Love is the most powerful force in the universe.

We are designed to love. Love is both biological and spiritual. Love is the most powerful force in the Universe. With it, anything is possible. Stories abound about the healing power of love all over the world. They’re the kind of feel-good stories that make you pause during the day and realize that there is so much more to life than our day-to-day routines and responsibilities, and that there is a greater power in our lives. Sometimes they even make you cry.

💚 "This is my simple religion. There is no need for temples; no need for complicated philosophy. Our own brain, our own heart is our temple; the philosophy is kindness."

The Dalai Lama

The energy of love is one of the highest energies out there, and acts of love raise the consciousness of the planet. They set an example for all to follow and aspire to. They teach compassion, forgiveness, tolerance and peace. And they make life worth living.

The highest form of love is unconditional love. Unconditional love does not mean love without limits or bounds. It means, "I offer you my love freely without condition." This means that when we offer our love, we offer it without expectation of repayment. It is important to offer this type of unconditional love in our relationships.

Otherwise, we are offering love with "strings attached." This creates power and control imbalances. Unconditional love means loving someone through hardships, mistakes, and frustrations. It is what every meaningful, lasting relationship is made of.

Loving things in your life will make you a more spiritual being. Both Buddha and Jesus taught, ultimately, one thing: Love. Love for everything and anything. The more you love, the closer thou art to know thyself, and the closer thou art to God.

You can be an atheist and still have love fill your very self, and therefore fill your surroundings, thus, you become one with your life, or, your karma, which means that the more you love others (things, people), the more others will love you, it’s that simple.

💚 "Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends." 1 Corinthians 13:4-8

Even if you don’t love life itself, through loving things/beings in your life you find meaning, purpose. For example: You choose your dream job because that is what you Love to do. You choose whatever path you choose in life because that is the path that you Love. Love is the very purpose of living, and like I said, it doesn’t matter what you love, so long as it exists, and as long as you love, your life is not wasted.

When you love someone/something, unconditionally, it gives your life meaning, it gives you the will to live positively, and that’s one of the greatest treasures love can give, a positive, healthy attitude towards life, and of life towards you.

💚 “Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” ― Rumi

Love unconditionally as much as you can, expand your “circle of love” to the farthest it can reach. And you’ll find. The more you send your love to others, the more you’ll appreciate the love you’re giving, making you also love yourself unconditionally.

In the Christian bible passage 1 John 4:16 we learn:

💚 “God is Love.. and he that remains in love.. remains in union with God.. and God remains in union with him."

So we can see that not only is everything in the cosmos a reflection of the unified field of consciousness (aka God), we will eventually realize that field is full of love - divine, infinite love.

There are 4 Simples Rules of Love

According to the Buddha, “love is one of the paths to full spiritual liberation.” Love nourishes our spiritual, physical and emotional health. To cultivate a loving life, we can practice the 4 Rules of Love.

1. Love Your Self

Before we can practice holding and sharing a vibration of loving-kindness, we have to learn what it means. Self-love is a state of appreciation for you - for yourself - for all the things you have done or will do. It doesn't matter what you have accomplished, what you might own or even what you do in life. You are important because you exist and you are a child of the universe. One of your greatest responsibilities while here on spaceship earth is to learn to love yourself and to know you are enough. How you love yourself is how you teach the others to love you. I understand this is easier said than done. Many of us have heard the famous saying: change yourself to change the world. Well one of the best ways we can do is by learning how to be kind to our selves.

💚 You can search throughout the entire universe for someone who is more deserving of your love and affection than you are yourself, and that person is not to be found anywhere. You, yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection. - Buddha

Dr. David Hamilton has a trick for being kind to yourself. I call it: Give to You. So give yourself what you really want - maybe not all the time ok, everything in moderation. Spoil you. Treat you a massage. Treat you to a day off work. Treat you in a way that makes your feel good. Sometimes we don't have the resources to treat ourselves to what we imagine. Maybe there's something you love to do but have not given yourself the time for a while. Give yourself the time. Think to yourself:

"I am an awesome and wonderful divine being. I am deeply loved, I love my self and I deserve this"

2. Love Others as Your Self

As often as you can try to see the best your human family. Try to see the best in the person in front of you. See the best in your family, your friends, your work colleagues, the people you come into contact with throughout the course of your day, people at meetings, clients, children, even people you regard as enemies and people who have hurt you in the past.

The Buddha teaches us:

💚 Love the whole world as a mother loves her only child. Love is a gift of one’s inner most soul to another so both can be whole.

In the Christian Bible, Jesus teaches:

💚 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. John 13:34

In Judaism, the Torah teaches

💚 Love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19:18

In the Hadith, Prophet Muhammed teaches:

💚 None of you will believe until you love for your brother what you love for yourself. Hadith 13

The Hindu writings teach us:

💚 This is the sum of duty; do naught onto others what you would not have them do unto you. (Mahabharata 5,1517)

The Native American commandments teach us:

💚 Honor All Your Relations.

We're all going to have challenging times in our lives. We're all going to have days where nothing goes right. But there is one thing we can control. We can always be kind. God knows we are trying our best. That's why God uses Her messengers to remind us of the importance of love and kindness.

• Love Thy Sister – the person whose political beliefs you do not agree with.

• Love Thy Brother – the homeless person sleeping on the sidewalk.

• Love Thy Elder – the person with a skin color that is different from yours.

• Love Thy Youth – the person with a gender identity you might not understand.

• Love Thy Human Family – the immigrant whose only crime is wanting a better life for their family.

• Love Thy Neighbor – the thousands around the world suffering from the effects of war, famine and tyranny.

3. Love Mother Nature

Compassion is compassion, regardless of whom, or what, it is directed towards. Everything on mother earth - including you - is nature. We are nature. Our bodies are made of air, of water, of earth, of fire, of stardust from the cosmos and of God's spirit.

💚 "All life is sacred and all creation related, what we do effects the whole universe, so let us walk in balance with Mother Earth and all her peoples" Smiling Bear

When we corrupt water and we drink it, we kill ourselves. When we pollute the air and breathe it, we kill ourselves. When we tarnish the land and eat food from it, we kill ourselves. To truly bring ourselves into harmony with the natural world, we must return to seeing ourselves - the human family - as part of nature. As we learn to love our selves and love our neighbors, we can begin to love our home.

💚 When the blood of your veins returns to the sea and the dust of your bones returns to the ground, maybe then will you remember that this earth does not belong to you, you belong to this earth.

4. Love The Creator, The Great Mystery, God of All That Is.

What does it mean to love God? In order to love God, we have to build a relationship like any other. God wants to spend time with us. There are many ways to spend time with God such as to pray, meditate, journal, fast or to sit with God's medicine. There are ways we can show God we care for God's creation when we are patient, kind, truthful, giving, humble, or compassionate.

God is not merely loving; at his core, God is love. God loves in the completeness and perfection of love. Love comes from God. God is its source. When we act to kind to our family, our friends or our neighbors, we are showing love for God.

💚 For God is love. -1 John 4:8