Zen Anybody

[Still_Waters]

Originally Posted by Phaelyn

I'd say love is the highest level. Some people are naturally loving and kind, humble giving etc. Others, are naturally selfish, prone to anger etc. Most are just a certain mix of such. I'm not sure if that is due to "our level" or just our bodies and brains conditioning, what we went through growing up, or even a result of a combination between our conditioning and brain chemistry. As a reader of Michael Newtons book, Journey Of Souls, there is another possible cause, some bring down less "soul energy" into this life time and body, leaving the majority of energy in the non-physical dimension. The less "soul energy" one brings into the body, the harder time they will have with the animal nature of this animal life and form.

But then whatever the cause of us not being full of divine unconditional love (all the time), and the cause of how unloving we may be at times, it's up to us to find the best way for us to get back to that, to represent that, to embody that, to experience that.

There is no best religion or practice, all can work. All that matters is the love, the path we use or don't use to get there does not matter. I don't think there is a one path fits all. What's good for one may be bad for another.

This reminds me of the different paths described in Hinduism's Yoga. Like Karma yoga is the path of unselfish action. It teaches that a spiritual seeker should act according to dharma, without being attached to the fruits or personal consequences. So like picking a job or life where one unselfishly helps others... that is the Karma Yoga Path.

Then there is bhakti yoga or a path of devotion, that is about worship and surrender, like in the life of a monk or nun who devotes their life to loving god, then gnana yoga, a path of intelligence or intellectually understanding the self, and kriya yoga, which deals with working with energies in the body and in others.

Different paths for different types of people, though we can work out some hybrid form of all of those as well. Little bit of this or that. The right medicine for the right ailment. Also writing about one's path is different from living it, so there is that too. So take what anybody says or writes with a grain of salt, it's what is carried in ones heart moment to moment is all that matters.

I remember in that book on past lives, Journey Of Souls maybe, not sure where I read it, but a person was between lives and going over their past life, and they were explaining how they gave so much money to charities, (they were rich) but the spirit guide said none of that was very important, and pointed out the one day he was late for work and hurrying to their car, and passed a person crying at a bus stop, and stopped to ask them if they were ok... that little act of caring, compassion, love, was worth more than the thousands given to charities.

That is a really nice post and I am curious how you define the word "love" as it means so many things to so many different people.

My definition of the highest LOVE is acting in the best interests of the Totality with no expectation of a reward. To me, this seems to require some connection with the transcendent so that one can see the "Big Picture" and thus act intuitively "without thinking".

Your points on the different paths is well worth repeating.

By the way, I too LOVED the Michael Newton Book, Journey of Souls. It's excellent.