At the core of me is God. Suddenly I see the fury of the night as startling and beautiful. I am humbled right to my knees, but this time not from fright, but from reverence. I see the same storm through new eyes. I bow my head.

"Majestic, mysterious God. Great Spirit, which moves through all things. I will never know you fully. I will always be learning to love you. But YOU are love. I am sure of that. I believe that behind all fury is love. I do not see it or feel it right now. But I trust it is there."

And for a long moment I let the trust fill me.

In the final analysis meditation is a love affair. And love is the most powerful energy in the universe. The great irony of meditation is that we become more immersed in the here-and-now. We are liberated from our false egos, and begin to know and love others at a deeper level of awareness. Liberated from our possessiveness, we reach out with a new found compassion to our family, friends, and the less fortunate.

To journey into the interior world within
love must already be awakened.
For love to awaken in us:
Let go ... Let be ... Be silent
Be still in gentle peace
Be aware of opposites,
Learn mindfulness and forgetfulness.

The Tree of Life is located in the very depth of our own soul, and of the rich, abundant fruit that grows and ripens to the fullest perfections, the most life-giving, is Love... The Divine Principle of Love may be used to eliminate every sorrow, every infirmity, every harsh condition and every lack that harasses humanity... With wings outstretched, Love searches out the arid spots of the human heart, the waste places of life, and redeems humanity and transforms the world.

LOVE stretches your heart and makes you big inside!

If you wish the world to become loving and compassionate, become loving and compassionate yourself. If you wish to diminish fear in the world, diminish your own. These are gifts you can give. The fear that exists between nations is a macrocosm of the fear that exists between individuals... The love, clarity and compassion that emerge within the individual that chooses consciously to align itself with its soul is the same that will bring sexes, races, nations and neighbors into harmony with each other.

The entirety of the contemplative life is grounded in the love of God. Without that love there would be no prayer ... nothing at all. This love calls into being -- creates, quickens, gives life to -- all that is. This love binds together each one to the other, and in the end binds us to the Source of that love, draws us back into the One whom we never really left, draws us back into God. In that returning we discover that there never existed a division between us and that ... the whole of life is in truth one continuous mystical experience because it has always been suffused with God's love.

My request, my appeal, is that you try as much as you can to develop compassion, love and respect for others, to share others' welfare, and to become more giving... The important thing is to have a good heart, a warm heart, in daily life. This is the principle of life.