Below is an excerpt from “What is Love? by Helen Berg; pp. 49-50; all rights reserved:

Expectations and Beliefs

“Sometimes there are events that we don’t expect that side-blind us.  There was a study I read about once.  It was a rather cruel test.  One monkey was shocked regularly on the hour.  Another monkey was shocked randomly.  The one that was shocked regularly led a fairly normal life, because it knew the shock would come at a certain time, but that it would pass.  The monkey that was shocked at random times, lost its appetite, became withdrawn and grew old very fast.  It never knew when the next shock would come, or how long it would last, and thus it was startled every time.  It’s those side-blinding events that deeply affect us.  Because we don’t expect them, we never see them coming.  Often we bury those feelings the deepest.  Sometimes it takes hypnosis, or other psychotherapy, to bring these deep injuries out. Our expectations can make us suffer.  

           “I think pessimists have it over optimists. My friend once said that pessimists think everything is going to go wrong, and when it doesn’t, they’re pleasantly surprised.  Optimists, on the other hand, think everything is going to work out fine, and when it doesn’t, they’re crushed.  But I think my friend is wrong. What we put in our mind, what we believe will happen, usually does happen. If we think everything is going to go wrong, it probably will.  Not because everything is actually wrong, but rather, because the person thinks it is.  Belief is everything.  Thomas Edison made 199 attempts to invent the light bulb.  His friend asked him how he stayed positive after “failing” 199 times. Edison responded that he didn’t fail. He just learned 199 ways not to make a light bulb!

            “In love, when a relationship doesn’t work out, we can look at it as a failure, or we can look at it as just one more way not to do a relationship.  We can look at what worked, and what didn’t work.  We can expand those things that made us feel good, or made the other person feel good.  Those things that had the opposite effect supply contrast.  None of it is failing if you don’t look at it that way.  It’s simply learning.  When life is most difficult, and when we are most uncomfortable, if we pay attention, that is when we can learn volumes!  It’s like God is trying to get our attention with pain and suffering. God is saying, “Hey!  Look at this!  Why are you feeling or reacting the way you are?  There’s something to work on here!  And if you figure it out, you will grow in understanding about yourself. And next time you see that person, you can do better.”  It’s kind of an “ouch,” then “oh . . .” response.  The last thing you want to do is beat yourself up for something you did or didn’t do.  That doesn’t accomplish anything.  Look at why you did it, and why you feel uncomfortable now.  Dig deep.  The reason may be conditioning from your relationships with your parents or from a former relationship, or even a former life!

           “It’s a matter of shifting perception back to the positive (learning), and away from the negative (dwelling on the painful experience). When we do this, we eliminate the personal hells that can hold us for an eternity.”

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End of excerpt.

You can purchase a copy of: “What Is Love?” by Helen Berg at: https://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Higher-Levels-Loving/dp/1504339916/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589913047&sr=8-1

Love, health and happiness,

Helen Berg; http://www.helenberg.com

Excerpt from “What is Love?” by Helen Berg, p. 57-59; All rights reserved.

            “Do you want to be real?  Write your own life movie.  Pen the words and melody to your own song, your own conflicts of heart. Don’t let romance novels, songs, T.V. dramas or even Shakespeare plays define you.  Know who you are.  What is the story of your life?  Start to make a picture.  Remember the good and bad, but then write it down the way you would have liked it to have been, and then start living your life that way.  Write down how you would like your life to be now.  What changes you would like to make.  Frame your life in the most positive light possible.  What’s missing?  Do you want the love of your life?  What does he or she look like?  What does s/he act like?  What is your perfect job?  Think the thoughts you would think if you were a famous singer, composer, painter, CEO, writer; lover and/or partner.  Bethe characters that you would love to play most!  See the relationship you want to have, the partner you want to have.  To be it, you must see it.  

            “Many people spend numerous hours in front of the T.V. But watching someone else’s exciting life is not going to get you there.  How much more meaningful would your life be, if instead of being a silent witness to other people’s lives, you started living your own life, fully, without reservation, honestly, saying what was in your head and in your heart.  What if you lived your life authentically, accepting and being who you truly are?  Not letting fear, guilt or self-judgment prevent you from living your life courageously, joyously and peacefully.  What if you could lovingly accepting all that was in your heart, and be able to express it?  What if you could fully open up and not only be compassionate to what other’s need, but compassionate about what you need and want?  What if you were willing to talk, to listen, to share the human drama however it unfolds every moment of every day, without judgment and without fear? It would be great.  It isgreat.  You just need to see it and do it!

            “Our bodies want to live.  Perhaps that is why so many seek the high of drinking and drugs, escaping the hollowness, the emptiness they feel because they are quietly watching their lives go by, and want something more.  The high makes a person feel more powerful.  “But the balance of nature dictates that to artificially acquire that state without having earned it creates a debt,” and the cost of such stolen pleasure is the desperation of addition.  So drugs and drinking are not the solution, they only cause a greater problem.

            “Interaction with other human beings is the answer. It doesn’t really matter what you do, as long as you do something and pay attention.  Each interaction helps us learn.  We learn what works for us, and what doesn’t.  We get to know what is in our hearts and in our head.  We learn when we fall down, and when we lose our reason.  We look at everything, everyday with new eyes, accepting the mistakes or failure as just one more way not to do a relationship.  You know what is real and good.  Affirm what works for you.  Affirm your values, every day, and don’t compromise what is really important.  If someone can’t accept your values, move on. But don’t accept others’ values as yours.  Don’t let the scripted, edited interactions of T.V. or movies guide you.  Know yourself.  Know your triggers and sensitivities.  Find someone who is compassionate to these.  People fall down, make mistakes, get up, brush themselves off, try again, fall down again, stand up again, laugh, cry, hold hands, kiss, smile, frown, weep and bounce off the walls.  We’re sane, and a little bit crazy, but at the end of the day, the sun sets for all of us.

