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ORIGINAL: charmdpetKeira

~fr~

I would like to slightly change my previous answer.
 
I doubt I would unconditionally love someone; it takes knowing, trust, and respect for me to open up enough for “love”, to happen.. How can I love someone I’ve never met?
 
On the other hand, I can love someone unconditionally, and do; that is what love is.
 
Sometimes loving someone means; walking away, letting them fall, or even pushing them. Love is not always kind, but it is sincere.
 
k

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ORIGINAL: ownedgirlie
I believe love is conditional.  Now, I do not have offspring, so perhaps in that case it is different.  But having once believed love was unconditional, I can honestly say I no longer love my ex husband, after he did horrible things to me.  While I can not fathom never loving my Master, I would imagine he could make it so, if he chose. I don't anticipate that, but I believe it is possible.  Perhaps it is the cynic in me, but I think "unconditional love" is a romantic phrase that is unrealistic.  The optimist in me hopes that I am incorrect.

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ORIGINAL: CuriousLord

WARNING-  Part of this post contains descriptions which may be overly offensive to some (and hopefully at least modestly offensive to everyone else).  This is a post to make a point, but it may be unpleasant to be read.

Often, I have an internal debate with myself over whether or not it's a good thing to break people of the superstition of religion.  Just because it's not true.. is that enough?  I often feel that it's so fundamentally blinding to an individual's ability to perceive reality that it's worth doing away with.

Unconditional love, though?  I can prove that it's conditional. Start destroying parts of a person's brain where love is processed until it ceases.. which is one simple demonstration.  Or.. well, can anyone watch their lover do something truly henious.. such as rape, then skin alive, rape again, then choke to death their children.. and still love the wretch?

I think there's love with loose conditions.. love that's relatively hard to break.. but unconditional love?  This strikes me as a stretch.

I think it's one of those myths I haven't so much against.  It may be untrue, but.. well, I just don't see it warping the foundation of someone's life and being so badly as religion.

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ORIGINAL: charmdpetKeira

JM and IM,
 
It is not always easy for me to express myself here on the boards; tough medium for me. When I have managed to do so, in manner that others can appreciate, it is an uplifting experience.
 
Thank you both for your kind words.
 
Sincerely,
 
k

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ORIGINAL: Kalista07

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ORIGINAL: CuriousLord

WARNING-  Part of this post contains descriptions which may be overly offensive to some (and hopefully at least modestly offensive to everyone else).  This is a post to make a point, but it may be unpleasant to be read.

Often, I have an internal debate with myself over whether or not it's a good thing to break people of the superstition of religion.  Just because it's not true.. is that enough?  I often feel that it's so fundamentally blinding to an individual's ability to perceive reality that it's worth doing away with.

Unconditional love, though?  I can prove that it's conditional. Start destroying parts of a person's brain where love is processed until it ceases.. which is one simple demonstration.  Or.. well, can anyone watch their lover do something truly henious.. such as rape, then skin alive, rape again, then choke to death their children.. and still love the wretch?

I think there's love with loose conditions.. love that's relatively hard to break.. but unconditional love?  This strikes me as a stretch.

I think it's one of those myths I haven't so much against.  It may be untrue, but.. well, I just don't see it warping the foundation of someone's life and being so badly as religion.

CL, despite the fact that i have absolutely no effort or energy to go here today.....well....here i am...i've never been willing to entertain this subject before......However.....Despite the horrible, dispicable (sp), evil, illegal, horrible things my 'father' did to me on a daily basis................i still loved Him...When He died, i was there at this death bed........i was the one in the hospital with him every day thos last 8 days..... As he laid there dying i told him i loved him and that i forgave him.....If that's not unconditional love..................than what is?

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ORIGINAL: JDEmpath

I have little to add to what has been said, since a million people would give a million very different answers.

For me, unconditional love is the only love for which I wish.

I believe in the existence of unconditional love and I follow it as often as I am able to be free from my ego's need to hold on to things, or people.

