What Is Your Love Quotient (LQ)?

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“Patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good temper, guilessness, sincerity. All these make up the Supreme Gift, are there in the soul of whoever wishes to be in the world and close to God”- Henry Drummond

Where are you on the Spectrum of Love? Are you radiating at your highest capacity for love? What do you need to know to magnify your brilliance? Love is supreme goodness and the highest expression of our authentic self. The Spectrum of Love, the foundation for the Love Quotient (LQ), includes nine ingredients: Patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good temper, guilessness, and sincerity.  These ingredients are our innate spiritual gifts that are intertwined to help us thrive in our daily lives. The Love Quotient (LQ) enables us to assess our capacity for authentic expression of love for ourselves and others.

Like a diamond, love radiates from our heart. Henry Drummond states, “Love is like light. As you have seen a man of science take a beam of light and pass it through a crystal prism, as you have seen it come out on the other side of the prism broken up into its component colors -red, and blue and yellow and violet and orange, all the colors of the rainbow…Love through the magnificent prism comes out on the other side broken up into elements of what one might call the ‘Spectrum of Love’, the analysis of love.  Like colors of the rainbow, all ingredients must be practiced to demonstrate Divine love. The Love Quotient (LQ), based up on the ingredients in the Spectrum of Love, connects us with our sovereign power and inspires us to align with the Divine, know ourselves, and embody love through daily devotion.

Align with the Divine

We are one with the Divine. As Leo Buscaglia quotes, “Love and self are one and the discovery of one is the realization of both”. Regard yourself with admiration, honor,  and respect by knowing your true power. Throughout time, great thinkers have created philosophical views and theoretical approaches in hope of aligning us with the concept of wholeness as our highest level of fulfillment. These great thinkers used the analogy of fragmented pieces of ourselves, which are explained as maladaptive behaviors, that are out of alignment with our innate desire for inner harmony. As stated by Erich Fromm,  “The longing to know ourselves and to know our fellow man has been expressed in the Delphic motto, Know Thyself”. We become disconnected through false beliefs, alternate states of reality, and illusions that tragically separate us our true nature -the spiritual self.  Through this divine union we can experience infinite love.

Know Yourself

Love is our natural state of being. The ingredients in the Spectrum of Love reflect and unfold your true self. To know love is to comprehend the meaning of love by understanding patience, kindness, generosity, humility, courtesy, unselfishness, good temper, guilessness and sincerity. Each ingredient builds strength of character, reveals how we feel about ourselves and express ourselves in the world. The Love Quotient (LQ) Assessment highlights each ingredient, excerpts from Henry Drummond, overview of the meaning with a reflective question, and five attributes and five antitypes for each.

                                       LOVE QUOTIENT (LQ) ASSESSMENT

-PATIENCE Love suffereth long

Patience is inner strength that enables us to understand, endure, and wait.

How patient are you?

Attributes: Calm, poise, self-composed, stable, tolerant

Antitypes: Upset, annoyed, complaining, restless, anxious

-KINDNESS Love is active

Kindness is spreading happiness and doing good deeds.

How kind are you?

Attributes: Caring, supportive, friendly, nice, gentle

Antitypes: Hateful, cruel, harsh, mean, brutal

-GENEROSITY Love envieth not

Generosity is purity of spirit, and does not covet or envy others.

How generous are you?

Attributes: Charitable, goodwill, amicable, civil, harmonious

Antitypes: Ill-will, malicious, spiteful, contemptuous, competitive

-HUMILITY  Love hides even from itself; is not puffed up

Humility is having a modest view of yourself

How humble are you?

Attributes: Meek, peaceful, teachable, gentle, seeks assistance

Antitypes: Vain, boastful, conceited, domineering, prideful

-COURTESY  Love does not behave itself unseemly

Courtesy is eloquent display of good manners and etiquette.

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How courteous are you?

Attributes: Gracious, respectful, thoughtful, civil, polite

Antitypes: Inconsiderate, arrogant, rude, unsympathetic, superficial

-UNSELFISHNESS Love seeketh not her own

Unselfishness is giving without seeking personal gain.

How unselfish are you?

Attributes: Helping, serving, encouraging, noble, cooperative

Antitypes: Greedy, self-serving, self-seeking, self-centered, egoistic

-GOOD TEMPER  Love is not easily provoked

Good temper is a pleasant disposition.

How good tempered are you?

Attributes: Sweet, good-natured, mellow, well-disposed, congenial

Antitypes: Jealous, angry, quick-tempered, self-righteous, easily ruffled

-GUILESSNESS  Love thinketh no evil

Guilessness is imputing no motive, seeing the bright side, and putting the best construction on every action.

How guiless are you?

Attributes: Upright, moral, decent, righteous, virtuous

Antitypes: Evil, suspicious, vicious, destructive, vile

–SINCERITY  Love rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in truth

Sincerity is accepting what is true and real.

How sincere are you?

Attributes: Honest, genuine, straightforward, good faith, understanding

Antitypes: Deceitful, hypocritical, pretentious, disingenuous, devious

If you identified at least three or more of the attributes for certain ingredients, you are making progress. If you identified at least 3 or more antitypes of certain ingredients, assess your readiness to make desired changes. Pay attention to your triggers. Be aware of your thoughts, feelings and actions. Respond with love to achieve favorable outcomes. We have the power to choose.

Devotion to Love

Our Love Quotient (LQ) can help us discern where we are on the Spectrum of Love. Through commitment, discipline and  practice, we can hold ourselves accountable and responsible for our actions. Character is built by ceaseless practice. Drummond states, “If a man does not exercise his soul, he acquires no muscle in his soul, no strength of character, no vigor of moral fiber, nor beauty of spiritual growth”.  Contemplate the ingredients and devote yourself to daily practice. Love will become your natural state of being. Life circumstances, challenges and temptations are opportunities to grow. Our lives become richer as we realize the immediate effects of love. Reflect love in all your endeavors and change the energy and atmosphere around you.

Conclusion

Living in the spirit of love appeases our soul, improves our relationships, and brings harmony to the world. Love is transformative and is the sustenance for our soul. How beautiful the world would be if these ingredients are practiced by everyone, in every place, and in every moment. We become more lovable and loving, and it begins with you. We can all agree, “What the world needs now is love”.  Improve your Love Quotient (LQ) by practicing and embodying the ingredients in the Spectrum of Love. Uncover the diamond that radiates within and shine your love light in the world.