Did you know that the world is supposed to end today!?

Unless you have been living in a cave, you have known by now about all the hype about the world ending today. Hollywood made a blockbuster movie about 2012, very imaginatively called 2012 and even the BBC got in on the act this week.

Come to think of it – living in a cave is probably the safest place to be today if all the predicted doomsday stories come true!

The world is of course not going to end – but I would like to imagine and hope that a new consciousness is being borne and with it a new way of being. A way of caring, sharing and giving.  Before it’s too late.

“Life will continue; hatred and negative force are ending” – Shaman Juan Osco.

As my good friend Zeenat Merchant-Syal, India’s  leading personal development blogger, put it so eloquently in her latest blog post 21/12/12 The End of the World or A New Beginning:-

“I think this is going to be a day like any other day. Yup! No big changes or earth shifts. What is going to change and has been changing are our thoughts.”

I could not agree more!

Yes, there may be significant energy shifts going on at a cosmic level – and if that means that it shifts human consciousness for the better, than I am all up for cosmic energy shifts!

However, unless we consciously change, all these perceived or real energy shifts will mean nothing. Zilch. Zero.

Then perhaps we would be better off if the world did end! Nothing would matter if we don’t become a more caring, sharing and loving race in the coming “New Age”.

That brings me very nicely to the question of Love.

What does the word LOVE mean to you?

Does it evoke a vision of red roses, serenading in the park, moonlit walks and champagne? In our world of glossy magazines and glitzy media, where we are constantly bombarded with images of the ideal, love struck and “perfect” couple, is it any wonder that the real meaning of love has been so diluted!?

Love for some is about being starry eyed and going gaga over someone. The actual being in love becomes more important than ever truly loving someone. But love is MUCH more than that.

What would the world be like if we truly loved others the way we love our close ones? I imagine the world would then be transformed and there would be fewer or no wars and we would live in peace and harmony.

In the words of John Lennon, just imagine a brotherhood of man and imagine all the people sharing all the world. It’s easy if you try.

As we look around the world today, such unity would seem to only exist in our imagination and in songs. We love our close ones and that’s about it.

In one of his lectures, I remember Sadhguru Vasudev the motorbike crazy mystic shared how as a young boy he asked his mother if she would have loved him as much if he had been born next door!

She could not give him a straight answer but started crying instead.

Yet in our lifetime, we have experienced some magical moments of togetherness.

I remember how during the Tsunami crisis in Dec 2004, the world just came together to help the millions of people affected.

There was such a crescendo of love, compassion and goodwill, the world became a better place for a while. And the same happens anytime there is a natural disaster. Somehow such natural catastrophes bring out the best in us and bring us together.

Sadly it doesn’t seem to last. I experienced something similar earlier this year in the summer when London hosted the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

There was such a wonderful vibe in my home city and people just came together as one joyous mass. I live and breathe for such moments. And I have learnt that it takes so little to create our own little heaven on earth if we wish to. We all want to contribute and do something for others.

“Everyone has the need to contribute. It is one of the six human needs. If you give from your heart, it will come back to you tenfold.” – Anthony Robbins

I remember a few years ago taking part in the London Basket Brigade and delivering food baskets to poor families who would otherwise forego a Xmas lunch.

My cousin and I delivered 24 baskets to families in council estates for 6 hours and it was quite late and rather dark by the time we got to the very last basket. The last home was in a rather nice apartment building and we wondered if we had the right address for delivery.

However, when we knocked on the door and made our delivery, we soon knew we had the right address. It turned out the family had just been made homeless and some friends were housing them at the last minute.

I’ll never forget the look of gratitude on the faces of the couple who answered the door. 

Words were not needed as connected through our humanity. Best of all was when their three young children peeped around the next room and got so excited with their delivery. Their Xmas was suddenly not looking so bleak.

That Xmas I had an extra bounce in my step!

And all it took was a few hours and a desire and willingness to make a difference.

By the way, if you are free this Sunday, 23^rd December, then join me and a couple of hundred friends in East London and help us deliver more than a thousand baskets. You will get so much out of it!

“Change a life and change the world! – The life you change may just be your own!” – Tony Robbins

So the point is this, it’s easy to help and serve others when you come from a place of Love and we unite for a common cause.  And as we go into this new era, that’s what we can all aspire to.

To mark this momentous shift in our consciousness (whether real or not), I am delighted to announce the publication of my new Kindle book “Love is all That Matters” (Amazon USA / Amazon UK).

I have wanted to write this book for many years and have now finally done so as short but powerful manifesto to help people bring more love into their lives and the world.

I wrote some of the material originally on this blog but it’s amazing how the content can be transformed as a Kindle book.

This book is a clarion call to bring more love into the world through simple yet powerful daily rituals Let us wait no more…

As we stand on the threshold of a new world consciousness with the advent of 21st Dec 2012, this is a simple yet powerful manifesto to bring more love into your life and into the world.

“Give, but give until it hurts.” – Mother Teresa

The chapters in this book are:-

1. Who Needs a Magic Wand to Create Love?

2. What is Love?

3. Love Yourself First Before Loving Anyone Else

4. Learn to Love Unconditionally

5. Don’t Fall in Love, Create Love

6. Be Special to Find the Special One

7. Master the Art of Saying Thank You

8. Live with Acceptance and Friendship Every Day

9. The way forward

Each short chapter concludes with a daily exercise – carry out these simple exercises and watch in wonder as your life magically transforms into a life filled with love, kindness and understanding.

