By Laura

We all want to experience happiness, joy and bliss. Sometimes we forget why we are striving, searching, and working so hard. We need to step back and experience love and interconnectedness. We hope that this exercise will remind you why you are on the path of spiritual and personal growth.

Sit for a moment and clear your head.

Close your eyes

Take some deep breaths. Concentrate on the in-breath, and relax on the out-breath. Breath deeply and strongly inwards and let tension, stress and anxiety flow outwards on the out breath. Deep breath in, releasing and relaxing on the out breath. Continue for a few minutes, until you feel calm and relaxed

Picture someone you love very much. Think about and feel your love for that person. Concentrate on the feeling of love you have for that person. Feel the emotion in your whole body. Start with your head and watch that deep love spread throughout your entire body.

Open your eyes and look for the closest inanimate object. Maybe it's a pen or a table. Begin to feel the love that you felt before towards that object. Concentrate on the object intently. Radiate that love outwards, towards the object. Feel your love in your whole body.

Look at the rest of the room, start to feel love for everything in the room. The same love, with the same intensity that you felt for your beloved.

After you've practiced this for a while with objects, try it on a person that you don't know. Gradually move on to people that you do know and to humanity as a whole.

Personally, my favorite time to practice this is when walking down a crowded street. Notice how you normally walk down the street. I used to avoid people's gaze, get absorbed in myself, or stare and judge other's clothing choices or appearance. I kept myself in a state of alert tension, a defensive posture against the world. I was on the watch for people that would bother me, people who would try to talk to me, people who wanted me to buy something, people who weren't paying attention and might walk into me. I was constantly trying to avoid everyone. When I wasn't doing that I was making subtle judgements. I would say, "Wow that lady is fat" or "That girl's shoes are cute" or "That person is ugly." When I cultivate love and walk down the street I feel connected, close, and positively towards the people in the street. I immediately noticed these subtle judgements. I was so surprised to realize that I even made them. My defensive posture softened and I didn't feel bothered or harassed.

Remember:

Love is something that just happens. I can't make myself love anything. You do not make yourself love. You allow love to enter you, but to do this you must position your mind by remembering what it feels like to love and try to feel it on a daily basis.