invoking love

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nvo ng e ower o ove: a

simple technique from the teachings

of Hilda Charlton

Posted on Thursday, July 14, 2011 in Divine Mother

by Cassia Berman

ublished in Tantra: The Magazine, 1993

I learned what love is from the late teacher Hilda Charlton.

I knew Hilda when she was in her seventies and eighties and giving the weekly classes she calledLessons of Life at the Cathedral Church of St. John the Divine in New York City. She neveradvertised or charged money for her classes, and in the eighteen years she taught in New York,thousands of people passed through her classes, everyone from movie stars to prostitutes and

drug addicts who had changed their lives after a taste of Hildas grace, doctors, lawyers, hippies

people of every variety and spiritual orientation. I had prayed for a female teacher, and she wasthe one I got. A former dancer with a great sense of humor and stage presence, she used to seemto me like a cross between a Walt Disney fairy godmother and the sternest spiritual master.Shortly after she passed on, I saw Disneys Cinderella again for the first time since childhood, andthe blue-cloaked fairy godmother in it who sings Bibbity Bobbity Boo indeed bears a closeresemblance to Hilda.

Hilda had been born spiritually gifted. When she was a young woman in her twenties and thirties,a dancer in California, her spiritual path began unfolding, initially under the guidance of an Indian

yogi, and then richly from the inner plane. Her early adventures are chronicled in herautobiography,Hellbent for Heaven, available from Golden Quest Books. As soon as World WarII ended, she left for India as a dancer, and wound up staying there for eighteen years, studying

with various masters and living the life of a sadhu. The last three years of her stay were spent withSathya Sai Baba, who took her into his inner circle, and urged her to stay at his ashram. But as she

began to see a new breed of young people thronging to India, dressed in bedspreads, as she put

it, and seeking God, she felt a strong calling to return to the United States to teach meditation andoffer her help. Sai Baba had once promised her siddhis, or powers. She wondered what sorts of

powers these would be whether she would manifest objects or holy ash as he did, or what.

When she was leaving, she reminded him of his promise and asked him wasnt he going to give her

anysiddhis. He laughed and said she already had the highest one unconditional love.

When I first came to Hildas class I was a tough, streetwise New York City bohemian type in mylate twenties, who had brought myself up on nineteenth century romantic poetry and thoughtangst and the suffering of the artist was where it was at. I came into her class to find severalhundred adults jumping up and down with silly smiles on their faces, singing, Happiness,

happiness, happiness is me. I was pretty disgusted, especially with myself for coming to such aplace looking for something, but I had paid my subway token to get there so decided to stay. Ilistened to her talk with a super-critical mind, closed my eyes unwillingly for the meditation, andas she led us through it and let the power flow, to my surprise it seemed as though I shot up outthe to of m head and hovered there. B the end of the class I felt as thou h thousands of

voking the Power of Love: a simple technique from the teachings of ... http://cassiaberman.com/?p=124

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pounds of darkness that I hadnt even known were there had been lifted off my shoulders. In thefollowing weeks I was drawn back to the weekly classes.

It was an indescribable experience to be in the presence of such love. As soon as Id come into herpresence, Id feel as though everything Id always been searching for was inside my own heart. Inthose first weeks, quite suddenly, I became a happy person, a state of being I had never eventhought to attain. In the years that followed, a flood of joy and love was unleashed in me, from my

contact with Hildas love, that was nothing like the familial or romantic love that had left me sodisappointed and wounded. This was divine Love, and as I opened to the power Hilda carried as aresult of a lifetime of giving herself to live by Truth, I learned that real Love indeed does make

the world go round, and is the very substance of Creation a substance not elusive or dependent

on a certain kind of relationship with another person, as worldly desire would have us believe, butalways surrounding us, always within us, always available when we invoke it with an open heart.

Addictions and harmful habits fell off me without any effort on my part, as if there were no moreroom inside for anything that would veil that radiance, that didnt honor life.

The following is a practice Hilda taught us and would often have us do to clear the room where

we met, which had been used by other groups and from whose windows we often heard policesirens screeching their way to nearby Harlem; to clear ourselves of the concerns and subway rides

which still stuck to us from the day; to send healing energy to those in our lives and the world. Itis very simple and yields very immediate and powerful effects.

