LOVE IS RECOGNIZING THE DIVINE SELF
Love flows when we recognize our own divine Self in another. It flows when we are able to see beyond (or behind) the egoic mask to the real Self, which is exquisitely lovable and which evokes love. All the qualities we love in another are qualities of the divine Self, of Essence: compassion, understanding, wisdom, kindness, love, patience, and inner strength.
These are not qualities of the ego, which is innately selfcentered and focused on its needs. Where are the wisdom, compassion, and love in that? Is it any wonder that when we are identified with the ego, we don’t feel very lovable? The ego is not very lovable, but our true nature, or Essence, is; and when we are aligned with Essence, even our ego and the egos of others are experienced as lovable.
The ego doesn’t know how to love, but the Divine in us—Essence—does. Essence loves. It’s also wise, understanding, kind, compassionate, sensitive, patient, and caring. Anything you would want a lover or another human being to be comes from Essence, not from the ego.
The love that the ego has to offer is tainted by self-interest. “What’s in it for me?” lingers in the background of every interaction between those who are aligned with their egos. This is not love, but manipulation disguised as love or kindness. It may be better than undisguised manipulation, but it’s still not love in its purest sense. The ego and love can’t inhabit the same space. One must go.
Pure love can only come from Essence, which is unadulterated goodness. Essence loves because it feels good to love and for no other reason. Essence loves because it is its nature to love; we love because it is our nature to love.
From Loving in the Moment