Love --- Different Perspectives

[Loreena]

                                                                                         

                                                                   

 

 

 So I looked up on the internet for a few perspectives on love and this is what I found.

    Jojo Moyes - a novelist

     She says - "What love is depends on where you are in relation to it. Secure in it, it can feel as mundane and necessary as air – you exist within it, almost unnoticing. Deprived of it, it can feel like an obsession; all consuming, a physical pain. Love is the driver for all great stories: not just romantic love, but the love of parent for child, for family, for country. It is the point before consummation of it that fascinates: what separates you from love, the obstacles that stand in its way. It is usually at those points that love is everything."

 

Catherine Wybourne - Benedictine nun

She says, "Love is more easily experienced than defined. As a theological virtue, by which we love God above all things and our neighbours as ourselves for his sake, it seems remote until we encounter it enfleshed, so to say, in the life of another – in acts of kindness, generosity and self-sacrifice. Love's the one thing that can never hurt anyone, although it may cost dearly. The paradox of love is that it is supremely free yet attaches us with bonds stronger than death. It cannot be bought or sold; there is nothing it cannot face; love is life's greatest blessing. "

Julian Baggini - philosopher and writer

He says, "The answer remains elusive in part because love is not one thing. Love for parents, partners, children, country, neighbour, God and so on all have different qualities. Each has its variants – blind, one-sided, tragic, steadfast, fickle, reciprocated, misguided, unconditional. At its best, however, all love is a kind a passionate commitment that we nurture and develop, even though it usually arrives in our lives unbidden. That's why it is more than just a powerful feeling. Without the commitment, it is mere infatuation. Without the passion, it is mere dedication. Without nurturing, even the best can wither and die."

 

Philippa Perry -  psychotherapist

 She says

"Unlike us, the ancients did not lump all the various emotions that we label "love" under the one word. They had several variations, including:

Philia which they saw as a deep but usually non-sexual intimacy between close friends and family members or as a deep bond forged by soldiers as they fought alongside each other in battle. Ludus describes a more playful affection found in fooling around or flirting. Pragma is the mature love that develops over a long period of time between long-term couples and involves actively practising goodwill, commitment, compromise and understanding. Agape is a more generalised love, it's not about exclusivity but about love for all of humanity. Philautia is self love, which isn't as selfish as it sounds. As Aristotle discovered and as any psychotherapist will tell you, in order to care for others you need to be able to care about yourself. Last, and probably least even though it causes the most trouble, eros is about sexual passion and desire. Unless it morphs into philia and/or pragma, eros will burn itself out.

Love is all of the above. But is it possibly unrealistic to expect to experience all six types with only one person. This is why family and community are important."

Jim Al-Khalili -  a theoretical physicist and science writer

He says, "Love is chemistry. Biologically, love is a powerful neurological condition like hunger or thirst, only more permanent. We talk about love being blind or unconditional, in the sense that we have no control over it. But then, that is not so surprising since love is basically chemistry. While lust is a temporary passionate sexual desire involving the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and oestrogen, in true love, or attachment and bonding, the brain can release a whole set of chemicals: pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin. However, from an evolutionary perspective, love can be viewed as a survival tool – a mechanism we have evolved to promote long-term relationships, mutual defence and parental support of children and to promote feelings of safety and security."

 

                                                                  

 

 

Feel free to chime in with your thoughts.

Edited April 2, 2017 by Loreena

[Nahm]

Love is the experience of our connection. 

[Guest Annetta]

 

[Shane597]

That is a lot of perspectives. 

[Simon Zackrisson]

Great. I was about to just start a thread out of cynical curiosity about what love really is, in the classical sense of you starting to love someone romantically. And here you are, having created a thread about it yesterday.

I wanted to pose the question if the all the classical heartbreaks people have, is simply a matter of being in scarcity. This meaning, that you basically don't get alot of opportunities with your preferred partner.

The cynical notion that all we do think and feel, is through the veil of instincts for survival and reproduction. That what love really is, is the settling for someone, because you subconsciously feel you have no other choices. It may sound crass, and it does i agree, but it feels to me like it is a logical law. That, under the bullshit emotions and rationalizations, what we are hard-wired to do, is this. S and R, survival - reproduction.

I don't really find pleasure in this, although imo very true, perspective. I'm the kind of guy that loved to see love as pure and true, I feel I got hurt quite alot from this, hehe fucking love. I still feel it, but it is now accompanied with increasing understanding about how the mating dance goes between the sexes.

Yes, it does make sense that the narcotic romantical attachment for someone could serve as a ensuring factor for the offspring. But this feels more true when we are older, more mature. I'm more thinking of this irrational love that can just engulf you often quite spontaneously, often when we're still young. 

 

Quote

Some closing thoughts about PICKUP.

I am really interested in pickup, haven't done it for long, but it really speaks to me. Now don't get me wrong, I don't identify as a PUA (Yet.) but I will probably get there. What I like about it, is that if done correctly, it is true "love". lol. What I mean is, you treat the cat like a cat, and not like a dog even though you would like to treat the cat like a dog cus it makes you feel happy. You unselfishly communicate and act in a way which is appreciated, and I don't like to look at this being manipulative. I mean yes, abso-fucking-lutely it is manipulative, but everything we humans do is manipulative. Just like females manipulate the fucking hell out of shit. Just like males do.

But I resonate with positive manipulation, the Win - Win situation. This kind of pickup I resonate with. Empathy. How would I be able to have most fun, if I was a girl and was approached by some stud.

 

[WaveInTheOcean]

Quote

 

Jim Al-Khalili -  a theoretical physicist and science writer

He says, "Love is chemistry. Biologically, love is a powerful neurological condition like hunger or thirst, only more permanent. We talk about love being blind or unconditional, in the sense that we have no control over it. But then, that is not so surprising since love is basically chemistry. While lust is a temporary passionate sexual desire involving the increased release of chemicals such as testosterone and oestrogen, in true love, or attachment and bonding, the brain can release a whole set of chemicals: pheromones, dopamine, norepinephrine, serotonin, oxytocin and vasopressin. However, from an evolutionary perspective, love can be viewed as a survival tool – a mechanism we have evolved to promote long-term relationships, mutual defence and parental support of children and to promote feelings of safety and security."

 

this is scientific dogmatism at its absolute highest. wow, what a naive materialistic view on life:) Funny how I would have agreed fully with him for 2+ years ago, but we all change i guess:>

Edited April 3, 2017 by WaveInTheOcean

[WaveInTheOcean]

http://www.movemequotes.com/13-deep-osho-quotes/