The fundamental error that many people make in their search for love is to misunderstand what love is and how it arises in the human heart. Love is not a feeling, it is a movement… it is a process. Because of this movement feelings happen. The feelings that come from the process of love are not all that important—and very difficult to put into words. So, let’s instead focus our awareness on the movement of love. Let’s go deeply into this and see if we can’t come to a new discovery about love together.
What is the movement of love? The movement of love begins when you are in direct contact with reality. Love starts when you watch reality with your awareness. Once you are deeply aware of reality then something strange happens… you begin to understand what you are aware of. When you experience the understanding that comes from awareness then you will love. Watch and you will see. See and you will understand. Understand and you will love. This is the movement of love.
What do I mean by: “Watch and you will see”? I mean that you should be aware of reality. Be aware of what is happening within you and around you. Be aware of what you’re thinking and feeling. See what you are seeing. Hear what you are hearing. Taste what you are tasting. Feel what you are feeling. Get into direct contact with your senses. Most of the time, you’re not in direct contact with reality. You’re focused on the content of your mind… your thoughts, your memories, your hopes and fears. You’re focused on The Image, not reality. To start the movement of love you must get out of The Image and get back to your senses. Withdraw your attention from your thoughts and put it on the sensations in your body and mind. Be aware of your awareness, keep your attention there and you will see. This is the beginning of the movement of love.
What do I mean by: “See and you will understand”? I mean that understanding comes from direct contact with reality. It is automatic. Most people believe that understanding is a product of thought. They believe that to understand something that you must first think about it. This is a false belief. First comes the understanding of a thing then the thoughts about it arise. Even when you seemingly come to understanding through thought, it is your understanding of thoughts that you came to through awareness that make it possible. Thought without understanding is not possible. Understanding without thought is sublime. Being aware of a thing as it is in reality gives you understanding. Not technical understanding, but an intuitive understanding of whatever it is that is in your awareness. Yes, it is intuitive understanding that is the second part of the movement of love.
What do I mean by: “Understand and you will love”? I mean that love comes from your intuitive understanding of reality. When you intuitively understand what is in your awareness then you are filled with love. It is automatic and takes no effort whatsoever. The form that this love takes is unpredictably perfect. It is a feeling that is exactly correct for the given situation that you find yourself in. It can be tender and compassionate or hard and unyielding. It can move you to tears as you drive your car or keep you stoic in the face of atrocity. It can be blissful beyond words or it can be a deep calmness like the ocean depths. It is unpredictable… and if you can predict it then it’s not love that you’re feeling. If you can predict it then you are experiencing a product of The Image and not love at all.
The movement of love begins with awareness of reality. Understanding of reality comes from your awareness of reality. When you understand reality you will love reality and automatically give the perfect response to whatever is before you. Let your awareness of reality drive you, not the cunningness of your thoughts. Use your thoughts as the tools they are, but do not believe them. Use them like a carpenter uses wood and nails, but don’t get caught up in them. Belief in The Image – in your thoughts—is a killer of love. When you do this… when you get into direct contact with reality… then you will finally experience love. It is unavoidable. It is addicting. It is empowering. It is love! Taste this for even a moment and you will never be the same.
Do you need help to achieve this? Practice your awareness. Be aware of when you are aware and when you are not. Pay attention to what is happening. See clearly your thinking and your emotions as they occur. Look at the sky. Listen to the cars and the rain and the frogs and the reality around you. Smell the freshness of the morning air and the staleness of a smoggy evening commute. Touch the soft skin of a loved one or the roughness of sandpaper. Taste the sweetness of chocolate and the bitterness of limes. Watch your thoughts and reactions as you would watch the clouds in the sky. Revel in the pain of your body and the pleasures of your mind. Be in your body! Be in your body! Be in your body! This is the key. Get out of your mind and get back to your senses. If you do this then you will know love as the unavoidable, not the unattainable.
Watch and you will see. See and you will understand. Understand and you will love.