To mark 21.12.12, the Kindle book is free on Amazon for today and tomorrow, Saturday 22^nd Dec 2012.

Even if you don’t have an actual Kindle device, you can still read Kindle books on most smart phone and tablets – you just have to download the Kindle app.

Please download your copy from the links below, depending on which country you are in:-

Amazon UK

Amazon USA

Amazon India

I would love your feedback about the book and to learn how you transformed your life after doing the various exercises. You can now also go the website for the book and sign up for daily messages about Love:-

 www.LoveisallthatMatters.com

I would like you all to feel intense burning desire to be who you truly are and take on a mission to transform the world through being more loving and kind to yourself and others.

“The intensity of your desire needs to be so great that your love for who you are and what you do precludes the possibility of any boredom, tedium or weariness!” – Wayne Dwyer

At the end of the day, all the world simply needs is more people aware of the power of love to positively change their lives and change the world. And one day soon, everyone will know and realise that Love is all that Matters…

“And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.” – Paul McCartney

Finally, today I am honoured and delighted to share with you words about Love from some of my blogger friends. I asked them to share with us their thoughts on love and also why love is all that matters.

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“While each has a broad spectrum of expression, there are only two emotions: love and fear. In every moment, we choose which one we want to experience. 

Our environment, other people, our situation – none of these determine how we feel.  We decide how we interpret these things. 

Consciously or subconsciously, we’re always choosing love or fear. If you want to feel good, love is always there for you to wrap you in its warm embrace” – Paige Burkes, Simple Mindfulness

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“I believe LOVE is the ONLY reality that truly exists.

I also believe that we create our own reality which simply means we create love. We are wired to LOVE and BE Love.

The reason for all the rampant rage and hate in this world today, is that somewhere along the way of becoming successful and ‘in’, this loving core has been masked by what we think rather than what we feel.

he soul knows only pure love. The way for us to truly make a positive impact in the future is to LOVE like there was NO tomorrow.

Live for the now, but LOVE like your life depended on it….cause really it does! Love is the only true healer.

Without love we are all just robots inhabiting this earth.” – Zeenat Merchant-Syal, Positive Provocations

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“Love is a combination of all the little things that make us happy in life.

Love is a magic wand that makes the world an instantly brighter place. It leads us to exchange smiles and hug for no reason, do things without expectations, be patient and kind, not keep score and celebrate selflessly.

Love is covering a sharp corner so someone won’t get hurt, going hungry so your loved one might eat, keeping the peace so others may be happy, seeing the flaws and still showering love, and seeing God in our fellow human-beings.

Yet self-love is as important as loving others.

And a haiku from me:

Love, the greatest gift

Fills our hearts with compassion

Makes life worth living” – Vidya Sury, VidyaSury.com 

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“One of the greatest challenges today is that of people feeling unloved, especially ourselves and if we’re to enjoy a love filled life and relationships, it must begin with us. 

Don’t wait for someone outside of you to love you before you love yourself.  Do it now.  

Living without enough love is fatal to our well-being, to our spirit. And since everything depends upon the attitude we have towards ourselves, give and love abundantly beginning with you. 

Without affirming love within, it’s challenging for it to appear as a condition of our life.” – Elle Sommer, Reflecting a Life

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“I believe love starts within. We must learn to love ourselves first and foremost.

This is not insensitive or selfish. It is a prerequisite to living with a loving presence.

Love is not only a feeling…YOU SHOW LOVE.

Have self-acceptance and inner-harmony and you will be able to start connecting with others in a more intimate and loving way.” – Joe Wilner

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“Two weeks after a dear aunt passed away, she appeared to me in the middle of the night. She spoke these words  – “You need to love more.”

At the time, I thought she was telling me to be more loving to my husband. But 15 years later, I finally understand her message. 

My aunt was speaking from an entirely different vantage point. Crossing over had awakened her to the fact that “love is all that matters.“- Angela Artemis, Powered by Intuition

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“Fear and scarcity feed the ego. The anti-fear, anti-scarcity is love and compassion.

If we can learn to live out of love and abundance, rather than fear and scarcity, we live out of the true spirit, and our authentic greatness comes through!” – Victor Scheuller, Professor of Positivity and Possibility

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“It was only when I embraced love and fully opened my heart that my life truly begin.

When I really realized that at the soul level we were all connected and made from the same pure love, I could never look at another in the same way.

I knew then that we are all in this together.

I knew that love is what makes the world go ’round.

When we feel another’s love, our world lights up. And when we love another, we have the ability to light up the entire world!” – Jodi Chapman, Soul Speak

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“Love is what puts the smile on your face, the sparkle in your eye and the spring in your step.

Love is there to greet you when you wake and gives you the last kiss goodnight. What you have most of all in the world is love.” – Cathy Hull Taughinbaugh, Treatment Talk

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“Unconditional love is understanding if the people we love make foolish mistakes or disappoint us, that we love them just as much anyway. 

This kind of love binds us together in ways we can’t imagine. 

It’s the love you want for yourself. And amazingly if you give that love, you often get the same love back.” – Betsy Henry, Zen Mama’s Blog

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