Your task is not to seek love, but to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it. A Course In Miracles
Reading this quote elicited a loud “AMEN” from my spirit. In a flash it was revealed to me that to seek and find the barriers to Love within myself, and to dissolve them, was the main goal of my last few years of energy healing and spiritual work. I could see how I’ve evolved from being a walled-in soul, to someone who chooses to see her world from a place of Love. The work may take a lifetime, yet the feeling inside makes it worth it all.
Love or love?
We tend to confuse Love with the feeling of affection reserved for the chosen few we call lovers, family or friends. This is love. These relationships can be wonderful and nurturing, although often conditional. It is not the Love spoken of in COM or the Agape Love spoken of in scripture and spiritual teachings.
Why not seek Love? Can it be sought and found? Or is it like the air we breathe, waiting to be taken in at every breath? Scripture says, “God is Love.” It is unconditional and pure. I believe Love is the highest vibration of energy. To the measure we are open to Love, it flows in and around and through us in an abundant, never-ending supply.
So if Love is so wonderful, why do we create barriers to it?
As much as we think we desire Love, we fear it because the light of Love exposes us and shows us who we truly are. You may think I’m implying that we’ll see our dark side, and that may be so. What can be even scarier is to see the magnificence within, waiting for an opportunity to express itself. Love challenges us to open ourselves to itself within and around us, to allow it to change us in ways that may be at odds with our belief systems and habits.
And I can promise that Love will change you. Perhaps what it does is open us to a higher expression of ourselves, while letting go of what no longer serves the highest good. I once read that if you were to burn off a lifetime of thoughts, words and deeds, all that would remain was that which was made of Love. That led to some soul searching!
What are the barriers to Love?
Many. Here are some examples.
- We wall off our hearts to protect them from being hurt again.
- To varying degrees we “shut out” those who are different from us.
- We judge others and ourselves.
- We stay in the victim and blame mode.
- We oppress, victimize and violate others.
- We feel threatened and fear that Love will ask us to do something we may not want to do.
You get the idea. These constructs of our minds, as attached to them as we may be, act as barriers that separate us from our true selves and others. They keep Love out.
“But I don’t want to get hurt!”
Nobody does! But the simple truth is that if you have a wall up against pain, it is up against love. And the pain is still there, locked inside. Let it go. The joys of experiencing an open heart far outweigh the hurts that sometimes come our way.
Note: None of this means you have to open yourself to abuse of any kind or stay in it, that’s not love.
So start seeking the barriers within yourself and let your walls come down.
- Don’t be afraid. Realize you will receive much more than you are letting go.
- Start with little things. Allow yourself to feel and experience the wonders of nature, even a tiny flower in all its glory. Love made that.
- Realize we are all in this together. There are six billion of us, along with multitudes of living creatures on a planet hurtling through space at thousands of miles per hour. Love holds us together.
- Consider someone you have hardened your heart against. Can you soften just a bit as you think of this person? Perhaps send a blessing? You’ll be amazed at how relieved your body and mind begins to feel. Love is expansive, walls are constrictive.
- You must dissolve the barriers to loving yourself. So much of what we project onto others is really about what’s going on inside ourselves. Love yourself and love for others will flow easily.
As you bring the wall down, or even allow cracks to form, Love will start rushing in. It has always been there waiting.
” There is nothing but love, all else is illusion .” CiM
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