Everyone wants love. It’s a universal and ever-present human need. So most of us spend a fair amount of time in search of the people, activities, and environments that will help us feel more love. Unfortunately, this external pursuit will never bring us ultimate satisfaction, because people can change, relationships can end, and life takes turns we cannot plan for.
To experience a deeper and more lasting level of love, we need to shift our perspective from the outside to the inside, where we can know love as the foundation of who we are. In order to cultivate this kind of living in love, regardless of our relationship status, we need to connect to the source of love that waits within our own hearts. This is not the typical ‘self-love’ that’s bantered about in new age circles. It’s a profound paradigm shift to the recognition that we can never be separate from love. It’s the energy of life and we either align with it and flow or we deny and block it.
To move into this deeper awareness of love, the practice of meditation is extremely helpful. Meditation is beneficial for lowering stress levels, boosting immune function, and increasing mental clarity. And it can reunite us with love!
To those just beginning a practice of meditation, sometimes this can seem foreign and esoteric. It’s important to recognize that it is a process which builds gradually with repeated effort. We do not have to begin with an elaborate or formal practice of techniques. The important thing is to turn inward, to quiet the fluctuations of the mind and emotions, so that we may experience our soul as the epicenter of true love.
We can begin with a simple pause in our day, taking five minutes to focus on our breath — breathing in love and breathing out peace. Try it now. Turn off the phone. Close your eyes. Place one hand on your heart and leave the other hand open in your lap. Breathe in love. Breathe out peace. Notice the space that is created in your mind and body. Trust this space. This is the territory of love.
The more often we take these mindful moments to turn our attention inward and seek connection with our loving self, the more we’ll be able to practice living love in our outer lives in ever-expanding ways. Through meditation we plant the seed of intention — to know ourselves as love. Then we curate the stillness that will allow for that seed to grow naturally from within our deepest being. Changing our perspective on love transforms the relentless outer quest into a joyful inner unfolding. As a result, our relationships with others and with ourselves improve exponentially.
Jennie Lee is the author of BREATHING LOVE: Meditation in Action and TRUE YOGA: Practicing with the Yoga Sutras for Happiness & Spiritual Fulfillment. A certified Yoga Therapist and spiritual life coach for over 20 years, Jennie helps clients conquer anxiety, depression, grief, and stress to develop personal peace and balance. Her coaching is available by Skype internationally. www.JennieLeeYogaTherapy.com
