Hey Gary! I’m back and can read in peace now!

You asked “How would you summarize the article on the science of love?”

Hmm I guess more then summarizing the article, I can tell you why it resonated with me? I was in a relationship a while back, and when I told people it ended, one of the first questions they asked was “was it love?”. If I said yes, I would always be asked to prove that it was. “what made you call it love?” I would give my reasons, and the reply would always be “oh but it wasn’t REALLY love because XYZ”. If I said no, the relationship was trivialized. I guess it bothers me that we’re all supposed to be looking for love but no one quite understands what it is, or knows how to differentiate it from infatuation or limerance or what have you. It feels like a quest for something mythical. So this approach to love, as a temporary, transient but powerful connection and understanding of others appealed to me. It removes a lot of the display and trumpetry of “true love” and makes it more human and accessible. It also removes it from a purely romantic setting.

“This understanding is blocked from human awareness by social/environmental programming and the distortions of distance and density in the so-called 3D world. The distance and density mentioned are also illusory fabrications, made to feel very real in their effect. What we call love is a distortion of the emanations of O.B., normalized in fragmented human historical perspective. That is not to put down the experience humans call love. It appears to be the best we can do in this ‘point in time.’”

Thank you for answering this! I understand better now what you were saying. Do you also think that the stories we construct in our head (our defense mechanisms, I guess) to protect ourself from reality also get in the way of experiencing this love? Because they are artificial constructs distancing ourselves from our core, and therefore from the source of love? Maybe you seeing misused authority as a block to love also stems from this? The person misusing authority is not comfortable acknowledging their vulnerability, and therefore distanced from the truth of who they are? that is, vulnerable beings.

I really love Kurt Vonnegut’s quote, a reminder to be in the moment if there ever was one, and much needed for me.

Thank you for this correspondence Gary, I am currently in therapy and am struggling with lowering my defense mechanisms that have been in place for very many years now, and this is discussion has given me a little more insight, even though applying it is a whole different ball game.