http://www.care2.com/greenliving/your-love-relationship.html
Your Love Relationship
It has become a truism that to receive love we must give love. This reciprocal action keeps the flow of love alive. Without it love would stagnate. Learning to give runs contrary to some very deep conditioning that we all carry around inside, however.
We have all learned to hold on to a good thing. Letting go of anything precious is hard. Loving people have taught themselves that holding on is possessiveness. Anyone who has ever been trapped in a possessive relationship knows its smothering effect. It isn’t love when another person cannot give you the space to live your own life.
Love is experienced in relationship. Without someone to love you, the feelings of love–the warmth in a mother’s heart, the gladness of friendship, the excitement of intimacy–have no stimulus. That is why the commonest image for being unloved is being alone.
When you are alone, there seems to be no relationship. People who find themselves alone rarely feel any incentive to explore love. They await contact with another person or turn out to seek it. Thus we become dependent on other people to make us feel totally and permanently loved.
This expectation will, however, always be defeated, and although we blame those who failed to respond to us, who responded but then left, who stayed but then changed their minds, none of them is finally the cause of our problem.
The cause is our inability to develop an unshakable relationship with ourselves. The Self is the source of love. People who live their own love stories have learned this lesson above all.
Adapted from The Path to Love, by Deepak Chopra (Three Rivers Press, 1997).
More from Deepak Chopra (525 articles available)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
59 comments
add your comment »Here is my last post here. I'm too full to talk about it any more. Love to all of you. You too Lars. :)
"Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing
and rightdoing there is a field.
I'll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass
the world is too full to talk about."
Rumi
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Lars, you believe what you believe about me. Thanks okay by me. See you in heaven my friend.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Brenda: Of course you think i am annoying. After all, I showed you what God says about your cherished misconception that all people are children of God. Those two bible texts also vindicated God's righteousness and exposed your claim that He is a liar as false.
"I experienced this LOVE pouring through me and gushing out into the world and back again. I went from talking ABOUT God to experiencing God." But if that is so, you should cherish God's word. But you are doing the opposite, you reject His word and call Him a liar. Zero credibility.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Lars, I love you but you are a bit annoying. LOL
FYI, I was raised a Baptist, did the whole blooming thing. Became a Catholic later and did THAT whole blooming thing. However I didn't stop there. I wanted to become more than either religion was willing to allow me to be. So I went out on the limb, left the restrictions behind.
I once walked your walk and I was pretty obnoxious. (I’m not saying YOU are obnoxious. I was.) But then I had an EXPERIENCE that began to affect a change in me and I haven’t been the same since. I stopped having a belief that God was some place other than EVERYWHERE and invited that very Presence to make Itself known to me. I wanted to KNOW, to EXPERIENCE that Presence and when it happened, a love so powerful and overwhelming brought me to my knees. I was crying tears of joy. I experienced this LOVE pouring through me and gushing out into the world and back again. I went from talking ABOUT God to experiencing God.
Any religion or spiritual path is just the finger that points TO the moon. It isn’t the moon itself.
I only know that I was changed forever by that experience. And I have been growing every since.
What "religion" am I now? The religion of LOVE. That's all God is. God IS pure Love.
UNCONDITIONAL love. IMHO
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Brenda: "As many as received Jesus, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name." John 1:12.
“Those who are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God.” Romans 9:8.
That takes care of your misunderstanding. And it proves once more that God is telling the truth. Praise Him !
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Ron:
"I have chosen to keep an open mind rather then be closed-minded, I listen to other points of view rather then being bigoted; to carefully examine the facts that may contradict my beliefs, instead of burying my head in the sand; to be objective rather then prejudice; to take the time when forming opinions and beliefs rather then just accepting the first or most emotional thing that is offered; And I will be ready to change my beliefs when "facts" that contradict them are presented, that is true wisdom. Open your heart and free your mind and the truth will be presented too you and you will be free."
You have a real megalomania problem - you think you're wiser than Jesus Christ Himself !!! But God's word has this to say about you: " the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. 1 Corinthians 1:20-25.
So because you reject Jesus, your "objectivity" is nothing but partiality. Your "open-mindedness" is close-mindedness. And all your "wisdom" is only foolishness.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Ron, just for clarification, my high 5 was to say I celebrate the way you said what you said. You did it in such a lovely, loving way. You don't just talk about your view, you demonstrate your view by your words and your presence. As some of us would say, you demonstrate that you walk your talk. And it resonates well with me. :)
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Just for clarification, it was not my intent to over shadow someone else's beliefs or faith. But to bring light to the facts that there are other views; views that are also supported by fact and scripture. True Christianity is one path as is Buddhism as is ?; who am I to say which is better. I only know which one resonates with me. I am not trying to change anyone to take on my path; my path is mine and mine alone. I'm just trying to help others see that there are different views and that these views should provoke deep thought no matter what their path is. This is true spirituality; This is true wisdom.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
So, Lars, YOU are no son of God then? And even though the Bible itself says that we are all children of God, it lies because ONLY Jesus was. I wait for bated breath for your response. ;)
Ron K. Give me 5!!! :)
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Lars, I understand your selection of faith and I have mine. My statement was to see things for what they are, instead of what others tell you. I have chosen to keep an open mind rather then be closed-minded, I listen to other points of view rather then being bigoted; to carefully examine the facts that may contradict my beliefs, instead of burying my head in the sand; to be objective rather then prejudice; to take the time when forming opinions and beliefs rather then just accepting the first or most emotional thing that is offered; And I will be ready to change my beliefs when "facts" that contradict them are presented, that is true wisdom. Open your heart and free your mind and the truth will be presented too you and you will be free.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: