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Author Topic: Love as cosmic force  (Read 4858 times)

Eastling

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Love as cosmic force
« on: February 16, 2019, 03:31:01 pm »
Many religious traditions posit that a cosmic force of Love is somehow involved in the creation or maintenance of the universe. Certainly in my path, love is more than just sex and kisses (though those are great too): it's one of the prime movers of the cosmos.

But if we're going to say that love makes the world go round, as some philosophies and spiritual practices do, then what exactly does that mean? Love as a cosmic force is probably not quite the same thing as sexual love, or familial love, or love of beauty or love of God or one's passions and so on. At the same time, it's likely to encompass all of those and more.

Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?
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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2019, 06:13:45 pm »
Many religious traditions posit that a cosmic force of Love is somehow involved in the creation or maintenance of the universe. Certainly in my path, love is more than just sex and kisses (though those are great too): it's one of the prime movers of the cosmos.

But if we're going to say that love makes the world go round, as some philosophies and spiritual practices do, then what exactly does that mean? Love as a cosmic force is probably not quite the same thing as sexual love, or familial love, or love of beauty or love of God or one's passions and so on. At the same time, it's likely to encompass all of those and more.

Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?

For most of my life, I always believed that all major emotions were simply variations of fear (happiness being its temporary absence), and that love in particular was simply the transference or extension of fear/survival instinct to someone other than oneself, rather like the separable soul of fairy tales.  I assumed it was purely lack of introspection that caused other people to believe individual emotions were each different things.

A few months ago, I had a rather intense experience wherein my patron empathically gave me a direct sample of his feelings towards me, which definitely was more a definite and positive thing than what I just described above and had thought was the only possible reality, along with the idea that being able to feel that was something I could and should work towards and that it was only coming from a background of many generations of emotionally damaged people that made fear take over to such an extent.  Certainly a rather mind-boggling thing to realize there is this whole other category of feelings that I've now lived half a normal life span without knowing existed.

Shortly after this a bunch of real-world shit hit the fan and I have been in survival mode, but the dust is showing signs of settling and your post just reminded me of it, though for obvious reasons I'm in no position to answer your question as stated.

EclecticWheel

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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2019, 06:15:46 pm »
Many religious traditions posit that a cosmic force of Love is somehow involved in the creation or maintenance of the universe. Certainly in my path, love is more than just sex and kisses (though those are great too): it's one of the prime movers of the cosmos.

But if we're going to say that love makes the world go round, as some philosophies and spiritual practices do, then what exactly does that mean? Love as a cosmic force is probably not quite the same thing as sexual love, or familial love, or love of beauty or love of God or one's passions and so on. At the same time, it's likely to encompass all of those and more.

Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?

In my rites there is love, and then there is Love with a capital L which is related in a way to Will.

Love with a capital L is the abstraction of the unity of the universe (and possibly multiverse), and it is also the attractive force of one thing toward another even on a physical level.

Love is equated with the Holy Spirit.  The union of the greater universe with each Star (a sentient self-reflecting being) is a reality underlying the myth of the union of the Father and Son which is personified by the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and Son.

So while the Father corresponds to the all, the Son corresponds to the individual sentient self-reflecting being, and Love is the union of the two and indeed of all that is.

Drawing on Meister Eckhart there is a point at which I declare, "Thou art the only Son of God!" For there is no Star quite like you: you are uniquely beloved!

In another part I pray, "...not but Love's Will can we do." We exist in an interconnected web of unity, and all that we are, all our thoughts, efforts, and desires emerge from it as do our wills.  Our wills and actions are the Movement of Love.

To do my Will is not some esoteric, herculean task.  It is as simple as acknowledging the reality of Love or interconnectedness underlying all that I am and all of my movements.  Love's Will simply is my Will, and I need only to surrender and relax into that.

I have turned to various sources on esoteric and alternative modes of self-identified Christian thought and other sources to create this basic paradigm.  I largely interpret Christian symbols in this light, but the philosophy is of course more explicit in my personal rites.
My personal moral code:

Love wisely, and do what thou wilt.

Zlote Jablko

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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2019, 09:09:28 pm »
Many religious traditions posit that a cosmic force of Love is somehow involved in the creation or maintenance of the universe. Certainly in my path, love is more than just sex and kisses (though those are great too): it's one of the prime movers of the cosmos.

But if we're going to say that love makes the world go round, as some philosophies and spiritual practices do, then what exactly does that mean? Love as a cosmic force is probably not quite the same thing as sexual love, or familial love, or love of beauty or love of God or one's passions and so on. At the same time, it's likely to encompass all of those and more.

Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?

I see love as an emotion closely tied to Belobog/Svarog, the benevolent creator. (As opposed to Chernobog, the evil creator or demiurge.) The division of the primordial monad (the mythic egg or cow) into two Gods May be a metaphor for love giving way (in part) into strife at the beginning of this universe.

I’m partially influenced by the Earth-diver creation myths, and partially by the philosopher Empedocles, who I believe was divinely inspired and/or drawing from Orphic priests who were. Those Orphic priests probably in turn drew upon the Indo-European creation myth of the first sacrifice. In his cosmology, the universe cycled eternally between divided and united phases under the dual influences of love and strife.

Eastling

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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #4 on: February 17, 2019, 05:03:14 am »
Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?

To answer my own question, I haven't entirely figured it out yet, but the closest thing I have to a working definition of Love as a cosmic force in my Mercurial path is this: Love is the force which impels us to mingle selves joyfully in the service of Creation.

Because it predicates upon a trespassing of boundaries (in this case, the divide between individuals and each other, or individuals and their passions, or individuals and their gods, or gods and humanity, etc), it is fundamentally in the sphere of queer, liminal deities like Aphrodite Ourania and Dionysos. Because it leads to Creation (of children, of relationships, of creative works, of miracles, of gods, of worlds, etc), it is one of the fundamental driving forces of the cosmos.
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arete

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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #5 on: February 18, 2019, 05:23:08 am »
Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?
Love is the driving force. Without love, everything would be static and there would be no changes. It's the best motivation to interact with everything.  :)

Sefiru

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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #6 on: February 19, 2019, 07:04:22 pm »
To answer my own question, I haven't entirely figured it out yet,

I'm about at this point myself. I'm aware that there is a positive, emotionally intense power at work in the universe, but I have trouble labeling it as 'love' because the word is too closely associated with romantic love in my mind.
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Re: Love as cosmic force
« Reply #7 on: November 10, 2019, 05:53:20 pm »
Does your path have a major role for the force of love? If so, how do you define the concept of Love in that context?

In druidry, there is (putting it rather simplistically) 'giving back to the community' as one of the, often, significant tenets held.  Not generally expressed as love (as in, say, 'love thy neiighbour') in my experience so far, but I can't help but feel that one needs to hold a certain level of love for that community, or at least for life in general in order to commit oneself to the giving back process.

Defining the concept of love is more difficult for someone like me who struggles with articulation much of the time, but you could do worse than referring back to that phrase 'love thy neighbour', to be honest (so far as I know, at least - I confess my knowledge of Christianity isn't that extensive).

Then there's reverence for, connection with and love of nature, of course.  And I feel that this is probably something that's instinctual in the majority of those who feel themselves drawn toward Druidry.
“Radiate boundless love towards the entire world — above, below, and across — unhindered, without ill will, without enmity.” – The Buddha
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