Love is the joy of life. The sensation of love is the joy of life. The sensation of loving is the reward of the lover.
The true lover receives a great many perquisites, such as the love and the gifts of others, but the grand reward of the lover is the sensation of loving. He lives upon the reward, while he would starve to death upon all the perquisites in the world.
You need only recall some experience in your own life when somebody heaped upon you favors that you didn’t want, to realize the deadness of the perquisites alone. And you have only to remember some tiny baby you have loved—a baby who could not reward you at all—to realize in a moment that the real reward of the lover is the sensation, the joy, of loving.
Now, do you know that the only thing worth living for is the sensation of love? If I had to lose the sensation of love now and there were no way of renewing it, I’d go jump in the river. If I waked up in another incarnation, still minus the sensation of love, I’d do it over again.
Of course, that is all nonsense, you know. An entire absence of the sensation of love is death. In other words, it is the sensation of love in some form that holds the body together.
There is no excuse in the world for not having the joy of life, the sensation of loving, ever and increasingly with you. That means all life and no death to the body. It is the fulfilling of the promise, “ With long life will I (God or Love) satisfy him and show him my salvation.” Salvation from what? Salvation from every “evil,” i. e. Unpleasant Sensation.
The increasing sensation of love is what the Man of Nazareth referred to as the “life more abundant.” His aim was to help others to more love, more life. I, too, am come that ye might have life and life more abundant.
Jesus proved what he taught. I too am proving what I teach. And from the depths of my own deep, deep, experience I say unto you there is only one thing necessary—to love; only one life — love; only one joy —love.
And it is free to every soul who walks the earth. Love sensation is the “pearl of great price”— the one desirable thing, altogether lovely. Love is not only the one priceless thing, but it is attainable—with its own reward and all its perquisites. To him who will have it. But he has to pay the price; he cannot escape that.
The price to be paid is the letting go of everything and everybody. Let go anger, malice, resentment, revenge. Let go father, mother, brothers, sisters, friends. Let go the creed, the church, the Bible. Let go preachers, teachers, doctors. Let go science and drugs. Let go all your preconceived ideas; all that has been told you; all you learned in school; all you have read; all your duties. Let go yourself. Let go!
When you have let go, you will rest for a time; you need rest after hanging on so long. It was hard work. You will sleep much and peacefully. You may wonder why you are so dull. Never mind. Love forces are working in you to restore exhausted energies. You will soon begin to awaken to new life—to Love life. Soon you will rouse up and desire something. Desire is conscious Love.
Now, because you are free; because you are no longer strained with hanging on, you can enjoy the desired thing. Having let go all things, you are not harassed with trying to reconcile the desired thing with all the other things you have had or heard of in the past. You simply enjoy the desired thing, the ONE thing in the Present. Thus for the first time, you experience the pure sensation of love—free love. Free from the dead bodies you were dragging around.
To practice letting go and living in a desired present is to cultivate the sensation of loving. You can make any act a desirable act by choosing to desire it. Thus it is practicable to live always with the sensation of Love—the Joy of life.
The Nautilus – April, 1899