February 2019 2

LOVING
Love is not what we become but who we already are.
— Stephen Levine
Pay special attention to what happens to the energy
of the space that exists between you and a person or
anything that you love as you are experiencing that
love. Does it not come alive and connect you with
what or who is loved?
Perhaps this insight sounds completely nonsensical,
but it is one of life’s most important discoveries and
illuminates what Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh refers
to as “The Miracle of Mindfulness.” All of Buddhist
teaching is aimed at getting us to notice and pay
attention to that which we typically overlook but which
when closely observed and deeply experienced,begins
to reveal the most important secrets of Life, and there
is no more vital hidden truth in our culture than that
the space between objects is living energy. So too are
the objects – even those we conventionally think of as
inert - and this energy resonates with the quality of the
consciousness of the person experiencing the space
and the objects within it. We are energetic beings in an
energetic universe with consciousness energy pervading
this unity.
So what is love? We might describe it as to hold
dear, to feel passion, desire, affection, to take pleasure
in something or someone. We know it is a very strong
emotion that arises when we are very attracted to and
strongly like or identify with something or someone,
but does any of this really explain what is happening
and why it is happening? We need to know what is
happening and why because we tend to have a rather
passive sense of love – it happens or not - if it’s there
it’s there, if it’s not, it’s not. We don’t have much of a
sense of whether we have any active role in creating
love, cultivating it and sustaining it and this is unfortunate,
for the cultivation of love is quite possible and
very necessary for love to bloom optimally. It is very
important to know that we can have a very active and
creative relationship with love, and that this knowledge
contributes greatly to living an awakened life.
So – what is love? Simply stated, it is connection. Is
it not? For what is experienced when love is present if
it is not connection? But then, what is this connection?
As with every aspect of the human realm, there are
two fundamental dimensions, and here I am addressing
the egoic realm and the very poorly understood
spiritual, or realm-of-Being dimension, that which we
struggle to find words to describe, for our culture lacks
any agreed-upon vocabulary for this most precious of
experiences. As we are a strongly materialistic culture,
if an experience is not anchored in the material we tend
to overlook it, and for this conversation concerning
love, we will be entering what we might call the purely
subjective heart-realm, and there is nothing material
about it.
At the level of ego, that experience of our own separate
and insecure identity in the world seeking to be
buttressed and comforted, love is of course connection,
but the quality of the connection is limited. It is the
experience of the ego connecting and identifying with
a person, object or experience and seeking its own
validation and significance through this experience. It
is the “I love it!” in response to a personal validation,
victory, enhancement or stimulation, even if the “it” is
another person. The experience maintains a strongly
Vol. 22, No. 06 — February 2019
dualistic quality even as a unifying connection occurs. I
am here - experiencing and loving that which is there.
If we pay very close attention, however, we might
realize that there occurs an extension of our senseof-self
boundary to include the object of the love, and
for this to happen, the space of consciousness energy
that is our essence must amplify and now include the
object of the love. Almost amoeba-like an extension
of the boundary of ourself extends and includes that
which was not previously included. To love means
to have the sense of self expand to include what is
loved - and this is non-dualistic; two becomes one in
intense connection. The space between becomes alive
with consciousness and connecting energy where it
was previously experienced as a separation. What is
extended is the essential core of ourself and here we
make a discovery: this essential core is love.
As consciousness energy extends and encompasses
the object of love, the experience begins to shift from
the egoic into the heart-realm, and now there is a very
important choice to be made. We can either retain
much of our sense of identity in our separateness,
continually assessing whether the enhancement of
self-experience is sufficient to maintain the connection
or we can release into real union – our Self-that-is-love
encompassing that which is the focus of our attention.
