Welcome to this part talk,
Part meditation,
Part contemplation on allowing love.
Over the next few minutes,
We'll take some time to explore what love really means to us,
What it actually is,
How it could feel different for us,
And how we can allow more of it into our lives with ease and fluidity and compassion.
So I invite you to find a quiet place where you won't be disturbed for the next 10 minutes or so,
And settle in as we explore this topic together.
No matter how much we protest,
Each of us wants to love and be loved.
We might long for real love,
And yet sometimes we push it away,
Even when we eventually find it.
We exhaust ourselves through struggling,
Running,
Hiding,
Or perhaps clinging to what love isn't.
But our longing,
Resistance,
And struggle are actually rooted in the same soil.
They encompass our failure to recognize that we ourselves are love.
If only we could open to ourselves,
Let ourselves in,
Soften and allow all of who we are to be accepted,
Then we could allow love in all its many forms,
Without so much fear or hesitation,
That something that we might perceive as outside of us can be taken away.
As we allow ourselves to remember that we are love,
We could then allow deeper love from our friends and family,
Our community,
Our neighbors,
Our colleagues,
Our partners,
New people,
New opportunities,
And the universe.
Love can feel scary because it requires us to be seen,
Witnessed,
Held,
And cared for.
But if we've never truly seen and cared for ourselves,
This fear is completely normal,
And we can work with it.
At this point in the talk,
I invite you to take a deep breath in,
And out.
Even though we might be in all this resistance,
All this fear,
We can still choose to deeply love and accept who we are and where we're at right now.
And we can also accept anyone else who may have contributed to our difficulties when it comes to allowing more love.
Even though we may doubt it,
Even though our current circumstances might not prove it to us,
We all deserve love.
Because love is our birthright.
Love is who we are.
So learning to love ourselves or another is actually easier than we make it.
It's simply about being able to recognize ourselves in our innate wholeness.
It's about meeting ourselves exactly where we are.
So can we recognize the love present within us right now,
Even in a small way?
Despite everything we're feeling that might be love's opposite,
That might have us feeling less than loving,
And despite all of our society's illusions and conditioning,
Can we dare to meet our truest,
Most loving self?
Can we meet and accept and hold the part of us that is innocent,
That's already worthy?
That is love.
Let's take a deep breath here as we begin to remember the part of us that longs to open to love.
The more we can do this and hold that loving space for ourselves,
The more we will be able to do that for another.
Love isn't about digging deeper,
Being better,
Or getting stronger so we're finally ready for it.
Love is found when we uncover everything that it isn't,
And when we realize that it was there all along.
As Rumi said,
Your task is not to seek for love,
But merely to seek and find the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
Love is at our core.
It was always there.
It never left.
Recognition and acceptance,
Embracing,
Allowing,
Being gentle,
Softening,
Surrendering,
Co-generation,
Unconditional presence,
Stillness and safety in the storms,
And a deep feeling of peace and well-being.
Those are just some of the components of love,
And we don't have to work to find more of these,
Because they already exist within us.
We simply need to allow ourselves the space to remember and reconnect with them.
It's my hope that the following words that I'm going to read will spark a deeper meditation within you on love,
What it means to you,
And how you can intentionally choose to radiate more of it from within you,
Thereby bringing more of it into your life and your relationships.
So I invite you to,
As you listen to these words,
Just notice what arises in your body and in your awareness.
Devotion,
Tenderness,
Warmth,
Intimacy,
Adoration,
Delight,
Appreciation,
Playfulness.
Patience,
Compassion,
Intention,
Kindness,
Clarity,
Creativity,
Empowerment,
Expression.
Peace,
Stillness,
Breath,
Spirit,
Collaboration,
Partnership.
Equality,
Growth,
Openness,
Service,
Support,
Trust,
Connection.
Empathy,
Gratitude,
Harmony,
Serenity,
Protection,
Respect,
Friendship.
Vulnerability,
Grace,
Freedom,
Truth.
Notice how these words make you feel.
Did one or two of them maybe stand out?
Perhaps one of the words triggered some anxiety in you,
And that is okay.
If so,
Just notice that,
Maybe sit with that.
Maybe a word piqued your curiosity and made you feel excited or hopeful because you'd never thought of bringing that element to the table in your relationship with yourself or with others.
If so,
How can you bring more of that aspect through you and into your life?
As we begin to allow ourselves to recognize the love that we are,
We naturally allow more love into every area of our lives.
Before we start to bring this session to a close,
I'll read that Rumi quote just one more time because I think it's not only a beautiful quote to remember,
But also a really great quote to just contemplate for a while.
So once again,
As Rumi said,
Your task is not to seek for love,
But merely to seek and find the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.
So to bring this session to its right closure,
Let's take a deep breath in together,
Hold at the top,
And then take a long,
Slow exhale out through the mouth.
Take a moment to wrap your arms around yourself,
Giving yourself a gentle embrace.
And maybe take some gentle squeezes down the outer edges of the shoulders and arms with your hands.
And then begin to rub your hands together to create a little bit of heat between the palms,
Just for a few more seconds.
And then let that go and place the palms over your eyes.
Take one more deep breath in through the nose and out through the mouth.
And let your hands glide gently over the face and down the neck,
Giving yourself a loving embrace.
And allow yourself for just a few moments to sit quietly for a while before going back to your day.
I really hope you've enjoyed this contemplation,
And as ever,
I invite all of us to keep allowing love.
