I like to believe that we all have been touched by love at some point in our lives, because it is as basic a need as having air to breathe. Obviously, I am talking about more than the romantic love, which is fixated or directed at one particular person.  If we have ever loved deeply, then chances are we have also been wounded deeply.  On the contrary, if we expand our definition and therefore circle of love and do not confuse love with ownership, then love can only be healing and expanding.

I am talking about the love that is all encompassing.  When we operate out of love, we let go and forgive even our “enemies” because with our hearts so open, we can identify with the humanness in them.   It flows out of us effortlessly in everything we do, how we live, relationships we build and everything we create.  Love is the vital force, a positive energy that sustains the universe.  All else is just an illusion.  Without love, all creation may shrink to nothing.  In being love and in giving love is the only way to get love.

I truly believe that inherently we are love and gravitate towards love and light.  Love is a much more powerful force than fear. Unfortunately, many of us put on the masks and layers of fear and mistrust and bury our true essence so deeply that we forget.  We become so disconnected with ourselves and consequently can never get past the more obvious ways we vandalize our opportunities for happiness and damage the people in our lives.

Love expands us and fear shrinks us into nothingness.  Love is rooted in a state of ‘knowing’, whereas fear is based entirely upon ‘beliefs’, most of which are false.  When we operate out of love, we know and feel deeply that everything in the universe is interconnected and that we are part of all creation. When we separate ourselves from “them” we are operating out of fear not love.   When we love, we see everything as whole and not fragmented, we feel safety in the universe regardless of how threatening our outside situations or events may be.  To open ourselves fully means that regardless of how often we have been hurt, our love of life is much bigger and stronger than the fear of getting hurt by it. We are willing to take a chance.

Stress is a by-product of fear.  The signs are pretty obvious; we are all intuitive enough to feel our energy constricting. Tightness, pressure in the chest, clenched teeth, confusion, obsession, magnetizing negative energy are just some examples of fear and stress. Our energy spirals downward, and the fear itself grows like a monster and takes over our lives.  We close down to possible solutions because we only see what we lack or what we fear. Fear breeds self-doubt and lack of confidence.  Coming from a place of fear brings on more fear and eventually emotional paralysis.

The key is to be aware of our thought patterns and the resulting emotions and physical sensations.  We can work towards changing our thought patterns and actions and releasing the negative energy not only from our mind but also through our body.

Working with our breath is a quick and effective way to release negative energy of any type.  It also stops any negative energy entering our body and mind.  We can breathe in love and breathe out fear. Fear of what in particular?  Breathe it out gently. Continuing to breathe with this intention will eventually bring a sense of neutrality and lead to an absence of fear or stress. Every time we notice the symptoms of fear, we can pay attention to our breath repeatedly, persistently and lovingly.

Am I operating out of fear or love?  This is a question we can ask ourselves with every thing we do.  We can become a vehicle of change.  We may be the only encounter of love that someone may experience.  How do we want to touch others, with love or fear?