David Schroeder LMSW CPC - Just Be Love: Messages on the Spiritual and Human Journey

Just Be Love

Messages on the Spiritual and Human Journey

DAVID SCHROEDER, LMSW, CPC

Copyright 2015 David Schroeder, LMSW, CPC.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

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The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

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ISBN: 978-1-5043-4245-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5043-4246-9 (e)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2015916695

Balboa Press rev. date: 05/12/2016

Contents

Part 1: The Human Journey

Chapters

Dedication

Just Be Love is dedicated to my beloved master and brother, Jesus, also known by his birth name, Yeshua ben Joseph, and his soul name, Lord Sananda. I am extremely grateful for my experiences with you and your unwavering love and compassion toward me. Through and because of you, Jesus, the inspiration and messages in writing Just Be Love came to be. I am blessed beyond measure.

This book is also dedicated to all those who have touched my life through their expressions of love and friendship. I thank you all for the experiences, lessons and gifts. This book is my gift of love and appreciation to each of you.

Lastly, Just Be Love is dedicated to those who seek a greater wisdom and practice of love. This book is my gift to you as well. Your desire and willingness to read these messages is your gift to me.

I wish to thank the following people for their time, effort, and feedback on this book. I am very grateful for your willingness to offer assistance with completing this manuscript. Your belief in my writing is love without measure.

Lindsay Austin: Thank you Lindsey for the final editing work. You made this book a much cleaner read.

Kelly Epperson Simmons: Much gratitude Kelly, with your coaching and editing of my words. Your insights brought more life and clarity to this work.

Stephanie Larson: You challenged me in many ways. You offered confidence about the books inspiration and potential.

Terese Schroeder: Thank you my dear, for your love and gentle ways in helping me to improve the wording and meanings. Your willingness to share how my words touched you and your excitement for my effort with this project kept me motivated and focused. Terese, such a blessing and soulful love you are.

Patricia McShane-Gearhart: I am in much gratitude Patricia for your time, heart and unwavering commitment in editing this challenging manuscript. Your gift with writing and editing; brought life to this book, providing improved clarity of the content through your wording. I am blessed beyond measure dear soul sister, for your love and confidence in this books message.

Susan Mavity: Gratitude Sue for your loving friendship and your gentle presence of confidence as I would share with you the books content.

John Schroeder: For always believing in me and for your curiosity as to what I was writing. For your words of praise about how this book touched you. Your perspective and honest feedback helped improve the clarity of my writing.

Just Be Love explores the many aspects of love from both our human and spiritual perspective. This book offers messages on love that are familiar to us, and in ways that love is at times mysterious, hidden and paradoxical. Just Be Love weaves my insights on love with the teachings and wisdom of spiritual masters, poets and authors of many traditions. These spiritual masters, through their open hearts and minds, understood and mirrored the essence of Divine Love while living their human experience. They recognized and demonstrated that we are spiritual beings first and foremost while living the human experience. I believe Divine Love is unconditional love and acceptance of the spirit in all that e xist.

Throughout this book I offer examples of what I call Divine Love and its relationship to human love. The book is written in two parts. Part one, is dedicated more to exploring the dynamic of the human knowing and expression of love, and part two provides the dynamic and expression of Divine Love as Ive come to experience and understand it. In my describing the Divine and this energys love, please know we cant really comprehend and know this love in its totality. As humans, our mind limits us by our experiences and perspective, and so we humanize the Divine through our thoughts, beliefs and language as a way to comprehend a Source that in reality is incomprehensible to us. In my humanness I acknowledge there will be words I use, that will not describe the completeness of our Source.

I write Just Be Love as a sojourner like you, for I too struggle with the experience of love. While in my mothers womb, I was impacted by complications of Rh factor a condition of conflicting blood types, between mother and baby. Fifty-eight years ago, doctors were just beginning to understand how to treat this disorder. The condition caused me to be born near death. Since I wasnt breathing, I required a total blood transfusion. As a result of the lack of oxygen to my brain, I have severe hearing loss and some learning challenges. I have thrived due to the love, patience and care of my parents, siblings and many others during my childhood and to this day. Through my human hardships and heartaches, Ive come to realize and honor the many people and experiences that have been my teachers and opportunities to more deeply love myself and enhance my self-worth. They have taught me about acceptance, compassion, forgiveness and letting go.

Like many of you, growing up I struggled to fit in, both in my family and with peers. I had growing pains, wrong turns and lost dreams. In my adult years, Ive been divorced, and lost a dear woman, lover and friend to an aneurysm. Ive had relationships that became broken and acknowledge that they taught me even more about love, commitment and life. Ive had endearing and evolving friendships, which also helped me understand more about love, life and myself. Ive lost jobs and walked away from a few as well. Ive realized mistakes made as a parent helping raise two resilient sons, Andy and Ryan. Ive come to understand unconditional love more deeply by interacting with my grandkids.

I have moments of fear and doubt, and Ive even lost myself a few times along the way. Ive struggled with writing this book. Several times I wanted to throw the pen and laptop away. One morning while shaving, in a moment of doubt about my writing and just wanting to end the process, I suddenly felt as if I was being pulled so strongly that I needed to sit down. I ended up sitting on the closest thing to me, the toilet, as the pull literally put me on my butt. I heard a voice from deep within me say, You are to write this bookno need to doubt yourself or give up on the process. Just continue being open and willing; it will all fall into place as intended.