We constantly hear that God is love. that's an abstraction. That which mankind calls God is an active force and it would be much closer to the mark to say that God is someone loving someone. When we work from a point of love we are working from a very solid foundation. Learn to love yourself and your uniqueness, just as you are right now. Learn to love others and then learn to love your world. by doing this you are loving God, whether you know it or not.

Forget everything you have ever been told about God and find out for yourself. With this very solid foundation of love we can begin the journey.

encompassed in love, release the past. let go of the child, the adolescent, the young adult that you were. let go of those who hurt you in the past. Let go of the clinging to any happiness in the past that makes your present miserable by comparison. let go of clinging to anything in the past, not because there is anything intrinsically wrong with it, but because reaching for the future is much more productive. Especially when this is done with great anticipation.

Of course, we all know that we should love ourselves. But how? That little voice in our head says "What a load of sentimental junk. What a cliche." Well, the truth is a sentimental cliche simply because it is the truth, and the first step on the spiritual adventure does begin with love. it might be more impressive, or satisfy the negative ego if I told you that the first step begins with covering yourself with mustard, giving your right buttock three slaps and crying "Tally-ho!" Surely you haven't heard that before. It is definitely not a cliche; and it also does not work.

The truth is, if you do not love yourself, you will not be ready to let yourself be loved by anyone. And that includes your God'. Without loving others, how can you love the most important 'other' there is?

What may not be so obvious is that love is not only an emotion, but also a state of being. What's more, it is this state that transforms and transcends all energy. it is the one feeling that is omniversal. It transforms all levels of consciousness. It transforms hatred and despair. It transforms guilt and fear. It truly makes the world go 'round.

Not allowing yourself to love is being negative to the point of denying the spirit of God within you its loving function. Following the false, negative ego, we have convinced ourselves that we cannot get hurt or disappointed if we take no action. it creates unkept and broken promises. Negative ego tells you that love hurts. Even if you discover how available love really is, the negative ego advises, "Avoid humiliation at all costs. Avoid rejection." All the barriers go up and we refuse to meet love half-way. Or we feel we have shut love out for so long that it's too late now, or we don't deserve it.

If you discover just how easy love is, do not run away. Stop punishing yourself. Do not postpone love. Start loving now.

There is a saying the wisdom of which only becomes apparent with the process of time. it is well known but seldom followed: "It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." Which memory do you cling to? The love or the loss?

A MEDITATOR'S PRAYER

I OFTEN GROW TIRED OF READING AND HEARING SO MUCH - IN YOU LIES

ALL I REALLY WISH OF DESIRE. LET ALL TEACHERS FALL SILENT. LET

EVERY CREATURE HOLD ITS PEACE BEFORE YOU. SPEAK TO ME YOURSELF,

AND SPEAK ALONE

"IMITATION OF CHRIST"