Spiritual Practices

Love

Spiritual Practice: During meditation, repeat the word, “love, love," mentally from your heart. Know that the omnipresent love of God is in your heart, in your body, in your bedroom or surroundings. Feel that love. Realize that God's love permeates every atom of creation. If you wish, expand it to envelop your neighborhood, city, country, continent, and world. See the planet Earth from afar, permeated with divine love.

Spiritual Practice: Mentally repeat the words “God is love" regularly throughout the day or week or even longer whenever your mind is free to dwell on that truth. Repeat it at the end of your meditation. Go deeply into it. Repeat it from your heart, feel it in your heart. (I know one person who had a divine experience repeating those words and wondering what they meant.)

Spiritual Practice: Look for all the ways God's love is manifesting in your life—through the loving expressions and acts of others toward you, through all the blessings you receive, through your spirituality and your own acts of love and service, through all the good you give and receive, through all the good you witness. The more you look, the more you will see. Feel gratitude for those manifestations.

Spiritual Practice: Mentally say to your spouse or partner as you quietly gaze at each other, or as you watch him or her sitting, reading, or working, “I love you," over and over from your heart. Feel love flowing from your heart to the heart of your lover.

Spiritual Practice: Express love to others in one or more of the following ways: Look for the good in them and acknowledge one of their good qualities or something they've accomplished. Perform an act of service for them. Look into their eyes and smile. Really listen to what they're saying, without anxiously waiting for your chance to speak, and let them know by your response that you heard them, especially any emotions they expressed. Give them an article from a newspaper or magazine that you think they'd be interested in. Spend some quality time with them. Express love in any other way that you know will convey your love for them.