Imagine you can breathe through your heart the way you breathe through your nose. Relaxyour heart area, not the physical heart but the area around your heart chakra in the center ofyour chest, and breathe in Love. Let it fill your whole body, and then breathe Love out. Breathein Love, hold it inside you, and breathe Love out. As you breathe Love in, feel that all thatsurrounds you is Love. As you breathe Love out, feel that youre filling all the space around youwith gentle, healing, soothing, nurturing Love. If theres somebody youre not at peace with,breathe in Love, let it fill you, and imagine breathing Love into that persons heart. If theresdiscord around you, or anything of a negative nature, as you breathe out Love, feel the power ofthis Love to push away anything that isnt Love.

I became aware that Love is an actual substance during one of Hildas meetings. As I said, shenever charged money for her classes, but there were the expenses of renting the hall where wemet, as well as money she sometimes gave to help people in crisis. So once or twice a year, brownpaper bags would be passed through the rows, and people would give what they felt to give, whilethe whole group would softly sing the songs that were a regular part of the meetings, through

which our energy loosened up so we could receive the higher vibrations we were being given.

That night the bag hadnt yet come to me when I noticed alot of people were crying. When the bagcame to me and I put in my donation, tears started flowing through me too. When the overflowing

bags were brought to Hilda and she saw not only how much had been given, but the love andgratitude with which it was given, she said, with tears too, I wish I could tell you how much I love

you. At that moment, and just for a moment, I saw pink stuff in the air, almost like cotton candyfluff, and I knew it was the love she was expressing that I was getting just a glimpse of, and Iunderstood that Love really is in the air, just waiting to be taken, to be acknowledged, on adifferent vibratory level than the one on which we usually live, but very easily accessed by pureintention. There, of course, it was always easy, but its always with us, everywhere, because it is

what we are.

Breathing Love in and out gives Love an entrance into our reality and transforms the breather. Itspiritualizes our physical, emotional and mental bodies, makes it possible for us to live from ourhighest intentions, heals the environment, and opens us to a more expansive, less fearful sense of

who we are and the very immensity of being. It can have very practical applications.


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When I first learned how to breathe Love in and out, it was like having a new toy. By then, I wasliving in a rural area without a car, and would sometimes take a yellow school bus, that onoff-hours did runs for poor people, to town. I would do my meditation and practices in themorning, and get on the bus. Welfare mothers would be cursing out their ex-husbands,unemployed men would be cursing out the government, older people would be talking about theirmultiple ailments and unfortunate lives. I would think to myself, Oh dear, I dont want to listento this for a half hour, and I would picture the Divine Love that I knew was hovering somewhere

on some higher plane, breathe it in, fill myself with it, and breathe it out, filling the bus with Love.Within moments, people would start talking about miracles that had happened in their families. Isaw this happen over and over. It was so much fun, and so incredible to see how easy it was to

bring a beautiful vibration into the air and bring out the best in people.

At that time I had a friend who was extremely angry at a mutual friend of ours because ofsomething hed done. About once a month she would say to me, I will never forgive So-and-so

because, and I would defend him, and she would attack him, and we would have the sameconversation each time, back and forth. After I started playing with Love, I was standing in herkitchen one day and she said, Ill never forgive So-and-so because, and I thought to myself, if I

say what I usually say, shell say what she usually says. So instead, I let her talk, focused on thecenter of her chest, imagined a thread of light going from my heart to hers, and I breathed in Love,held it inside me, and breathed it into her heart. After two or three breaths, she interruptedherself and said, But you know, deep in my heart I really love him. That afternoon she calledhim up and apologized, and we never had that conversation again.

Ive told this technique to so many people. Once I was talking on the phone to someone I knewwho was a single mother, and she was crying because the father of her son was not taking theresponsibility he had promised, and her son was missing his father and she was gettingoverwhelmed with mothering him. I told her about breathing Love, and we got off the phone. Alittle while later, she called me back. She said she had been breathing Love in and out of her heartto this fellow, and the phone rang and it was him, saying he would take their son for the weekend.

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The following is an excerpt fromSaints Alive, a collection of transcriptions of some of Hildaslessons, available from Golden Quest:

The answer is within and always was. The source of love has always been within you, ready toflow outward toward the other. And in flowing outward, both the giver and the recipient benefit.Marriage would never have despair, friendship would never have despair if each one would be

trying to give to the other one. The one who gives would receive also, because automatically,when you love someone enough, love comes your way, too. Why do I have so many people lovingme? Because I love everybody and so my love flows out. It touches your love and it comes back tome.

