To listen, to hear, to honor.

To acknowledge and accept differences, held in the unity of One.

To seek the human heart in the presence of all beliefs that contradict one's own.

To teach by example rather than by dogma or edict.

To take full responsibility for being a source of love, even in the presence of rejection.

To see all as souls, pure in their essence.

To bow before the Divine in everyone.

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To listen, to hear, to honor -

Sometimes we hear the words that people speak but they become background to our own thoughts.  When that occurs, we are not listening.

At other times we hear the words that others speak but do not understand their meaning.  When that happens, we are hearing sound but not hearing with our deeper senses or with out heart.

Still deeper than hearing is honoring, which means seeking the place of deeper feeling and integrity that another's words are coming from..  Honoring involves believing in the deeper self of another. 

To acknowledge and accept differences, held in the unity of One -

There are many ways of perceiving the Divine, and many of sensing the unity that holds all that is together.  The way in which a person expresses their beliefs may be vastly different from one's own, yet does not detract in any way from the understanding that at root all truths lead to the same place, to the oneness of what is.  There are beliefs that hold more love in them and beliefs that hold less love in them.  However, what a person is capable of holding and of expressing is less than what their deepest self, their soul-self knows.  Arguments can be avoided and conflict eased if trust in the underlying unity of life can be upheld.

To seek the human heart in the presence of all beliefs that contradict one's own -

Beliefs are influenced by the mind and the ideas it finds compatible with its own premises.  They are also influenced by energies that color thoughts that can take a mild point of view and make of it an extreme one.  Beliefs are not the deepest truth that another carries.  This is an important understanding which gives precedence to the knowledge of the heart as compared to the knowledge of the mind.  For the heart is the messenger of the soul, and what the mind may utter in terms of beliefs and values, the heart may hold differently.  It is therefore important to seek the values of the heart in all others rather than what a person may say, for it is the heart that is the ultimate determiner of the truth that another carries.

To teach by example rather than by dogma or edict -

People learn through observation and through incorporation of the qualities of inner being of others.  They learn what is possible for themselves by seeing it reflected in another.  This is true for raising children and it is also true for conveying values to others that one holds most dear.  Dogma and edict as means of persuasion can create fear, resistance, or conformity, depending on the predisposition of the listener.  But teaching by example can convey only the truth of what is, namely, the truth that it is possible to live or be a certain way without encumbrance.  It is especially important in relation to conveying love and respect.

To take full responsibility for being a source of love, even in the presence of rejection -

It takes only one to love, not two.  One must be committed to the principle of love and to the purposes of love so that these can be maintained even in the presence of lack of love in another.  Love has its own purposes, and bringing its presence to another, even if only unilaterally, can begin to alter a situation of rejection because rejection is not being met by counter-rejection but by the healing power of love.

To see all as souls, pure in their essence -

No matter what mistakes an embodied soul has made, no matter what actions have been committed that depart from the law of love, the essence of each created being remains pure and holy.  Actions and thoughts that disregard the value of love or the sanctity of life can cover the divine Essence so that one no longer feels it or can express it, but they cannot alter the divine Flame that is God's individualized Presence within each embodied being.  Those who can penetrate the expression of darkness to recognize the original Essence that remains in another will be the most able to help others recognize this Essence within themselves.

To bow before the Divine in everyone -

We have lost, in large measure, our innate understanding of the beauty of bowing before the Divine, before the holy.  We take things at face value instead of perceiving the vastness of that which is greater than ourselves, and recognizing its holiness.  Seeing the Divine in all and especially in our brother and sister souls allows us to welcome whatever experience we are given with them, knowing that each brings a gift to us.  Bowing also allows us to remain humble, and this is a virtue that many need to reclaim, for the ego has taken root in many as a way of identifying the self, and it is only bowing before the beauty, goodness, love, and holiness of that which is greater than the self that can dismantle the ego and allow a new way of perceiving to take place.

Article Section -  Sacred Relationships