Note that whatever feelings you project onto these models are actually experienced by yourself. Also note that experiencing such positive thoughts and emotions builds and strengthens them inside your own brain and heart.

Experience them long enough, even vicariously, and they will become yours. They will become your new norm. Allow them to replace older, harder, more cynical thoughts and feelings.

Whatever your reaction, now turn it love. Look at each individual and imagine what their life might be like – it’s struggles and successes, their confidence and doubts, hopes and fears. Whatever you imagine, feel empathy for them and wish them all the best.

Following this pattern, begin to notice your reactions to people all around you and in the media, and each time you note a negative reaction, consciously choose to change it to love.

Once you’ve imagined what they may be feeling, open your heart and try to experience feelings of love for yourself (or, rather, for the person you’re imagining). How does this affect your willingness to communicate and cooperate better with your other half?

Also practice loving the partner – see the good in them, desire their happiness and growth – and observe how that affects the imaginary interaction.

Remember that while it may be nice to feel attracted to such things, that attraction is only the first step on the way to true love.

Don’t let yourself stop at admiring only their outward physical traits; practice seeing them as people with similar thoughts, feelings, hopes, fears, and other experiences as the rest of us.

Look first at the adorable little girl and generate a feeling of love for her, then switch to the cartoon boy and note that you can harbor similar feelings for each.

Your imagination provides a safe practice area to try on new feelings and exercise and expand the best ones.

Whichever thoughts and feelings you choose to focus on will grow stronger and manifest themselves in your actual, real, tangible, non-imaginary life…so choose wisely!

Try opening your heart to beauty, nature, and any other commendable thing and enjoy the happiness that your perspective draws into your life.

If you can’t bring yourself to love spiders yet…don’t worry, perfection takes time.

Older people in our culture often get forgotten because on the surface, they may appear to have nothing of value to share – as if love were more like an economic exchange rather than a skill whose practice brings its own rewards.

If you sometimes feel this way, practice opening your heart to this image of an old man until you experience the infinite value of any human connection and perhaps perceive various values like wisdom, interest in his life experience, etc.

Open your heart and love him anyway, see if you can break through his protective shell.

If this image doesn’t work, imagine people you know who wear masks, who don’t feel good enough, who overcompensate for their insecurity with arrogance and false bravado.

Open your heart and love them and note how that places you in a position of power, and how you no longer need to react to their perceptions but become free to be your best self at all times.

When you love a person, it’s primarily selfless, based on your desire for their well being and progress.

If you “love” people primarily based on your desire to consume and use them selfishly, then boy, are you missing the boat! The best part of love comes from what you give, not what you get.