Can love be present even in the midst of personal rage and social violence? Or, is love only present when things are going well? Can we find true love, the love that doesn’t come and go with circumstances?
The Divine Heart
As I look back over the fluctuations of my life, from childhood to the very moment that I am writing this article, I notice that something has always remained constant … an underlying, aware presence that has never been affected by the tides of change. Now, reflect on your life. See what’s always been present in all situations.
Aware presence sees all fluctuations, yet remains unchanged. It is the alive presence within which all thoughts, feelings, sensations and perceptions are watched. Like the space in my room, aware presence allows all that enters. Like the movie screen, the Divine Heart is never tarnished by the content of the movie, no matter how peaceful or violent the scene.
When we look into a baby’s eyes we experience Divine Love. The baby’s innocence is the Divine Heart radiating pure, unconditional love, a love that has not yet been filtered through eyes of social conditioning. The baby’s love bypasses the human mind. In the instant we look into her eyes, the veil of separation lifts: we see that we and the Divine Heart are one. Each of us is a Divine Spark emanating from the one Divine Heart.
The Human Heart
As Divine Sparks, when language and memory take hold, we start to become aware of the physical world. The formless Divine Spark that we are begins to experience itself in physical form. The confusion of conditioning — praised in one moment and blamed in another — coupled with wounds and traumas that have created distorted thinking and fear, begins to shroud the presence of Divine Love. The human heart becomes a proxy for the Divine Heart and we now live from a false sense of self. Using the analogy of the screen, the Divine Spark that we are, becomes a faded memory, while the movie becomes the reality. We have fallen asleep and forgotten that we are the unchanging screen.
We all at one time or another have felt the deep longing for something that seems lost. Our human conditioning, riddled with doubts and fears is seen as real, leaving a deep longing to be filled. To fill the void, we might find ourselves seeking fleeting moments of happiness in food, drugs, possessions, sex, and more. All become addictive behaviors in an attempt to make those feel-good moments last. Unwittingly, we have made a choice to fulfill the needs of the false self.
When the Divine Spark is unveiled of its emotional wounds, the Divine Heart is revealed. Once revealed, the search for love in all the wrong places comes to an end. And the love that lies at the heart of all experience is revealed. It is our birth right.