Learning to say “I Love You"

I Love You - the three most beautiful and magical words anybody in this world would want to hear from one special person in their life. However, most often than not, the magic of these three words does not last for long in today's time and age. 

We have come across such a situation in our life too, where we have felt & imagined while reading a book or while watching a movie or seeing a much in love couple, that we should also have a similar love story repeated in our lives.  

But how many a times, we might have had a chance to have a similar love story which got aborted well before time may be even before the magic of the words 'I Love You' seeped in, making us wonder what went wrong? It is high time, we learn the complete meaning of “I Love You", before we say it in future.

What is the meaning of the sentence “I Love You”?

It is made up of three words I, Love and You. It is essential to understand the meaning of each of these words before we attempt to understand their combination. 

What is “I”?

Who is this I, that is loving the other? Try and remember the days when we first said I Love You to anyone (Romantically). What was our age? What was our level of understanding about ourselves? Had we explored our identity in our own eyes before offering ourselves to the other? Did we really have the answer of The Question “Who am I” at that time? It is important to know who we are, Before we love anyone. In teen age, one of the main reasons why the magic of love doesn’t last for long, is the highly dynamic growth process of “I” that is changing very rapidly during teen age. 

 

It is very important in teen age that our definition of I grows beyond our appearance, our social background and our future plans. Because these aspects related to I are changing unpredictably and changing very fast especially in this age. I have seen very sweet couples in their teens, who are unable to recognize each other, by the time they reach their adolescence. I have also seen adolescence, who hurriedly venture into love marriage only to realize they are not so compatible to each other, by the time they become adults. We can prevent these harsh ways of realizations, by doing first things first. Before saying I Love You,  let us develop our understanding of “I”first.

What is Love?

What is this exact nature of this Love, which we are so eager to offer to the other? Is it convenience or companionship? Is it to flare our ego or to care for the other? Is it conditional or unconditional? If it is about convenience, ego & conditionsthen its love, but not Love. Love lasts for long, love doesn’t. Love is to care and be there unconditionally as true companion. Who is a true companion? One who treats the other at peer level and ensures that the bridge of communication is nurtured through appreciation of heart, attention of mind and availability of time. Time is life and Love requires time to grow. Courage to commit, conviction to care and consistency in companionship are key ingredients of Love that lasts. 

So, let us dare to care consistently and be there for the one who we love, Before we say “I Love”. I have witnessed lovers,who have taken each other so much for granted, that they summoned the magic to vanish, however unintended it might be. And then, they wonder why their partner went on with his/her life without the other in search of true companionship. The irony is, we realize the value of one (who was taken for granted) in their absence. We need to ask ourselves, is our love, mature enough to be Love? If yes, then be assured the magic would last forever.

What do you mean by “You”?

In the name of “You” what do we love? Is it the other person’s sheer existence or mere appearance? Is it that person’s natural individuality or tailor-made slavery in admiration of our ego? Does our scope of Love include the inconvenient, unpredictable, uncontrollable side of the other’s personality? Or is it restricted to what matches our perception, our requirements and our sense of control? Let us remember, that the other person would go on evolving. This process is dynamic and endless. And Only way in which we can Love long-lastingly, is by Loving the ever-lasting divinity in the other “You”.

 

“You” (inner nature, core divinity) last for long “you” (appearance, habits, personality) don’t .Let us focus on You (the divinity of other), Before we say I Love You. This focus would mean that we treat the other person with utmost honesty, trust, respect, sincerity, unconditional and heart- felt appreciation for the other for being the other (for You being You).

We have seen so many real life love stories, where lovers are still learning one or the other of three words of “I Love You”. For example, there are couples who have learned “I” and “You” and still learning “Love”. There are couples where only one of the two has seen the “You” and the other is still learning to see divinity in the other one. There are couples where both are busy with “I” and “Love”  and both are taking the “You” for granted. It is vital that they realise that they are WIP (work in progress) couples and should continue to evolve themselves and their relationship with greater awareness and sensitivity for self, relationship and the other. 

The journey of romantic life is from “I” to “You” on the path of “Love”. When the entire combination is learned, expressed and lived, the compassion expands. The care that started in the form of loving the other expands to include the family, friends and society of the other. The journey of expanding care makes the romantic lover more and more compassionate citizen, transforming him/her into universal human being. Are we generous enough to undertake the journey? 

