Three Paths of Love

From recent guidance and inspiration comes the following meetup description for my cosmic discussions group, for details see www.CosmicDocent.com

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The Three Paths of Love: Sacrifice, Healing, and Endless Joy
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
7:00 PM to 9:00 PM
Cambridge Swedenborg Chapel
50 Quincy St, Cambridge, MA

As I've learned to clear my karma with the ascension energies of 2012 and beyond, I've come to see clearly how there are three paths of love that people follow in life. All human beings seek to love and be loved, as a protecting and promoting of our deepest values which begin in the spirit and reach for the soul. What has to be explained in the world is how varied are people's experiences of love. Anything is possible, from misery in persecution, alienation, and lonliness, through public success with private ups and downs that weary us over time, to the most blessed and refreshing of lifelong growth in all the kinds of relationships possible, from work to family, from friendships to spiritual ecstasies including of course with the self.

Everyone deserves love, because all people deserve a chance to be free and happy. The true universe always forgives and celebrates; God never judges or punishes however much our human societies may. We are told over and over that we create our own realities, but what does that really mean? It means that we each hold a mixture of beliefs that filter our views on life, so some possibilities seem much more real and closer to us than others. Some beliefs are small, like which TV show can make me happiest, others more consequential, like will I ever be totally free, happy and safe in this world. We do ourselves the greatest favors when we seek out beliefs about potential itself, for understandings that explain not only where we are, but where we have been and where we can be going. I find that the Three Paths is such a belief, by explaining how it is that all people look for love, but some people are recognizing and allowing much more love into their lives than others.

The three paths are progressive, and so lead into the next. The Path of Sacrifice is about holding many beliefs of opposition, so that you always have to be making either-or choices in life. Good things have to be sacrificed to save other good things, you can't have it all. In sincere defense of themselves or their tribe, people can allow terrible things to happen to someone, thinking that there is no alternative. On the path of sacrifice, people are deep down good, but evil is allowed to arise, and people can be corrupted and lost. The path of sacrifice is a hard one indeed, and we all have known it too long.

At some point on the Path of Sacrifice, a person hits rock bottom and says that's it, enough is enough. I'm tired of sacrificing myself for others in some situations, and sacrificing others for me the rest of the time. I'm going to have to insist on people taking more responsibility for themselves, while I stop trying to rescue or be rescued. I'm going to hold compassion and care to do what I reasonably can, but I'm going to take care of myself first and foremost without hurting anyone else or letting people hurt me. And that's going to be a good thing by golly, I will not hold onto guilt or depression for who I am, because if everyone did more of this then the world would surely be a much better place. I'm going to stop judging others, and I refuse to accept judgments on me.

Attitudes like these reveal when we have shifted to the Path of Healing, which is characterized by a kind of sacrifice still, but the helpful kind, of letting go bad ideas for good, useless context for useful. Limiting either-or beliefs are converted to liberating empowerment for all, personal not absolute values are weighed, all things have their season. Karma is revisited for the last time, old wounds are getting cleaned out. Many spiritual people are on the path of healing and have been for a very long time. There are many tears to be shed, buried pain to be surfaced and faced, and much letting go to be mastered.

It's like being in bed convalescing, feeling sick but a little better each day, dreaming of running free again but not sure when that will be possible. It's not easy, and can be quite the emotional roller coaster, as yet one more issue comes up in our way just when we think we have it made. Many short-term opportunities and relationships are explored, as people find cause to rejoice and hope, then release more heartbreak as they grow out of as yet another "contract" or agreement to exchange a service that won't be needed forever. Sadly, some people think that the bittersweet easy-come-easy-go life is as good as it gets, as they uphold their spiritual gains and deny a deeper sense of human frustration and deprivation to be never quite as deeply successful or securely happy as they can fantasize.

Fortunately, the Path of Healing is not forever, although again a shift of beliefs is required to move on when we are ready. At some point, enough of our inner world has been healed, so that our self-love is stable and confident to keep us feeling centered and loved in every situation, self-guaranteed. What happens then is nothing short of a miracle, one that I am still discovering. New kinds of relationships start to arrive, ones that we have never seen before. A level of Spirit and the community of souls is always rock-solid there for us, increasingly manifesting with growth opportunities that never end, assignments that are open and flexible, unlimited connections that are not just temporary. Karma becomes dharma, the flow of the universe. Relationships develop that we always grow more into and never out of, and why not? At this point we have mastered the art of always being there for ourselves, so of course now there can be friends and beloveds who are always there for us too.

Welcome to the Path of Endless Joy! It is something you know in your heart is possible. It is the pearl of great price, it is the rock upon which the house of the soul is built. We will thus discuss our glimpses and steps to go from here to there, as there is where we are all destined to.

The meeting will be from 7 pm until 9 pm. RSVP requested. Please update your RSVP if you are unable to attend, to allow others to attend. Payment is $10 to help rent the space, and can be made in person. Anyone who cannot afford this is encouraged to attend anyway and should contact Carl beforehand.

For directions and other information about location please visit the http://www.swedenborgchapel.com Cambridge Swedenborg Chapel website. If you're driving in be sure to pack tightly into the little lot on the side which can fit about 8 cars, otherwise expect to look for parking such as down Kirkland to the left and away from Harvard, at the next big cross street with Beacon there are some meters.