Is falling in love an expression of spirit or ego?
Falling in love
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 Netropath |
Falling in love |
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Posts: 4 (05/28/03 22:07:46) |
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Ponderer |
Re: Falling in love | ||
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Posts: 13 (05/28/03 22:26:19) |
When a wizard speaks of love, what he refers to is almost the oppositie of what we call love. To us, love is a highly personal feeling; to a wizard it is a universal force. Falling in love for us is a condition that eventually fades; a wizard doesn't fall in love because he is permanently in the flow of love itself. But the greatest difference has to do with attachment. Attachment arises whenever you say, "I love you because you're mine." This form of love is really an extension of the ego, which always thinks in terms of "I," "me," "mine."
Wizards do not see forms of love as higher or lower--that is the language of judgment, and wizards don't judge. "If your enemy walks past you and insults you," Merlin said, "that is an act of love. The impulse of love started in your enemy's heart, only to be turned into hatred when it passed through the screen of memory. Your past experiences cause the impulse of love to become warped or twisted as it rises to the surface, but make no mistake, any expression would be loving if you could meet it at its source." - Deepak Chopra, The Way of the Wizard |
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LightLizard |
Re: Falling in love | ||
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Posts: 338 (05/29/03 05:58:10) |
good choice of quotes, Ponderer.
so, could we say that 'falling in love' is an expression of spirit that may become a function of ego, dependant on the lover's day to day focus? love LL;) |
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Gnomey |
Re: Falling in love | ||
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Posts: 1039 (05/29/03 21:15:20) |
"The final lesson is about the true meaning of love. I have said before that fear is the self-imposed block to the awareness of love's presence. When fear is released, love is revealed. And yet the true experience of love is beyond anything you can now imagine. It lies past all the images and symbols you have made to obscure love's call. And yet it is closer than you know, closer than your breath or even the silent whisper of love's longing for itself. And what is the secret that love has whispered into your half-closed ear, the distant echo that has haunted you so? You are the very essence of Love. This very moment, just as you are, in spite of all the preconceived ideas you have of yourself, love claims you and accepts you."
"You have forgotten who you are because in your fear of losing love you have witheld that which is your foundation. Love by its very nature is a gift that is freely given. And yet this gift is know only as it is given again. Only when love is breathed from one heart to another is it fully experienced. When love is witheld it is forgotten, and because you and love were born together, you are forgotten with her. She lies hidden within you beside the still forgotten memory of your truest Self. Though asleep and dreaming, she awaits the dawn when her name is called and she is again brought back to life. And the awakening of love is your awakening as well, so intimately linked, all from giving freely that which you are: the full awareness of love's presence. But this awakening process requires that you give up all the ways you have tried to limit and contain her." "True, or unconditional, love is unaware of the strange demands you impose on your relationships. Love is the same for all. Your attempts to reserve love for specific relationships and then withold it from others is the very thing that has blocked your vision of love's presence. Give as love gives - just as the sun that gives its light to all who ask, or the sparrow that sings not for the one who listens, but for the song itself. When you give love, love is your reward. When you judge some people as worthy of your giving and other people as undeserving, then it is you who is undeserving; not because you have been judged by love but because you have forgotten love's law." "You, in your essence are the foundation of unconditional love. The water you give refreshes the whole universe, for you are not separate from one part of the universe but are intimately linked to all. Let your gift be free, then. Let it flow from you and wash over all those you see, all those who cross your path. Do not think that you cannot still have relationships that are more involved than others. Involvement has nothing to do with love. There will always be those in your life with whom you share the deeper pulse of your thoughts and those whom you do not. But the love you give is the same for each of them. It is but the recognition of the very same life of which you are continually reborn." "Love is a knowing, a pure understanding. It knows that all things are whole, regardless of their appearance or delusion, and it gives itself wholly, without judgement, without recognizing the difference between this relationship or that. It understands that there is only one real relationship and it is the one we all share, the Self that is beyond the thought or the idea of Love, the holy encounter of life with life. The secret of unconditional love is that we are all the same, holy beyond imagination. This is what the release of fear reveals. This is what you are all looking for. And this is what you will find when you open your heart to every element of creation." We sat there for a very long time without saying a word. The silence was overwhelming. I looked up at Teacher and thought I noticed a change. His face began to glow, I was sure of it. The Light radiated from him and all around him. Then it extended to include all of us. We were engulfed in the Light. I cannot describe what this is like because it is beyond anything the world can understand. Several of the women and attendants stood up from their chairs. One of them started jumping up in the air and another began laughing out loud. Soon we were all laughing and dancing, moving with the energy and sharing the Light. I could no longer tell the difference between myself and the others. In that instant I understood everything. I was teacher. I was the Light. I swam in the ocean of sameness and knew I would never leave again. - from 'Emissary of Light by James Twyman 
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Netropath |
Re: Falling in love | ||
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Posts: 4 (06/02/03 16:21:01) |
Thank you everyone, but I still don't really understand
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LightLizard |
Re: Falling in love | ||
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Posts: 338 (06/02/03 19:48:35) |
"Is falling in love an expression of spirit or ego? "
loving is an expression of spirit, a function of spirit. ego, in it's endless pursuit of control, trips spirit often... thus the expression 'falling in love.' what's to understand? love LL;) |
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kereyra |
falling, being, loving | ||
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Posts: 33 (06/05/03 21:49:08) |
Think of all the expressions related to love. We fall in love, we are in love, we love, etc. What's the difference? What are the similarities?
