Jesus was masterful at telling stories that conveyed a deeper meaning. They were called parables because they communicated in the language of metaphors that people related to. One such parable is about the relationship between a father and his two sons.
Fear is separation from what is present. Fear essentially refuses to live in union with what is. Love experiences life because it’s one with life. Fear avoids life because it cannot be at peace with it.
I’m reminded of a shopping center near my home in San Diego. (Stay with me here through the strangeness of this story. There’s a point here. I promise.) Walking through the mall, I observed everything around me, including the beauty and charm of the people all around me. At the food court, I exchanged pleasantries with a cashier as I paid for my lunch.
One way to better understand love is by contrasting it with fear. While love is the equivalent of one or unity, fear is the equivalent of two, or separation. Fear originates in the mind as thoughts that are not cognizant of the union we share. It’s a toxic energy, or perhaps even more succinctly, an emotional pain you experience when you are unaware of unconditional love.
Universal oneness is a challenge for our dual minds to comprehend. Since childhood, we have been taught that there’s a dividing line between me and what’s out there. If, for example, we were to ask “Where is the universe?” instinctively we would perceive the universe as outside of us.
