WE ARE EXPLORING THE PRACTICE OF HEAVENLINESS
+ Continuing with the 12 styles of the Mandalaprocess, we are exploring the style of Love and Compassion as taught by
Edward Bastian who writes:
+ The Lover naturally
experiences the universality of love and seeks to bring happiness and relief to
the suffering of others.
·
Do you
have a natural empathy for others?
·
Do you
long to create happiness and eliminate suffering?
·
Do you
have a naturally kind-hearted feeling toward others?
·
Do you
feel embraced by a universal love and compassion greater than yourself?
LOVE IS PERHAPS the
most profound and complex word in the human language. Its varied meanings range
from intense liking or desire, to the experience of universal
inter-connectedness and unconditional empathy with the whole of existence. Love
and compassion are at the heart of the world’s great spiritual traditions. Love
is often said to be synonymous with the divine essence and the well-spring of
all life by whatever name it is given.
When we are in
love, we often feel as if we are ‘one’ with our beloved. There is an
irresistible magnetism toward them and a palpable physical sensation pervades
our whole being. We experience a nearly unbreakable force that unites our
souls, whether we are together or apart. When we are truly in love with
someone, we will do everything we can to protect, nourish and support them. We
make their happiness our first priority.
When we are in love
spiritually, we experience an undeniable universal inter-connectedness, oneness, empathy and
compassion for the infinite whole of existence. We instinctively experience
love as an all enveloping cosmic embrace. Love is perceived as a force
inseparable from the fundamental impulse of life. We feel
ignited by the spark of the divine that infuses the deepest essence of our
being. Every cell of our body resonates
with the bliss of the divine. We are as a drop of water infused within an
infinite ocean. We realize that we are joined inexorably in the web of being
and have no choice but to accept our universal responsibility to help remove
the causes of suffering of all living things.
+ Ed soars to heights of divine ecstasy here which
inspire me immensely. I hope you are
touched as I am by his amazing clarity and wisdom.
+ The 12 styles of Mandala: Creating An Authentic Spiritual
Path: An InterSpiritual Process by Edward Bastian are listed in SE206.
+ To get inspired and illuminated by Ed Bastian, I invite you to set aside some time for these videos: Seven Steps of InterSpiritual Meditation (11 minutes) | 15 minute introduction to InterSpiritual Meditation and the Mandala Process | 2 hour lecture & conversation
+ Spirituality & Practice offers
abundant resources on the practices of Love & Compassion: The
Practice of Love | The
12s Gallery on Love | The
Practice of Compassion | The
12s Gallery on Compassion
+ I would love it if you offered a guest post on this practice or any practice. And, I have work to do on my Heavenliness page. Maybe you can help. Send an email with the subject “Heavenliness” or “Love” or “Guest Post” to John@abundancetrek.com.
+ You can always find a link to any of the Spiritual Explorations posts by going to http://abundancetrek.com/sepostsaccess.html
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