What Is Love In This Virtual World?

[Love Zhaoying]

Unpopular opinion, also PopPsych: to understand love in ANY context, first one must love themselves; then any explanation of love is self-evident.

You're not going to find love on the outside. You have to look within. This especially applies to Second Life, where everyone is actually isolated but pretends we are not.

Duh. 

[Ceka Cianci]

8 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

Ahh ok...you are one who keeps SL more on the fantasy side, whereas both worlds are the same to me.

It's more just something to do to relax and ease things. I don't rp or anything like that. 

I pretty much work on my avatar and admire other things people have done in the world.

[Phil Deakins]

9 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

How do you define "love'?

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

[PheebyKatz]

46 minutes ago, Phil Deakins said:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

Yeah, can't find any cracks in that one, really. Pretty good description.

Better than that whole, "There is love, and there is love; one is a dove, and the other is a serpent" bit, IMO.

[Luna Bliss]

2 hours ago, Phil Deakins said:

11 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

How do you define "love'?

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

love that Bible verse  

and this song I often play in my Moonlight Mantras group in SL also based on 1 Corinthians and other Bible verses referencing 'love':

            Love

by Joni Mitchell

Although I speak in tongues
Of men and angels
I'm just sounding brass
And tinkling cymbals without love

Love suffers long
Love is kind!
Enduring all things
Love has no evil in mind

If I had the gift of prophecy
And all the knowledge
And the faith to move the mountains
Even if I understood all of the mysteries
If I didn't have love
I'd be nothing

Love never looks for love
Love's not puffed up
Or envious
Or touchy
Because it rejoices in the truth
Not in iniquity
Love sees like a child sees

As a child I spoke as a child
I thought and I understood as a child
But when I became a woman
I put away childish things
And began to see through a glass darkly

Where as a child I saw it face to face
Now I only know it in part
Fractions in me
Of faith and hope and love
And of these great three
Love's the greatest beauty
Love
Love
Love

 

 

 

 

[Luna Bliss]

2 hours ago, Ceka Cianci said:

It's more just something to do to relax and ease things. I don't rp or anything like that. 

I pretty much work on my avatar and admire other things people have done in the world.

Yeah I spend time doing that in SL too....relax and ease things... I call it self-care or self-love.

[Luna Bliss]

I'd like to discover a few more songs for the Moonlight Mantras group in SL in the Native vein...I have quite a few relating to Love as defined in the Bible and with Yoga:

Parable:

The grandfather looked at the grandson and went on. “The other embodies positive emotions. He is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

~~~~

Bible:

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. (1 Corinthians 13:4-7).

~~~~~

Yogananda's writings on love:

http://yogananda.com.au/pyr/love1.html

 

[Luna Bliss]

3 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Unpopular opinion, also PopPsych: to understand love in ANY context, first one must love themselves; then any explanation of love is self-evident.

You're not going to find love on the outside. You have to look within. This especially applies to Second Life, where everyone is actually isolated but pretends we are not.

Duh. 

It's a bit of a paradox that we first learn to love ourselves because others have loved us.  But yeah, not much love to give to others and the world if we don't love ourselves.

I don't feel isolated in SL and pretend that I'm not isolated though.  I remember feeling that at times in my earlier periods of SL however.

[Love Zhaoying]

2 hours ago, PheebyKatz said:

Yeah, can't find any cracks in that one, really. Pretty good description.

Better than that whole, "There is love, and there is love; one is a dove, and the other is a serpent" bit, IMO.

I like the more modern, "Love is Love is Love is Love is Love is Love..", attributed to Lin-Manuel Miranda.

[Love Zhaoying]

40 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

I don't feel isolated in SL and pretend that I'm not isolated though.  I remember feeling that at times in my earlier periods of SL however.

Gentle correction: I wasn't suggesting at all that anyone would, in the context of love, FEEL isolated in Second Life. 

I was referring to the actual, physical fact of "isolation" - because we are not physically together, we are physically isolated from one another.

The fact "love from within" is so strong, that it can affect others who are not physically present, is one testament to how love (perhaps in a "quantum" sense) transcends all barriers.

[Arielle Popstar]

3 hours ago, Love Zhaoying said:

Unpopular opinion, also PopPsych: to understand love in ANY context, first one must love themselves; then any explanation of love is self-evident.

You're not going to find love on the outside. You have to look within. This especially applies to Second Life, where everyone is actually isolated but pretends we are not.

Duh. 

24 minutes ago, Luna Bliss said:

It's a bit of a paradox that we first learn to love ourselves because others have loved us.  But yeah, not much love to give to others and the world if we don't love ourselves.

I don't feel isolated in SL and pretend that I'm not isolated though.  I remember feeling that at times in my earlier periods of SL however.

I hear that Pop psych mantra a fair bit in the places I visit in real life and have always felt uncomfortable with the idea without thinking about it in depth as I did this morning. Newborns absolutely need love, nurturing and affirmation in the first couple years of their life or they will physically die as was researched one time and even more recent research shows that :

Quote

The brain development of infants (as well as their social, emotional and cognitive development) depends on a loving bond or attachment relationship with a primary caregiver, usually a parent. There is increasing evidence from the fields of development psychology, neurobiology and animal epigenetic studies that neglect, parental inconsistency and a lack of love can lead to long-term mental health problems as well as to reduced overall potential and happiness. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5330336/

How well does that translate to a Secondlife newborn and the need for them to be loved, nurtured and affirmed for their continued existence and development within this virtual world? We look at retention in a variety of ways but rarely in the context of a parent to a child which in some ways they are, even if they are now older physically.

