What if we have a superpower we're not using?

There’s a thing I do sometimes. When I’m walking through a town or a neighborhood I’ll send love to each person I see and check their faces to see if it registers.

I can’t tell.

No one suddenly breaks out in a smile or looks around as though something has happened, but I also don’t know what to look for. How would someone react to getting hit with some random, inexplicable love? Would they recognize it? Would they trust it? Embrace it? I don’t know.

It’s a little clearer when I deliver it with a smile or some words. And then I usually get a smiled returned to me. And usually a hello. It’s nice.

I know these are just everyday interactions, but I’ve been thinking a lot more about the energetics of smiles, laughter, hugs, kind words and other expressions of love.

I’m an acupuncturist, so I believe in the power of our energy. We are bioelectric after all. There are a scientists all around the world trying to exploit this power, but it’s ours. I have it. You have it. So I’m always thinking about how we might be able to wield it to improve our situation. Thus my repeated experiments with sending love.

It comes from a childish place in me, an old place that feels like my core, and I’m inclined to listen to. It feels pure and I can’t think of any downside to continuing this experiment. Recently I find myself wondering why I don’t spend the better part of my day doing it. And I’ve been thinking about it even more since Hurricane Milton.

In the days leading up to the hurricane my friend Susan sent me links to Zoom prayer meetings so we could pray together to change the course of the Hurricane Milton. I was unable to make them, but just getting those links reminded me to stop and visualize and send love.

If you recall it was monster of a storm like nothing we’ve seen. A Category 5 with sustained 165 mph winds. And I know it was still a severe hurricane that did plenty of damage. But it generally spared Sarasota, where my friend had been gathering people to pray. Right up until Milton hit, the worst felt inevitable. And yet.

Miracle? Coincidence? Flawed weather predictions? I don’t know. And of course there was still suffering and destruction. But sending love couldn’t have hurt and it makes me feel… love. For all of humanity. It also makes me feel grateful. And empowered. And hopeful.

I’ve been thinking about that as we head into other kinds of storms and turbulence that feel terrifying and inevitable. I’m wondering what our collective energy might be able to do. Is it childish to think that if we all sent out love or prayed our own way simultaneously that we could change something? I want to try. Because I think it’s happening on a smaller scale with many movements and many awakenings. People are finding each other and finding the courage to let go of fake certainty and all kinds of ego food.

Lately every time I experience two or more open hearts together I feel something kind of magical. I hadn’t stopped to notice how powerful that energy was before, but based on my recent experiences it can vaporize fear and anger and heal deep wounds. Resonance between people is profoundly healing. So is being seen and heard.

I notice that making people feel seen and heard is tricky. It’s a cultivation practice for those of us who often feel misunderstood and crave understanding for ourselves. The need is so acute and enormous, and it’s hard to give away what we don’t have. But I’m coming to the conclusion that sometimes it must be offered before it can be received. Also I think people’s hearts open when they feel understood.

But I think all of it starts with bringing love in. Love creates the safe space for heart opening. It feels so obvious. It seems so simple. Surely we’re all already trying this in some capacity. Maybe if we coordinate this effort?

So I’m stuck on this. I know people do this kind of thing all the time - prayer, song, meditation, religious services, ceremonies. They’re all powerful. But my dream is for us to get out of anything rote or scripted… to be very intentional about accessing the love in our hearts and then radiating it out towards everyone else. I can think of at least a dozen people right now who have rooted me right into my heart with whatever it was they were radiating or embodying. It’s powerful energy.

Are there global simultaneous nondenominational prayer vigils (or what should I call them?) to join? Could we make one? I want to see what would happen if everyone in the world would stop what they were doing and just send love into the hearts of others, without agenda or attachment, for 1 minute. Can you imagine? Would you try?

I’m going to have to go back and revisit some of Tessa Lena’s posts to root into some of this, but I plan to continue my experiments.

Doubling Down on Love: How to Stay Calm When It Hurts

Please comment or reach out if you have any helpful suggestions or want to join me in a collective effort.