Last night in the Tuesday Mindshifters group in Woodstock, IL we listened  to some of the discussion from yesterday’s  Mindshifters Radio show in which a quote from Albert Einstein was mentioned.  In that quote, Einstein says that the illusion that we are separate or separated from anyone or anything else, is a form of optical delusion.  He goes on to say that the delusion leads us to hold special affection for a few people and things closest to us, and that this special affection creates a prison for us.  He suggests that we need to eliminate the prison by extending our affection equally to all people and all of nature.

When this was mentioned  on the Internet show, it triggered a very strong response  in at least one listener, who contacted my by email and let me  know just how upset she was.  So, when I got to the group last night I decided to share that portion of the Internet show with the group.  Then we discussed the concepts, and the ways it was triggering for some people.  The basic point of contention is that we are taught, at least in this culture, that we are to love family and close friends more than we love strangers, and those with whom we have very little contact.  The question that was being posed by those who were triggered was, “Well then what is the point of friendship and lovers, if we feel the same way toward everyone?”.  The people who were triggered were able to identify emotions like fear and confusion in response to the concept of having the same level of affection for everyone, and all of creation.

As we  discussed these important questions each person worked to realize that whatever emotion they were feeling, was their own personal creation.  The point was made that Love is a noun, not a verb.  We don’t Love others.  We are however, capable of practicing the conscious awareness of our true nature as Love when we are with others.  We also discussed how holding special affection for those who are closest to us is one sure way to plant the seeds of violence, and even war.  If we value one person’s life above that of another, we will be willing to sacrifice or attack anyone  or anything which we feel may threaten our “loved one”.  The problem with this is that we will also be willing to attack anyone or anything which we feel is threatening our “special affection” or “special relationship” with that “loved one” even on an emotional level.  We will even be able to feel rage and attack the person we say we “love”, if he or she threatens to “take their love away” from us.  This in all likelihood is the basis of all domestic violence and emotional abuse.

We also discussed the fallacy of assuming that Love is a “zero sum game”.  If Love is a “zero sum game” that means that there is only so much Love to go around.  If  for instance I only have 100 units of Love available for me to give to others, then I better ration it so that I am sure I have enough for the people I feel are most important.  Let’s say that I give 25 units of Love to each of my two children and 40 units of Love to my spouse.  That would mean that I only have ten units left to give to everyone else in my life, so clearly there won’t be any left of the neighbor, or the person down the street, or the next town over, or those in another country.  The way the creator set it up, we don’t have to extend less Love to our family members, so that there will be more Love for our neighbors and strangers.   Love grows as it is shared!

I offer you the observation that Love is energy, and the more I give of it the more I experience my true nature as that energy, and the more I open myself to receive the experience of it in others.  The energy of Love is the energy of creation, and the experience of it goes beyond the ability of words to describe it.  Love grows as it is shared, and the experience of Love creates more of itself in an endless, ever expanding process.  As Love creates, Love multiplies and expands.  If you want to experience Love, don’t look to “be loved” by anyone or anything else.  If you want to experience Love, extend the Love that you are, in each interaction with everyone, and everything in your  life.

After the discussion we had a very brave group member ask for support in doing a worksheet out loud in the group, despite the fact that she was “extremely anxious” about doing something in front of the group.  She finally decided to do a worksheet on the extreme anxiety she felt about doing the worksheet.  It was a very instructive process and the entire group benefited.  We ended the process with several rounds of Faster EFT tapping and tapping out the Cortices from Body Talk Access.

Thanks to all those who participated and to those who will be joining us tomorrow night for the Crystal Lake Mindshifters Group  from 6:30 – 9:00 pm.  800  McHenry Ave. Suite B, Crystal Lake, IL. 60014

We Come From  Love, We Are Made Of Love, We Are Love!  Everything else is false.