Rules #43: Learning to Love Others: "For Love & Love Alone" "To others we are not ourselves but a performer in their lives cast for a part we do not even know that we are playing." Elizabeth Bibesco (Haven) Whether we realize it or not, the role that we play in the lives of others
- those we know and those who know of us - is that of karmic instructor.
It is the same role that others we know play in our lives. Each of us is
constantly teaching all others around us - by our words and actions - about
different ways of being. From these examples, each decides what to do and
how to be as we make our own journey through the universe. Love One Another as God Loves You So as Thomas Carlyle said "everyone is my superior in that I may
learn from them." Often others teaching us what NOT to do/be is
just as valuable as their teaching us what to do/be. Being open to learning
from others is the first step on the long journey through the universe
that we all undertake to unfold into greater levels of love, joy,
and awareness. It is easy to SAY that we love others but... So how does one begin to love others?… by doing the following:
1> LOVING OTHERS IS ACTING AS IF THEY ARE WORTHY Everyone exists because God loves them and with that love all things
are possible. Everyone is perfect in God's eyes and is loved more than
they will ever know. We are our own worst enemy when we think, act, and
treat others as anything other than Divine Beings. When we think "I hate
them" or "They do not deserve to live" or "Too bad they
are (fill in the blank)… otherwise we could be friends" or "If
only they were more like me" or "If only they believed like me",
we are saying the God made a mistake when "they" were created.
2> LOVING OTHERS IS RESPECTING THEIR BODIES The primary means for showing love to others is respecting the body
that God gave them. To respect the bodies of others requires that you
do it no harm. Most would agree that doing obvious things like helping
others to breathe, eat, drink, sleep, get exercise, receive proper clothes
and shelter - especially where they have difficulty in doing this for
themselves - shows other people's bodies respect.
3> LOVING OTHERS IS RESPECTING THEIR MINDS Mental "woundology" is greatest damage that we routinely do to one
another. We think that by sharing our sorrows that we are supporting
others. The reality is that continually sharing heartache - especially
once the painful crisis has passed - only serves to keep our wounds and
theirs alive. For what we lavish our attention on is what we manifest
into our reality. Everyone has made their share of mistakes… we are
meant to learn from them and move on. 4> LOVING OTHERS IS RESPECTING THEIR EMOTIONS Emotional "sandbagging" is another way we often disrespect others.
We encourage sandbagging when we recommend "ego defenses" which have us
inappropriately handling our emotions. Help others to deal with the
emotions head on… for that is the truest love and the highest form of
respect. "Ego defenses" include: 5> LOVING OTHERS IS RESPECTING THEIR SPIRITUAL BELIEFS Religious beliefs are the most sacred part of any individual.
In many different past lifetimes, I have been a Jewish rabbi, a Roman
Catholic priest, a Russian and Greek Orthodox priest, a Protestant minister, a Buddhist
monk, a Hindu cleric, a follower of Confucius, Lao Tse, Islam, Sihkism,
Shinto, and numberless other religious, spiritual, and philosophical paths.
I have translated religious texts (for
the best of these, click here) into many languages over the course
of several lives.
6> LOVING OTHERS IS ACCEPTING THEM AS THEY ARE No one is perfect, not me, not you, not anyone else. No matter what
you dislike about others, it is of vital importance that you value others
- just as they are right now. For by doing so, that is how we create peace
within our own hearts. The fact is that we all are - from the saints to
the sinners - a "work in progress": changing every day and evolving into
becoming who we already are. 7> LOVING OTHERS IS SHOWING THEM KINDNESS Love is the most powerful force in the universe. It is the universal
solvent which cuts through all hate, all fears, all obstacles, all
difficulties. Where difficult, problematic relationships exist, it is due
to the absence of love energy between us and others. By always holding
thoughts of loving kindness toward others
in your heart, you rebuild the love energy bridges between you and other(s).
8> LOVING OTHERS IS SHOWING THEM COMPASSION Although it may be hard to believe, the truth is that everyone does
the best they can with what they have. For everyone is just living out
what they have learned in this or previous lives. Compassion comes when
you realize that those who hate and hurt others are just lashing out
against times when they were hated and hurt themselves. For it is then
that you can see that "it is the pain talking" and not the person.
9> LOVING OTHERS IS SHOWING THEM RESPECT Everyone is a spark of the Divine and brings a unique note to the
universal song we are all singing
(notice that the word uni-verse means "one song"). This means that
everyone has something unique and valuable to contribute. Even though
you may not understand their contribution or believe it is valuable,
know that it is.
10> LOVING OTHERS IS ACTING TO FREE THEM One of the highest forms of unconditional life is to prepare your
loved ones to live without you. For only when those you love are completely
self reliant are they totally free, safe, and protected for the rest of
their lives (for more on what it
means to be self reliant, click here). Even if that freedom means that
they walk away from you forever, you have given them gifts that will help
them wherever they go.
11> LOVING OTHERS IS SHOWING THEM FORGIVENESS What keeps us firmly stuck to our negative baggage is the fact that
we cannot forgive others for somehow failing us. Sincere, heartfelt
forgiveness is the solvent that unsticks our fingers from this baggage,
allowing us to drop it. Dropping it is the best thing that we can do for
ourselves and others. Forgiveness
does not mean condoning what happened or just forgetting about it or not
learning from it. All of those are valuable lessons that we spent emotion
learning. 12> LOVING OTHERS IS ALLOWING THEM TO BE HAPPY
If there is one key to showing unconditional love to others, it is
this. As William Penn said, "any good that I can do, or any kindness that
I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now. Let me not defer or
neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again." Making people happy,
helping them to be happy, and allowing them to be happy are all ways of
showing others unconditional love. Credits: adapted from
channeled information |
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