If we remain primarily the separate ego-self, attention
will drift, searching for some new experience. We likely
will find some deficiency in the object/situation/person,
and the consciousness energy will diminish or withdraw
completely. We will return to our sense of separate and
restless sense of self, and the thing, situation, or person
that was loved becomes separate and just ordinary
again, as do we. Or – and here we have the opportunity
to fully manifest ourselves as loving beings - we
can, recognizing that our greatest fulfillment occurs in
the state of connected oneness, deliberately energize
the connection and sustain and amplify the loving
heart-realm that is our truest self in enfoldment. This
is conscious loving. We commit to the decision and
intent to BE love. Here, we surrender our separateness
and commit to union.
To live the mystical life, the awakened life, is to know
and practice this truth of the power of love as consciousness
energy to connect with all the elements of
Life all around us always. It is to love all that passes
through our field of consciousness – the bird in the
tree and the tree, the clouds passing overhead and the
warmth of the sun, even the previously insignificant or
repulsive; it is to recognize and love as self everything.
This is, of course, particularly powerful and important
with people, and of most importance with those with
whom we are in loving relationships. The wisdom
traditions teach us that ego separates and conscious
heart-felt presence connects, and this does not have to
be random and accidental. It can be the centerpiece
of one’s spiritual practice, which is simultaneously a
commitment to sane and healthy living, including our
most significant relationships. We can live as loving
presence.
For this to occur, we must awaken to the realization
of self-as-consciousness-as-love. We have to take
the concept of consciousness as energy that connects
us to heart-realm out of the theoretical and into living
reality and this is the real purpose of our mindfulness
ZEN PHILOSOPHY WITH BILL WALZ
practice. To do this, it is most helpful to repeatedly,
choicefully, anchor into the present moment through
our senses - seeing, hearing, touching the object, circumstance,
or person with the intention to love without
distraction. We must be really present, as the heartrealm
can only be accessed from within the present
moment, realizing the present moment is the only actual
reality. Only then can silent, intuitive consciousness
fully energize and our nature-as-consciousness-that-islove
come fully alive. Presence, full presence without
mental commenting or distraction, with full focus of
consciousness-energy on the loved one, is essential.
Then we can deliberately further energize the space
of consciousness with our loving essence to envelope
what or who we have focused our loving intention upon
to create what consciousness teacher Stephen Levine
called The Beloved, a union of what was two that
becomes one.
Loving human relationships are complicated. Often
they are filled with as much wound and disappointment
as with shared beauty and this can be an obstacle to
opening and sustaining the connection of the heartrealm
in living consciousness energy. Ego wants to
hold on to and feed these resentments. This is why all
spiritual traditions have emphasized forgiveness and
gratitude, and why making a practice of releasing any
resentment or negative feeling towards our loved ones
and replacing it with reasons for gratitude when the
relationship is challenging is essential. This shift from
mental focus on the ego’s accounting system where resentment
is stored (for the ego is always keeping track
of whether it is getting what it wants) into the heartspace
where gratitude is realized will open us and allow
our consciousness energy-field to enfold and embrace,
to shift us from two to one, from “me” to Beloved.
The Beloved is within you and right in front of you
and all around you awaiting your choice to open and
embrace with living consciousness energy, to discover
the Beloved IS you. The paradox is that while it is
the ego that is tracking whether it is happy or not, the
ego has no idea how to generate happiness. It is the
heart-realm that is the true source of happiness, both
the giving and receiving of happiness, and for it to be
actualized, the separation caused by the ego must
be bridged and self-as-love uniting with Life realized.
When we open our heart-realm, understanding that this
is really consciousness-energy, love - that which is our
original and true nature - embraces us as it embraces
others. The Beloved comes alive as truly do our relationships
and the entirety of our life.
Bill Walz has taught meditation and
mindfulness in university and public forums
and is a private-practice meditation teacher
and guide for individuals in mindfulness,
personal growth and consciousness.
Information on classes, talks, personal
growth and healing instruction, or phone consultations at
(828)258-3241, e-mail at healing@billwalz.com Learn
more, see past columns, video and audio programs at www.
billwalz.com
RAPID RIVER’S ARTS & CULTURE MAGAZINE | 21