Who among us has not experienced closing off and shutting down our loving when something happens that we judge or find hurtful or upsetting. We withdraw loving somehow thinking that to keep experiencing it would somehow indicate approval for something that we disagree with or see as not caring or even humane. We also can mistakenly view loving as a feeling, when in fact, I would offer, it is a choice to create and maintain a positive intention of connection with God/Spirit/the source.
The problem is that closing down our loving primarily affects ourselves. If our own experience of loving is in fact our own connection and participation with the energy of Spirit, then stopping the loving, stops our experience of that connection, that oneness with God (or reduces it to the extent that we withhold our loving). We cannot truly be separated because we are part of the Godhead, but when we disconnect in our consciousness, we no longer have the experience of that reality. That joy, peace, comfort, and upliftment is interrupted or lessened. Further, it is that reality of our divinity, which is a source that can heal and expand beyond any hurt or judgement and restore us to our own portable paradise.
So how to we maintain the connection, the loving when it is most challenged by people, situations, or actions in the world? There is a useful technique I have used and shared with my clients which frames the process in a different way. We can let go of seeing the process an evaluation of the situation or action as something worthy of our approbation. It is really not about what is going on “out there”. In truth, the more loving we can maintain and direct out there, the more likely transformation can be effected by this most powerful force in the universe.
Instead, an alternate way of working with negativity, is to imagine ourselves as a fountain of loving and light. The source is Spirit and the flow is our keeping the connection with it, allowing Spirit to flow through us and nurture as it does so. Like a fountain that we might see in the world, the water is not stopped by what appears in front of it. The fountain keeps flowing no matter what. We as keepers of the fountain can choose to shut it down, but that is an arbitrary and non-related experience to what is present outside of us.
It is OUR CHOICE to keep the nurturing water of spirit’s loving flowing through us, when in fact we need it most—-when we are dealing with challenges situations. We can in fact choose to turn up the flow. We can do nurturing things, meditate, see or remember the beauty in the world, spend time in nature, and develop a myriad of strategies that enhance the connection and thus cushion us from any negative effects of experiences that are not compatible or our preference.
First and foremost though, is remembering that is our fountain, our connection, and our choice to keep it flowing, and to find ways of connecting more deeply with that source of the loving.
And just imagine a world where all of us take personal responsibility to keep our fountains of love flowing NO MATTER WHAT.
In what circumstance do you tend to shut down your loving? How might you keep your loving flowing in a challenging situation?