Valentine’s Day is around the corner and love is in the air. Todd Huston, loveologist, has dedicated his life to studying the biology, psychology, history, philosophy, spirituality, and everything else love, and he has come up with some interesting facts. It’s the basis of his upcoming documentary, The Love Leaders – Bringing Love to Life.  The reason Todd is doing this?

“People are told throughout their lives to love. However, most people are never taught what love is, or how to use it in every area of their life.”

Like a geologist studies rocks, a psychologist studies the mind, a Loveologist studies love. Todd’s interest came after traveling the world as an inspirational speaker and talking to thousands of people from every walk of life, including global business leaders, heads of state, and royalty. Trained as a psychotherapist, Todd listened to the challenges people faced, some of them quite difficult. A leg amputee who broke a world record in mountain climbing, Todd knew all too well the hardships challenges create, but also the inner strength a person can discover through those challenges. He began to wonder what the missing ingredient could be that would truly help people live the fulfilling life they desired. After years of pondering this, he realized the missing ingredient was Love.

“I realized when people are sharing and receiving love they feel more empowered to get through the tough times, feel more joy in the peaceful times, and in general create a more positive environment around themselves. People are at their best when they love.”

Todd knew instantly that this was his life purpose and immersed himself in studying everything about love. He found that when he incorporated these concepts into his writing, speaking, and coaching people found healing from their most difficult challenges and reached their goals faster. In a nutshell, Todd helps bring real love into people’s lives, and the difference it makes has been shocking, even to Todd.

The topic of love is being studied by neuroscientists, psychologists, evolutionary biologists, sociologists, philosophers, and theologians, and in many other fields of knowledge and research, resulting in a wide variety of theories. Love incorporates all these theories and more. No matter how one defines love, the definition is likely to be personal and beyond anything words could describe.

Major physical and mental health benefits have been the proven outcome of a life lived with love, including an improved immune system, faster recovery from illness, and a longer lifespan. Mental benefits are increased happiness and self-esteem and reduced levels of stress. Plus, relationships obviously become more fulfilling when approached with love. In fact, loving relationships have been shown to be the number one predictor of a happy and satisfying life.

The 5 Love Languages has been a popular concept in the relationship market since being introduced in 1992, and these love languages have their place, recent research has led to the development of ten more concrete expressions of unconditional love. These include showing compassion, expressing gratitude, having forgiveness, active listening, being loyal, and even the expression of humor, to name a few.

“Throughout my research people have reported that their partner used their love language as a way to manipulate them. I wanted to find expressions of unconditional love that, when truly lived and practiced, can’t be used as manipulation tactics.”

It must be noted technology is changing the way people are finding and experiencing love. Every year a greater percentage of people are finding love through dating apps and social media sites. Ethicists are already discussing the future concerns of human relationships with robots. It has actually been predicted that humans will begin marrying robots within the next 30 years. If the implications of this concern you, don’t worry, says Huston.

Love is independent of technology, we are evolutionary beings developed over millions of years, and no computer is going to hack our love programming anytime soon.

Valentine’s Day is the day of love and is celebrated on February 14th,, the day St. Valentine was buried. He was a priest who lived in 3rd century Rome. In early Rome you didn’t have to go to war if you were married. Roman citizens took advantage of this loophole by having St. Valentine perform their marriage ceremonies. You could say he was the like a Vietnam War protester practicing that mantra, “Make love not war.” While he was in jail it is reported he restored sight to his jailor’s daughter, and before he was beheaded, he allegedly wrote a note to her signed, “Your Valentine.”

Valentine’s Day can be difficult for people who have experienced the loss of a relationship or loved one. Broken heart syndrome is a researched phenomenon and proven to cause serious health issues. The recommendation for people facing this is to surround themselves with those who love and care about them, or to make it a point to share love through volunteering or doing something nice for others. Though it may not fill the void, it can help the individual get through the day without feeling completely alone. If you are not feeling love, the best way to get it is to give love to others.

Todd’s life-changing message about love?

“You can learn about love in your relationships, community, books, on-line, in religious texts and places of worship, and even in nature. Love is everywhere! You will find it in every person and in every situation. Just because you’re not seeing it doesn’t mean it is not there. You are a being of love and life is a lesson of love. Have your every thought be a loving thought, your words be your most loving words, and your actions be your most loving actions. Practice this every moment, and you can do anything for one moment. Then, the moments become years and eventually a lifetime that is full of love.”