Come Hell or high water…April of last year, we were holding the Metaphysical Mississippi Meetups in the upstairs conference room at Whole Foods Market. It was a rainy evening when I arrived early to set up and grab a bite to eat. At the time, I did not think much of the incoming storms. I mean, it’s Mississippi, we are used to crazy weather. Then thirty minutes before the Meetup was to start, things took a turn for the worse weather wise. By the time the meeting was to start we, along with the customers and employees of Whole Foods, were hunkered down in the stock room as a tornado passed over. That was a Meetup I will not forget. Despite the dicey weather, we still had a great time together. And we survived the tornado warning. I appreciated those who showed up and braved the elements with us last year, though in hindsight I probably would have canceled it had I realized the severity of it.
So this past Wednesday night, I wondered if there would be a repeat of last spring. Thankfully, there was no tornado at that time in Flowood, Mississippi, just a lot of pesky rain. Those of us who made it had a lovely meeting at the February Metaphysical Mississippi Meetup. Some folks who had planned to attend were not able to make it due to the weather. Yet we felt them here with us in spirit.
With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, LOVE was the theme of the evening. The origins of this holiday were brought up. We had an interesting conversation that meandered through all the ways that love plays a role in our lives.
So what is love? If you look it up in the old Webster’s Dictionary, you will see a long entry.
We discussed how love can mean many different things to different people. In the English language, the word love actually has different meanings and connotations. One attendee mentioned how in other languages there are different words for the different types of love.
We explored how love is a verb, an action word, yet also a noun, or state of being. We can experience love in different ways. It can be expressed by showing acts of love, or we can simply embody the essence of love.
We discussed the importance of self love, which is not a selfish love, but appreciating who we are as an individual. We are able to love others more genuinely when we first love ourselves. Now how do we do this? That may have to be to explored further at another time.
Unconditional love is another concept that takes things to a whole other level. Personally, I love Dr. David Hawkins’ work in the book Power Vs. Force. In his book he introduces “the Map of Consciousness,” in which unconditional love is a pivotal point of reference in attaining higher levels of consciousness and enlightenment.
So what is the greatest love of all? Only you can answer that for yourself.
We have a lot of new things coming up for Metaphysical Mississippi: more podcasts, more pop-up meetups across the state, exciting events and collaborations, and much more. Please consider getting involved and supporting our metaphysical community. Visit our Get Involved page for more information.