Stillness Speaks presents SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS

Stillness Speaks presents
SHAMBHALA PUBLICATIONS

Love Unveiled: Afterword – A.H. Almaas

Aug 26, 2020

“… Love is the primary way the bliss of being expresses itself. Love is the perfume of union …” ~ A. H. Almaas

shambhala publications seriesRead about our Shambhala Publications Series launch (Dec 15, 2021) by clicking here … this post is part of this series even though it was published before the launch.

love unity almaas

Almaas also says ” … Love is what causes walls and boundaries to disappear, and love is what fills the space that is left …”

Some of the human behavioral “walls and boundaries” are separation, divisiveness, and hatred … issues that, sadly, remain in our midst while we navigate the COVID crisis and the ongoing social unrest. Of course, resolution of these issues is being pursued both individually and collectively … and in that spirit we have been encouraging the dissolving of these “walls” … through a conscious focus on kindnesscompassion, or forgiveness including love (as explored by Almaas) …

And, in this post we continue Almaas’ deep dive into love … the quality that he says “… draws us toward another and allows us to see the other without veils… “

But … before that exploration …

As we’ve been doing since the emergence of COVID … we want to commend Go Fund Me for persistently organizing/promoting multiple campaigns to meet the current imperatives. All of these campaigns are worthy of our attention … but for now we want to highlight the ones dealing with COVID-19 relief … we are supporting these personally and also as Stillness Speaks (through donations):

Financial challenges are being faced by most, if not all of us … but IF your situation allows you to donate and help then …

… please visit  Frontline Responders Fund’s Go Fund Me page … and help deliver crucial supplies to these frontline responders …

… and/or visit  America’s Food Fund Go Fund Me page and help feed the neighbors in need …

And, we again, express our deepest gratitude to the COVID-19 Frontline Responders (all the healthcare professionals – doctors, nurses, hospital/medical-services staff – firefighters, law enforcement, volunteers, and any/all the people involved in keeping the “system-at-large” functioning for ALL of us) … and to Go Fund Me for being instrumental in feeding the needy.

THANK YOU – our lives would not be possible without your dedication.

love unveiled book coverSo, back to the deep dive into love … this post is the concluding part of a 4-part series that’s exploring “love and its many faces on the spiritual journey” through excerpts from A. H. Almaas‘ recently released (March 2020) book Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart that “… is about love as an aspect of the presence of our true nature …”

… in part 1 we shared the entire Introduction where Almaas’ starts unpacking love while sharing his six aims for this book (which is the first of a 3 volume series on love) … thus setting the stage for his subsequent explorations into love.

… in part 2, we looked at personal or appreciative love (the 1st of the three kinds – posited by Almaas – and the other two being merging or connecting and passionate or ecstatic love) … through excerpts from the chapter titled: The Soul’s Love Affair

… in part 3 we briefly touched on the 2nd kind of love: merging love – that “… draws us nearer to our depth … toward actual union with the Beloved …” … through excerpts from the chapter titled: The Longing for Union

And in this part 4, we offer the entire Afterword, which is a brief summation of the book … or the essence of his entire exploration …

For another perspective on the “larger” love, visit one of our posts: Love & Awakening … by Francis Lucille.

 

All italicized text below is from Love Unveiled and is published here with the gracious permission from the publisher Shambhala Publications. Shambhala has also generously offered a free downloadable PDF of the Table of Contents (link is at the bottom of the post). You can purchase the book at Shambhala or Amazon.

Afterword

Love is the primary way the bliss of being expresses itself. Love is the perfume of union, of the unity of reality, when seen beyond external divisions and separateness. However, because we ordinarily know ourselves as separate beings, love is needed to bring us together and unify reality in our perception. In that process we begin to see how love is the force that permeates the natural state of the world. Love is what causes walls and boundaries to disappear, and love is what fills the space that is left. Love is what draws us toward another and allows us to see the other without veils.

In Love Unveiled, we have seen how three particular qualities of love—personal, merging, and passionate—provide the fuel for the inner journey. Personal or pink love is the appreciation of the beauty that we see in another’s unique individual expression of reality. Merging gold love is the delicious melting of the ideas of separateness that exist between two souls, or between us and our own source, revealing their inseparability. Passionate love is the intense desire to lose our separateness through dissolving completely into the other or into the inner Beloved.

passionate love inner beloved almaas

These qualities are not separate from each other, just as love itself is not separate from being. Love might be called the heart of being and these qualities are some of the colors and flavors of that heart. And although they are not separate, the particular characteristics of each aspect reflect the various forms in which being manifests love as an invitation to surrender our idea of separateness. The heart of being is so generous it offers many ways for us to let go of the illusion of our separate ego.

Here we have focused on three qualities of love, but they are only the central ones that fuel the soul’s inner journey. Other flavors of love include joy, loving-kindness, gratitude, and fulfillment. Each of these aspects carries its own unique affect and taste of our natural state of being—our true nature that is undivided and inseparable from the rest of reality. Every love quality opens the heart from the inside, bringing with it both a vulnerability and a sweetness. That sweetness reflects the pleasure of tasting our own natural beingness—being at one with what we truly are and recognizing that our efforts to protect ourselves cut us off from the experience of being real. These qualities also reveal the richness of the spiritual realm, and its enchanting beauty. The heart of being expresses itself in so many beautiful and meaningful qualities, which is why we have adopted the title Diamond Heart for many of my books, and for some of the structures of the teaching. The heart is like a faceted gem that glows with the sweetness of its many flavors.

love our true nature a;maas

In this book we have explored the forms of love that are experienced in the lives of individual human beings. They represent love as we know it from the individual perspective, in relationship to other humans, to the world and to our own depth. Though all flavors of love can lead to and manifest within a nondual experience of oneness, personal, merging, and passionate love can all be experienced deeply by an individual living in the ordinary dual world. It is important to recognize that such experiences of true love can not only lead to full nondual realization but also enrich our lives before or even without that realization. The second book forthcoming in this series on love delves into love in the nondual realm, exploring what is often called universal or divine love. There we will explore a new dimension of heart, one that is boundless and pervasive.

I hope that this first journey into the territory of human love and its relation to the divine in each person has given you a greater appreciation for the power and the potential of our beingness. May you continue to be touched by and drawn toward the depth, beauty, and richness of who and what you are.

~ A. H. Almaas

 

And, here’s Part 1 in case you have not seen it … and we just (March 29, 2023) started a 2-part series on Almaas’ volume 2 of this trilogy: Nondual Love … enjoy!

May you experience the dissolving of “walls and boundaries” that deepen unity, inclusiveness, and love for our fellow human beings.

May you remain safe and healthy as you navigate this pandemic.

 

All italicized text above is from Love Unveiled: Discovering the Essence of the Awakened Heart  by A. H. Almaas © 2020 by A-Hameed Ali … and is published here with the publisher Shambhala Publications’ generous and gracious permission. Click here for the free, downloadable PDF of the Table of Contents.

 

Images (edited & Logo added): 1 & Featured) Energy of Unity by agsandrew, 2) Cover page for Almaas’ book, 3) Composite of a) Lover’s heads looking up, amidst colorful patterns and symbols of the Universe on mutual unity by agsandrew, and b) Green love heart sign with tree branches by fle-x-elf, 4) Beautiful sunset over the sea by Imaginechina-Tuchong, 5) Sunset on the beach by tribal. All except 2 are purchased from depositphotos, and are for use only on our website/social channels (these images are not permitted to be shared separate from this post). 2 is provided by Shambhala Publications with permission to be used on our website and other digital assets.
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