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he Art and Science of Unconditional Love

The Art and Science of Unconditional Love by Brother Veritus

"I will conduct my experiments on the magnetic forces of the lodestone at the selfsame shrine where my fellow-scientist, St. Francis, performed his experiments on the magnetic forces of love." 
[Roger Bacon upon entering the Franciscan Order of Friars Minor]

(Posted on 8/16/98)

Science is defined as "a knowledge or a system of knowledge covering general truths or the operation of general laws especially as obtained and tested through scientific method"(1), or by principles or procedures. There are practical sciences pursued mostly outside academia or the corporate or scientific world. Some are crafts or occupations such as carpentry. This, as well as other practical skills and trades, may fall into an artistic category according to the degree of creativity and beauty displayed. Among others is, of course, healing. To succeed at it requires knowledge, development of the practitioner, experience and innate abilities. On the other hand, unconditional love, or the love attributed to the Godhead, falls into a different category: the feeling or emotional side, not the mental one. For this reason, it may not be seeing as a science, but it does meet the definition of one, if one looks at it closely.

The achievement of unconditional love requires knowingness which is an awareness born out of practicing with devotion proven and tested spiritual methods, such as meditation, and by dwelling in lofty thoughts. These methods were and are being given unto us by enlightened individuals ahead of us on the Path, similarly to the way scientific knowledge is based on the work of previous scientists and researchers. The mystical methods and practices have pointed the Way to the student through the masters' viewpoint and from their personal mystical experiences. Even though individuals exhibit true love among themselves in some cases, here it is important to clarify that unconditional love is quite different from personal attachments mistakenly interpreted as love and far from the all-encompassing unconditional love, or, shall we say, the love of the Heavenly Mother/Father for all of its creation.

As with any science, unconditional love requires not only mental and spiritual practice and study but constant personal practice for the love of nature: the love for the skies, the seas, the gentle breeze on our heads and shoulders, the waves of tides, the blades of grass being swayed by the breeze, the colorful wild flowers renewed by the misty fog of the mountain, the lovely rain that refreshes plants and ground, the creeping brook, the rocks and animals, the birds singing. It also requires the practice of love for all peoples independent of the color of their skin, their race, religion, sexual preferences, viewpoints, legal status and so. All divisions among men are man-made. Separation is lack of love. Most people claim toleration and kindness to members of a different race. In practice, only few can really see foreigners as themselves(2). But it is not until we see other people as ourselves and mirror in them our own nature and emotions, and respect them as we want them to respect us that we can truly "draw near to the heart of God"(3) and be ascended into divine status. It is not enough to "think" or say we are good. It is only until we prove it to ourselves through our actions that we truly are good.

This divine love can be expressed mathematically and sensed electro magnetically but humankind has not achieved yet this level of sophisticated technology to make use of it in the building of devices sensitive to this magnetic force. Just as a computer software code is structured, the final expression of love is a top level command of a vast array of low level processes that take place at the spiritual, emotional, mental and physical bodies and through cellular memories that are interconnected to multidimensional planetary and galactic grids. Whatever the case may be, that is the way it resides in the mind and heart of the Supreme Architect of the Universe since God geometrizes and abridges its vast creation into a simple formula. Everything can be reduced to a number or a pattern. From this viewpoint, it is a true science yet to be explored.

Why an Art?

Love is an art in its creation and manifestation, any lover intuitively knows that. So the application of inner love to the world and materials around the lover makes the application worthwhile. The more you love, the more you express love for the benefit of others, to help and heal. Believe me, there will never be enough love in the world, since the world is always hungry for it. As an artist or writer, for instance, you can never achieve true inspiration and expression if there is no love in your heart.

How to Achieve Unconditional Love

As humans we were conceived primarily in the Creator's mind with mind and emotions. The mind, or mental body, is the link to our physical body. To connect ourselves to the spiritual body or Âme force, it is required the use of the emotional body, astral body or psychic body, known in Martinist circles as fluidic force or plastic envelop. It is the spiritual body that connects us with divinity and its unconditional love. So we have to work on our emotional body and its emotional drives to catch a glimpse of the vaster realization of perfection that is constantly linked and in communion with the soul or perfected spiritual body.

These emotional drives and washing tides of emotions that have come to us during meditation or when tragedy struck us, need to be directed and focused by the use of the mental body which is the onlooker, analyzer and guide in the process. There is a reason why reason exists. She bridges us through words and mental processes to the spiritual Truth that cannot be described but felt in the heart, its only abode and point of radiance to the world. The mind is the direct observer of the process but not the knower. Concentration of thought comes from the mind but love from the heart, and the first step to get to it and become knower is to make mental introspection and evaluation of our lives and actions through our minds. The mind makes up the first realization through philosophical digressions, then the heart takes over. Otherwise, the stirred-up and uncommitted emotions, selfish and untamed, will show an uncontrollable and fancy nature, full of contradictions, folly and excessive pride. Your external conditions mirror your inner being. By healing yourself through balance and becoming aware of inner fears and struggle, you help others(4). Know Thyself.

In this journey to unconditional love you need not mentally acquire vast metaphysical or mundane knowledge and titles: just reason well enough to direct emotions and apply empathy towards others or feel others from within. This is the simple beauty of it--and, for most people, its toughest difficulty, if one looks at it from the other side of the coin-- . Love with a spontaneous outpouring love. Be sincere to yourself, trust your feelings and overcome fears and the negative culture imposed to you by societal biases and prejudices. Be brave. Think and act rightfully. Return to the innocence of a child which does not need to know "too much", or know good and evil in order to feel happiness.

If you are caught up in the sort-of-guilty and tedious mental repetition of "I need to love others, I need to love others" but cannot click on to it, less in abstract ideas of unconditional love or seeing unconditional love in nature; if you need something to touch and to whom express and practice love with positive feedback and reinforcement, someone that you know expresses unconditional love for sure, then you may just practice seeing it in the eyes of a lovely household pet such as a cat or a dog, if you or a friend of yours have one. Since animals are closer to nature than humans, they may serve you as a bridge or link to her. See how the animal expresses love through body language, with impulses to jump in your arms and be caressed, with his immersion in the moment, his unconditional love towards you. See that love in those calm, vast eyes. God is manifesting his/her love to you through those eyes as you may express it to others through yours.

It is via emotions that one can know God because God manifests through life and one experiences life only by means of emotions which are the ultimate judge and motivator of our actions. Feeling unconditional love and know God is but the same thing because one leads into the other and only when one dwells in this love within, one can feel the God of our hearts, not as an abstract taught-from-without idea but as a true realization. This direct knowledge, inexpressible through words even though we tried here to describe it, can be represented symbolically in the tree of life by the son or sun in Sephiroth 6, Tiphereth, the Christed One. It is a state of being in which love manifests unconditionally and in which, at times, causes you to feel a rapture sublime, an altered state, a rapport, a direct feeling, a flash of perception, a beauty that physical eyes cannot see but spiritual ones, a sense of becoming elated with joyful energy, an acceptance of All That Is for what it is, be it good or not-so-good, a love that knows no bounds. If you abide in this truth, then this state won't be just a flash but a permanent one. Then you will see and feel the love of and for nature and its beauty and will behold love and acceptance in others, even from other cultures, and the love you send them in a whirling spiraling motion comes back multiplied, bountifully returns --by the way, hate also follows the same law, it also attracts and comes around multiplied-- . Master Jesus once said: "Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." And in so doing, and in loving thy neighbor as thyself (5), marvelous things will be bestowed upon you.

As a graceful appreciation for this teaching, let's bow our heads and say a mental prayer for others in need and to heal our Mother Earth.