I do not see this as absolute. Perhaps I might be the only one so far to mention this (If not, forgive me, It is a very long thread after all), but the concept of unconditional love cannot be looked upon as being a destination. It must be a path, since placing conditions on events (example: I will be happy if only I could fill this blank _____________), is a trait that we all share. It is interesting to me however, that some of us wish to transcend this aspect of human nature. I am one of them. So for me, unconditional love is the "holy grail", and life is the "quest". Whether or not I achieve the grail does not matter. The only thing that matters is that I follow the path to the grail.

In regards to relationships, I have had a real life test in unconditional love. When my former slave left to pursue her dreams, it hurt me terribly, but if I had tried to make her stay, I would have been living a lie, since above all else, we must follow our perfect dreams. We still love each other just as much as ever, but our M/s relationship is over. It is my responsibility to stay on the path of unconditional love, and it is a hard path to follow when you must confront the vast bastion of inner conflict coming from possessiveness, the need for revenge, or perhaps even just simple loneliness. I do what I can, and, as much as it hurts, I prefer it to the alternative of giving up on the path to unconditional love.

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ORIGINAL: Rover

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ORIGINAL: juliaoceania

I posted earlier about an unconditional love I have for my ex husband, and he has done some very mean, nasty, abusive things to me.

What is that proof of, other than he has not gone far enough to reach a condition in which you no longer are able to love him?  What if he were to (God forbid) do something awful to your UM?
 
This is really like the many "no limits" threads in that respect. 

John

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I realized I finally felt nothing for him - neither hatred nor love. It was very liberating.

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ORIGINAL: Phoenix2raven

.. but perhaps receiving unconditional love might heal whatever wounds they have that causes them to set conditions?

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ORIGINAL: Justme696

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I realized I finally felt nothing for him - neither hatred nor love. It was very liberating.

mm I know that feeling. The emptiness supprised me first...but then i noticed I relaxed

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ORIGINAL: juliaoceania


I think there is reward in the effort to love without condition. In my heart, for me, it not attractive to think of my love as a transactional thing... "you give me this, I will continue to love you". "If you do not provide for my happiness, life satisfaction and my abundance, I will take my love back". It isn't a healthy view of love for me. 

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Unconditional love is a concept that means showing love towards someone regardless of his or her actions or beliefs. It is a concept comparable to true love, a term which is more frequently used to describe love between lovers. By contrast unconditional love is frequently used to describe love between family members, comrades in arms and between others in highly committed relationships. It has also been used in a "religious" context to describe God's love for mankind. but see its not religious. because religion is the means to get information for your siritual growth. you have to also use your own brain to learn about God by reading His word. being religous is not a good thing. because that means you are more worried about what you are being labeled than about actually having a relationship with God. Some secular authors make a distinction between unconditional love and conditional love. In conditional love: love is 'earned' on the basis of conscious or unconscious conditions being met by the lover, whereas in unconditional love, love is 'given freely' to the loved one 'no matter what'. Conditional love requires some kind of finite exchange whereas unconditional love is seen as infinite and measureless. Unconditional love should not be mistaken with unconditional dedication: unconditional dedication refers to an act of the will irrespective of feelings (e.g a person may consider they have a duty to stay with a person); unconditional love is an act of the feelings irrespective of will. Harold W. Becker, author and founder of The Love Foundation, Inc., defines Unconditional Love as "an unlimited way of being." From his book of the same title, Becker goes on to say that "the greatest power known to man is that of unconditional love. Through the ages, mystics, sages, singers and poets all expressed the ballad and call to love. As humans, we searched endlessly for the experience of love through the outer senses. Great civilizations have come and gone under the guise of love for their people. Religions have flourished and perished while claiming the true path to love. We, the people of this planet, may have missed the simplicity of unconditional love. ...Simply stated, unconditional love is an unlimited way of being. We are without any limit to our thoughts and feelings in life and can create any reality we choose to focus our attention upon. The qualities of love are endless and the expressions are infinite. The power of unconditional love is within each of us."