February 2012: Romance & Religion

Lovers don't finally meet somewhere, they're in each other all along. ~ Rumi

Where do your true passions lie? What and/or who makes your soul soar, causes you to lose track of time, brings deep satisfaction and fulfillment to your life? What gets you excited to be alive? What melts your heart, brings out emotion? What are you avoiding? How are you experiencing love? How do you love? 


The answer to these questions can help you discover more about the quantity and quality of love you are allowing in your life. Many of us are very stingy with our love. We constantly withhold love from ourselves and others. We think that in order to discern right from wrong that we must cast judgment and withhold love in order to correct ourselves. Nothing could be further from the truth. For it is by facing and embracing what we are, all of it, that the whole picture is revealed to us and we turn the impetus of our journey from one of force, to one of power: The Power of Love.


Human beings have a deep and wide intelligence that far outstrips the thinking mind. Even scientists have come to identify what they call a host of intelligences within an individual. There is mathematical genius, artistic and creative genius and even now there is exploration into the intelligence of the heart and body itself! The heart has an electro magnetic field of resonance which is thousands of times stronger than that which is conducted by thought alone, giving new meaning to phrases like, "put your heart into it" or "my heart wasn't in it" and "I really took that to heart". But how do we grow in our ability to love?


The answer to this question, as so many poets and mystics have revealed, is potentially why we are even here in the flesh - to experience the many faces and facets of the Creator, to intimately reveal to ourselves who and what we are through this knowledge and experience and to create something new as we allow the alchemy of our passions to forge us into autonomous beings of light who can CHOOSE so very many ways to express true love and reveal the Light. For when the Light is revealed through the stories of our lives, we are able to see the purpose of living as we continually discover and lean into what really matters to us. For without love, little else truly matters. As Rumi says, "Your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.”

There is some kiss we want with our whole lives, the touch of spirit on the body. ~ Rumi

Sunday Talks with Rev. Renee Bledsoe

February 05 - Romance and Religion
February 12 - Sacred Circle Altar- The Lovers Within
February 19 - Myth, Story and Legend
February 26 - Life Purpose & The Mythic Call

Without an understanding of myth or religion, without an understanding of the relationship between destruction and creation, death and rebirth, the individual suffers the mysteries of life as meaningless mayhem alone.” - Marion Woodman

February Affirmations

I am love. I am loving.

l allow love to live through me.

Love is an energy, a substance from which I am created.

The aspects of my being are in harmony with life.

My body and soul is the sacred altar of my life.

The languages of light and love move and guide me.

I speak the language of love. And open to greater awareness of love in my life.

I go to the next level with my love. I love myself as I love all. I release any blocks to love.

I receive the Light of Truth that is all around me and in so doing I receive more Love.

There is only love. Whether I choose to block or allow it is my choice.

I am the intention of love. Loving is what makes me feel alive.

When I withhold love from others, I am withholding love from myself.

I open to Divine Light within and activate my High Heart.

What I love, loves me. I am passionate about life.

I am imagining a woman in love with herself.

My love can heal and empower others.

I am committed to true love and devoted to learning how to love better.

It is safe to unconditionally love others, because first I unconditionally love myself.

I see my relationships, most especially the challenging ones, as messengers reminding me to love myself.

When someone doesn't love me, I know their soul's purpose in that moment is to remind me to love myself.

I send lovingkindness to all those who feel unloved or unloveable.

The divine template for Mother/Father God lives within me.

The Lovers within me are devoted to wholeness and the perfection of this creation.

I trust in my ability to love from a place a wholeness.

I am aware of my need for love, and I acknowledge that love is as prevalent as air.

My heart is broken open only to let down my guard to receive more love.

I am guided and protected by my love.

Being human is the fruit of the marriage of divine love.

Love is revealed in the human journey. I have many stories of love to tell.

I am awakened by love.

My purpose is to love and be loved.

The Path to Love Through Devotion

If we ever want to reach the highest level of our existence on earth, we will at some point have to realize the reason for our existence: to create the deepest of love through daily devotion.Now admittedly, this is a huge undertaking, but the end result will surely be more than worth our effort. As I write this, I can reflect on the relationships that did not work, partially due to the fact that I never consciously, verbally, and in writing, offered this type of unending devotion to my partner. Why? Because then we are held accountable. Then we will be asked daily to prove our words to be true. And quite frankly, that can scare the hell out of us.

But oh my Lord...just think of the most amazing end result if we now choose to walk this path! To devote our self to our partner, our lover, offers the deepest ,most intimate of all relations. To consciously, together, repeat that we are devoted to one another for life........to rise above the small ego's pettiness, to let go of resentments AS THEY OCCUR, and yes, to not hold them a second longer than necessary. To awaken each morning with the mantra, "God, direct me to do more for my partner today in all ways, show me the path to serve them with devoted love. "Now that, is devotion.

Are you ready to walk this path with me? Are you ready to open your heart to the most vulnerable of all places to flow in the love of the divine with your partner? To be free of past conditioning of what love means, and to jump off the cliff of true love, with your mind simply wrapped around the concept of serving your lover?

In Hinduism, one of the paths to God is called bhakti yoga. Simply put, it is a path of love, where everything you do all day long is devoted to God. As you work, walk, eat, you chant God's name. As you read scripture, you devote yourself to God. The emotion of love for God is the driving force behind this path. It is the driving force of life.We can use this metaphor and take it another step forward by deciding to love God with all of our heart, and then put this same energy into loving with deep devotion, our partner as well.

