04/09/2024
Wisdom Of The Heart
Your heart has a mysterious way of knowing. Knowing what, one may wonder? Everything.
We live in a hurried culture—doing more, moving faster, working harder, always on our way to somewhere else. Our capacity to communicate, be close, and listen is obscured by the abundance of media, technology, and stimuli. How do we begin to turn away from the deluge of external information and start listening to the inner direction and discoveries that come from the language of the heart? As the poet Rumi asks, “Do you pay regular visits to yourself?”
The heart is seen by many mystics, philosophers, and practitioners of traditional medicine as "the seat of the soul," "the supreme self," "the secret cave," or "the ruler"—a wellspring of profound insight and knowledge. The spiritual heart is referred to in the yoga tradition as hridaya, or pure consciousness, a powerful inner guide that discloses the ultimate truth.
Unfolding, remembering, and discovering are the processes involved in being aware of the intelligence of the heart. With practice, it becomes a sequence of adjustments that completely rewire the mind-body system, offering the possibility of awakening, liberation, and freedom from our limiting tales, thoughts, and beliefs, as well as from pain.
Studies reveal that the heart contains about 40,000 neurons with sensory, motor, cognitive, and memory capacities. Additionally, the heart and brain are in constant communication. The heart integrates sensations of love, compassion, and gratitude when we consciously relish them; this results in a smoother, more harmonious, and coherent heart rhythm. Heart intelligence is defined as "the flow of awareness, understanding, and intuition we experience when the mind and emotions are brought into coherent alignment with the heart" by the HearthMath Institute. Subsequently, this data is sent throughout the body on a neurological, biochemical, biophysical, and energetic level, thereby significantly impacting our perception, cognition, emotions, and behavior. Numerous advantages occur, such as heightened energy, less stress, strengthened bonds with others, improved mental clarity, enhanced intuition, and improved decision-making.
Aligning your body-heart-brain into a state of harmonious function offers a portal to the kingdom of your heart. The inherent wisdom and intelligence that each of us possesses is accessible through these hallowed doors. It helps us live more freely, wholeheartedly, and lovingly; it gives us access to new ideas, desires, and purposes; and it inspires us to boldly create and take steps toward the authentic life that calls to us.
Heart Practices for Daily Life
The heart as an object of meditation: Use your heart as an anchor for your mind's attention. Take a moment to consciously move your mind from your thoughts to your heart. Put your hand over your heart in a loving and connecting gesture. Lean in with interest and inquiry at the center of your heart. Just sit and listen, with no plans or judgments. This is a method for effortlessly being close to your own heart.
Heart-focused breathing: Imagine that you could breathe from the center of your heart. Encourage each breath to be long, slow, and steady. Start visualizing and experiencing the things that make you happy, grateful, and joyful. Inhale these feelings of optimism and exhale pain and negativity.
Heart-based journal prompts:
What does your heart have to say?
What does your heart care about most?
Identify one lifestyle change you can make to move closer to what matters to you most.
What happens when you follow the call of your heart and let it go in any direction it calls?
THOUGHT OF THE DAY
Be the reason why people believe in pure hearts, good vibes, and good souls
