The Work of Love

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The work of education here continues apace. The latest writing-project is a four-volume set called the "Enlightenment Tradition" series. The books are finished, and now, require only proofing and polishing.:)

Volume I is an intro called Hearts of Glowing Love. Volume II is Hearts of Passionfire, and is about mysticism in Judaism. Volume III is Hearts of Ecstasy, and concerns mystical Christianity (gnosticism). And Volume IV is Hearts of Moonlight and Roses, about the Sufi traditions.

It is highly recommended that you invest whatever is necessary in your education, for it will pay off very handsomely and richly in the long run. It will help you to create a happier and fuller life.

Time does seem to pass more quickly when you have something larger than the self to which you can devote it. Everybody needs, but few have, a passion for which to live, as the practical Center of their lives and heartminds.

Friendship is the treasure of this or any other life. Please always continue to appreciate and honor (respect) your friends. For, of all the riches that this life offers, none is more golden, none more irreplaceable, than friendship. Every hour that you "invest" in friendship will return to you multiplied and amplified. If you are very, very successful, you can build a whole life around, and of, your Love.
For friendliness is a form of Love.:) And so is courtesy.

She is wealthy indeed who cannot count her dear friends on the fingers of one hand. Friendship 101 is what this life is all about. It will teach you patience, forgiveness, tolerance, and a host of related and indispensable lifeskills. And an "investment" of time (the "gold" of the universe) in friendship will always pay off in the longterm.

But when any friendship becomes dangerous to your health, mental balance, or general wellbeing, you must, out of reasonable selflove, act to dissolve it. To do this, of course, you need not be hateful or cruel; a friendship is like a rose. If you do not cultivate, nourish, feed, and care for it, it will tend to wither on its own.

People often forget the sometimes challenging work of "maintenance" that any friendship deserves and demands. This includes emails, visits, phone-calls, other sharings, or even periodic and appropriate small gifts. It also includes the kindness of avoiding hurtful gossip.

That does not mean that we cannot share our deepest feelings, and even tragedies, with good friends. It simply implies the vow of the heart never to become bitter or vicious. We seek interior tranquility, in other words, and wish that also for all, including even former friends.

And we, as the people of Love, never waste timenergyon vengeance. For great and lovely karma takes care of all, bringing to each her own rewards. (There is no such thing as an "innocent victim.")

But you cannot, and must not try to, become the "mommy" or "daddy" of any other adult.

Any behavior that is rewarded will be repeated. This is most basic psychological law. Had you remained her friend, you would have been responsible for having rewarded these behaviors, and in this way, would have harmed her life. This goes against ahimsa, the principle of non-harm.

It is not wrong to celebrate the end of a destructive relationship! It is now time for laughter and relief, not moping and tears!:)

Always remember that, in a good friendship, you have very few, or no, expectations, and zero demands.

Never let go of this quest to cultivate a deep and spiritual mind. For this is the single diamond centerpiece of any life well-lived. People will always "tempt" you to become shallow, but the shallow life is like the "unexamined" life-- not worth living. In the future, your spirituality will bring you the interior strength and joy needed to survive the challenging earthlife with sanity and happiness.

Working with animals is great! We need as many compassionate human beings as possible on this poor little planet. Have you ever met a llama? They are very sweet hearts and tender souls, and a "relationship" with one is a jewel.:)

Working with the animals is a very real manifestation of the very best within you-- your Love-nature. One of the favorite historical beings, Brother St. Francis, showed how Love for other species could be the very backbone of a satisfying, creative, and deeply spiritual life.

It is also an indispensable aspect of selflove to make sure that we get as much fun out of life as possible-- provided that the "fun" does not harm ourselves or others.:)

A life of tranquility is worth a bushel of bucks, and more!:)

Love is a matter, not of words only, but of the rich and balanced blend of words and works, or action.

Friendship without forgiveness is like watermelon without water; it is only a dry husk, tasteless, a counterfeit of the real thing. It brings no satisfaction or peace to the heart, and never creates joy. It is very sad to see a person who has not mastered this very important lesson; she creates interior hells for herself, over and over.

The sweet Goddess of Love can reach into our hearts and lives in any way.

She is always "talking" in the deeper Mind, but we have largely forgotten how to listen.:)

May Love continue to bless and fill your heartmind, and may It fill the hearts and minds of all creatures everywhere!:)

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Maintenance of Friendship

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Yesterday evening's visit from you was a great and very thoughtful "Christmas gift.":) We got to share-- early-- some of that famous "Christmas spirit." This is, of course, the spirit of Love, generosity, giving, thoughtfulness, kindness, other-centeredness, and other delightful related positivities.

It stuns and somewhat surprises me just how easily even the best of friends can "lose each other" in the busy-ness of everyday life. Emails stop, phone-calls become rare, and visits scarce. Friendship is a living thing. It must be "fed" by fairly regular communications, or else, it can "die on the vine," evaporate, simply vanish. And this can just naturally happen, without anyone's doing anything, even without anyone's wanting it.

You have to do a little fun "work" to keep a friendship going, but it can disappear without any work at all. In fact, it "starves" when neglected.:(

I surely do not want this to happen to our very precious and light-filled, Love-filled friendship. For it is fun, energizing, positive, and life-enhancing. It makes our lives richer and more fun.

A friendship, no matter how strong or how long, can perish through simple neglect. Everyone is in greatest and immediate danger of becoming simply "too busy" to do "maintenance" on a friendship. This delightful friendship-maintenance includes fairly regular communications (emails, phone-calls, snailmails, cards) as well as visits when possible. It might also include, as in the Christmas Holy-day, small gifts as appropriate.

Let us simply think of each other. Let us do this often, and with Love in our hearts. And let us show that we truly love and care for each other. Friendship is the most beautiful gift that we can ever give each other. Construction of friendships is one of the reasons for living on earth. (It is a most common form of Lovexpression.) Investing in friendship is investing in the "ggold" of real spirituality. So, friendship-maintenance is real worship.

Creating, and maintaining, good friendships is one of the very few things that we can do on earth that will affect eternity. For the best friendships can last for millions or billions of years!:) So, friendship is the center-piece of Love, and one of the most important things in our lives. For long after these tiny lives have disappeared, friendship will stand by our side to support us and make us stronger and wiser.

It is rather startling, for example, how easily, and how quickly, the good habit of regular emails can simply die. It appears that even our email communications could follow this troubling path to non-existence.
Again, this letter is written so that this "vaporization" (through forgetting or busy-ness) does not occur in our case.

For we love you and think and speak of you quite often, with both Love and joy in our hearts. And the Season of Love and Light is the perfect time to express these sentiments,together with these caveats. And Love is always, like friendship, Its twin, a two-way communication. So, we look forward, with delight and pleasure, to your response to this email, so that, together, we can "get our friendship back on track.":)
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