Let Yourself Be Loved

       I’m sitting at my kitchen counter basking in the sunshine as it spills in through my window.  I move the vase of pink and white carnations mixed with the last of the Fall roses into the sunlight.  Ahhh, such beauty in these colors.  I whisper to Love, “Thank you, thank you for loving me with these brilliant colors, the warmth of this sunshine, the peace I feel in this home.  My husband was up late working his nursing shift, so he’s still sleeping peacefully.  I revel in the quiet, itself a gift of Love Itself.  I remember the days I had longed for such peace, the joy of flowers, and ohhh even the soft, fluffy birds who come to visit our feeders each morning.  Their favorite spot is the pooling warm water that settles into the divot of our hot tub cover.  We had lamented the day we actually created that small indention, noting our then new cover was now showing signs of wear.  And here it’s one of our greatest joys, to watch the birds having their “pool party” in the blunder we thought we made by stacking too much stuff onto it to clear the deck for repainting.  Somehow those birds manage to get their entire bodies fully washed and fluffy in less than 1/2 an inch of water.  We just can’t resist calling one another to come watch the pool party!  I breathe in a deep, peaceful breath and note that heaven is truly here in this moment.  In this moment, I allow myself to let the mind be still and I just breathe in the Love that’s loving me.  

       And then, from this blissful holy instant, one of my beloved Beagles, Mazzie, begins to bark.  First, it’s just one or two barks.  Then suddenly the other, Lillie, joins in.  Clearly there’s a crisis by now as both are up and responding with a chorus of protective barks.   They pace the living room, uncertain if they should look out the window or head outside to chase away whatever is intruding upon our home.  It’s a windy day, and after a quick peek outside of our front window, it’s obvious that is the culprit of Mazzie’s fear.  Something blown by the wind:  perhaps the door, a tree branch, who knows?!  For 20 minutes I try whatever tactics I can to ease their worries and quiet the noise that’s sure to wake up my sleeping husband.  Finally, standing still beside Mazzie, who’s still needing to be soothed of her fears, I hear a slight rustling coming from somewhere.  I peek in the bedroom, only to find my husband wondering what the heck is going on as I inquire if he’s making some noise.  Clearly no.  He’s been lying still, willing the noise to stop.  At last, I look out the front door, and discover our daily paper flapping against the screens of our front porch!  That was it!  Just a silly few pages of paper creating turmoil and fear and stealing our peaceful bliss!  As I remove the papers and close the door, Mazzie finds a bright spot of sunshine in the carpet and settles down to bask in the warmth.  

       It easily comes to me, as I whisper to myself, “Isn’t that just like the ego?  Some pages flapping in the wind!  Nothing really.  It stirs up illusions of all the things we should fix, everything we could worry about, stressful events to dwell upon, and endless suggestions of all that needs to be controlled and contained.  And it’s all illusion that just blocks us from receiving the peace and love that is always there ready to support, guide, and surround us with boundless colors, fluffy birds, and warm sunshine.  

       Whenever I feel myself to be caught up by some ego message, some disturbance within that is blocking my peace, I’ve learned that the sooner I bring my feelings to Love Itself, the sooner these blocks release.  I usually need to write out whatever is going on until the deeper feelings of hurt or pain or fear surface.  I’ve discovered that the very act of opening up the wounds in my heart to Love Itself is what allows them to be transformed back into simply love.  Recently I was feeling a bit of a loss about my path forward and wanting to feel more joy in my life.  I took some time to write out my struggles and waited silently for a response.  This message from Love Itself soon followed:  

       “The answer is always in the letting go and being loved-just letting in My love for you-trusting in My love for you.  I will not ever lead you astray.  Yes, let go.  Feel My Love as it abides in you and I abide in you.  The answers you seek, the guidance to your heart’s desires, lie in returning, nay abiding in our union.  

        You are right to see you must detach from the world of form.  Abide in your home with Me.  As you absorb My love, so shall you extend My love.  Thus, I say again, dwell, abide, absorb, live in My love, only love.  Truly will nothing be lacking.  For Love encompasses all.  And especially brings forth the joy of your natural state.  No more striving, trying, fixing, figuring out.  Total unconditional trust in My love-that is the path I light for you.”

                                                                      ~ Love Itself 

       A few weeks ago, I listened to a podcast called, “Buddha at the Gas Pump”.  Sabastian Blaksley, the author of a book series entitled, Choose Only Love, was being interviewed.   Sabastian has had some remarkable interactions and conversations with Divine Love.  In the interview, he notes that Jesus (who first reached out to him as a child, in the midst of a tragic car accident) has told him that our only job here on earth is just to let ourselves be loved.  Having felt the immense depth of Divine Love myself in some of my own personal experiences and interactions with Love Itself, this really struck me.  Love Itself has told me repeatedly the importance of letting go of expectations and instead focusing on the love that surrounds me…that is always there for me.  It’s funny how you can hear things sometimes 100 times from those closest to you and yet it takes someone with a bit of distance to get the same message across.  For the 100 times Love Itself has told me how deeply loved I am, it was Sebastian’s words that finally stuck.  Just let yourself be loved! 

       In A Course in Miracles there is a line that says, “How else can you find joy in a joyless place except by realizing that you are not there?  You cannot be anywhere that God did not put you, and God created you as part of Him.  That is both where you are and what you are.” ~ACIM OrEd.Tx.6.30 

       You see, when we allow ourselves to just be loved, we take the power of the noise-making ego…the scary newspaper off the porch, and we allow ourselves to remember that we forever abide in safety within a love that will not fail us.  For me, my mission since hearing these words from both Love Itself and Sebastian, has been to let go of all expectations and just let myself be loved.  In doing so, I’ve discovered how much easier it is to trust that such a deep love will not fail me.  In turning my attention to where I truly abide, in the loving embrace of Love Itself, I can more easily remember that the ego created world of fear is just not real.  My joy is in each breath I breathe with Love Itself.  My joy is in the remembering this union of a deep abiding love that lies deep within me in the seed of my heart.  It is a well that cannot run dry.  It is ever flowing, ever replenishing, ever giving.  As I allow this Love to flow through me, my joy flows.  For there am I complete.  There am I One.  Therein lies the whole of me- and the whole of creation flowing with me.  And life just becomes so much easier….so full of joy and peace and bliss.  I find things just work out when I stop giving power to the silly newspaper that is the ego!  I find I can trust totally and unconditionally that I will be cared for because I am that deeply loved!  And all I really need to do, is just let myself be loved!  

       May you also just let yourself be loved today!  ~Janine

*Many thanks to Mohamed Nohassi on Upsplash for top photo.