, recognizing our shared being with the world of experience is perceived as beauty.”

Both of these definitions imply that our true nature, our fundamental goodness, the peace and joy of our natural being, is universal. What we experience as love, is the perception of that universal nature shining in another being. That shining resonates with the same qualities in our own heart. We feel the connection with another being, with the natural world, with the beauty of art in all its forms.