Jessona072703CoeurDA-Love

North Idaho Teaching Mission Group, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho

Teachers: Jessona

Topics: Love

July 27, 2003

* Jessona: Greetings to you all, this is Jessona. I am going to speak on the subject of love. It is perhaps the most important subject to address, for it is the best representation to the human mind of the highest quality that can be used to describe God, for while any other qualities may be used to help describe God to limited creatures, many such qualities becomes far too remote from human conception to be of great benefit in contributing to your understanding. Love, on the other hand, by its nature is extremely relatable, because it is a quality of relationship.

First recognized when discovering love is the emotional quality, an overwhelming attraction, the preoccupation toward the adored. This feeling element begins the quest of the soul for the experience of the love of God. Initially love attracts one indiscriminately to another being, and this reaction teaches the personality that love is desirable and that it is rewarding. There are times when such an application of love brings heartbreak, for one's sense of worth is overly invested in another personality's loving response or withdrawal of that response. While this is an experience of hurt, it does teach a personality to invest love more wisely and to invest it on a level less transient. Love, therefore, begins its exposure to you as a form of inspiration, a level of feeling, an energizing experience. It is a love that causes one to feel as if one were floating on the clouds. This love inspires new behaviors, for admiration entices an individual to adopt those qualities that are admired to become like the one that is loved.

Having undergone an experience of love and having encountered the breaking away of love in the temporal sense, the human mind begins to question love to determine its merit, to establish conditions whereupon love may be expressed for beneficial return and to safeguard of love lost. Thus begins the development of the philosophy of love, and the result is illumination in relation to humankind, the level of mind and the level of thoughts. Soon there develops the understanding of love unconditioned that is bestowed upon the good and the bad, the worthy and the unworthy. When this insight dawns upon the mind one then can love others and remain free of attachment, an attachment that often the reason for heartbreak. Love becomes now an expressive action rather than a sought-after reaction to the acceptance of others toward you.

As the development of the concept of love progresses, it becomes apparent that divine love is bestowed with no requirement of return of love by any creature. This understanding stimulates a spiritual inspiration, a rise of the feelings of worship and adoration of the divine, it causes one's mind to crave the qualities of the divine, to love with no thought of return. This process was demonstrated by Jesus, and his statement, "Follow me" was his request that those who believed in him live like him as one who knows the love of God and gives that love to all.

The apex of the experience of love is when love has gone from inspiration, through illumination, to identity. When you have drawn so close, become so enmeshed in the divine presence, love ceases to be an exchange and becomes a possession of your own; you are a source of love, not just a receiver and transmitter of love.

While it is confirming of the reality of the value of a personality to receive love, the response of any personality is to begin to love in response, and it is the expression of love that the personality finds most fulfilling, for love received must be trusted, and love received contains the risk of love withdrawn. But love expressed is wholly in your control, and you can give it regardless of condition. While one may wish to absorb love for the comfort it brings, by radiating love one not only brings that comfort to all you are engaged with, but it releases that same comfort in oneself, for your identification with God, your source of love, is an infinite supply, never to be withdrawn, forever to be felt as you express it. Soon the condition of love establishes itself as an ever-present state of being.

Your scientific methods have established standards by which you may measure phenomena in the world. You create standards such as atmospheric pressure, a beginning point from which to relatively gauge deviation in pressure of air. So does this technique apply to love. When the standard is love from the divine then all other forms of love throughout the spectrum of creature mind and creature emotion may be gauged, may be measured. The transience of such loves are now perceived as a natural part of the totality of divine love. Love no longer fails; it instead manifests in other channels. It shifts. This love can utter, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do", for it does not require love received to be expressed.

I have expressed myself in this form today in response to your asking for more comments about love. I hope you have found it helpful, and I am willing to entertain your questions. Harold: You mentioned learning to love wisely. Can you go into more detail on how we can go about doing that?

* Jessona: The beginning of loving wisely is the development first in oneself of the approach of loving first and the lessening of the requirement that one be loved, for the natural tendency of reciprocal love is temporal and fragile, and to enter into love as if it were the balancing of books can create heartache. Loving wisely is the development of the understanding of the divine source of love, its eternal manifestation, and the development in one's character of this ability to love with no love in return. This eternal love safeguards the soul; it makes the soul independent of being loved conditionally. Following this first stage is the next stage of giving love in a manner in which it is of service, knowing what form the love must take to help another individual, whether it be to provide, whether it be to withhold, whether it is to support or to abstain. Realizing love as independent, unconditional love, one can then apply love wisely, discerningly. One is not emotionally drawn into loving hunger that another may wisely seek to pressure you into giving. The development of wisdom-love is first the experience of its source, that being God, and through this illumination the ability to manifest it to benefit others, and all the while your expression of love is independent of reception of any condition of acceptance or rejection. Then you are able to love your fellows be they saints or sinners and to do so such that they will derive benefit from the love that you have expressed. I hope this helps.

