From the earliest myths to the echoes of my heart, the golden thread of love emerges as a universal symbol of connection, an eternal link between the mundane and the Divine.

The golden thread metaphor has traveled well across time and cultures–from Greek mythology, the Bible, and the Tao to law and business today. It has many meanings depending on who used it, when, and how. It’s a symbol that often links the individual to the universal. I believe this to be love, which is the point of everything–Love beyond love expressed by our human love.

(Love beyond love–with a capital L on the first Love–signifies to me the Love of God, the Universe, the Divine, or the higher power of our understanding. The second love is not capitalized because it represents the love we experience in the world.) 

To follow the golden thread is to walk the path of love’s destiny.

Discovering the golden thread of love

I’m twenty years old.

My beloved grandmother, Mandy, gave me a recorded meditation by Roy Masters. She said I needed this, so today, I’m lying on my bed, listening to it in headphones. An English-accented man begins speaking. He instructs, Keep your mind well in a moment of truth.

Suddenly, I’m floating above my body, looking at it from the ceiling. Seeing my physical self breathing below, I feel expansive loving peace. I notice a fine gold thread between the me watching and the me being watched. I don’t know what it means, but I saw it before when I was in and out of consciousness from the car accident that almost killed me a few years ago. I’d floated out of body then, too, and saw the same golden thread between the me watching and the me being watched. Hmm.

I’m twenty-one years old.

I’m with Michael, a friend I met at a spiritual learning center in Los Angeles. He’s a little older than me and a lot wiser. We’re talking about meditation, and I share my first and only experience meditating. I tell him about the fine gold thread I noticed. He smiles and explains that the thread is Divine Love that connects body and soul. It symbolizes our pure connection to the Love and Light of the Universe. Hmm.

I’m twenty-five years old. 

Michael has found his soulmate. They’re getting married soon, and for their shower, they’ve asked guests to bring a gift to share with the group–no, not a crockpot or toaster, but an idea, poem, dance, or whatever our creative originality would like to offer.

I’ve witnessed Michael’s love blossom and expand him beyond how loving and expansive he already was. The love between him and his bride-to-be has become a gold standard for the kind of love I want. Their love is richer than gold. I see the great gift these two bring to the community and each other. It is a gift from the Divine, a pure connection to the Love and Light in one another and the Universe. Ahh. That’s it: love, the golden thread. 

My offering at the wedding shower is a spool of golden thread and sentiments about its symbolism. It represents their bond of pure Love and Light, and I happily share my understanding of how pure love binds us to one another, our path, purpose, and connection with eternity. I’m sure this Love beyond ordinary love is what we all want. I wish each of us to fly in this kind of love, bound by our divine connection, symbolized by the golden thread. 

The universe spins a thread in every heart, connecting us to love, destiny, and the consciousness that dances through eternity. 

The bond of love

When I met an exquisite French man named Gary, I felt I’d known him forever and sensed he would be someone special in my life. I didn’t know what form it would take. He says he felt the same about me. I went to work for him, and eventually, we flew in love–not fell, but flew. The connection was tremendously expansive for both of us. My love expanded further when I met his young son and daughter. And here we are, over thirty-five years later, still celebrating our lives of love and Love beyond love. 

Love binds us to our partners, families, dear friends, and many we connect to throughout our lives. I realize that a golden thread remains even when we’ve cut ties or cords with people we’ve once loved or been close to. The same thread connects us to billions of souls, stars, and the universe beyond time and space. It’s the unifying thread that weaves together all life and our spirit’s highest calling. It’s the golden thread of Love beyond love, the Light of the Divine. 

How can we use the golden thread of love?

This symbol can remind us to align with our hearts, creativity, passions, and callings. Awareness of the unity of our souls and the purpose of our lives can make us more compassionate and accepting of who, where, and how we are on our journeys. Then, we can do the same for others. When we understand and trust our connectedness, we can live with greater freedom and less clinging to or rejecting one another. Whether personally connected or not, we are all woven together by the universal golden thread of love.

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Mundancing is the art of dancing through the mundane with presence, love, and joy. This is the second essay in a three-part series. Last week was about presence, and next week, we’ll dance with joy. 

I wish you the power of presence, the pure beauty of love, and audacious joy!