Have we grown beyond our temptations to judge and criticize others? Judgments and criticisms are indicative of our own inability to see divinity in the other. This inability is indicative that our restricted sense of small “i”. The small “i” of intelligence requires insight and inclusivity in order to be mature “I”.

Love is continues process of nurturing, empowering and enriching the natural dynamic individuality of the other. The behavior opposite to Love can be seen in the form of draining, belittling, disrespecting the other’s individuality, capabilities, potential & those who contributed in nurturing the other’s life.

Learning to say “I Love You” means learning to see and honour spirituality within self, the relation and the other. This learning process may require many life times and yet it will be worthwhile. The shortest and fastest way to realize our long lasting Love is by being the mature Lover to the other. Let us remember, the other will reflect who we are, sooner or later. In this lifetime whomever we say “I Love You”, let us mean it, live it and endure it forever. Be assured, when we commit to this maturely , the universe will protect, nourish & Love us on each step of the process by acting as our ultimate unlimited, unconditional source of Love. 

After all, the entire Universe itself is a romantic verse of Unity. All lives are nothing but celebrations of Oneness. When we love our partner with serenity, harmony, balance, stability and honour, we come closest to what life is all about. When we will really learn the words I Love You, the magical words would last in the cosmos like the prayers, celebrating Oneness of the Universe.      

Happy Learning ….

Shilpa Savant

Co-student 

FEW TESTIMONIALS

Hello Friends,

As you all know that for the past one year I have been conducting regular Reiki Classes every weekend, here are few student testimonials.

1) PANKAJ SANGHVI:

2) ANUJA PANDEY

3) DIVANG SANGHVI

4) GEETA SANGHVI

5) MUGDHA SHAH

Coaching you towards self realization and learning,

Shilpa Savant

ALIGN

Align - one of the most simple and significant word of advice given to all who wants to attract abundance in life is “Align".

This article is to address frequently asked questions with respect to alignment.

FAQ 1. What do you mean by “Align”?

Attitude linking integrated godly network. It is a well known fact that we all are components of integrated network known as universe. Universe is already designed in such a harmony that it flows like poetry grows itself through dynamic equilibrium. 

All we need to do is find our exact role in it and play it passionately. The attitudes which help us find our place our positive attitude, gratitude and service attitude. Alignment is streamlining of positive attitude with thought, feelings, words and action. With gratitude for service of greater good.

FAQ 2. How alignment attracts abundance?

Abundance is already attracted towards us. It is being poured on us unconditionally by Nature. Alignment simply allows the abundance to be internalized. There is no resistance in nature. 

Similarly, a person aligned with nature (inner and outer) is least resistant to change. In other words, she/he is most open to all possibilities of life for progress and prosperity.

FAQ 3. What are the characteristic of a aligned person?

Top five characteristic of aligned person are …..

First characteristic is absence of all negative attitudes such as fear, anger, envy, inferiority, guilt, doubt, depressions and so on.

Second characteristic is abundance application of positive attitudes such as hope, unconditional love, faith, non judgmental, understanding, sincere respect, sense of appreciation, confidence, courage, conviction and calmness, joy, gratitude and so on.

Third and central characteristic is integrity. Integrity here means authenticity and consistency in thoughts, words and action. This characteristic results in credibility and trustworthiness of the person.

Fourth characteristic is good health (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual).Health is also through a state of mind that is always at ease. In other words a state of mind that does not get dis-ease (diseased) in any circumstance.

Fifth and final characteristic is oneness in behavior. This includes 3 key ingredients. Unconditional openness to diversity, inclusive thinking for finding WIN-WIN solutions AND honest humility serving the community to the best of one's ability.

FAQ 4.What happens in absence of alignment?

Efforts (absence of effortlessness), expectations, bondages, obligations, frustrations (heaviness), exhaustions.

FAQ 5. Can everyone achieve alignment forever?

Yes. Our inherent nature is aligned and abundant. Being aligned is nothing else but discovering this inner self waiting to be revealed through us. When truly aligned we are inspiring with our divinity, we are in balance and transmit that very energy into the world we live in. That energy seems to be visible to all whether enlightened or not. It transforms the way people treat us. It is grace… No woman or man can say they are always living in true alignment. 

