Michael Teachings - Personal Love

Personal Love

BY PHILLIP WITTMEYER

Let's have some examples of personal love. Of course the deep affection and total trust that some mates have for each other after a lifetime together is a good example. Another is the nurturing and protectiveness that good parents have for their children. Love is also the tolerance and understanding that two people attain for each other when they have been together a long time. Love is the bonding that occurs between two people during shared intense experiences. Love is the benevolent feelings and well-wishing thoughts that people have for all humankind. Love is the altruist deeds of humanitarian activists. Love is the compassion and empathy felt for the suffering of others. Love is the mellowing that people experience as they grow older and wiser.

However, a person may experience all of these aspects of love and never experience Agape in their entire lives. Please note that I am not saying there is anything wrong with the above listed experiences of personal love. They are all perfectly valid experiences which have a valuable place and function in life and which one may choose to seek wholeheartedly. Learning personal love is certainly one of the most important aspects of a lifetime, and practicing a psychotherapy promotes it. I am saying, however, that these are not Agape. Personal love augments Agape and vice versa, but they are not the same. They both reduce suffering and increase happiness, but they are not the same. For most people, being loving means thinking, feeling, and doing good things for others, and this is true. But Agape goes beyond this.

Next page | Transpersonal Love

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Phil Wittmeyer is a longtime Michael student and scholar of the teachings. He can be reached at: wittmeyer@hotmail.com