Homehttp://www.soundofthought.com/home/2012-02-14T21:18:07ZSquarespacehttp://www.soundofthought.com/home/2012/2/14/what-is-love.htmlpete2012-02-14T21:03:08Z2012-02-14T21:03:08ZSomething that has always baffled me, throughout my years of contemplation, is the essence of love.  What does it mean that God is Total Love?  If we are his creations, why must he love us unconditionally?  I've created a lot of things in my life that I'm not even remotely fond of, so what responsibility does our creator have to love us? Is love the opposite of fear?  If so, what does that entail?  What is this love thing anyway and how can I experience it?

In his sermons, my father often talked about the literal translation of the word love, and how the etymology of it started with the words la and ef, or 'light from within'.  So, if love is light from within, does this imply that love is the Divine Spark within every conscious being?  Is it a feeling of oneness that emanates from inside, or is it recognition of God within a person, place, or thing?  Is it the acceptance of what is, and the surrender of your ego to the will of God?  Is it the abnegation of all that you are not and the remembrance of all that you are?

Of course I could never pigeon-hole the idea of love into a specific definition, and I doubt anyone could if they were honest with themselves.  Love is all of the things I mentioned, and much more.  It is an experience that surpasses all understanding, because to experience love completely we will have removed all vestiges of fear within our minds and within our hearts.  I know of no one who has done that, and so I have yet to meet someone who has completely experienced Love.

But I do know this: love is a feeling....a sensation so powerful and all-encompassing that it cannot be known.  It can only be experienced, and then only when we have allowed ourselves to truly remember God.


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