The Inner Voice of Love

The Inner Voice of Love: A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom is a collection of passages from Henri Nouwen's journals, written during a period when his self-esteem evaporated, his energy to work disappeared, and God seemed entirely unreal. This is not a book to be read straight through: each short chapter takes time to digest, because, like the following passage, each of Nouwen's thoughts has the raw complexity of real honesty.

This book is a series of touching essays. Touching not in being a tear jerker, but in how deeply they reach into truth. The books title, A Journey Through Anguish to Freedom, is very right on with the subject of the essays. For example, Open yourself to the First Love discusses the divine love. The 'first love' is that which God is waiting to give you. In general the book points the reader in the direction of the transformative power of the divine.

"Love in its essence is spiritual fire"

Had an interesting fortune cookie today: "Love in its essence is spiritual fire"

Gosh, this just makes me think of the experimentation which led to my writings on Inner Homeopathy. This is a practice of Love, to love ones self, to love every single part of you, to love the self destructive parts of ones self, to love, and to love more. This is a very self transforming practice, so very simple yet so comprehensive.

Love is acceptance, as it accepts the loved one without regard for anything the loved one is doing. This is God's love this is, it is a sort of love which humans often have a time accomplishing.

Humans so often have conditions on their love. I'll love you only if you treat me a certain way and so on. Is that God's love?

The Inner Homeopathy practice I've written about can be very challenging. Inside us are so many conflicting ideas about ourselves, not all of which are consciously known. In the subconscious is held all the beliefs we've made about ourselves and the world, many of which paradoxically contradict each other. We may have a belief of our competence and love-ability, but find another part that's self doubting and certain nobody loves us. These subconscious beliefs swirl around based on the events around us, the memories inside us, etc, each belief being triggered at various times depending and affecting how we act from moment to moment.

Not all of our inner beliefs appreciate being held in love, just as we don't always recognize love when it is offered to us, and we don't always trust those who claim to love us. So is it also true when we practice loving ourself.

Yet I know from the experience of my experimentation, loving ones self can transform such inner beliefs. It is as if unconditional acceptance and unconditional love, Gods love in other words, is the ultimate in remedies, the cure for all ills.

Love to you all.

How to fall in love?

I came across a blog posting by Mario Torre How to fall in love... where he linked to an image of a beautiful young lady. Yup, as a red-blooded male she sure catches my attention.

But it occurred to me ... is that Love? Okay, lust, love, but what I really mean is this question: With whom is your primary relationship?

You may say, oh my Wife/Husband/Lover is my primary relationship you silly person, what are you talking about? I'm talking about ones relationship with ones own self.

Any relationship with another person will eventually go away. That person might die or might become disinterested or might grow to hate you etc, and what happens to that being your primary relationship? Hopefully when that person leaves your life and stops being in relationship to you, you'll find a way to move on gracefully. Many people aren't able to make this transition gracefully, leading to long morose periods of longing for this person that is no longer in their life.

If a relationship can end can it be considered to be your primary relationship?

The one relationship that cannot end is your own relationship with yourself. It seems to me, then, that this, your inner self relationship, is the primary relationship. And that the longing for another, the type of longing that caused Mario to post about that beautiful young lady, that is a fleeting relationship, one that is destined to end in time.

As I've explored the ideas I'm calling Inner Homeopathy I'm learning that one key is ones inner relationship to themselves. That the Inner Homeopathy practice is a way to learn to have a wholesome relationship with yourself.