What is Love and why does the world need so much of it now?

Love is innocent
Love is courage
Love is authenticity
Love is fearless
Love is feeling
Love is compassion
Love is mercy
Love is honesty
Love is accepting consequences of behavior
Love is assuming responsibility
Love is vitality.
Love is forgiveness
Love is the experience of being human
Love is being able to feel suffering
Love is living in grace
Love is a very active state. It takes tremendous discipline to move through a day’s activities just staying in the heart.
Love is, to quote a great Master, “Being in the world, but not of the world.”
Love is God
God is Love
Love is abundance
Love is awakening
Love is feeling full
Love is having no needs
Love is inspiration
Love is knowing that whatever is “done to the least of you” is done to yourself.
Love is being a bodhisattva
Love is inner peace
Love is the strength of God that passeth understanding

Love is original nature. At the core of the great mystical traditions is the idea that humanity’s original nature is good. Other attributes of original nature are interconnectedness, peace, purity, wholeness and love. It is the disconnection from original nature that is the cause of dis-ease, anxiety, psychological pain and stress.

A Course in Miracles says that forgiveness is the closest thing in this world to an experience of God’s Love. Healing is the restoration of awareness of original nature. Restoration of awareness of original nature is transformative. It has the ultimate trickle down effect. It permeates body, emotions, mind and spirit. Quality of life shifts.
Would I have the courage to face down terrorists or walk through cancer. Well, I’ve had cancer, and got through it. I have yet to face terrorists, but I believe that the world is primed for something and everyone in his or her own way will have to dig down really deep to find the strength of God that passeth understanding.

Creating Heaven on Earth

Like most people, I want to see a world based on love where every person is fed, valued and nurtured. I want to see an earth that is cared for and flourishing. Instead of economic policies based on consumerism, I’d like to see countries adopt an economic policy of “loverism.” Loverism is investing our manufacturing and technological capabilities in products and services that are life affirming. We know we have the technology to feed everyone on this planet. We know we can make renewable sources of energy affordable for everyone. We know that preventative medicine works and we can stay healthier.

There’s a story about a man who dies and is given a choice of whether to go to heaven or hell. He says that he wants to see them both. He’s taken to hell and there he sees thousands of skinny, emaciated people although there are tables heaped with food as far as the eye can see. He notices that each soul has a spoon tied to his or her hand that is so long that it can’t be brought up to their mouths to eat no matter how hard they try.

The man then says that he wants to see heaven. In heaven, he sees the same endless array of tables heaped with food and the same sort of spoons tied to people’s hands. But in heaven, each person looks robust and fit. He asks the guide why the difference and the guide says look again. Then the man notices that in heaven, the people are feeding each other.

We live in an age where the interconnectedness of all life can no longer be denied. Tests showed that shortly after bombing of Iraq began, radiation levels in England spiked. On an every day basis, our thoughts, attitudes and behaviors impact others in ways we don’t even realize.

I heard that Bill Clinton has started a foundation to solve all the world’s pressing problems. To me, solving the world’s pressing problems is easy. It starts with the recognition that we are one human family and that what we all really, really, really, want is to love and be loved. Love has no limits. Love takes the form of kindness, compassion, mercy, tolerance, forgiveness, joy, and feeding each other, if not literally, than metaphorically. We feed each other by our attitudes and our intentions. Gandhi said be the change you want to see. To have heaven on earth we must hold heaven in our hearts and let the love that we are shine fearlessly.

Elderpower

As a member of the boomer generation, the oldest of whom are turning 60 this year, I have decided to start an Elderpower movement.

Elderpower relies on the guidance of the wisdom of the heart gained from a lifetime of experience. The only people who can truly empathize with the suffering of all humanity are people who have survived loss, sickness and disillusionment, and are still not afraid to love.

The wisdom of the heart says that we really are all interconnected and everything affects everything else. As a fledgling elder, I realize that my only reason for being here is to care for the next generation, and to have fun in the process. That doesn't mean that I stop wanting to write books, but it means that I need to actively leave something for my grandkids. With a mindset on what's good for my grandkids, I want to focus on what nurtures and sustains rather than what depletes and destroys – which is the essence of "loverism," the other movement I'm starting. .

