Loving everyone unconditionally could solve many problems. Here’s some ways to do it.
Many of the world’s great sages and philosophers have identified human beings’ judgmental minds as the source of many of life’s problems. For that reason, sacred texts often call upon their devotees to “judge not,” as it says in the Bible, and retain an “impartial intellect,” as it says in the Bhagavad Gita. Unfortunately, the tendency to judge is a powerful human trait, and people must work very hard on their growth to quiet their judgmental minds.
The tendency to judge is so strong that I recommend focusing on its opposite—love. Rather than dividing us, love brings us together and helps us see our similarities rather than differences. It helps us drop the ego’s troublesome aspects in favor of a loving, radiant heart. Usually, people find it easy to love certain things in their lives, such as their family and closest friends. But the judgmental mind holds others outside of our in-group at a distance—people who look different than us, have different beliefs, or have been categorized as “enemies.”
However, our true selves want much more than this; they want us to move toward unconditional love, also known as agape. This love lives beyond the judgmental mind and is the purest form of love possible. Achieving this level of love is akin to full enlightenment, a state beyond the attachments and limitations of this world. Achieving unconditional love is extremely difficult, but we can develop it like most other abilities—through dedication and consistent practice.
If you are interested in moving closer to a state of unconditional love, here are some practices I recommend:
1) View life from the broadest, highest perspective. Our egos often prevent us from feeling unconditional love toward others. The ego is all about preserving the self above and beyond the needs of others, and it tends to see life as a matter of competing against everyone around us, which in turn leads us to judge and divide ourselves from other people. To develop a higher perspective, try stepping back from any situation in life, especially those that trigger your ego to react with disappointment or anger. Try to get a God’s-eye view of your situation. This will help us view problems beyond our own limited perspective, so we can understand others’ perspectives and empathize with their position, even if our rational mind believes they are wrong.
2) See the interconnectedness of all things. Another feature of the human ego is its tendency to view itself as a separate individual disconnected from everyone else. This is a false perception, however. In reality, all life forms depend on an ecological network of living things, including the sun in the sky, the other human beings who help us through our lives, and the Earth herself. People today often speak of being individuals, but ultimately, we cannot live without connection to others and to the planet. Furthermore, we are all connected to each other through the energy fields of heaven and earth. Your soul is the part of you that knows and remembers this, even if you forget it while focusing on the physical realm. So, whenever you start to feel isolated or in conflict with the world, bring your mind back to the ultimate oneness of all consciousness and of all living beings.
3) Realize that unconditional love is the key to vibrant health. In my work, I help people achieve health through energy study. My students learn to wake up their energy centers and to release blockages in the meridian system of the body while also connecting to heavenly energy through the soul. The blockages we experience in the body are directly related to our inability to feel love fully. When disease or discomfort develops in the body, it is usually rooted in some kind of non-acceptance. In other words, our ability to love fully has been thwarted by unresolved negative experiences, stressful reactions and responses to daily life, or some unresolved preconception about life. If we’re looking to free the energy in our bodies for the sake of healing, we can turn our minds to whatever we may be holding onto that keeps us from opening our hearts fully to life’s experiences.
4) Focus on the goal of your true self, not the goals of this temporary physical life. To become more unconditionally loving, shift your life’s goals from the body’s goals to the true self’s goals. Many of our negative feelings emerge from the body’s desire to have a happy, successful life here on earth. It is natural to want to have money and status in society, but ultimately, these things will not bring us happiness. Paying attention to some of these things may be necessary for physical survival, but they will bring us lasting happiness in the end. Our true selves came into this body for a much grander purpose—to grow and to develop unconditional love in our minds. The body is a limited entity that is given a finite amount of time on this earth. Our true selves, on the other hand, are immortal and know no bounds in the universe. To avoid becoming swept up in the desires of the body, we can focus our minds on the true self goal of living in peace, harmony, and boundless love. And if we meditate upon these goals carefully, we will find a path for ourselves in the physical world that serves our true selves and those of others, rather than the petty desires of the world.
5) Draw your focus inward, not outward. When making life decisions, look inward to inner wisdom rather than outward toward the world’s “wisdom” or “common sense.” The world drives people away from love and toward endless competition and narcissism. It says, “Grab as much as you can for yourself! Get rich! Be famous! Climb to the top of the heap!” The true self, on the other hand, seeks to build greater harmony in connection between people. Thus, if we want good relationships with others and a truly happy life, we must be willing to ask, “What do I really want?” If we genuinely ask this question of our true selves rather than our egos, they will steer us toward love every time.
6) Love yourself first. It is nearly impossible to love others if we cannot love ourselves first. And, as judgmental as we can be with other people, we are often even worse with ourselves, constantly criticizing and putting ourselves down. To begin loving others more unconditionally, we can start by responding to our own minds with unconditional love. We can be kind and loving with ourselves as we would with a small child. If a child is messy or noisy, we may need to correct them, but we would never stop adoring them, and that is how we can also love ourselves. Yes, in the process of growth, we will stumble and make mistakes, just like a child. But, we can also remember how precious we are and that our true selves are like adored children who deserve our constant care and nurturing.
Developing a fully unconditionally loving heart takes time. It is a habit and way of life, not something we can simply make appear out of nowhere. With patience for ourselves, we can take our quest to become an unconditionally loving person step by step and moment by moment. Even if we fail and judgments cloud our minds for a moment, we will soon return to our truer, higher selves.
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