Love Class

In this course we will be exploring a conscious, intentional journey about the meaning of love. The word has many connotations, and this course will introduce a particular definition that will provide you with a new sense of what love can be, and how it can manifest in your life. What we want to suggest here is that there is a difference between human love as it is generally understood, and spiritual love as it is often misunderstood.

Our inner life is the realm of values, the domain where we choose and develop how we want to act and think, and who we want to become. We can decide how our inner life works. We develop our inner life by choosing the values by which we want to live and grow. The outer life is a canvas on which our inner self is reflected. Our outer life is the environment where we put our values into action. It is where we interact with the environment and other people; it is the sandbox in which we get to play. We have very little control over how others will respond to what we do. But our outer life is absolutely essential for growing values in ourselves and influencing them in others.

Our mind is where we contemplate and execute the decisions we make that affect our lives and the lives of others around us. Our heart center is where we feel the outcome of those very real decisions we make, for better or worse. We rationalize our actions in our mind and then apply them in our outer lives. How our actions are perceived outside of us by others falls within the realm of the heart. These feelings within the heart can prompt us to reassess our behavior and change or grow if necessary.

The Golden Rule can be found in the belief systems of all religions throughout history. Even people who do not identify with religion have accepted this concept of treating others the way they would like to be treated. The 1993 Parliament of the World’s Religions adopted a global ethic of the world’s religions, which stated:

“We are interdependent. Each of us depends on the well-being of all of us, and so we have respect for the community of living beings. We must treat others as we wish others to treat us. We make a commitment to respect life and dignity, individuality and diversity, so that every person is treated humanely, without exception.”

There are three different types of values we engage in our daily lives: material, social, and spiritual. Material values are personal possessions that we treasure, and pretty much all material values require money. Social values are culturally established norms such as our attractiveness or intelligence, our athleticism or creativity. This can be genetic, and / or learned from our upbringing and environment. In other words, there are conditions for material and social values, and they are not equally accessible to everyone. Spiritual values are relationship oriented. They encompass the heart of the practice of love, and they are universally accessible to everyone – anyone can learn them. In this course, our emphasis is on spiritual values. We learn to put spiritual values into practice, with the support of our friends and family. It’s about progress, not perfection – learning gradually to bring our actions more and more in line with our values.

Click here for a list of some examples of spiritual values and their definitions.

Values are a set of principles or qualities that guide us in our daily life. Meanings are the levels at which we understand our values. As the relationship between values and meanings grows, the understanding between the two deepens. The more loyal we are in living our values, the more the meaning behind the value grows.

Practicing values and growing meaning awakens in us a greater understanding of wisdom. As the world of values—the world of love—opens up to us through our active participation, a journey into our inner lives begins to unfold. This journey is rich with the conscious presence of spirit and is where true wisdom awaits us.

• Introduction to service and forgiveness
• Form small groups for support
• Invitation to join us in our work
• Optional support with a wisdom counselor
• Mentors’ office time