What does it mean to love? To love ....

[Smiler]

Its on relationships and love I think?? ... I have answered you AC .. Sleep well .

:)

Originally Posted by TzuJanLi

Greetings..
You, AC, and i, agreed to open and honest communication after Humm became irrelevant in my attempts to have productive discussions on this forum and after i placed him on my ignore list, a list of one.. i hope that you can respect that clearly articulated choice..
Be well..

Of course I respect your decision as conveyed by my explanation that my queries and expressions of my point of view were not a form of emotional or psychological manipulation to get you to change your mind.
I was simply discussing the issue, not trying to coerce you in any direction.

I have pondered the ignore function in the not too distant past, but then I realized for myself, for my own journey, that stopping communication was not the path for me regardless of how painful it might become by keeping communication channels open.

I understand you reasons for your choice, and do not devalue my opinion of you for it.

I am able to keep communication channels open for the simple but profound and beautiful reason that I no longer become offended by others, whether their actions are intentional or not.

This ability had only kicked in since 2009. A huge transformation considering the 40+ years of constantly feeling offended, even for miniscule incidents.
It's now as natural and easy as breathing and I'm only conscious of it when a topic sheds light on it.

Originally Posted by Smiler

Its on relationships and love I think?? ... I have answered you AC .. Sleep well .

:)

YAY !

Greetings..

Originally Posted by Alternate Carpark

Of course I respect your decision as conveyed by my explanation that my queries and expressions of my point of view were not a form of emotional or psychological manipulation to get you to change your mind.
I was simply discussing the issue, not trying to coerce you in any direction.

I have pondered the ignore function in the not too distant past, but then I realized for myself, for my own journey, that stopping communication was not the path for me regardless of how painful it might become by keeping communication channels open.

I understand you reasons for your choice, and do not devalue my opinion of you for it.

I am able to keep communication channels open for the simple but profound and beautiful reason that I no longer become offended by others, whether their actions are intentional or not.

This ability had only kicked in since 2009. A huge transformation considering the 40+ years of constantly feeling offended, even for miniscule incidents.
It's now as natural and easy as breathing and I'm only conscious of it when a topic sheds light on it.

Hi PB: I am not in the least offended by Humm's personal attacks.. i chose to use the ignore function to keep threads clear of the debris of the interactions between Humm and me.. Humm is proactive in his defense of Xan and in his beliefs about my motives, and.. in his passion for his beliefs he looses sight of the reality of the discussions.. i challenge ideas and concepts, he challenges 'me', the person.. so, it's not that Humm offends me, it is that there are consequences in this forum for certain behaviors, and i have chosen to defuse the potential for consequences..

I would welcome open and honest dialogue with anyone, but.. too often, when the questions expose issues that the other party is unwilling to look at objectively, the discussion is shut down.. the admonishment to back off at that point simply empowers the status quo, reinforcing the usefulness of unilateral rejection of an agreed examination of the issues.. so, rather than scatter the debris of pointless attempts at reconciliation, i simply clean up the mess.. and, yes, i realize that the 'mess' is as much my own issue as that of others, hence the choice to 'prune the tree'..

Be well..

[BlueSky]

Hey humm....................hugs..................you deserve better.

Blessings my friend......James

Originally Posted by WhiteShaman

Hey humm....................hugs..................you deserve better.

Blessings my friend......James

Thanks WS - but it's all good.

Blessings to you. ~Bow~

[BlueSky]

Originally Posted by Humm

Thanks WS - but it's all good.

Blessings to you. ~Bow~

Good to hear that!
<Bows>

[Papa Bear]

Hi Tzu no apology needed, we are seeking clarification together, in all we share. If the restriction of a word, creates a restriction to understanding its meaning, then how do we resolve the problem, when all the words we use to discern what that word reflects, it`s meaning, may fall foul to the same over analysis.

I completely agree with your premise, which is why I challenge the rationality of thoughtful interpretations regarding the experience of feeling. It’s the same thing, thoughts, words, and their interpretation of the actual experience. I would say if I may, with respect, that this is the core reasoning of much disagreement on site, not the content of experience but the words chosen to explain or define those experiences. Because it is the interpretation of chosen words, and the influence they have, that most discussion is shaped around.

I have created a thread, `formlessness and the human rational` seeking to explore that very area, how words and predetermined meanings often cloud the nature our natural experience. I thought to create a blank canvas, formlessness in experience, to encourage a fresh look at what then shapes our experiences.

Regarding

Originally Posted by TzuJunLi

like if you didn't use the 'word' Love, but.. if you described the 'feeling' associated with your understanding of the question asked.. Just a thought..

Originally Posted by Papa Bear

Did human beings love each other, before the word love or the rationality of it exist?

Love represents many forms of shared caring, compassion, forgiveness, giving, sharing, supporting, and many other forms of shared understanding, that result in human relationships forming. And since the human race evolved, rather than self-destructed, I believe the innate nature of caring was the crucial ingredient that allowed the human race to evolve, rather than create their own selfish demise, without a worded or reasoned explanation of why.

Is self- love a selfish experience as compared to a selfless shared love?

I love, and because I love, I am loved, and receiving love produces the same effect that loving myself, would create. How can I not have, self-worth, self-esteem, self-caring, if someone else loves me? I do recognize that others are not loved, so have a personal need to have a love of self, to motivate self-caring, self-worth and self-confidence, but there is a duality in the love of self. Self-priority, self-interest may be recognized as the core reasoning for ego, competitiveness, and they, though many in varied translation, are the substance of selfishness. Whereas, the selflessness of a shared love, may have little use or meaning to selfish priority. In essence my answer to this question is, it can be.

Is there a difference between, being in love and loving?

I love life and everything that is life, but I am in a love which is purely reflective of my wife and her Spirit.

Can love start and stop?

The human relationship with it can, personally, my expressive feelings of love, have never know the word stop, or start.

Is there a difference between receiving love, and giving love?

I give it when not receiving it. Because I receive it I know its essence, and its essence is to share because you care. And the reasoning for that caring has no self- motivation, giving for its own sake, is a product of understanding what being loved feels like, and it`s automatic natural reaction is to share it, give it. Yes there is a difference in cause and effect, but little in the experience of either.

Can love be lost?

Recognition of it can, although it is as eternal as the Spirit who creates it, our human relationship with it, can become detached within our experience of it.

If one does not know love, how do they find it?

If love is manifest in caring, then learning to care enough about our own life and its experiences is sufficient motivation to create the caring seed that can grow within self into the realisation of what love can be.

I understand there are many alternate answers to these questions, but if one does not start a process, then there is no progress, respects Tzu. May I attempt a respectful challenge to anyone who seeks to, analyse my answers, to then respond with question. Please do so, but consider a response that reflects your own answers, rather than only focusing on the validity of my own, it`s just a suggestion.

[Papa Bear]

THANK YOU AC (yes................. )

[BlueSky]

Hi Papa Bear,

I have created a thread, `formlessness and the human rational` seeking to explore that very area, how words and predetermined meanings often cloud the nature our natural experience. PB

The words chosen do not cloud the experience of the one who has had the experience....lol
What do you hope to gain by rationalizing until an agreement on the words is found?
Validation?
I'm confused.......

this is the core reasoning of much disagreement on site, not the content of experience but the words chosen to explain or define those experiences. PB

Are we here just to agree on our experiences?
Maybe the underlying core reasoning for disagreement is the need to find agreement between our individual experiences.......

(I'm speaking in general...not at you)

Blessings, James