The Doctrine of Love
(Lesson 3)

The Doctrine of Love: Love is the Highest Law; Love is the Highest Power.  Everything I See, I View with Love.  Everything I Love, I Will soon See.

The Doctrine of Love is a fairly simple concept.  It refers to a philosophy that was handed to me by an elderly gentleman named “Vic,” who owned a rock shop that I frequented many years ago.  He handed me a small piece of rose quartz and told me that I was to be his disciple.  He wanted me to spread his very simple, yet very meaningful message.  He advised me to seek out only the young-of-heart and the open-minded, as others would ignore the message and dismiss it as silly.  Truly, at the time I found it a bit silly, myself, but a part of me embraced the message and stored it away for a time when it would make a little more sense to me.  He explained the message very clearly and forced me and another person to memorize it.  He repeated it over and over again and, much to our amusement (and slight embarrassment, I might add), he even sang it a few times.  His methods worked quite well, however, as even to this day, I can still hear that wonderful little old man singing, “everything I See, I View with Love. Everything I Love, I Will soon See.”  As Vic explained it, this means, simply, that everything I SEE – with the physical eyes – I VIEW (or regard, if you will) – with the mind – with Love – or “from a position of love.  Everything I Love – with my heart – I WILL – as in “I WILL this into being” (an act of magic?) – soon SEE – again, with the physical eyes.  In other words, by letting Love be our guiding force, the things that we truly desire will come into being.

Thus, “Love is the Highest Power; Love is the Highest Law.”  Or, as Crowley stated in LIBER AL LEGIS – “Love is the whole of the law, Love under Will.”  Strength of Will is an essential part of this equation, for Love without the Will to express it, or to act on its behalf is powerless.  Love is, therefore, empowered by Will and vice versa.

Does all of this mean that we should arbitrarily love everyone and everything?  No.  That’s neither logical, nor is it practical.  Rather we should regard all things from a perspective of love and also react to all things from this same perspective.  This is the position from which compassion and understanding might be cultivated.

I charge you now: go forth with Love in your heart.  Let your Will empower your heart and let your heart guide you in all things.  Spread this message among all who would listen and may your Will be absolute.  SO SHALL IT BE.