{"id":188,"date":"2013-12-06T04:22:53","date_gmt":"2013-12-06T04:22:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/?p=188"},"modified":"2013-12-06T04:22:53","modified_gmt":"2013-12-06T04:22:53","slug":"the-loving-dream-that-changed-my-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/heartofthesoul\/2013\/12\/the-loving-dream-that-changed-my-life.html","title":{"rendered":"The Loving Dream that Changed My Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Love<\/a>I believe that when we are born, we all are made of pure love.<\/strong> I believe that we are all bright lights that are good and sweet and loving and wise and amazing in every way.<\/p>\n

And that never changes.<\/p>\n

What usually happens, though, is that we forget our brilliance.<\/strong> We forget how loving and kind and sweet we are. And we forget how loving and kind and sweet everyone else is, too.<\/p>\n

Life takes over. We get hurt. We hurt others. We get angry. We yell. We feel betrayed. We worry. We feel abused. And with each hurt, a little layer of protection goes over our heart until one day we are filled with a hard shell \u2013 an armor \u2013 that isn\u2019t going to let anything or anyone in.<\/p>\n

And when that happens (usually over a period of years \u2013 even decades), we aren\u2019t even aware of our own light and our own goodness and others\u2019 light and their goodness. We are too busy trying to protect ourselves from getting hurt. So we go on the defensive and make sure we don\u2019t let anyone into our hearts.<\/p>\n

We may even start to believe that the world is a cold, hard place. And it\u2019s possible that we may feel so alone and upset and down and hopeless that we even begin to believe that the world is filled with more hatred than love. We may even squash our own ability to love and to see love and to let love in.<\/p>\n

I definitely know how it feels to live in this world. I spent many years in it. I didn\u2019t want to trust, I didn\u2019t want to let anyone in, and I certainly didn\u2019t want to love.<\/p>\n

And then I had a dream that changed everything.<\/strong> A dream that shifted the entire way I saw the world. That shifted how I lived my life.<\/p>\n

I dreamt that I was in an all-white room and a man in a white robe was standing in the center. No words were said aloud, and yet I was filled with so much love. Love like I had never felt before. It was almost like this room was similar to a gas station. Except, rather than filling cars with gas, it filled people with love. I stood in place and raised my arms up to receive it. I basked in its glow. I allowed myself to take it into my heart and into my body. I looked into the man\u2019s eyes and felt understood and seen and known and so very loved. Deeply loved by not only him, but the entire universe. I felt my connection to everything and everyone. I saw all of us as pure love at our core \u2013 at our essence. And I was given the message that it was my turn to share this love with the world and also to remember that the world was made of this infinite love. In this moment, I remembered that the more we give love, the more it expands. The more we focus on it, the more it enters our hearts. And the more we share it, the more it ripples into the entire world.<\/p>\n

It was such a powerful dream. I haven\u2019t looked at the world the same since I woke up from it.<\/strong> It was years ago, and yet just closing my eyes and remembering it takes me right back to that room \u2013 to that feeling of being so loved.<\/p>\n

After feeling this deep love, I could no longer believe that the world wasn\u2019t a loving place. I could no longer look at anyone without feeling a deep connection with them. My heart opened up, and I can\u2019t imagine it ever closing again.<\/p>\n

I know for sure that we are all connected. I know for sure that we are all made from love. I know for sure that we are all loving and good and brilliant and beautiful. I know it.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

And if we aren\u2019t feeling that in ourselves, it\u2019s because we\u2019ve created an armor of protection. And we can choose to dismantle this armor and free ourselves from it. If we aren\u2019t seeing that love in others, we can choose to look at them again with love, compassion, and understanding.<\/p>\n

We can choose to love. We can choose to open up to love. We can choose to believe that our world is filled with love.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

It\u2019s up to us.<\/p>\n

I haven’t always lived in such a loving world. And I can tell you now that I do that everything has changed. No, it\u2019s not perfect. But it definitely is open, light-filled, and very, very loving.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s my hope that we\u2019ll all be able to feel this love. To open up to it. And then to share it with others.\u00a0It feels so good to love. And it feels so good to be loved. Let’s all let down our armor and allow ourselves to open our hearts and let love in.<\/p>\n

Hugs,<\/p>\n

Jodi<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"about<\/a><\/p>\n

Jodi Chapman is a bestselling author, an award-winning blogger, and a soulful community builder.\u00a0She lives her life with love and faith in the driver\u2019s seat, and she hopes to leave a trail of inspiration wherever she goes. She believes that we each have the ability to hear our soul\u2019s whisper and create our best lives. She would love to connect with you!<\/p>\n

Website<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Angel Fund<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u2665 \u00a0\u00a0Free Ebook<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I believe that when we are born, we all are made of pure love. I believe that we are all bright lights that are good and sweet and loving and wise and amazing in every way. And that never changes. What usually happens, though, is that we forget our brilliance. 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