Even Dalai Lama says he lose his grid sometimes. Yet, alignment to me is finding one's true purpose, finding a way to live integrated with that purpose and that way live aligned with one's soul…For me the intention, the discipline the attempt to stay aligned is worthwhile. 

Anyone who can assist this very process by living that alignment themselves are a soul teacher. Because their very being transmit an energy that almost automatically lights the light of alignment in that other person, reunite the man and the soul, man and purpose, man and their divine presence. 

Alignment is grace and grace is truly powerful… The quiet kind of powerful. The powerful way of transformation, growth and reuniting… To be, to act,to impact in alignment.

The best way to understand alignment is to experience it. Just do it and see it for yourself. The unique flavor of alignment is to each her/his own.

Happy to be aligned with all, 

Shilpa Savant

BELIEVE

What is life? Life is what we believe it to be. The possibilities are unlimited and the universal offerings are highly generous. 

Boundaries of our being are carved out of what we believe. Hence it is vital to believe in the grandeur of goodness, victory of virtues and compassionate cosmos for self & others.

At times we doubt our belief as a lie. If you see closely the world belief / believe itself has a word lie in it. And this article is about discovering the truth behind this lie.

Let us first decode the word LIFE

L stands for looking, listening & linking.

I stands for ideation, interpretation & insight.

F stands for focus, faith & fulfillment.

E stands for expression, experiences & enlightenment.

Life becomes a lie when we do not stand for our focus, faith and fulfillment. Interestingly a lie can transform into life if we sow faith in it. The process of sowing faith starts with focus. Every dream, every wish, every vision is capable of giving fulfillment to us provided we focus on it with faith. 

A defocused life doomed with doubts is a lie in the name of life. Even before we start believing in any thing we need to focus first.

Our journey of LIFE started with looking, listening and linking. The linkages generate new ideas, interpretation and insights in us. This is when we need to focus. The matter of focus can be anything. What matters more is the intensity of focus that starts revealing the abundant potential of the matter focused upon. 

Once this abundance is felt, faith sprouts. The faith however powerful requires to be nurtured. And you see we already have what it takes to nurture the faith (what we looked at/listen to/linked with/ our ideas, interpretation and insights). 

It is the fructification of faith that is called fulfillment-The life giving experience of life. Once fulfilled, we express the experience effortlessly, effectively, in every aspect of life in highly enlightening manner. This is where the journey of life finds its complete meaning.

Coming back to how, what we believe in, contributes to our life, let us study a real life example of a bumblebee .Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly, but the bumblebee doesn’t know it rather it believes it can, and it does fly. It flies, where? It is still a mystery as to how bumblebee comes to know the exact direction where it can find the nectar. Unlike honeybees it does not have many other honeybees to guide him. Even energy /calories burned per flight are much too high to afford unsuccessful flights. Yet somehow every bumblebee finds its flower and nectar to nourish him, more often than not. This happens again and again because the bumblebee believes in its own instinct to locate the nectar.  

Even after reaching the flower, it is not easy to extract nectar out of it especially for bumblebee considering it size and shape. Even the flower doesn’t know how it can offer the nectar to the bee. The bumblebee focuses on the flower from every direction. It finds its way naturally and gracefully. The process continues till it gets fulfilled. This is how what we believe in can guide us in every step of our life towards fulfillment. Whether it is scientists,inventors,teachers,mothers,patients,students,strangers, wonders of life reveals its truth to those who believe in. Our faith in our believe takes us through.

At the first glance it seems that the spelling of word “believe” could have been different. It could have been

be + live = belive

indicating that ; we better be and live what we belive.

It could have also been

be + leave = beleave

indicating that ; before we leave, let us be what we beleave. Yet the correct spelling is

be + lie + ve

Indicating be + lie + ve = believe

indicating that; even it may seem like a lie to the world, if it is going to take us to ve ( ve with V for Victory ), let us be that. The only gap between lie and life is of “F” for focus, faith and fulfillment.

And our belief has the power to fill this gap and give new meaning to life making it more wonderful.

So dear friends, let us believe in all the goodness of life and mankind and make it come to life. The universe is like genie saying to all of us “Your wish is my command” hence let us wish wisely.

Believing in your divinity.

Shilpa Savant

BE ALIVE!

Be Alive!

Its time before the dawn when the darkness has completed its objectives to give us the time to introspect, learn and develop insight. This is the time when we are only with ourselves without a ray of light, without any burden of expectations and without any string attached, just being.