Harold: Yes, it does. You didn't mention who we loved. Is that part of the wisdom, because we all have differing levels of sharing that love. Is there a point where we should discriminate as to who we share that level of love with?

* Jessona: If I may use an image of one of your carnival games where you strike a mallet upon a lever to send an object up a rod to strike a bell, it will illustrate my comments. When one rings the bell, it may be said, one has experienced divine love. Every strike that falls short is a love that may be considered the multiple manifestations of a divine love but one that is conditioned, one that falls short of ringing the bell. The entire game, whether you strike it or fall short or reach the bell, fits the request by Michael that you love all, that there be no distinction between one "who" and another "who. However, you may distinguish between one "how" and another "how", for love seeks the upliftment of the one upon whom love is given. Therefore, you will be required to discern how your love will manifest for that person's welfare. One may only receive love that goes part way up the scale in order that trust develops, in order that the mind expands, such that at some point that individual may hear the ringing of the bell of divine love. Also, divine love is all encompassing and in this state is already radiating upon everyone. So, as you discern the method of expressing your love, you also focalize love, directionalize it to specific individuals. It is said that God loves all. It is said, and it is true, that you are each indwelt by this very same source of love. So, God has not only expressed love for everyone, He has expressed love to each single individual in His divine gift. You, while you are unfolding in your experience of this love, are learning that singular expression of that love, love for one person, love for one other person, much as does an infant for mother and then father, and expand that love until you reach a psychic circle state of awareness wherein you can express love toward anyone. So, to address your question of "who", you may love expansively any individual, all individuals, but you may be required through wisdom to modify the expression of that love for any particular individual as it effects their overall well- being.

Tom: I've often heard the expression that love, like forgiveness, is experienced as it comes through you, as you bestow it. That would ring your own bell, but it falls short of ringing the divine bell. Could you comment on that?

* Jessona: It is this transfer of love into you and out of you from the divine that etches upon the mind of a creature growing in love that divine love cannot be lost. It is forever available and soon becomes trusted that it is not only available but ever present. You are right to compare love to forgiveness, for they both function in this way. Forgiveness is not always seen as available, and many systems of thought have been developed which address availability, but soon in faith the creature comes to realize that forgiveness is ever-present. It cannot be in any way won or purchased. When you discover this presence then love of your own expression is understood as the expression of God in loving outreach. Like forgiveness, you can love with a divine affection; you can forgive another easily without condition. But as I have said, while you experience and understand this level of loving, you will be required to apply wisdom and to tune your expression of love just as you would tune your expression of forgiveness based on the conditions of time and space in which you find yourself, and the relationship, and the maturity of the other individuals. . ... And conditional love is often seen as flawed, however it is not. Conditional love is a specific manifestation of unconditional love modified by wisdom and applied unselfishly. Wrongly applied conditional love is love that seeks return, recognition, reward. True conditional love is love for one's other and manifested so that other will receive it with highest benefit. Divine love may also be likened to a constant bright light. This is love that emanates from the absolute, and when it makes its appearance in time and space, by the nature of time and space, distance has become a reality between source and reception, and many things can intervene between. Here is where all the love between creatures takes place. Then you have the manifestation of falling in love and out of love, of love with required recognition, and love that enables wrongly, shadows that interfere with that ever-present brilliance of divine love. When you have that bell ring within you and you have experienced that eternal love, you are not shaken by the ebb and flow of creature love. It is simply seen as the expression by a creature through their lens of personality and its shifting. All the while the love of God is present and revealing it to you in one way or another and expressing through you -- at least it is hoped by me -- at all times in every way to all others.

Tom: Thank you for your counsel.

* Jessona: You are always welcome. I would draw a close with one last comment. Michael upon Urantia realized his creator sonship with the Universal Father, comprehended his identity as one with God, and told his followers that while he was to leave this world, he would send his Comforter. He said he left his peace with you, and that he has left his love with you. This Spirit of Truth is that presence, and that presence also indwells you. So, as you look for love, look within yourself, for there is the spirit, even the spirits, of love. This is your source of the expression of love to all others. Its infinity of quantity resides within you now. With this quantity of love available to you, you may freely begin its expression at whatever level of your spiritual evolution. It cannot be squandered. Love is to be expressed. As you express, your understanding of love develops. You need not wait until you understand love to express it appropriately. Express it and grow and love more wisely as you ascend. Love refills itself within you every time you give it away. I will return. Farewell.

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