Elderpower knows that cooperation is better than competition. Elderpower does not tolerate irresponsibility. Elderpower demands integrity. Elderpower demands citizenship and mutual responsibility for creating a sustainable society. Elderpower recognizes the fragility of all life and therefore treats all life sacredly.

I'm proud to say that I'm an elder of society; only don't ask me my age. My prayer is that I keep my chi high enough to stay feisty and have the courage to follow my path. And when my chi runs low, I pray that I exit peacefully satisfied in the awareness that I touched the world with joy.

For more inspiration, to order my book, or info about spiritual coaching by phone, go to www.drsorah.com

Choose Love

The Miami Herald, on 1/1/06, ran an op-ed piece by Frida Ghitis
(http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/13518051.htm) about how there is less violence on the planet now than at any other time in history. That the planet is more peaceful now is the conclusion reached by the Human Security Report that was published in October 2005 (http://www.humansecurityreport.info).

Of course the question begs, if that’s true, then why aren’t we celebrating? Why are people filled with anxiety and dread? Why are people stressed out and filled with anxiety? Why are millions and millions of people on Prozac?

The same issue of the Herald had an interview with me about defining spirituality (http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/editorial/letters/13518041.htm). At one point, I spoke about how I learned that I could see the world through the eyes of love or the eyes of fear.

It seems as though the world runs on fear. We have to worry about an endless array of threats: if the terrorists don’t get us, then a hurricane will; if it’s not avian flu, then it’s global warming. The nightly news features fires, tornados, murders, car crashes interspersed with commercials touting the latest cure of that deadly of all conditions – yellow teeth. We have to worry about dandruff, deodorant and dirty floors.

Fear impedes growth. I read recently that in order for an organism to survive it needs to do two things: it needs to protect itself and it needs to grow. If too much energy is spent on protection, there isn’t enough energy left for growth. Love fosters growth. Growth leads to self-actualization. It is a state of Self-realization. It’s the awareness that humans are all part of one Spirit. We are all the Buddha, the Christ or any other term for the Divine Presence. It is Enlightenment or Buddhahood or being a Bodhisattva. The Hindu term Tat Tvam Asi means “thou art that,” or as Joni Mitchell said in the song Woodstock, “we are stardust, we are golden, and we have to get ourselves back to the garden”.

Jumping into unlimited potential

Dr. Jean Houston, a contributor to my book, A Chorus of Wisdom, is one of the founders of the human potential movement. For over 30 years, she has written, lectured and taught about humanity's ability to achieve unlimited heights of creativity. Jean has worked personally with business, educational and government leaders, including Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, to help them clarify their goals.

Dr. Houston describes the times we're living in as Jump Time (which is also the title of one of her books). Jump time is a period of rapid evolutionary change. She says that although the rapid changes taking place in the world today may be disruptive, they are acting as catalysts that are scraping away superficial veneers to reveal humanity's innate potential and fullest mental capacities.

For Reflection:
Jean Houston suggests that the era we're living in is a Jump Time. This Jump Time is being precipitated by the breakdown of traditional forms of security like family and jobs. It is also precipitated by the increasing awareness that the health of human beings depends on the health of the earth. And, of course, the impulse of the Spirit within us pushes us to take responsibility and recreate our lives to meet the immediate challenges that Jump Time presents to us.

Have you been experiencing Jump Time? Have you noticed that you're living your life at a faster pace? Have you noticed that your life is changing faster than it ever has? Are you becoming more aware that your thoughts, words and deeds have an impact on the world? Has your focus changed over the past few years from a focus on self to a focus on self and community? Are you listening to your soul's impulse as it calls you to nourish and heal our human community?

In a world hungering for meaning and purpose, A Chorus of Wisdom offers answers that cross traditional religious boundaries to the universal wisdom that is at the core of all religions.

Order a copy today at http://www.drsorah.com/; also available at all online and retail book outlets.

Email me dr.sorah@drsorah.com for more info about phone coaching, healing, speaking, and seminars and workshops.