Unconditional Love

When springtime approaches we are mindful of renewal, harmony and what conscious cultures consider a way of life: to honor the feminine. The concept of spiritual practice passing “through the feminine” marked the beginning of human consciousness and transcendent experience. It is our nature to be grounded in the earth and to reach for the sun and the stars, much like an oak tree or a mountain or the thousands of ancient pyramids and sacred sites we find buried on every continent. The birthright of consciousness is a gift from our ancestors that is encoded in our DNA. Beyond the experience of physical birth through our mother is the joy of unconditional love that sustains, nurtures and heals. If we are fortunate enough to be raised in a conscious environment, the joyful vibration of unconditional love forges an enduring bond of trust. Unconditional love is an essential aspect of our spirituality and self esteem. Absent an enlightened upbringing, these are choices we may consciously make. The foundation is like the roots of an oak tree or the base of a mountain or pyramid. The foundation is unconditional love for yourself and clarity about the connection with your higher self and the divine/nature/God, whatever you perceive that to be. Unconditional love is to love and care for your self as a mother would an innocent child, a child alive with possibilities and unburdened by judgments, social convention or “You’re not the boss of me.” Unconditional love involves commitment and practice although it does not require struggle or sacrifice. Struggle and sacrifice imply a lack of awareness, understanding and agreement. These are authoritarian tactics designed to promote guilt and market a particular dependent point of view (us versus them) and, along with greed and hunger, the cause of centuries of war and conflict. To honor the feminine is to acknowledge and celebrate our power as extraordinary creative beings and our choice to live with purpose and direction. To honor the feminine transcends struggle and sacrifice with the overwhelming force of our true nature. Love is the purpose of life. Love is liberation. Love is the willingness to be present and the courage to receive. Love is the ability to recognize and celebrate our reflection in another. Love illuminates everything. Unconditional love is possible, but it is wise if we don’t take ourselves too seriously. That is counter intuitive and conflicts with most greeting cards and popular love songs. If you read and listen objectively, you will find an abundance of amusement and dependent clauses. “Serious love” is the ultimate oxymoron. Commercial roses are also symbolic and instructive. Unlike the roses nurtured in a mother’s garden, the perfect ones you find at a florist are often void of their essence and, ironically, often their thorns. They are beautiful, yet have little fragrance. If we want to experience and celebrate the sweet divinity of unconditional love that is a garden we must tend together. rnCreative strategist Ralph Cissne is the director of Natale Life Skills at FrankNatale.comrn