High Priestess of Sanuela

11. Love Cultivation

"Ignisia, what is this ′spirit and keeper of the flames′ about?" Ayana asked, her curiosity reaching out to her fire fairy butterfly that she had come to love so dearly.

"In another lifetime, I was a High Priestess of Sanuela too, my light and my love. That is the name, the people of Sanuela gave me, so I kept it for this new form that I am now. The title transformed me. I liked it, and I believed in it. And then I became it, in the form you saw me: a fire fairy butterfly, my wings leaving a fiery glimmer in the air. Goddess Sanuela can be quite humorous, with how literally she expresses herself in my small body..."

"And how did you come by this title?"

"I have always kept the flame of love burning in almost every new soul I have encountered. It is a great honour to be allowed to bear this title."

Ayana felt the wish to be as giving and loving to people as Ignisia had described, she longed to be able to express her love to them.

"Will the people of Sanuela have expectations as to what a High Priestess should be?" she asked.

As always, Ignisia answered within her. "If people have expectations of you, they cannot honour you for who you are. They need to let that go."

"But is there something I should do or give?"

"You will naturally cultivate their love, simply by being with them. Your aura will shine bright light, radiating love to all those around you. Your presence will help to change any soul in your vicinity, allowing them to open up if they are willing to let go of their fears and break down their barriers. A High Priestess will always find her own way of doing this, so I cannot teach you, only provide some general ideas that you can further explore and build on. However, your heart and intuition will always guide you to the right way when meeting a new soul."

"I understand," Ayana said. "So, how do I start?" She had heard stories of the High Priestesses of Sanuela, but never met one herself.

"Perhaps most importantly, never give away what another soul wants right away. The longing must intensify gradually to create more and more love energy."

Ignisia continued, "The feeling and urge of not quite being able to get the full you can be a powerful energetic and emotional multiplier to let the other soul feel more love for you. This strong pull can be cultivated by you, especially when you are with a man, for simple biological reasons. The reproductive urge has to be overwhelmingly strong in the world; otherwise life doesn't evolve very much on a planet. Every kid learns that on Sanuela, I believe?" Ignisia asked.

Without waiting for an answer, she immediately continued. "The second part of this is equally important: there needs to be an ever-flowing opening and blossoming, never a closing down. Open up like a flower. Surrender to all those deep feelings of love and closeness, each day a bit more. Show your soul that you are ready and eager to open. As you open up, they open up, too – it is a natural reaction to mirror back your behaviour. Maintain the momentum, grow and intensify your love and connection every day, never contract or reduce it."

Ayana nodded, picturing herself blossoming towards another soul like a vibrant flower. "But what if I discover, after some days, that I don't quite like someone for personal reasons?"

"You can still give love, find another way. By accepting and loving the other more, you accept and love yourself more. Don't close off after the first few days; keep going, but do it in whatever way you feel truly good and comfortable. This could change with every encounter, and that's okay. One day, you may feel like a long, close embrace is the best way to connect and show love. Another day, you might just hold someone's hands and give and receive love this way, or you look into each other's eyes for a long time and exchange energetic love energies with each other like that. With some practice, you'll feel it when the love is flowing, regardless of which way you share and experience it."