What is Love?

[Siemens]

Originally Posted by dybmh

What about kindness, or charity? Those in my view fit too. Have you ever been kind, volunteered your time to help someone, or given something away ( money, food, old clothes )?
Even doing something nice for yourself qualifies as self love.

This is true under some circumstances but not under all circumstances.
One can be kind or caring without loving someone.

[Siemens]

Originally Posted by Unseeking Seeker

Which comes first ... the chicken or the egg? Happiness or love?
A state of happiness arises from what? Hormonal chemistry?

I think we don’t have a chicken-egg-problem. Neither is happiness the root of love nor reversed. It’s a question of categorization:
Is love a form of happiness or is happiness a form of love?
True is the former.

Love is primarily a pleasant emotion (based on the experience of unity). And pleasant emotions are forms of happiness.

[Siemens]

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

I do believe in respect. And that isn't something you should just casually give away for free to anyone.

Yes this is true. Some people don’t deserve to be respected and we shouldn’t respect everyone.

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

It's human nature to make a big deal out of anything. I don't believe in love.

Your soul has decided to renounce love in your current life (except parental). Therefore it’s natural that you are cynic (and I guess frustrated). But temporary relinquishment of love is an intense form of development.

[Siemens]

Originally Posted by Rawnrr

Your question is "What is love?", and that is what I attempted to answer for you.
When you talk about emotions and feeling good, that can be an experience of love. There is a difference of what a thing is and the experience of that thing from a human/physical level.

Okay, than love IS a condition of unity that is experienced by as a peasant emotion/feeling. Or love IS just a specific condition of the soul that can be experienced even without unity.

My original definition wasn’t wrong per se. You could either say love is the experience/feeling and has a physical or energetic basis or you could say love is that basis and is experienced as a feeling.

[Siemens]

Originally Posted by Petey

I'm very suspect of the idea of love. I'm not sure it even exists, or at least exists as people imagine it. It seems that all I see is something that could be called the effect of love. The "love" itself is feeling a person has that leads them to do things for the benefit of the person / thing they are in love with.
If they love another person, they build a life with them, support them, have sex, etc.
If they love their job, they put in all the effort.
If they love the Earth, they behave in ways to protect it.

But in all of those cases, the person is getting something in return. Even if it's "just" the satisfaction of doing good for that other entity.

I agree!

Originally Posted by Petey

I know there is some kind of biological activity that is associated with "being in love." People's hormones get all out of whack when they are in love with each other.
A mother's biology changes when she gives birth and bonds with her child. But beyond that kind of intense bodily change

Yes, the conscious experience of love must have a physical basis. My view is similar but I don’t think that processes in the brain (hormones) produce the feeling of love but rather processes in the soul. I believe in general that every state of consciousness roots in the soul.

Originally Posted by Petey

I know this sounds awfully clinical, even harsh, but I think there is something greater than love, and perhaps we made up this idea of love because we aren't so good at thinking of what that greater things is.

It doesn’t sound awful. There is indeed something greater than love: Happiness/Wellbeing.

[Dargor]

Originally Posted by Siemens

Your soul has decided to renounce love in your current life (except parental). Therefore it’s natural that you are cynic (and I guess frustrated).

What are you talking about? I'd be damned if I knew why I don't experience love, but no soul has anything to do with it.

But temporary relinquishment of love is an intense form of development.

Well, I no longer have any feelings or emotional attachment to this world and it's inhabitants. I care nothing for the suffering of this world. So how's that for development?

[Siemens]

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

I'd be damned if I knew why I don't experience love, but no soul has anything to do with it.

I believe that EVERY experience a person makes is chosen by that person’s soul. Whatever you experience (e.g. a life without love) is what your soul wants to experience.

[Dargor]

Originally Posted by Siemens

I believe that EVERY experience a person makes is chosen by that person’s soul. Whatever you experience (e.g. a life without love) is what your soul wants to experience.

That may be truth to your own current life, but not mine. There's no logical reason behind this kind of choice unless my so-called soul wants to become something akin to evil incarnate.

I'm aware it's probably very hard to comprehend for someone with a view such as yours (no offense intended) but there is such a thing as coincidence. There are things in life that make no sense and happen at random. As in my case, it's just coincidence and bad luck.

[Emm]

Its been said that only a small part of our consciousness (or soul) resides within the physical the rest remains in the non-physical. When our mind is quiet, without opinion and free from the constant mind chatter we come into alignment with our higher self and that feeling of Being Home is felt and this is what I call love.

We are all capable of love, no one is exempt, its just the human mind that gets in the way.

[Emm]

Originally Posted by SlayerOfLight

There are things in life that make no sense and happen at random. As in my case, it's just coincidence and bad luck.

Nothing is random, we all attract to ourselves exactly what we believe and feel to be true ...you only have to observe yourself or others very close to you to see that in action. So as long as you don't believe in love it will always allude you. You can always change your mind of course