Anh yêu em ~ Em yêu anh ~ Em thực sự đã giữ tôi… v.v….
Since February 14th was Valentine’s Day, and we’re officially back mid-month and looking forward to some upcoming Spring offerings with John Ashbrook and others, we thought it’d be appropriate to post this Ashbrook archive article, discussing the most important of all topics — Love! It’s interesting to note that the number 14 is a number that speaks of romantic love with a possible Warning of ultimately being unfulfilled. Indeed, romantic love is born of exciting emotions that hopefully will give way to permanent feelings. Unfortunately and too often, people are afraid to feel permanent feelings and their true love does not develop. Instead, the promise of a steady, even-keeled, peaceful relationship becomes the heartbreak of an emotional roller coaster ride, with all its peaks of ecstasy and valleys of despair. Obviously not true love but sadly accepted as normal, this manifest a state of more unfulfilled love.
What then is True Love? True Love is like a glass-smooth lake. There is not a ripple in it. Remember, still waters run deep. True love is a feeling of permanent love and constant peace. True love contains emotion but is not controlled by emotion. Certainly there are peaks of passion and excitement but there is constant peace of mind like the surface of that glass smooth lake. The relationship never falls below the level of peace and tranquility. Therefore, it remains satisfying at all times. True love is a constant state of knowing trust, it is a permanent feeling. You know that your partner will respect your peace of mind and never knowingly provoke any fears or insecurities that you are still working through. You trust this will not happen. You are committed to an all-out effort to do the same. Two responsible people coming together to further enhance and expand what they already have separately. True love always adds to, it never detracts from. True love is both detached and united. It is a high state of spiritual development, and, of course, requires gigantic inner work to achieve.
So how does someone get to this exalted state of being capable of sustaining true love? It is a lifelong journey and as long as you and your partner both pursue the journey, you both move toward completion (i.e. True Love). True love knows no fear. So as individuals, you must search out, identify, work through and release all fear. Once you as individuals have identified your fears, you must then reveal them to your partner. This revealing of your vulnerabilities to each other is crucial because it fosters trust. You are saying to your your partner: “I trust you with my secrets. I real myself to you knowing that you will not use your knowledge of my fears to provoke or control me.” You and your partner will make mistakes in this area and friction will result, but these frictions must be discussed openly because they are the stepping stones to growth in the relationship. Do not fear mistakes and when they are made, do not condemn or judge harshly either yourself or your loved one. Forgive freely and move on. True Love forgives and forgets.
As you reveal your fears to each other, you will be surprised to find that many of your fears are mutual and become mirrors to each other. Your partner reveals a fear and in doing so they become a mirror by which you can look into your own soul. This activity of revealing yourselves to each other will become in itself very fulfilling and as you discover more about yourself, generating great excitement. You can’t wait to get home to share your inner discoveries with each other in an atmosphere of true harmony and trust. The more you discovery and reveal, the more you open yourself to infinite revelation and personal growth. You and your partner become calm and secure in your constant and ever-changing state of true love. This is the path to True Love and it is self-nourishing and ever-satisfying. It heals the past, sustains the present and guarantees the future.