A Call to Love

This message is about love. Not romantic or familial or parental love, but a deeper, broader love that can be generated by the human heart, channeled by the soul and sent out to all who come near.

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Just as there are angry, violent people who give off a frightening force field, loving people radiate a benevolent, calm space around them. You realize you are safe, and in the presence of love, as soon as you encounter such an individual.

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The world at this time in history needs people who radiate love. And if you’re reading this, chances are you are one of them.

 

How Does Love Work?

Think of love not just as an emotion, but as an energy—the basic energy of the universe. “What we call ‘love’ is a radiation that pervades the whole cosmos,” wrote the great scientist, inventor, mystic and author Itzhak Bentov. And surely this is what spiritual teachers East and West have continuously taught: that the whole purpose of living is to become a source of this magical elixir that every human hungers for.

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But love itself can’t always be taught. It is more like an infection, a benign virus that can be passed from one person to another. When that happens there is often an awakening of something profound and powerful. The heart opens and starts pouring out love. This is what the human heart at its very best is all about.

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Some people are born with this capacity. For others it seems to appear spontaneously, a compassionate attitude that comes out of nowhere. I had such a moment of grace myself. I guess it all started in Britnell’s, my favourite bookstore in Toronto back in the day. I was killing time, waiting for a friend to meet me for coffee, and was perusing a pile of books on sale when one literally dropped off the table and landed at my feet. I picked it up and glanced at the back cover blurb. It was about the Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrim’s route I’d never heard of. On a whim, I bought the book, started reading it later that night, and two months later found myself walking 800 km across the rolling hills of northern Spain.

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They say no one walks the Camino by chance, or remains unchanged by the experience. I had been at an impasse in my life, feeling restless, lost, directionless. I wasn’t sure why I was doing it, but at least now I had direction—one foot in front of the other, day after day, all the way to Compostela. Then somewhere in the middle of my long, exhausting trek, at lunchtime in a small village, I had a brief, wordless encounter with a homeless man that touched me deeply. Despite his ragged, dirty clothes, this needy stranger sparked an instant response in my heart. That night I found myself filled with a strange empowerment, an upwelling of love. I was suddenly aware that I had a capacity to love everyone I met. Love all of humanity. As I carried on with my pilgrimage, nothing on the surface seemed to have changed, but everything was different.

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Back home in Canada, life gradually returned to “normal.” There were times I was aware of being filled with an inner radiant love, but often it was same old, same old.

Until a few winters ago, when my wife went off to Cuba for a month to learn Spanish. Alone in the house, I found myself actively and consciously working on a technique to put myself into this loving space that had so enraptured me.

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I began by imagining my heart was like a generator that could produce and emit love energy. I felt that it could best be sent out over the lines of friendship, but could also be channeled into a room or public space, filling it was a warm glow, like heat from a fireplace.

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I started to spend my evenings seeing if I could generate this kind of love. I’d begin by doing some simple tai chi, moving my arms in sweeping gestures, imagining that I was drawing up the energies of the earth, then pulling down light from the sun and the stars. I had images of water flowing up from a well deep in the ground, and photons streaming through space. I expanded my vision, picturing the elements of land and sky, heaven and earth, matter and spirit—all the raw components of life and the universe swirling and gathering together, held within a crucible of human intent. I pictured them flowing into my heart, being transformed into a veritable fountain of love energy, glittering golden sparks that streamed out into the world.

I found myself doing this exercise for ten or fifteen minutes at a time. It helped that I had the whole house to myself and absolutely no distractions. I began to repeat the process several times a day, becoming fascinated by the results. My chest cavity would warm and a pleasurable sensation would flow out from it, until my whole body was humming, my fingertips tingling.

 

Soon I was sending out this glowing love energy to all my friends. I imagined it as a gift, with no strings attached. Anyone open to it was free to use it according to their own wisdom and need.

 

Shortly after that I found a surprising phone message left on my answering machine. A former student, one I’d mentored from time to time over the years, had driven by my home—not something he ever does, he reported in an excited voice. But for some reason he’d found himself compelled to do so, and he couldn’t believe his eyes.

As he drove down the street, he’d seen a golden, radiant light pouring out the windows, out of every crack and cranny of the house. He was amazed and wanted to know what was going on, and ended by saying that he’d felt a “hit” of love like he had never experienced before as he drove by.

 

I knew Jeff was extremely intuitive, perhaps one of the few people I’ve ever met who could have picked up on such a phenomenon. That he’d seen my house awash in brilliant light, standing out from all others on the street, was amazing to me, and a powerful confirmation that something was happening in my meditations—something extremely unusual. I was galvanized by his response.

 

In the weeks and months since my “retreat," I have come to believe that it is possible for the human heart to absorb the love-energy of the cosmos, and in a deliberate and guided way reflect it back into the world as human love, as a force for peace and joy. I have come to believe it is possible for the heart to create this kind of love.  I’ve also come to believe it makes a difference.

 

What Greater Gift

What if we all did this? Sending out love is profound yet simple, I’m finding. All it really takes is attunement, focus and intent. We don’t have to go off on pilgrimage to the ends of the earth. We can emit love from right here in the comfort of our own home.

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I would suggest practising on your nearest and dearest first, perhaps, then moving on and outward, whatever feels right. Each of us has a circle of friends, a small orbit of influence where we can be a loving presence. We are involved in groups, part of neighbourhoods, communities. I like to imagine each of us strengthening the threads of love, caring and compassion that link us together.

 

I also harbour one additional possibility—of many people spreading the word. Of sharing this possibility with friends, who may in turn pass it on, and on, and on. Young people, already connected globally through their facility with technology. Old people with time on their hands, wanting to leave behind a legacy as they reach their golden years. And everyone in between.

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Think what a worldwide web made up of committed, conscious people who join together at the heart level might create. Love may be a much more subtle force than fear, greed and hate, but it can create a healing and embracing atmosphere that could percolate everywhere it’s needed, all around our planet.

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This is more than an invitation. It is a call to love, to open your heart and see it capable of generating an energy that transforms. You may not know right away that you’re changing the world, but you will be. And just imagine how bright this world will be, wrapped in a glittering, glowing web of love.

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Austin Repath

thepilgrim@look.ca

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To add your Light to our world-wide web, click Add your Light below.

To share with others, click Invite Others below (or send them this link: www.acalltolove.ca).

See how people are growing the Web here.

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And Thank You for bringing YOUR love and light more fully into our world.