            “Don’t let the illusions in books, on T.V. or in the movies guide your life.  Live your own story.  Give all your life to it.”

Love, health and happiness,

Helen Berg, www.helenberg.com

You can purchase a copy of: “What Is Love?” by Helen Berg at:

https://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Higher-Levels-Loving/dp/1504339916/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589915154&sr=8-1

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Excerpt from “What is Love” by Helen Berg, pp. 73-74, 84:

            “Sometimes I do an active appreciation meditation. From the moment I wake up, I think about how much I enjoyed sleeping; maybe I feel the softness of the comforter I’m laying under; I smile at the light coming through my window; and if it’s sunny I smile even more.  I think about how wonderful it is that water is showering me and that I have soft towels. And when I sip my tea, it is incredible, the taste!  And food! I’m even crazier about food.  We have such abundance:  God has given us such a bounty of fruits, vegetables, grains; and when I eat vegetables or meat, I bless the spirit of the plant or animal that died so I might eat it; and I take its spirit into me and make it alive again—because all things taken within us become alive in us.   

         “One time I was meditating in the lotus position with hands open on my knees.  I began sending the love energy that was within me out into the universe.  I did this for a few minutes, then focused inward again, and sat quietly.  Suddenly, and quite unexpectedly, I felt a rush of love energy come right back into my hands.  It startled me a bit, but then I realized that all around the world monks, priests, yogis, divine masters and ordinary people are sending out love energy to our world, to all sentient beings and to the universe!  

            “It was at that moment I realized I was not alone.  

            “We are never alone.  

            “We are all connected, whether you want to be or not.  

            “That is why, even when you’re not with someone, you still feel his or her energy. 

            “If you tune in, you can feel other beings.  

            “You can feel God.  

            “You can speak with God, or other divine beings; just like you can chat with your emotions.

            “Meditation is the beginning of understanding, deepening, and opening to all that you are and all that there is.  

            “It is the beginning of finding True Love, the infinite love of the Universe.  

            “You find it in the world because you find it in yourself.  

            “Because you release all negative blocks.

            “Begin. With Love. Here. Now.“

I hope you enjoyed this short excerpt from my book. You can purchase a copy of: “What Is Love?” by Helen Berg at: https://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Higher-Levels-Loving/dp/1504339916/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589913047&sr=8-1

Love, health and happiness,

Helen Berg

Excerpt from “What is Love” by Helen Berg, pp. 87-88; All rights Reserved

LOVE, WITH A CAPITAL “L”

            “We must breathe love in like a balm to heal our wounds and make us whole and strong.  When we breathe in the love of God and the universe in meditation, when that is all that’s left overafter the clearing of old negative thoughts, we can intuitively and spontaneously walk in the right direction. We will know True Love when we feel it because we truly know what love is.  No longer held back by fear and ignorance, we will wisely leap into the abyss, knowing when love is right and good.  Why?  Because now we have knowledge of what love is, and what it is not.  As we clear, we focus more and more on our intuitive knowing of love. We use the books to learn, then we set them down and live.  With our energies unblocked and chakras spinning, Love will feel radiant and bright like light itself.

            “Try this exercise.  Every time something in your life feels wonderful, say “this is love.” When I write, when I paint, when I hug my daughter and granddaughter, when I really look at trees, flowers, the sky, now I say, “this is love,” and smile.  Love is all around us.  In the words of Elizabeth Barrett Browning:

“Earth’s crammed with heaven,

And every common bush afire with God,

And only he who sees takes off his shoes;

The rest sit around it and pluck blackberries.”  

          “When we truly know love within ourselves, we will see it in the world and in everyone else.  We will sense the people who are awake to this knowledge, and those who still are asleep and blindfolded by their egos.  We may still make mistakes.  But now with our foundation of knowledge strong and secure below us, and our consistent work to overwrite old programs through study and repetition, we can find within ourselves what we always knew was true, that we are love.  We can then go forth with our intuition to deepen and share this knowledge.”

End of Excerpt

 You can purchase a copy of: “What Is Love?” by Helen Berg at: https://www.amazon.com/What-Love-Higher-Levels-Loving/dp/1504339916/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1589913047&sr=8-1

Love, health and happiness,

Helen Berg; http://www.helenberg.com

Love is….

Love is patient. Love is kind. It goes the extra mile. It is soft in tone and touch. It is a positive force in the universe that heals all wounds. Without it you are a clanging gong, a noisy cymbal. Returning to love makes everything feel better. It gives meaning and depth to all you do. When you have True Love, your life is more interesting and exciting. It is also more challenging, for we do not find the meaning in life alone–it takes connection with others–but the effort is worth it.

The quality of love you are able to give in any relationship is the quality of love you have within yourself. You cannot give that which you do not possess. That is why True Love must bloom at your heart center first.

You must truly love yourself: forgive yourself, nurture yourself, respect yourself. When you do this, and let go of past “sins,” and view yourself and others as positive, healthy, radiant light beings, then you will not only find True Love within yourself, you will find it in all of your relationships.

To find Love, you must know it. To have Love, you must be it.

My knowledge was acquired by years of experience and study, formal and informal; by interviews and readings of many masters, psychologists and spiritual counselors; by talking to other light beings who knew True Love and had success with love in life. In all of my relationships, True Love abounds and I have found peace in the knowing and sharing of it. I hope and pray for the same joy for you in your life, as I have known in mine.

Love, peace and happiness,

Helen Berg; http://www.helenberg.com