The Power of Unconditional Love

Kabbalistically, this is a very powerful week because it is the week when the 72 Names of God were revealed to mankind. For those of you who are new to Kabbalah, let me explain that the 72 Names are 72 three-letter combinations of Hebrew letters, each combination carrying a certain energy that can help us in our lives. Kabbalists meditate with these names to connect with the divine essence within and to help them change and uproot those inner aspects of themselves that are negative, limiting, or selfish. For us, these letter-combinations help us to change at the seed level—the level of consciousness.

With all that is going on in the world right now, the Name that will be especially powerful for all of us to focus on together this week is Hei Hei Ayin, the Name for unconditional love. Right now, more than ever, we need to remember that we all contain sparks of the same Light and we are all here for the same collective purpose: to reveal positivity in a world of chaos. This is our job here on Earth. By meditating on this Name this week, we can cut through any illusions that may be blocking us from this purpose and can thus strengthen our unconditional love for each other.

I once participated in a conference with Mrs. Jehan Sadat, the former First Lady of Egypt, together on the same platform. She was talking about her views and I was talking about mine. And you know what? We found some very powerful points that we could agree on. For me, this agreement was the most important part of our discussion, especially when you consider how very easy it is to disagree in our lives and our interactions with others. It is much more difficult and often requires much more effort to find common ground with those who think, look, live, or pray differently than we do.

Though it’s almost counterintuitive, the truth is that it can be even harder to find the common ground in our own interpersonal relationships. The reason for this is because human beings oftentimes work with agendas. What we need to learn is that when we love somebody and we are their friend or partner even though they have mood swings and things that hurt them, we still need to be able to give them love that has no agenda. This doesn’t mean that we cannot set healthy boundaries or that we have to put up with someone treating us badly. It does mean, however, that we need to allow those close to us to feel that they are a part of us—even when they don’t feel right or act like a child rather than an adult. Remember, the only way we can receive such a gift as unconditional love is when we are able to extend it ourselves.

Jimi Hendrix popularized the quote: “When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.” Can you picture this world filled with unconditional love? I’m not talking about the kind of love that’s romantic. That’s wonderful. But there’s also the love for the whole of Creation, the love for the world. And there’s even the love we can feel in looking at a flower and saying, “I could never create that, but how wonderful it is.”

In reality, love is knowing that every single thing that lives and breathes and grows—from the smallest weed to the human being—has a purpose.

Sure, we all come from very different backgrounds. But the point is that we can create unity among the world’s peoples—in spite of our differences— through the practice of human dignity. May we all come closer to this unity this week through the power of unconditional love via Hei Hei Ayin and through our collective effort to do the spiritual work.