What is Love?

By Bentinho Massaro

Love is here.

Love is forever.

Love is endless, always present.

Love is like the background of everything. Like the canvas is to a painting or like the sky is to the clouds. Love is the very basis of everything, without it, we are not; without Love, nothing is. All is that basis; all is that Love. It's the nature of everything and it cannot be surpassed.

Whenever you stop thinking for a moment or stop believing in your ideas, you will notice that there is a present background for all these thoughts and emotions to appear in. This background will be seen to be present right now. Much like a space that is there in which thoughts either arise, or stay absent from. Once this space is recognized directly, this background from which nothing ever leaves, we may also realize that this space is the very basis of everything that is known within it.

This space is most easily noticed when there is no clinging to the passing thoughts. Like the blue open sky is more noticeable when there are no clouds or when we at least have the courage to not be distracted by the clouds and take a moment to realize and recognize the sky in which they exist. After having gained confidence in this recognition of spacious Love, it will become apparent to us that this Love is also here whenever we are thinking and clinging to thoughts and emotions. All arises, endures and dissolves spontaneously within Love and these appearances are timelessly free from the very moment they arose.

The act of Love and Loving yourself

Whenever you feel down, than that is how you feel. Whenever you feel great, then that is how you feel...

The very act of acknowledging that you feel a certain way and allowing that feeling to be without trying to come up with, or derive from it, any form of meaning, direction or implication, is Love loving itself unconditionally.

To belief that feelings and thoughts need to be reacted upon or acted out in order to resolve, is the great misconception. All is already resolved since nothing ever isn't. Love is in, through, with and as all that arises. There is no such thing as distinction or value in the eyes of Love. Love sees only itself in and as everything. Love is completely drunk with its own nectar and expresses itself in seemingly foolish yet amazingly effective ways.

Love is Foolish because there is no filtering, no intervention and there is no interception in any given moment. There simply isn;t anyone to review the expression before it is allowed to be expressed.

When Resting as the background of all phenomena, we rest as Love and see through it's limitless eyes. From this restful seeing there is no one to intercept, intervene, think about, judge, categorize, analyze or solidify any appearance whatsoever. There is only Love expressing itself directly, spontaneously, without limit, hesitation or control. So how can Love not seem foolish at times when seen from the eyes of an interpreter?

The Commitment to Love

Instead of reacting upon our thoughts and feelings, we can love them as they are. We can learn to be patient with ourselves and through that patience realize in our direct experience the background of all that we consider our talents, flaws or human expressions.

By committing to something beyond the scope of our transient movements of energy, even if we are not yet sure as to what we are committing ourselves to exactly, we will be much more patient and stable whenever these movements of energy occur. We will have a gaze that's set on infinity and nothing that passes our gaze will attract or distract us, for we are looking directly into what lies beyond. Like the constant movement of a windscreen wiper can not deflect our focus from the road.

Through this patience, dedication and ability to encompass and allow all that can arise to be as it will, we will see the background of all movement. It is then and there that we will know what Love is directly. Not conceptually, not intellectually, but decisively as being what we are as the all-inclusive basis in which and as which everything exists.

Love Forgetting Itself and then Remembering again

We tend to forget and overlook the simplicity of what's already here. That's because we analyze and give value to things. By giving value to something, you make a distinction between that one thing and everything else. Love is total, distinction-less equanimity with all things of all sorts. When seen from Love, the World is new and fresh in every moment and every moment of its existence, it's already spontaneously free from.

Love is not defined by - and therefore not confined to - feelings of love alone. Love is there as the Self-Aware space in which these feelings of love are experienced. Likewise, Love also includes hatred as being a perfect and flawless perception within itself. It sees everything as itself, hence it's a peaceful equanimity that's at a perfect balance with itself. Nothing is every denied existence; all is allowed exactly as it comes. Love is completely in Love with what we call war, hate, and all such things.

To see everything as being an expression of that one Love, is to remember Love through it's naturally inherent Self Awareness.

To Relax, means to stop all seeking and all defining (which equals dividing). So do just that: Relax. Again and again, throughout all your personal challenges, relax your ideas and stop looking for an anti-dote or a one-way ticket out of the situation you're in and be that gracious compassion for whatever you may experience. Be all-inclusive; allow everything to come and go as it pleases; release yourself from all controlling tendencies and avoiding attitudes. Face your thoughts and emotions and have that stable, compassionate gaze which allows all to arise and dissolve and is never distracted by any specific movement.

Repeat this again and again, whenever you remember to do so and more and more Love will reveal itself to be the basis of all that exists. It's simply here to stay and nothing ever escapes its scope. Loving yourself means to allow the full spectrum of your experience to be experienced without any fleeing or manipulation.

Love is Free, Love is Total, Love is Now.

Already Perfect Love is all you are.

Just Relax...

Love,
Bentinho

"Bentinho Massaro's message is simply this: That which we truly are is already perfectly free and fulfilled. He effectively shares how to effortlessly recognize this Perfect Presence in our direct experience and in our daily lives. This simple recognition of free Awareness results in a profound discovery of Ultimate Freedom and Self Awareness as being naturally present right now. Nothing ever leaves this freedom, all appears and disappears within it."  www.yoga-mind-control.com