Today, sitting in my pink armchair, reading about how a world-famous     medium was able to communicate with the spirit world and our     physical world and end the grief of those who had been left behind,     I became even more aware of how love is the central theme of the     universe itself. This was what the departed passed on to those who     remained on earth. Their major regret was that they had not loved or     expressed their love when they were alive.
   
   When Jesus said that "he who loves me shall not perish" what did he     mean?
   
   Since death is not real, the Soul being eternal, what does he mean?     I like to imagine that he means the end of the process of suffering     unlovingness. For to be unloved is a kind of death.
   
   Once a soul gets that it is the Allness, lovingness happens     spontaneously, because the Beloved is expressing Itself.
   
   The Light and Love are one and the same. In fact, it is the Light     that is loving through us when we feel love.
   
   Human love is conditioned by want. The soul, mistaking itself for     the ego, the mind, and the body, seeks to possess and to own the     object of desire. It seeks almost to want to absorb it into itself     so that it can be greater. In romantic love, for example, the lover     seeks approval, safety, and control. Wealth and beauty and charm     increase the attributes of the lover because the ego of the other     wants it for itself.
   
   Parental love is purer, although now there is a desire for the child     to exemplify the qualities and values of the parent.
   
   Animal love for its owner is almost completely spontaneous.
   
   When a dog delights in his master's presence, or when cat purrs at     the touch of your hand, this is probably as pure a love you can find     in everyday life. There is no cunning in this love, no projection of     future gain, no thought about manipulating the lover. The love is     spontaneous, pure, and a simple appreciation of the moment.
   
   Finally, the ultimate love is when one can love for the other what     the other wants for him or herself. This now starts to blend into     transcendental love, and we begin to love others the way I imagine     God loves us. Love for its own sake, because that is who we are and     because the grace in the other is so obvious to us.
   
   I agree with Socrates who says, "It is love alone that unites the     soul with God."
   
   St. Teresa said, "What matters is not to think much but to love     much."
   
   In the words of the famous philosopher and the cherished saint, we     find a great mystery revealed.
   
   Here we touch upon the entire fabric of life, which is, in my     opinion, a spiritual journey. Beyond what we think about life, there     is the way of the heart, which is spontaneous and pure before it     becomes sullied with too much analysis.
   
   What the heart wants is to return Home to the arms of the Beloved.     It does this by feeling what the Beloved feels, unconditional     loving.
   
   Allow me to finish these reflections with a quote from the     Brihad-Aranyaka Upanishad: It summarizes most eloquently what I have     been fumbling to say in this brief essay.
   
   “It is not for the love of a husband that a husband is dear; but for     the love of the Soul in the husband that is dear.
   
   “It is not for the love of a wife that a wife is dear; but for the     love of the Soul in the wife that is dear.
   
   “It is not for the love of children that children are dear; but for     the love of the Soul in children that is dear.
   
   “It is not for the love of all that all is dear; but for the love of     the Soul in all that is dear.”
   
   The book of life, I contend, is the story of Light and Love. It is a     love story between the unmanifest and the manifest; a story about     the relationship between God and Soul. And when the Soul     reciprocates to the love of the Divine, the earth journey concludes     with a contented sigh.
   
   Saleem Rana got his masters in psychotherapy from California     Lutheran University. His articles on the internet have inspired over     ten thousand people from around the world. Discover how to create a     remarkable life.
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