Knowing yourself as love

Dear Energy Lady,
I see that one of the principles of Fullistic Living is knowing yourself as love.  What does that mean?

Signed,
Curious

Dear Curious,
You know yourself in lots of ways.  Think of all the things that could follow the words, "I am."  For instance, you could say, "I am Jane (or whatever your name is)."  You could say, "I am from the Smith family."  Or, "I am a Hindi."  Or, " I am gay."  Or, "I am 43 years old."  Or, "I am an American."  Or, "I am an alumni from Trinity College."  Or, "I am tall."  Or, "I am a husband."  Or, "I am Black." Or, "I am good at math."  "I am a vegetarian."  "I am an astronaut."

There's really no end to this game--you can probably think of hundreds of things about yourself that you use to help identify who you are.

But here's the truth:  these are all things you have; they are not what you are.

What you are is love incarnate.   God is living through you, as you, to discover, experience and create more of him/her/itself (depending on your beliefs).

Now it might seem a little odd if people get introduced to you and you say, "I am love.  How do you do?"  So you use your roles, choices and physical traits to connect with others.  But here's the thing: you realize you can change any of it at any time.  Your name, your gender, your hair color, your marital status, your background--you can tell any kind of story about it that you want.  You're just making it all up.

But love is constant.  It's been with you all along.   Oh, for some people it may go into hiding, but it never goes away.  Most of us search for or want more love, and the irony is that it is us, and it's everyone else.  You need look no further than the mirror or the person in front of you.    

What does that mean?  Start looking at everything and everyone with the eyes of love.  See only their beauty, health and good.  Ignore everything else.  You'll soon start to see love everywhere.  The whole world lights up with it.  All you have to do is say, "I am looking at/thinking about/talking about love."  Do it 100 times a day.

Soon, you'll start to feel more love than you ever imagined possible.  And you'll know it is who you truly are.

In the Jewish tradition, there is a legend that after we die, we only get asked one question:  "What did you learn about love?"

Compare how you might answer that now with how you would 30 days from now if you practiced being love all day long.

Love,
EL