This carries through to all walks of life. Marriage is an example which can be easily observed, yetall those living have close relationships. From persons passing each other on the streete to theclosest relationships, all persons are interlocked in some way. A selfish act brings reactions fromthose around. We in the world are interlocked through vibratory forces. We are interlocked bythe forces of life not only with individuals but also with countries and planets in the solar system.

We are one great body of God. You think you are separate? I do not think you are separate. You

are all atoms in the One Being. As such, we must learn to live together in harmony and love.

Love is not as described in the dictionary. Those descriptions are the outcome of the misuse ofthe great love source. Go to the sparkling waters of the source, not to the tributary which has been

olluted b humankind.


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Love down here has been polluted. When it comes down to us, it gets into selfishness and desire.Why drink of the polluted dregs, kids, when the fresh source is available? Why settle for less?When the pure source is dammed by the debris of pettiness and selfishness and hate and desireand greed, what happens to love then?

Pure flowing love, like the river flowing from the untainted snows of the Himalayas, is what

everyone is unknowingly seeking. It is this that makes for restlessness in life and the everchanging of scenes from job to job, person to person. All is unrequited because the search is notbeing made in the right places, in the right plane of existence. What should be an inner searchgoes on outside until a dawning of realization takes place.

The search was and is for Gods love, for the source of existence, and cannot be found in earthlysources. What you have always been seeking, my children, is this love that flows down and into

you from the source that needs no other person. It comes to you and you give it to another personand share it. The love I feel needs no one in this world, and yet it shines on everyone. Find thetrue source of love and it flows on all existence, making all Earth life joyful.

It does not mean you cannot marry, that you cannot have relationships. Of course you can. Itmeans that they will be glorious and wonderful as intended and life will be happy. Homes will beharmonious, and you will feel glorious.

If you seek here below for lifes fulfillment, there will always be a slap. But give love, and allturns to golden fulfillment down here. Just turn the mind about. Turn self-love intounselfishness, and life will be one unfoldment of spiritual understanding. One understandingafter another will come to you, leading to wisdom and self-realization and not to the self-centerednarrowness that prevents the souls realization of its own glory.

All you really want is your own souls realization of its own glory. How simple! To turn about,say My soul is glorious. I, my true Self, am wonderful. Why cannot I be magnanimous and lovethis person, for perfection is within me. Of course I can. Why cannot I be forgiving? Of course Ican. All wisdom is mine. All love is mine. All truth is mine already.

The ultimate God quietly waits within until love opens its floodgates and that which was soughtthrough Earths desires is found at last. It was always waiting to be acknowledged within, and

while the endless seeking and searching outside went on, the ultimate God within you slumbered

and waited and waited to be awakened through love your love for yourself, your love for God

which is yourself.

Until one can love others, one cannot know the omnipresent power lying dormant in all. If youcannot see it in another, then say, I know it is there whether I see it or not. That which I do notlike in the person is only the shadow around them. The real person is inside. I do not care aboutthat shadow outside. The one I love is the one inside, for that is the one that I love in myself, theomnipresent power lying dormant in all. Until one can recognize this dormant power withinothers, one has not learned to love and cannot feel the glory of love in its fullest force.

These teachings have come down through the ages from teacher to teacher. The teachings havealways been the same; only the times change. The answer in all times is the same: it is L-O-V-E,love. Jesus taught it. Sai Baba teaches it. Ramakrishna taught it. All teachers have taught love.

Love is the answer to all your problems, to everyones problems, to the Earths problems. If thecountries of the world werent so immersed in themselves, they could look out to the world andsay, Lets get together for the worlds sake so that the world will continue to exist and humanchildren will retain their bodies and children yet to be born will live in peace.


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Everyone seeks love, but rather everyone should seek to give love. Find our how many ways youcan be unselfish this week and love. See what fun it is, what joy it is. Let the world try to knock

you down, but let it not be written in your golden book that you did not love during your sojournupon this planet Earth.

The Earth itself is troubled by lack of human loving and humans are troubled by lack of love an

endless cycle of lack. The answer is love. Start here and now today to love. I plead with you, love

in the midst of hate and see the miraculous results. The world will be yours. It will do yourbidding. No longer will you be flotsam on the sea of life; you will be the captain of your own shipand sail it into still waters. Start today to love, to love life, and life will reward you. Love and be alighthouse for all, to beam all safely into the harbor of Gods peace.