Paraphrased 1John 4:19 We love because the Lab first loved us.

[Ceka Cianci]

1 hour ago, Luna Bliss said:

Yeah I spend time doing that in SL too....relax and ease things... I call it self-care or self-love.

I just call it peace and quiet. Hehehe 

[Luna Bliss]

30 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

nurtured and affirmed

I think a lot of missing self-love is dealt with through falling in and out of love over the years, in both 1st and 2nd lives. It's frequently a subconscious process. It can be quite painful.

There are things one can consciously do to facilitate self-love though.  We have tons of events/meetings in SL that facilitate self-love -- everything from giving oneself permission to experience the beauty of music at a live concert, to attending therapy groups where awareness about self-love is brought forth via discussion with others.

I'm going to a new event @ Whole Brain Health this morn where the facilitator plays Ehru music as attendees relax and/or chat in IM, and I can't decide if I have to get this instrument or a moon harp -- playing both would add a lot of love to my world.

[Luna Bliss]

8 minutes ago, Ceka Cianci said:

1 hour ago, Luna Bliss said:

Yeah I spend time doing that in SL too....relax and ease things... I call it self-care or self-love.

I just call it peace and quiet. Hehehe 

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

     Shakespeare paraphrased

[Arielle Popstar]

2 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

I think a lot of missing self-love is dealt with through falling in and out of love over the years, in both 1st and 2nd lives. It's frequently a subconscious process. It can be quite painful.

There are things one can consciously do to facilitate self-love though.  We have tons of events/meetings in SL that facilitate self-love -- everything from giving oneself permission to experience the beauty of music at a live concert, to attending therapy groups where awareness about self-love is brought forth via discussion with others.

I'm going to a new event @ Whole Brain Health this morn where the facilitator plays Ehru music as attendees relax and/or chat in IM, and I can't decide if I have to get this instrument or a moon harp -- playing both would add a lot of love to my world.

Think we used to call that "rejection and abandonment" issues. Certainly a problem for many people on an unconscious level. Don't know how effective the techniques you are advocating here are so I will point out a different one called the Love languages which I think is a very good technique for recognizing and dealing with how love is both given and received. One can be surrounded by loving people and yet still feel disconnected from them because they might be loving in a way one does not feel it in, the same way we can't connect when an english speaker is trying to speak with a russian or chinese speaker.

There are 5 love languages and each person has a predominant one where they "feel the love" being expressed if the other is speaking that love language and not feel anything if the other is speaking in a different love language. The languages are Quality time, Words of affirmation, Gifts, Physical Touch and Acts of Service.

Sure you have heard of them before but their importance cannot be understated if one wishes to really communicate with another or otherwise if we even have love we still will be an empty gong as others will not be hearing.

Edited January 30 by Arielle Popstar

[Janet Voxel]

Let love be your energy!!

 

[Silent Mistwalker]

RIP Tina, you are loved and missed.

 

[Luna Bliss]

36 minutes ago, Arielle Popstar said:

Think we used to call that "rejection and abandonment" issues. Certainly a problem for many people on an unconscious level. Don't know how effective the techniques you are advocating here are so I will point out a different one called the Love languages which I think is a very good technique for recognizing and dealing with how love is both given and received. One can be surrounded by loving people and yet still feel disconnected from them because they might be loving in a way one does not feel it in, the same way we can't connect when an english speaker is trying to speak with a russian or chinese speaker.

People who were unloved as children bring these issues to others they're involved with in both RL & SL, is all I'm saying.
And yes, feeling rejected and abandoned is a part of the whole dynamic, in both past and present involvements.

I like this 'love languages' concept, although even communicating on the same channel won't fix someone who has not processed the effects of a terrible childhood.
As you pointed out, people often communicate love differently and sometimes a partner isn't able to feel your love for them if you don't communicate on their channel (Quality time, Words of affirmation, Gifts, Physical Touch and Acts of Service).

[Luna Bliss]

What's love got to do with it?   Interestingly, I've been writing a paper for a presentation in March, for a virtual worlds in education conference.

It's all about the ocean, and my love for it (I created a vast undersea environment for some of these people).

The gist of it -- if you love something (like nature) you tend to want to protect it.  So we need to enhance a love for nature ( one such method being through art, in second life environments).  This is sorely needed as the world burns, literally.

What you love you tend to protect.

[Ceka Cianci]

3 hours ago, Luna Bliss said:

"A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"

     Shakespeare paraphrased

I wonder how many kids he had.

Hehehe 

[Ceka Cianci]

This was on my play list right before leaving work today.. I was like. omg  Luna got into my play list..

 

Edited January 30 by Ceka Cianci

[Love Zhaoying]

 

 

 

Edited January 30 by Love Zhaoying

[Rat Luv]

 

(I don't actually know what Love Is Just A Tool means...but this song SLAPS 🤩)

[Sommerland Starostin]

Love is patient, love is kind. Google it, it goes on. ☺️

Edited January 31 by Sommerland Starostin

[PheebyKatz]

*resists the urge to break out into an all-caps a capella version of the John Lennon's Love*

*settles for another cup of coffee*