"Love is an abstract concept"

[Smurfinstein]

I work often with a teacher who's really on about love. All the time, love, love, love... "what does heart say?" Etc.

For the past 11 days, she's been having me do an exercise of holding my hand over my heart chakra, visualizing the word love and saying the word love for 11 breaths, and, purportedly, cultivating and feeling "love" emanating from heart.

She's had me do this before, and it's always become a struggle (I know, in the struggle lies the lesson, right?) But, I committed to the practice. I find that it becomes a really intellectual exercise for me. 

First, I try as hard as I can to pull up what I think love feels like- my kids, my dog, a stunning vista... I scrimp and scrape and pull it from wherever I can. But, I find, I eventually resort to a really intellectual exercise of literally drawing the word, letter by letter, in my mind again and again. Sometimes in script, sometimes in print, and sometimes even with a heart in place of the O. I say the word over and over, wrapping my mouth around each sound, trying it intensely, trying it with ease...

But, at the end of the 11 days (we're at 14 now- I was holding on for a "click"), still... the thing that keeps popping into my mind is "love is an abstract concept."

When making the assignment, I think she expected it to be pretty turnkey. "Spend 11 breaths every morning and evening cultivating and focusing on love and, of course, things will grow and change!" Instead I've got 11 days of getting to know every curve and angle and sound nuance of the letters L, O, V and E, and feeling more disconnected from it than ever.

Now, I could tell you WHY I think this is the case for me (raised by a narcissist, ended up marrying one, love isn't a feeling it's an obligation to another, it's a role you need to fill, etc. Blahty blah...)

But, my question... what IS love, really? Is it important to engender? How does one KNOW love (please don't sing Foreigner to me, because believe me, I've been singing it non-stop for the past 14 days!) What's the role of love in all of this?

 

[Truth Addict]

Love is the opposite of fear, and it includes fear.

To love is to have no fear.

What are you afraid of? Let that go.

Edited September 30, 2019 by Truth Addict

[Nahm]

On 9/30/2019 at 9:36 AM, Smurfinstein said:

(raised by a narcissist, ended up marrying one, love isn't a feeling it's an obligation to another, it's a role you need to fill, etc. Blahty blah...)

That’s just a belief, derived from thought, perception, & sensation. 

Tell me that story, in far great detail - but without referencing your own thoughts, perception, or sensations. 

[Leo Gura]

@Smurfinstein What is something in life you love?