In a world in which we’re scared of reckless loving, only those who please us or seem worthy deserve our love. In a world in which we’re ready to be awakened, everyone deserves love because it is not based on merit, good deeds, or willingness to reciprocate, only on being alive. That kind of limitless love is what we mean when we talk about the

How foolish is it to allow those who have hurt us still to have their claws in us, when they have moved on but we keep the wounds open? It is odd how we know something, but getting there seems so impossible to achieve.”

Letting go of the inclination toward revenge is a crucial element in an authentic commitment to resolving conflicts.

We have boundaries but have erected no barrier,

The good news is that we don’t have to be psychologically healthy to love. We don’t have to be spiritually adept or perfect in any way. In fact, sometimes wonderful forms of love come through us in our moments of greatest weakness and disarray. Of course, we can love fervently and creatively as healthy and happy people also. Love is unconditional

A truly intimate relationship is not addictive. It is not dependency-oriented but interdependent. We don’t cling. Instead, we hold and release in accord with what the other offers. It is liberating rather than possessive, satisfying rather than insatiable. We are not obsessed with the other person, only present to and with her. We are coming not

Even in our infatuated state, we may realize that this is not the right relationship for us, that it has no future. Yet we often can’t let go. We may refer to this inability as our heart speaking, when it is actually our adrenals. We are under the influence of our own adrenaline, the hormone that keeps us attached whether or not our feelings are

We feel love now as we first received it; we give love the way others gave it to us. Thus, since love is unique to each person, we read and write love, receive and give it, in the style designed by our past experience. Yet, like good handwriting, our unique signature can be read by others.

Once we understand that love is our true identity, we realize that the skill of learning to love is mostly an undoing of the ego obstructions that have gradually overlaid our natural tendency toward loving. This means letting go of our ego entitlements and inflations. We then look for all the practices that can help that happen, especially those