Love is the only perfect thing that exists because love is the only emotion that is all inclusive of all things, writes Carolyn Hansen. Photo / Getty Images
Love is the only perfect thing that exists because love is the only emotion that is all inclusive of all things, writes Carolyn Hansen. Photo / Getty Images
It's a rare soul that has not heard the admonition to love unconditionally. Unconditional love is the very heart of what we, as humans, have unconsciously been searching for all our lives.
What is unconditional love?
According to reliable sources, unconditional love is "affection without limitations," or the expression oflove without any attached conditions. It is, without doubt, the most healing balm of universal force.
When we love unconditionally, we love now. There is no projection about what may be in the future or what has been in the past. This love carries no price tag, nor does it require some sort of proof. It comes from the heart and expresses unselfishly without considering circumstance. It is boundless and without limitation.
In contrast, conditional love is selfish, shallow and ego driven, and often projects about what may occur in the future. It carries a price tag and demands some sort of finite exchange in return for love. Whether spoken or thought, it is most often preceded by, "I will love you if."
The willingness to project unconditional love to the circumstances and people in our lives (as parents do with children) is admirable for sure. But, true love (which is always unconditional by definition) can only be expressed and given to others when we have achieved this great and mighty force within ourselves.
Why? Because everything is frequency. If this frequency is not alive and vibrating through us, then we have no power or authority to offer it to others.
All outer expression begins within. We must own this frequency for ourselves first before we can, with authority, offer it authentically to others. The reality is, life is a reflector mirror and reflects to us exactly what/who we are inside/consciously.
All outer expression begins within. Photo / Getty Images
If we find ourselves in judgment for another, we can be sure we are judging ourselves for the same condition and that's why we "see/vibrate with" this infraction - we are resonating with it.
Unconditional love isn't about what we do externally, it is about what we do internally. It's really a dressed-up, modern term for self-love.
The more self-love we consciously develop and express, the higher our vibration and the more equipped we are to offer this force to others.
How do we develop self-love?
By honouring ourselves and what our emotions reveal to us. What we feel is powerful but beyond being powerful, it's how our body communicates with us and it carries a strong message. When we ignore uncomfortable messages, they simply bury themselves deeper into our psychic and resurface later, stronger than before.
This uncomfortable feeling that negative emotion brings with it is the first clue that we are not aligned with our highest good/self. It is our signpost that something needs attention - that we are not being authentic and honouring who we truly are.
It is not something to run from or bury deeper but an opportunity to shift negative energy into and expand the expression of love.
Whenever we find ourselves in judgment or guilt, we are vibrating at a very low state and consciously residing in the past. Whenever we find ourselves anxious, our minds are residing and playing in the "drama" of the future. Either way, we have lost the "gift" of the "present."
When we learn to love our imperfections and release self-judgments and guilts, we align with the frequency of love. Photo / Getty Images
Residing in these low/slow vibrating frequencies is a detrimental blow to how we feel about ourselves. It buries our self-esteem and kills our self-confidence.
Love is the only perfect thing that exists because love is the only emotion that is all inclusive of all things. By acknowledging and embracing, without guilt or judgment, any pain or imperfection that surfaces, we exercise our alchemist powers and shift this errant energy into love of self.
Self-love is perfect love. It is the unconditional love we've all been searching for externally since the beginning of time. When we learn to love our imperfections (as humans) and release our self-judgments and guilts, we align with and resonate with the frequency of love and this is what empowers us to share this great "all inclusive" love with others.
Self-love is happy love. It is a high vibration that pushes us to be more, do more and to live in alignment with our authentic self. It is the catalyst behind healthy self-esteem and dynamic self-confidence.
These high inner consciousness levels automatically reflect outwardly in our lives because our inner and outer world are intimately connected the same way both sides of a coin are connected and cannot exist without each other. Our lifestyles naturally improve as we gravitate towards things that prolong our life such as healthy eating, quality sleep and proper exercise.
And, as a bonus, when we live from the vibration of self-love, accepting ourselves without condition, others feel it and accept us too.
As the enlightened master Lao Tzu once said, "when you accept yourself, the whole world accepts you." In other words, when you love yourself without conditions, the world loves you too! It's a good thing!
