How we should live our life?

[Altair]

Originally Posted by Tuesday

I think people don't understand the Word love or what it entails. You can love while doing science, love is about being and doing what you feel right in your heart, not about being nice to people.

I guess it depends on how broad you define love..
I can study a certain topic out of intellectual curiosity and wonder, without feeling all cosy in my heart or anything. I can definitely feel that in yoga and meditation but there are so many other things in this world where we find enjoyment without feeling it in our heart. There's not always an alignment and sometimes there need not necessarily be one either.

[7luminaries]

I think there is a lot of confusion all round, for certain, most of it around tying "feelings" to anything real, foundational, and core at our centre.

Kindness historically has been dependent on many things in any human civilisation, but not on feelings. It has depended on compassion and empathy, perhaps.

Kindness has primarily depended on civlity, courtesy, respect, ahimsa/non-violence, equanimity, justice, and many other things.

Likewise, so has love. Hence the term lovingkindness. Perhaps there is more a focus on the compassion here, but it equally derives from courtesy, respect, non-violence, equanimity, justice, and all those same things.

The confusion as I see it is in ever thinking that something that is so univeral and foundational to our existence is or should ever be tied up in something so fleeting and non-dependable as a "feeling".

Even with those whom we love deeply in a personal way, there is a natural ebb and tide of "feeling" that has not one whit to do with the depth and continuity of the authentic love that we have for them, or the love that we simply ARE.

And how do "feelings" have anything consistently to do with those we do not know? If at all? It seems to me only the universals come into play here...that is, who we are at centre, and being in resonance or alignment with that.

It's only who we are at centre that really even can connect to the rest of humanity and What Is. Much less to extending love (lovingkindness, equanimity) to all that is, to strangers and to the rest of existence.

Peace & blessings
7L

[Emm]

Originally Posted by 7luminaries

I think there is a lot of confusion all round, for certain, most of it around tying "feelings" to anything real, foundational, and core at our centre.

Kindness historically has been dependent on many things in any human civilisation, but not on feelings. It has depended on compassion and empathy, perhaps.

Kindness has primarily depended on civlity, courtesy, respect, ahimsa/non-violence, equanimity, justice, and many other things.

Likewise, so has love. Hence the term lovingkindness. Perhaps there is more a focus on the compassion here, but it equally derives from courtesy, respect, non-violence, equanimity, justice, and all those same things.

The confusion as I see it is in ever thinking that something that is so univeral and foundational to our existence is or should ever be tied up in something so fleeting and non-dependable as a "feeling".

Even with those whom we love deeply in a personal way, there is a natural ebb and tide of "feeling" that has not one whit to do with the depth and continuity of the authentic love that we have for them, or the love that we simply ARE.

And how do "feelings" have anything consistently to do with those we do not know? If at all? It seems to me only the universals come into play here...that is, who we are at centre, and being in resonance or alignment with that.

It's only who we are at centre that really even can connect to the rest of humanity and What Is. Much less to extending love (lovingkindness, equanimity) to all that is, to strangers and to the rest of existence.

Peace & blessings
7L

So how do you discern what's at your centre and if you're aligned? If not "feeling" then are you saying its a mental discernment? If that's so then are we no more than a robot?

Originally Posted by IndigoGeminiWolf

And will I be punished for not believing the right thing?

Haven't you had enough of punishing yourself yet? Only you can undo the nails that pin you to your cross.

Originally Posted by IndigoGeminiWolf

So many questions, but few answers.

Only one answer to so many questions, because you are the answer looking for the question.

[IndigoGeminiWolf]

Originally Posted by Greenslade

Haven't you had enough of punishing yourself yet? Only you can undo the nails that pin you to your cross.

I wish I could tell that to my shadow. It keeps frightening me.
Good analogy though.

Originally Posted by IndigoGeminiWolf

I wish I could tell that to my shadow. It keeps frightening me.
Good analogy though.

If you can turn your enemy into your friend, you can turn your hurts into halos. Yes it is scary but certainly worth it, it's a part of you just the same.