Falling in love is getting caught up in the rapture of a relationship / kinship / connection with another person. Falling is an act that is bound by nature; i.e. you're going to land sometime. It's short-lived, breath-taking for all its duration. Is it ego or spirit? Who knows. It could be a manifestation of ego because it could be all about loving who you are when you're falling in love, loving yourself like you don't get a chance to do so very often. It could be a manifestation of spirit, a connection beyond understanding. Who's to say what it is. Being in love is that state where there are still all sorts of things in a relationship to keep one smiling. A lot of it depends on how unconditional our love is, on how forgiving it is. Ego or spirit. Again, maybe both. Ego because it's still about feeling good. Spirit because it's a lot about understanding and accepting the other, and one's self when one is with the other. Loving... Love is what we strive for. Loving others, all others, unconditionally, no judgement, only acceptance, no forgiveness, only acceptance. Manifestation of ego or spirit? Spirit when it just IS. Ego when we pride ourselves on it...which begs the question...is it real? Netropath, welcome to the board. Since you're new here, let me repeat what I've said before. My words are only my thoughts, opinions...all borne from observation and soul-searching. |
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Gnomey |
Re: What is love? | ||
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Posts: 1039 (06/08/03 19:19:24) |
Interesting discussion, folks.
Kinda reminds me of an excellent talk by Osho - www.barnett.sk/software/o...kosh28.htm
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Lwishcraft |
Ego or Spirit? | ||
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Posts: 399 (06/11/03 09:12:59) |
Could love be either one, depending on the individuals focus? There is a love where one does not want to possess or control the object of the emotion? Spiritual love? It was rumored that JFK married Jackie for her pedigree while she married him for his money. Ego love? What kind of love is love of knowledge? The search for Wisdom? Dedication to finding one's own Path? My granddaughter "loved" a boy because he looked like a male model but had the personality of an angered slug. Ego? If defined, would we lose the Truth of Love? Why does poetry usually speak of tragic love? Why do most media forms replace Love with mere SEX these days? What happened to make holding fannies a better image of love than holding hands? Could we be entering the field of total EGO love rather than responding to more than the sex drive? Just questions, folks, just questions. The Real Maggie
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Gnomey |
Re: The Big L | ||
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Posts: 1039 (06/16/03 21:06:57) |
The Big L
Because this item of universal interest is so misunderstoood and misconstrued, it took a special extended investigation to reduce it to anywhere near a rational level. The following ROTE, passed to me by a friend, is at least a beginning. Once it is absorbed, it will expand as it is contemplated. "Love can't be taught, can't be bought. Love can't be learned. It is generated within the individual in response to an external stimulus. The individual has no control over this generation. Once initiated, it may be layered over or sublimated but never destroyed. Physical death has no effect upon the reality of its existence, as such energy is neither dependent upon nor a part of time-space." "It is a radiation that cannot be grasped and held onto. Instead it is perceived, experienced as it passes through the individual, who adds to it that additional portion which has been generated by this passing. The energy is thereby enhanced and the individual becomes a constant contributor and recipient thereof." With the heavy emphasis on sexual arousal and the myth of romance, it is not surprising that so many claim to experience what we may call the Big L in their relationships. Not so. The only way you can obtain it is through shared life experience, and even then there is no guarantee. On the other hand it will grow on you. You don't have to work at it, despite what the books say. Time is not a vital factor. The deeper, more intense the shared experience, the less time it takes. Other attractions are not necessarily destructive or valueless but they do fall into another category. The difference is that the Big L is indestructible and eternal, and never dependent on local habits and customs. Friendship, for example, might be construed as a shadow of the Big L, or at least a kissing cousin. The greatest problem lies in misidentification. We become entrapped into believing we have found the Big L, often with disastrous results, when the ideal is not adhered to by the 'loved' one. The most consistent and visible facet of the Big L is probably mother love. It meets the tests admirably, although it often gets heavily layered with protocol. Men find the Big L in other men and women in other women usually as a result of profound experience over some time, although extended experience does not automatically evoke the Big L. Yet when it does happen, sometime effortlessly and without conscious awareness, it is permanent in the full meaning of the word. If you wok together, play together, live together, fight, suffer, laugh, and team together, the probability is increased. The main characteristic of the Big L is that it does not diminish with physical death and you cannot extinguish it during physical life. Out of necessity, propriety, or for reasons beyond your control you may sublimate it, yet it will always be there, glowing quietly within you. Why the expression "till death us do part" became part of our culture is a mystery. Perhaps it was inserted so that the physical survivor would feel emotionally free to remarry and beget more offspring to further ensure the continuation of the species. Otherwise it makes no sense. The Big L is the Core Self at its finest distillation. From "Ultimate Journey" by Robert Monroe www.monroeinstitute.org/
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