On Love

Welcome to February, the month of Love and the Chinese Lunar New Year of the Dragon!  As we are on to a great start in 2024, let us turn our attention to maintaining the bonds of love and friendship that we share.

Whether it is intimate, familial, social or work-related, there are different levels of love that we express to one another.  And love is very much like a beautiful flower; it blooms when given proper care and essentials that nurture it.  Though the blossom may be fragile, its tender beauty is its great strength.

Love is the foundation of who we are.  It is the most powerful energy there is.  As Kahlil Gibran (1883 –

1931) wrote (an excerpt) in The Prophet on Love:

“. . . When love beckons to you, follow him,
Though his ways are hard and steep.
And when his wings enfold you yield to him,
Though the sword hidden among his pinions may wound you.
And when he speaks to you believe in him,
Though his voice may shatter your dreams as the north wind lays waste the garden
For even as love crowns you so shall he crucify you. Even as he is for your growth so is he for your pruning.
Even as he ascends to your height and caresses your tenderest branches that quiver in the sun,
So shall he descend to your roots and shake them in their clinging to the earth . . . “

Love is without end; it has no beginning or end, and it cannot be measured nor quantified even though many times we try to do just that in many forms of physical expression.  We know not the profundity of the depth of love, but we all feel it in our roots, and I believe we all desire to express it at these different levels through kindness, compassion and giving from the heart.

Love heals.  Let it be the foundation of all you intend and do.

The Year of the Dragon in Chinese astrology is very powerful.  The Dragon represents the transition to true inner wisdom and higher levels of awareness.  Perhaps as February unfolds like the blossom, we can open our hearts not just to offer love to others in its many forms, but to be vulnerable to be as loved as we are loving.

The Dragon knows balance through the wisdom of giving and receiving.  There is great power in the expression of love and the same in our ability to be open to receive as much love as we give.  Though this may be for our pruning, spread our wings we must if we wish to know that depth of love.

Like the sails of a ship, they only function when open.  That way the ship of your desires can move through the seas of emotion as you allow the winds of love to fill your sails.  The rudder (your will) of the ship is at the end.  Though is steers it only works when the ship is moving and it is the last to go to the future you.

Choose the path of balance through the energy of the wise dragon.  Be open to receive love as you offer it.

Here is a heart-centered exercise for you:

Heart Center Exercise

Be in a comfortable, quiet space.

Close your eyes and breathe.

Focus on the physical area of your heart.  Breathe quietly, slowly and gently.

Maintaining your focus on your heart, imagine on the inhale pure love itself filling your heart.

Hold for a moment.

Gently and slowly exhale allowing that love to go out to the universe.

Hold for a moment.

Repeat this cycle seven times, or as you feel appropriate.

When complete, sit for a few minutes breathing gently and feel the profound relaxation and heart-centering.

Blessings,

Dr. Richard Jelusich, Ph.D.
www.bamboogardenwellness.com
www.lightnews.org