What does it really mean to love?  

Beyond judgment 

There are a ton of concepts, ideas and stories around what love is and what love is not.  The first truth to know, and perhaps the only one for that matter, is that there is nothing that is not love.  People may get this conceptually, but the practice of this is where living as love begins and also where shit hits the fan.

The most common objections that arise for people are along the lines of thinking that things like rape, murder, hatred, starvation, illness and abuse are not love.  To say or treat anything like it is not love, including all of things I just mentioned, creates inside of you separation, loss of wholeness, disconnection, breakdown, pain… aka the illusion of living out of love.  I say illusion because living out of love is not really possible.

Now I am not condoning any of these above stated behaviors.  They are typically bred from massive distortion in knowing the true nature of oneself and because of that they provide fuel-catalyst-energy for an amazing amount of love and truth about who one really is to be revealed if that aspect is seen, nurtured and reflected back to that being.  However coming at them from the perspective that they are wrong and need to be eradicated will never bring them back into the whole of which they are a part, only acceptance and love will do that.

I once read a story about an African tribe that has the ritual of surrounding a person, who has done something that is not the most serving to oneself or others in the tribe, and reminding that person of all the good he is and has done.  There is question as to if the this story is actually true, but to be honest it doesn’t really matter if it is, what matters is that it illustrates a very powerful way to create change, empower and uplift through acceptance instead of rejection and punishment.  A person heals not through shame and guilt, but instead through love, forgiveness and acceptance.

The love matrix 

Understanding the fabric of what you really are

Most of us think of love as something two people share with each other and while that is correct, it is only a small part of the story.  Love is the essence, the underlying fabric or matrix that creates everything including you.  Love is intelligent.  It organizes nature, your body, your emotions, your thoughts, your heart and your soul.  It is more than a feeling, or an act, it is the groundwork, framework for everything you consider to be reality.  It is not something “outside” of you, it is you.

The easiest and quickest way to realize the love matrix is to fully accept every single thing about yourself.  This will require forgiving all of those things or parts of yourself that you silently tuck away underneath the covers hoping that no one (including you) will see.  It requires that you include yourself in the love stream, wrapping yourself in love and acceptance and feeling your inherent worth simply in your mere existence.  It requires transparency with yourself, getting real and diving below your defenses.  You can do this kicking and screaming, or with grace and ease, really the choice is yours.  It doesn’t matter how you arrive, only that you arrive at total self acceptance.

As you do this you will begin to realize that your perceptions of others and life begin to change.  You will feel less separate and experience “oneness, all-ness or is-ness”.  You will feel and act less judgmental, and instead more caring and curious of how you can serve or help.  You begin to see how people’s actions are simply ways they protect themselves from experiencing the love they are, or ways they are trying to get more love because they don’t yet know that they are it.    Your desire to be in full self-acceptance will extend into wanting to include, accept and love everyone around you, as you realize it is all an aspect of you, you as the matrix of love, all being of the same fabric.

This process can occur at whatever rate you want it too.  I will say that we are in a time of massive acceleration on this planet where this very awareness of our true nature is readily available to be realized.  Historically we have been creating structures and systems based on self-preservation, advancement of ourselves as individuals and with our minds running the show.  This was a developmental stepping stone.  We are now in our next stage of development where we can create systems and structures based on what serves us as a collective community living as love in transparency and greater harmony is we so choose.  The choice is really yours on an individual basis to transcend the individual self into the more inclusive collective self that includes your “individual” self, but where the individual is no longer separate from the collective.  This lends to conditions on this planet of togetherness, understanding, abundance, greater access, impact and diversity with acceptance of all.  It all starts with you being willing to be in total self-acceptance & love of who you are.

Dr. Amanda Hessel, Chiropractor, Network Spinal Analysis & Somato-Respiratory Integration, Boulder, Colorado