Love is such a broad topic. I think it is the most energetic force in the universe. The opposite of love is fear. This love is a greater love than we can fully grasp. Pure love is one without judgment, without conditions, and without motive. Love encompasses respect and compassion but it is the greater element. To love someone is to truly accept them as they are. This applies to self-love as well. Truly accept yourself as you are. Offer love and acceptance and forgiveness to every part of yourself. It is necessary to do this first to a great extent before you give out love to others.

Love is also about change. Love will always offer a better way of doing something or a way of being in exchange for one that is not working. Love encourages us to the greatest arena of our imagination and life. It encourages everyone equally. It offers acceptance equally. As you open to ?Love? it begins to fill your whole being. Then it begins to fill your whole sphere of influence; your friends, your family, your students, your associates, the people that you encounter. One person or creature offering out pure love begins an overflow of energy that can affect the whole world, and the whole universe. It doesn't sound possible but love is such a big force that wave after wave of love can affect great change starting with you.

Love transforms fear, which contain all the elements that vibrate at low frequencies; fear, terror, anger, hatred, rage, envy, jealousy, grief, sadness, hostility, disrespect, disgust, and alienation. Love heals. It takes away the hurt and transforms any residual that remains. Love purifies everything that it touches. But once it comes in it never leaves you nor forsakes you. It continues to purify to the highest vibration possible. It affects change because it purifies so deeply, and so completely. It is capable of touching every area of your life and others. Love does not force. Love just keeps loving. With love great joy is allowed to come in.

If you don't feel that you have love in your life, start offering love first to yourself. Offer yourself to love. Let it have every thought, every hurt, every dark, bad moment. It will receive everything that you give it without condemnation and offer great compassion.

Next allow the people that come to offer kindness, and compassion to touch you. Let them hug you. Hear their words. Let words of love come into your thoughts without rejecting them. Change any thinking that has been telling you that you are unworthy of love or kindness. Begin to receive the small shows of affection. The hugs, the smiles, the gentle touches. Children offer unconditional love. They are usually happy to offer you hugs and affection. Animals are a good source of affection and love.

Volunteering is a very good way to extend love out. Practice kindness. Imagine how past kindly loving guides would love them. How would Jesus love this person? What would he think about them? What would he say to them? How would he feel about this person or about me? How would Gandhi act in this situation? How would Mother Teresa behave towards them?

If you have not read about the lives of these great kindly beings, read everything that you can. The New Testament in the bible Specifically John is a great place to start. Gandhi The Man is very good book. As is The Celestine Prophecy series, Conversations With God series.

If you are open to it strangers may surprise you with an act of kindness and love. Very often spontaneous moments offer great warmth and love. Do not reject this. Many times we are afraid of the other and do not offer affection to someone that is hurting. One way to receive more love is to reach out to someone who is hurting. A stranger or an acquaintance could greatly use kindness and love from you. In that moment there is a great exchange of love. You have acted as an instrument of love.

Praying about love and asking how to be a more loving person can give you great comfort and insight. Examples will be shown to you. Moments will be open to you in which you can choose to give love and to receive it. The more times that you embrace those moments in a loving manner, you will begin to open to the subtlety of love. Acts of loving come in the small quiet places to the great big dramatic moments. Each time if you pray and meditate in your heart and ask how would ?love? react here you will receive insight as to how you could act to express love.

It is not always easy especially when you are dealing with a person who is cranky, grouchy, unjust or nasty. You have to look beyond the criticism, beyond their unpleasantness and see that more often than not they are afraid. Perhaps that person has gotten to this moment of crankiness, and being mean or controlling because they learned that behavior. They don't know how to be nice. Or they have been hurt so many times that they have forgotten how to drop their defenses. They are stuck. You can help them by accepting them as they are. Offering love and kindness in spite of how they behave.

Love is a slow, patient energy. It does not win by attacking. It does not force. It remains consistent whether it is night or day, a good mood or a bad mood, acceptable behavior or unacceptable behavior. copyright 2006 Yoga Kat