It is a state in which the steady persistence of the Pure Consciousness characteristic of Cosmic Consciousness continues as one’s inmost, subjective reality, and alongside it, perception of all of objective reality begins to be transformed into something glorious. Again, the reality of what is there does not change; one’s perception changes to incorporate more of the truth. To an ever-increasing degree, the individual sees the perfect orderliness of the whole range of life and living, and the perfection of what is felt to be the Divine nature, in all the objects that appear to be “not-Self”—in other words, the whole field of relative creation.

The refinement of perception catalyzes the growth of love.

The refinement of perception catalyzes the growth of love. When we see something or someone who is beautiful—a glorious sunset, a shimmering jewel, or a drop of water catching the light in myriad colors; or when we hear beautiful music, understand an equation in an “aha” moment, or grasp a fact about nature that reveals the astounding orderliness underlying all things—our hearts just naturally swell with appreciative love. It’s a normal, wonderful human experience.

Love is a force that links, binds, and puts together similar as well as dissimilar and even potentially contradictory things—values, ideas, and people. In our model of Observer, Observing, and Observed (Subject, Process, and Object; Knower, Knowing, and Known; or Subject, Verb, and Object), love in its broadest meaning is the verb. It is the process. It is the link that puts together the subject with the object. There are innumerable ways two entities can be connected, bound, or linked to each other.