So, love, then, is a style, a way of being, and it’s a way of being with yourself. Out of compassion for yourself, you’re willing to let go of the things that bring you pain. So, instead of going from the bottom up, we can just start from the top down on the Map. Out of compassion for yourself, then, you’re willing to let go of that which brings you pain, suffering, guilt—brings it to yourself and others. Out of love for yourself, out of love for oneself, out of compassion for oneself. Out of compassion for myself, I am not going to allow myself to fall into the pit. Not being so linked to something, that if it leaves, I will then go into grief. Out of compassion. So, that lovingness now takes the form of an attitude toward yourself and your own life and those around you. So out of compassion for everything, then, I have the willingness to let things go.
We do it all the time as a style of life. One expression of love, then, is devotion, and in spiritual work, that devotion becomes more and more intense. It finally reaches the point where it’s willing to let anything go that stands in the way. We may think it’s the small things that we’re letting go of. We say, “Well, I let go of my favorite sneakers and it seems trivial.” Oh no. The capacity to let go of your favorite sneakers and not grieve about them or be angry at somebody stealing them or something. The capacity to surrender your sneakers is going to be one of the last things right before enlightenment. Why is that? It’s because you have that capacity to let go, huh?
Karma and Devotion: The Sacred Path to God Through the Heart: Ch. 1, pg. 20-21
(This book contains the transcriptions for the Sept. and Oct. 2002 lectures presented by Dr. Hawkins.)
