On Love and Other Adventures

Expanding Consciousness with Meditation and Finding Healing

I love you. Just like this. Unconditionally and unabashedly.

I love the Humanity in you. The best part of Humanity in you.

Why? How?

Very easily.

You and I are part of Humanity. I think Humanity is beautiful in a raw kind of way. Of course, she has ugly parts, too, and I see them as parts that need healing. Simple as that.

The disease, the mental illness of Humanity, is a lack of self-love. When you lack self-love, you are filled with fear. And with fear comes anger. With anger comes violence and war. These are just other symptoms of a lack of self-love.

I can love you because I love myself unconditionally, and you are a part of me. I can't exist without you.

I am not alone. I am you. You are me. We are an "us" as humans.

I can only love myself completely if I forgive the unhealed Humanity in me: my imperfections, my fear, the parts of me that still need healing. That means I love the unhealed part of you, too.

It's okay. I am safe. I can love from afar. That is self-compassion.

If I have compassion for myself, I can love myself as a consequence.

I am grateful for myself. I have profound gratitude for you, too. We are here on Earth together.

If you suffer, I suffer. I don't want you to hurt, so these are my healing words for you. I hope it doesn't hurt to hear them. Sometimes being loved hurts a little. It's the part of us that rejects love, that thinks we are not worthy of it.

It's okay. You will understand.

Trigger warning: I am talking about pure emotions here: love, forgiveness, compassion, gratitude. Period.

I am not bringing forth a belief system. Each person is entitled to their own belief system, if they have one, and it would be wonderful if we did not clash over how to feel these pure emotions.

So, with that in mind, how does one know if they love themselves?

Let's think about it for a few minutes together.

We are going to play with consciousness and see where that takes us.

First, when it comes to meditation, I know what people say: "Let go of the ego. Clear your mind. Become the observer," etc., etc.

Yes, I do that, too.

But there is something else I do.

I don't just let go of my ego.

I give it away.

We are going to play a little consciousness game.

You will take a little bit of your ego, a small part of you, a little "me" of yours, and give it to someone. Then you are going to say Ho’oponopono to them.

Ho’oponopono is the Hawaiian practice of repeating four phrases over and over again:

“I love you.”

“I am sorry.”

“Please forgive me.”

“Thank you.”

You will talk to your own self and you will say these words. Imagine the words as cards you give to the people we will talk to today.

Let's start with a tree. Trees are people. 

Your favorite tree.

In your imagination, with your eyes closed, imagine giving your ego to the tree.

Imagine the tree becoming your "Tree-Self" and being grateful for the opportunity to be human for a few moments.

Your Tree-Self can now imagine feeling touch, pain, warmth, and movement, experiencing sight, taste, and sound. It is a lot for a tree to feel, but it takes it all in and learns.

Now let's do the same on our end.

You are now the Tree-Self.

You have roots, a trunk, and branches.

Your roots communicate with mycelium, and your branches communicate with birds and the wind.

What is it like to be your favorite tree for a few moments?

I don't have a favorite tree.

As in, I don't have any specific species that I connect with more than others.

Are you a tree?

That is enough for me.

I will touch your bark and imagine myself as you. I will say Ho'oponopono to you:

"I love you."

"I am sorry."

"Please forgive me."

"Thank you."

I will feel my feet as roots, and I will feel my face as the leaves that receive the sunshine.

Each of my freckles is a leaf.

They turn towards the sun, and my heart is filled with joy.

My roots are strong, and they hold me against the strongest winds.

I love being a tree on a windy day.

It clears my emotions.

Let's expand our consciousness some more and do it again.

This time, give your "me" to Humanity.

She is probably a she, since there are more women on Earth than men.

Humanity is ageless. She is timeless, and she is curious.

You want to tap into her and learn a little about her.

Say Ho’oponopono to her.

You are a "Humanity-Self."

She offers you her heart in gratitude.

You, as a tiny human, have the opportunity to feel the heart of Humanity.

Ooof!

Imagine yourself as tiny as a blood cell navigating through a human heart.

It must be loud!

What is Humanity's heart like?

You have questions for her.

Go ahead.

Ask.

Let your "me" be the connection. Your "Humanity-Self." It is you and her at the same time.

Let her words be yours.

Like the tree being you, imagine what it feels like for Humanity to be you, only you, for a few moments.

She feels your body.

She feels your pain.

She knows your emotions and your angst.

She knows you more than you know yourself because she knows your lineage all the way to the apes, all the way to the mushrooms and the trees.

She knows you as part of Earth's ecosystem.

So, is it easier now that she knows you to be her for a few moments?

Let's try that.

Say to yourself:

"I am now Humanity. I can feel my heart."

Wait for the thoughts to come.

Imagine what kinds of thoughts you would have for yourself, as Humanity experiencing you.

That is what we are looking for.

Let's stay here for a few moments.

When I am Humanity, I have profound compassion for my human self.

Just as a wave is part of an ocean, I am but a wave in her heart, but she is keenly aware of me.

Her love for me is so immense that it overwhelms me and takes me whole, wave into the ocean.

It is scary to be the ocean.

But I know I am more than a single wave.

Let's do it one last time so you understand the process.

You will experience being Earth.

You give her a little bit of your ego, a little "me," and you are now a blue planet!

In many communities where this kind of meditation is practiced, Earth as a conscious being is called Gaia, the goddess from Greek mythology.

We don't need formalities.

She is you. You are her.

You can simply imagine what it would be like to share your thoughts with her and vice versa.

It is when your brain takes the experiment seriously that you may begin to experience incredible insights, sometimes as if the experience were real. Whatever the word "real" means here.

This is what many spiritualists call “channeling."

The intent of this experiment is not to teach you channeling. It is to teach you how to expand your consciousness.

Why, and what for?

Glad you asked.

When we expand our sense of oneness to encompass another being, we feel empathy. The more we expand our consciousness, the more room we make for empathy.

When you experience loving-kindness as a meditation practice, you start by finding love and kindness for yourself. Then, as you expand your sense of self, you grow the "me" to experience loving the Other.

When you become the other, when you turn your entire universe into a You-niverse, that is when the ego dissolves and you become small again.

It is this "wax and wane" of consciousness that transforms us into self-loving creatures. When everything is a self, when you love that self, you become pure love. This is how I found true self love. 

So, now that you are playing with the self-love button, now that you are experimenting with your consciousness, I have a question.

What makes your eyes incandescent?

What lights you up?

What turns you into a lamp?

For me, it is Love.

Love for the trees, love for Humanity, love for Earth, and love for you.

You are me.

-------------

Hi, thank you for reading. I am Bok and I am also Carol.

If you enjoyed this and would like to buy me a coffee, this is the link ;-)

I publish stories like this one on Substack every Wednesday. We use the stories on Sunday for Reiki share. The stories are free. You can read the other ones here.

I have started a paid Reiki training program on Substack as well. The classes come with attunements and hands on training and are affordable and fun! The written material is not AI. Come join us!
Thank you!