|
Many of us have become confused about the nature
of healing and of giving. We have been taught by various sources
that healing means giving up of our life energy to another. But what
if that is not true? What if giving has nothing to do with fixing,
changing or helping another, but rather receiving the love of
another that is hidden in their own heart?
This is one of the paradoxes of practical mysticism-that in
relationship the "giver" should receive as much as the "receiver,"
since in this paradigm, giving and receiving are the same.
The secret to this process is to reverse the usual concept of giving
and receiving, to know in fact, that we heal another by breathing in
the love in their being, by drawing out their ability to love, and
by drawing out the Divine Light that is inherent in each soul,
whether it is apparent or not. By consciously breathing in the love
in the other, we are drawing out their capacity to love in a
different manner than is traditional. Rather than saying "I love
you," we say, "You love me." We call forward the other's capacity to
love and to heal the world and themselves by shining our light on
the light already in them. We reverse the flow that most of us
consider to be the way of loving kindness and at the same time we
ourselves receive not only a healing, but a deeper level of contact
with the other.
Love, healing, connection, or contact in relationship should never
be depleting. If it is, we are misunderstanding something. Love is
like the perpetual motion machine. It generates more energy as it
goes along, not less.
In this way, we are nourished in our relationships with each other
by receiving the beauty and joy and love in the other, even when it
is not on the surface. Even if it is not readily available, we know
and believe that in every human being the capacity to love deeply is
inherent and therefore we trust that these qualities are there just
waiting to be released from their prison of a broken or hardened
heart. But we do not push. We patiently and lovingly just go beyond
the outer shell, connect with the light that is already in them and
receive it into ourselves. We become their vessel which sometimes
shows them what they cannot see themselves. And the most beautiful
gift we can give anyone is the gift of receiving them in their
greatness and their beauty, even when they themselves cannot. We
draw it out. And in drawing it out, we are renewed and filled in our
own being. By saying "You love me" the Divine spark is given a
conductor and the circle of love is given a kick-start into
existence.
Practical mysticism is about reversing the flow, thinking in
paradoxes and being able to contain all the contradictions of life
by holding the presence of opposites. When we are involved with real
human beings, we must learn to think and act and love in different
ways than we have been taught and be willing to go out on the edge
for the sake of finding a different way to be in the world with ease
and contentment. By giving through receiving, we do just that.
Next Teaching
|
