' A Sufi Way to Essential Self '...

“Holistic,, unconditional love,, agape,, is the unity in which duality disappears... It is as if a certain internal boundary has vanished... With agape, what we love is ourselves,, the way a mother loves her child as herself... This is the meaning of loving another as yourself – transcending our phenomenal borders and experiencing ourselves in another and the other in,, not apart from,, us... Eventually,, if love is comprehensive, it unites us with everything, and allows us to know that we are everything... Therefore,, how can we support the illusion of this isolated,, separate self, that is threatened by, and defends itself from everything outside?,,, Love returns us to the unity, that is actually Reality... Reality is not the isolation,. suspicion,. envy., selfishness,. and fear of loss that we have come to accept as normal;..have the same kinds of feelings,, the same wish to be known and respected,, to share ourselves and let down our defenses... We are continually faced with a choice, between personal achievement,, personal security,, and comfort, on the one hand,, and working for the whole, and helping everyone, and everything ,toward perfection on the other... We are faced with a choice, between looking out for ourselves, and contributing wholeheartedly, to a common good.. We are faced with focusing, on self-love or increasing our love, of all Life. (p. 191)” ............................... Kabir Edmund Helminski, Living Presence: A Sufi Way to Mindfulness and the Essential Self...