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The following is an excerpt fromHell-Bent for Heaven: The Autobiography of Hilda Charlton,available from Golden Quest Books, and describes an experience Hilda had as a young womanduring a period when she was being taught and tested on the inner plane:

One night the Masters took me on the inner plane and had me face evil forces in the form ofsmall people on a lower plane of consciousness. I saw these tiny people, who at first lookedinnocuous. Standing naively and innocently there, foolishly allowing them to come closer,

suddenly I realized they were not what they were pretending to be they were an evil force. The

horror overpowered me, and I came down into my physical body and found it drenched withperspiration. The Master commanded, Go in again. I found myself in a dilemma, meeting evil

with force. On the inner plane I desperately picked up objects to fend off the evil. In one case, Isaw a bottle. Grabbing it, I held it in my hand and began to chase them to protect myself, but it

was to no avail. They just stood there, unmoved by my counteractive force. Their force wasineradicable. I came back into Earth awareness, my whole body trembling with fear, only to hear,Go back, Daughter. I went back into the fray again and again, until at last I caught on. I merely

stood there tall and firm and used the greatest weapon of all love. I stood and looked at these

evil people, breathed into my heart center, and sent, on an outgoing breath, a wave of love. Theyran, scrambled and disintegrated. A feeling of triumph ending in peace came over me. Love, Iknew, was my shield against the battle of life from then on. Evil cannot stand against love.Gratefulness filled me as I thought how patient my teacher was. What a lesson! It would last alifetime.

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The following is another excerpt fromHellbent for Heaven: The Autobiography of HildaCharlton, available from Golden Quest, and recreates the words of a teaching on the inner planeHilda received as a young woman:

Develop love by training the mind to think loving thoughts. It is sad to find today so manyhuman beings with their heart centers atrophied. What most people experience in the place ofdivine love is a selfish attachment. When this attachment begins to wane, the affection usuallyturns to hate, causing great suffering for the lover and loved. Attachment of any sort brings fear

and sorrow. True love gives, asking nothing, clinging to nothing just loving for the pure joy of

love for loves sake. This is what must be developed.

The Master continued: Meditate on the heart center as a great white light sending forth rays ofdivine love to the world, blessing all. With every inhaled breath, strongly will that a mightycurrent of love may fill your heart from the Divine Source itself. As you retain the breath for a fewmoments, affirm strongly, believe sincerely and feel intensely: I am filled and thrilled with the


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power o ove. s you ex a e e rea , v sua ze e w o e un verse over ow ng w v nelove from your purified heart.

Please, practice this meditation as many times as possible during the day. Bless all whom youcontact and continually feel the outflow of love to all alike.

I started this exercise, doing it religiously. I breathed in love and breathed out love for months onend as the teacher had explained. Nothing happened. I felt nothing. Obeying, I kept on and on.

One day I was out for a walk in the woods and sat down thinking, What a farce

love in and loveout! More like nothing in and nothing out! What is the use of going on with this pretense? Iclosed my eyes and took a breath and wham! My heart center in the middle of my chest seemed toopen up and love poured like a torrential stream.It was so wonderful to feel free again. I

breathed out this bliss to the air, to the world, to all. I hugged a tree.

This time love was to remain; the heart center remained open. I loved the world and all in it, thegood, the evil. The pendulum came to a stop and remained balanced. I closed my eyes. TheMasters face appeared and he smiled his approval. He was pleased. I walked back quietlythrough the park. Strangers smiled at me and said, Hello, then stopped and looked embarrassed,

as if to say, Why did I do that? I glanced back over my shoulder and I saw that they had stoppedand were staring at me. I felt like dancing, but controlled myself. I thought, It is true. Love is thecontrolling force of the universe.

Information on books of Hilda Charltons teachings, as well as over 300 tapes, can be obtainedby calling Golden Quest, (914) 679-6461. Her books can also be ordered through your localbookstore. Check out her website, www.hildacharlton.com

Cassia Berman is a writer, poet(her book, Divine Mother Within Me, is available from Divineother Communications) and editor who lives in Woodstock, NY, where she teaches workshops

in poetry and feminine spirituality. A long time practitioner of Tai Chi Chuan and Qi Gong, she

also teaches weekly classes in these arts. She can be reached at [email protected].


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