11th Day of Lent – The Quality of Love

The 4th quality required for us to achieve higher consciousness is LOVE. "Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves is born of God and knows God, for God is love.... if we love one another, God lives in us, and his love is perfected in us.... There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear; for fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not reached perfection in love. We loved because he first loved us ... The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also." (I John 4: 7-21)nnQuoting from Fillmore: "Love, in Divine Mind, is the idea of universal unity. In expression, it is the power that joins and binds together the universe and everything in it. Love is a harmonizing, constructive power." nnQuoting from TWELVE POWERS IN YOU: "Love is my ability to know oneness with all and to desire that good comes to all. Love is my ability to share, to draw together. Love heals, harmonizes, renews, prospers, and unites. [Affirm] 'I KNOW THAT GOD IS LOVE, AND I AM THAT LOVE POWER EXPRESSING AS ME.' The power of love casts out fear, loneliness, and selfishness."nnLove is the most powerful force in the universe. Enfolded in unconditional love, all negativity crumbles and fades away. As we learn to focus on the energy of God's unconditional love in which we "live and move and our being" (as illustrated by the white light surrounding us in the Divine Self illustration), we cannot but love all that is around us. nnnLove externalizes as our circulatory system, which includes our heart, liver, spleen, blood vessels, blood, and lymphatic system. Misunderstanding the quality of love can create health problems in these areas of our body. "Love is the immortal flow of energy that nourishes, extends, and preserves. Its eternal goal is life. The life force [love] in me wants to be free to circulate, and I need to cooperate with it, to open myself, to un-restrict myself, to be more loving and forgiving and friendly, to be 'care-ful' towards myself and people and, to give and receive in positive ways. Then I get into the flow of greater life. I value myself, others, life. To love is to live!" (Twelve Powers In You)nnIt is essential to note that love of God AND SELF is the prerequisite to loving others. The 2nd Commandment states: "Love thy neighbor AS THYSELF." This commandment to love thyself is where so many of us fall short. Most often, this takes the form of failing to take time to nourish self ... to participate in the activities that bring us joy ... that feed our soul ... that offer personal fulfillment. When we forfeit loving self in exchange for doing for others, we cannot truly love. Instead, "doing for others" becomes muddied with resentment, anger, and weariness. nnThe heart is our love center. When the flow of unconditional love is blocked, our entire body suffers. "Blood is the elixir of life. No blood, no life. After only a few minutes, for example, brain cells begin to die unless they are supplied with new circulating blood. In like manner, our inner spirit dies a little bit each time we restrict and block the flow of love in our life." (Twelve Powers In You)nn"How do we keep our immune system healthy and thereby stay free from disease? More and more, scientists are discovering that, in large measure, we do this with love. That is why love is a major key to healing---love of God, love of one another, love of our enemies, love of our body, love of all that we have attracted into our life. Love protects us from infectious diseases, since it strengthens our immune system.... The deepest healing occurs when we open up spiritually, when we open our hearts to the inflow of God's love, when we realize that our true nature is love, when we forgive [both ourselves and others] and we feel forgiven. Blockages in love also may cause or contribute to numerous other circulatory disorders.... Whatever the disorder of any part of the circulatory system, the key to healing is love.... In love, for love, with love, giving and receiving love, you will be made whole." (Twelve Powers In You)nnAffirmation: "The power of love is mighty to heal my life and my world."n ----TWELVE POWERS IN YOU