This is the time to discover our inner core and resolve to live our purpose. The purpose may be as humble as being a good person or may be as huge as changing the world for better. It doesn’t matter.

What matters is our complete commitment to put our best foot forward and take charge of the journey called life. Yes, I know I am not saying anything new yet it needs to be showered like morning dew. As long as we live, for each and every moment of it, let us be alive, fully here and now. We are alive, we are committed, yet we will be at our best when we are fully there.

What are the signs of being fully alive or completely committed?

The first sign is complete openness to learn, understand and appreciate.
The second sign is humbleness, sensitivity, forgiveness and humanity.
The third and final sign is unconditional respect, unwavering faith and endless optimism to life at large.

I know it’s not so easy especially when you are still facing the darkest hour of your life. Yet that is when it is most worthwhile to begin. One of the first baby steps one can take is to empower oneself with information. Churning of the information produces knowledge, food for intelligence. Simultaneously we need to nourish the heart with forgiveness and compassion for self and others. The well nourished heart should be encouraged to transform the intelligence into wisdom for humanity.

Who will do this? Our soul, our spirit. Not only our survival instinct but more so our revival instinct. This is just the beginning, inner preparedness to be alive. The proof of the pudding is in eating .The evidence of wisdom is in action with total awareness and untiring persistence.

One of the key reasons why being alive is not so easy-is other’s unpreparedness to accept and appreciate the immense potential of inner core. It’s precious to have people and relationships around us that let us be, offers faith to bloom further and gives us space to evolve & expand. Realistically it’s not only precious, but also rare. It would be wise to be prepared for resistance to change from our surroundings as we start revealing the core nature of our self .One cannot blame them for lack of understanding as they are yet to understand themselves. The only hope for them to understand others lies in enabling them to being alive to their own inner core.

The fact remains that in life every soul is moving towards its next level of evolution. Most of the time the movement of soul evolution is upwards (from good to better or from better to best) yet it need not be always so. Being alive comes naturally when the goal and movement is upward the challenge lies in what we do to life falling downwards. Disappointment, self pity, frustration, anger, rage, revenge, guilt, depression, addictions, alienation, suicidal tendencies are examples of downward movement which every one of us have experience in life in sometime or other.

While falling down being alive means flapping your wings with all your might and not giving up. And just like the first flight of the baby bird, most of the times, the life turns around. While someone else is falling downwards, being alive means expressing unconditional respect, unwavering faith and endless optimism in the ability of the falling soul to turn around.

Being alive culminates into living the purpose of life inside out i.e. serving the stake holders and the community at large to the best of your abilities. Life commands that we be alive to our responsibilities, privileges and possibilities without any excuse. Effective implemented ideas, optimum utilization of potential and enthusiastic execution with endurance are deserved by everyone alive. In other words the minimum thing that we can do during our lifetime is to be alive.

Life is above all situations and relationships. Our first commitment is to our life. To give justice to our existence. The soul is infinite but incarnation i.e. this life is finite with expiry date unknown to us. Hence to every moment of it starting right now let us be alive.

Honored to be alive with you.

Shilpa Savant

Respecting Every Soul

Hello Friends

Today I want to touch upon a subject that is very close to my heart and that is "Respect to Every Fellow Being".

In today's competitive world where we think of "ME FIRST" we tend to ignore or look down upon a fellow being who might not be equal to us at that point of time. However we need to understand that it doesn't take much time for things to change and the person who is down maybe in no time sitting at a higher level than you.

There is a phrase that goes "Every Dog Has His Day". Now it is not referred to any animal but it is a simple reference to the time and situation of a fellow being. The adage in turn simply convey the message that every person is unique and every soul in this entire universe has a specific purpose to fulfill so belittling anyone based on his current situation or position in life is not the right thing to do.

Everything in this world is superficial and one cannot guarantee that in every stage of your life you remain in the same position. Even a small seed today can become a mighty tree tomorrow and a mighty tree today might come down in time with a natural disaster or due to man's selfish desire.

So always remember to acknowledge a fellow being and consider him/ her to be equal to you. Therefore give respect to everyone and spread love and joy because what goes up always comes down.

So till we meet again be in gratitude and spread happiness.

In your journey toward soul evolution

Shilpa Savant Inamdar.