I have heard of so many "arranged marriages", where the partners fall into this type of devoted love. Even in the beginning, if they were not overly attracted to their arranged partner, over a short period of time they fell madly in love due to their devotional mindset!!Think about this!!! Can you imagine what you and I can do, if we devote ourselves to loving a partner who we are attracted to??? If they can accomplish this after being "set up" in a marriage, can you imagine what we can do as well, when we enter our marriage/relationship by choice?

When I think about devoting my life, my love, to my partner, it brings about a feeling of surrender. A feeling so deep, that it can barely even be described. When we choose to do this together, a whole new world, a whole new definition of love becomes a part of our beings. Divine union has just occurred, and yes, we can then experience Shambala, or Heaven on Earth.

Decide today to walk this path with me, to create the most sacred of relationships.

Slow down to create a path of love through devotion to your partner.Love, peace, Rev. David http://www.davidessel.com/
Posted by Rev. David Essel at 9:38 AM 0 comments

The Two Sides of Love: Are You Ready?

Anyone who truly wants to experience love has to be ready to delve into ALL of love, the two sides of love.The one side you dream and fantasize about that is readily described in romantic novels, as well as the side that rarely gets mentioned, the side that encompasses unconditional love.

So what is love? Like anything in life, love is composed of it's opposites, to be what it is. Love, a feeling, an emotion, is probably the most written about topic of all times. Love, to many, is the feeling of God. The feeling of the Divine. The feeling that says "all is perfect, all is beautiful, all is well."If everything in life must have it's opposite to make it complete, to make it known, then love is also vulnerability, insecurity, and jealousy, for without these aspects of love, the feelings of being "perfect, beautiful, Divine and well", could not be felt.Identical to the thought that if we never had night, we could not experience day, if we never knew insecurity we'd never experience the security that love can offer. They must go hand in hand.

In my practice, I often share with clients that if they truly want to experience the deepest of love than they must be willing to also experience the deepest pain, loss, vulnerability and hurt that this quest for love may offer.Many of these emotions, the "other" side of love, can surface if we delve into the concept of unconditional love. Unconditional love is the other part of love that most of us give lip service to, but never really have the intention of practicing. To love someone unconditionally means exactly what it says, without conditions. I love you even if "you don't do as I ask,don't make the money I'd like you to make, don't have the body I want you to have, or don't communicate with me the way I want you to communicate". In other words, I will love you at the deepest level regardless of what you do or do not do.

When we start to love someone at this level, we can be assured that for a while, it will scare the heck out of us. We release our ego through the practice of unconditional love and move to a place of pure acceptance. We toss out the fantasy of having a partner that falls into a certain role, and accept the human side of their existence. This is where we often experience the dark side of our own emotions, fears and insecurities as we allow our partner the space to become their own person without limits or expectations. Again, the fantasy that we have created since childhood gets blasted away, and in it's place we become strong enough, and loving enough, to allow them to live the life they desire.Within this union, real love can exist. Within this type of relationship, we experience the deepest love for ourselves as we allow our partner more space to grow than they ever could have imagined.

When someone feels this type of love coming from you, the will often respond with the same depth in return. The kind of depth that will awaken a new sense of ecstasy within you that may just blow the doors off of anything you could have imagined.The best way that I have seen this happen is when two people come together and make a conscious decision to discuss this path of unconditional love as a goal that they would like to share. They can then regularly talk honestly about how they are each doing, in a non confrontational and supportive way. While it can also occur without consciousness, the chances of it lasting at this level becomes more of a challenge.

So, now the question lies with you. What do you want when it comes to love? Are you ready to experience the two sides of love in order to reach the zenith of Divine Union or unconditional love? Or, do you want to continue to hold onto the "fantasy love, fantasy partner" that our society continues to promote as realistic to obtain even though we know it is not?I'd love for you to make a conscious decision today, and then be willing to live with your notion of love. On the one hand is the superficial love filled with shallowness and disappointment from a lover that could never rise to your expectations. Or on the other, is a lover that feels free as a bird, and offers the same freedom in return as you both fly into uncharted territories. A love relationship that offers a connection unknown to most, carried by a current of vulnerability that will stretch you beyond your own wildest dreams. A love that guarantees a soul connection so deep when you make love, one that you could never have created in all of your dreams, even if all you had was time to dream. The two sides of love. The option is yours.

Whatever you desire, so it shall be.

Slow down.Love, peace, Rev. David Essel www.talkdavid.com
Posted by David Essel at 7:06 PM 0 comments Links to this post

The Promise of the Love of the Goddess

What there will be is something that you are only just beginning to delve into….
a soul connection through an open, honest, intimate relationship with a woman
who holds all the power of the divine feminine within and without her body.
And she is fully aware of how to call down, capture and use this energy for the good of all. All the healing ecstacy, bliss and joy that you can hold is what awaits.


This is a woman that will not compromise her integrity to cling in desperation to anyone.

This is a woman who will not enable your weaknesses.

This is a woman who isn’t afraid to be alone, because she knows she is never alone.

This is a woman who will not allow you to harm her in any way.

This is a woman who is strong enough to be nurturing and tender.

This is a woman whose wisdom is her guide, who doesn’t allow herself to be ruled by her emotions, but allows pure feeling both joy and sadness to flow purely and freely through her.

This is a woman who can be present to you and present to her life.


It will not feel like anything that you are used to.

This is not being in love.

This is Being Love.

Just be love.

For that is what you truly are.

All of the rest is a choice based on your intention.