Eckhart Tolle on Love

The Eckhart Tolle quote provided in the following two paragraphs contain some interesting thoughts...although I think love is more complex than this. Passion and desire can also involve wanting to merge in a soulful state, and that's as true as non-possessive, unconditional love. I definitely think what Mr. Tolle is speaking to here is part of the equation. Hate may occur for some people I suppose, but I would say most people just feel an alienated "otherness". But it is a polarity shift, isn't it?

"To the ego, loving and wanting are the same, whereas true love has no wanting in it, no desire to possess or for your partner to change. The ego singles someone out and makes them special. It uses that person to cover up the constant underlying feeling of discontent, of “not enough,” of anger and hate, which are closely related. These are facets of an underlying deep seated feeling in human beings that is inseparable from the egoic state.

"When the ego singles something out and says “I love” this or that, it’s an unconscious attempt to cover up or remove the deep-seated feelings that always accompany the ego: the discontent, the unhappiness, the sense of insufficiency that is so familiar. For a little while, the illusion actually works. Then inevitably, at some point, the person you singled out, or made special in your eyes, fails to function as a cover up for your pain, hate, discontent or unhappiness which all have their origin in that sense of insufficiency and incompleteness. Then, out comes the feeling that was covered up, and it gets projected onto the person that had been singled out and made special - who you thought would ultimately “save you.” Suddenly love turns to hate. The ego doesn’t realize that the hatred is a projection of the universal pain that you feel inside. The ego believes that this person is causing the pain. It doesn’t realize that the pain is the universal feeling of not being connected with the deeper level of your being - not being at one with yourself." - Eckhart Tolle

And to this I would add, that when one feels deeply connected to the universe and Spirit, that one feels love towards all that is and all who are. Being in love with a person can open your heart to loving humanity more fully, because it opens you up to Universal Love, Christ Love, God consciousness...whatever you call it. The common experience of falling in love with more than one person, is a further reminder that we are just spirits and being 'in love' is the natural state of being. A really great meditation circle or church experience has the same effect. It can feel like you've fallen from earth into orbit, buoyant and suspended from light beams connecting you to a cradling Universe. It's like being in the womb.

Love can feel amplified and deepened when it surrounds you, when your heart blasts open, embracing all 'others' as 'same'. It would seem this state is not sustainable at full vibrational volume when problem-solving or solution-creating requires our brains to work in every day ways. Many people exercise their hearts in safe ways, like being in love with their best friends or their cats. Most people feel such a deeply profound love for their children, we could call that being 'in love'. Even having celebrity crushes, or an imaginary relationship with a lifelike blowup doll from Japan...not that I know anything about that...exercises our heart muscle, although there's no reciprocity involved there. Unless the doll is possessed ;) Ahhh!

Conscious self-loving and tree hugging are also good for the heart...What do you do for your heart?