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Love
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While we have one word for love, the Ancient Greek language had more than 30. For example, the word eros meant physical passion, while philia denoted affection for a family member, one's own community or even abstract concepts, such as knowledge. Philautia, on the other hand, represented the important concept of self-respect, and agape could be translated today as unconditional love. It seems that the Ancient Greek had a pretty comprehensive notion of love. True love is not a feeling but a state of consciousness. Those who cultivate true love as a state of consciousness see everything anew, for love has this extraordinary capacity of making us see human beings, nature and the creatures inhabiting it as we were seeing them for the first time. Only love is able to sense the subtle currents of life that pass through us, and these currents are constantly being renewed. Objective and physical knowledge of what exists is not enough to fulfil us. Take for example someone who might be capable of exploring the entire universe: they would end up feeling a void, and even feeling bored if they have not learnt to make contact with the subtle currents of life that flow through all beings and through everything. (O.M. Aïvanhov) Love, tender feelings, and sexual satisfaction entail parasympathetic arousal – the physiological opposite of the “fight-or-flight” mobilization shared by fear and anger. The parasympathetic pattern, dubbed the “relaxation response,” is a bodywide set of reactions that generates a general state of calm and contentment, facilitating cooperation. (Daniel Goleman, Emotional Intelligence, p.7) Resources
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This
is part of a series on Emotion Also see:- Emotion Emotion Index Love articles, e.g.:- - Culture of Love - Self-Love - Angelic Love - Cosmic Love - Choose to Love |
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