Hopefully your sojourn into heart awareness has produced an opening through which the wisdom of the grand cosmos is pouring through to bless you a hundred fold…and if that has yet to happen, keep at it…pay attention, live from that heart space…over and over and over….
You will know when you are ready for all that follows. It is not a head exercise though it involves the head. It is calling upon the solar plexus, another center of nerve ganglia just waiting to chime in and establish the trifecta of heart, gut and head, where one can align like never before.
What follows here are suggestions to deepen the exploration and amplify the experience so it can become just who you are and how you do you, sooner than later. Use these with caution as it may result in consistent states of euphoria…
First, I want to assist you in drawing distinction between the head and the heart. By using a book by Michael Hetherington, Moving from the Head to the Heart, you can start to see some contrast so you can make clear choices. So here is a list of comparisons lifted straight from his book:
- The head takes time; the heart is quick, fast and spontaneous.
- The head’s main reference point is past experiences and future expectation; the heart has no reference point.
- The head formulizes expectations of particular outcomes; the heart has no expectations.
- The head is primarily selfish and seeks things that are good for me; the heart is selfless and only works on things that will benefit all beings.
- Using the head usually generates some sense of strain, stress or effort; using the heart requires no strain and no effort and often generates energy.
- Moving from the head often brings up a sense of restraint and doubt through thoughts like, “What will others think of me?” or “Is my behavior acceptable?” Moving from the heart does not bring up any sense of restraint or doubt because you do not care what others think and know it on the deepest level to be true.
- Moving from the head often brings up a sense of uncertainty and, therefore, weakness. The heart brings up a sense of power and confidence.
- The head uses logical and cognitive processing to find meaning. The heart uses nothing by sense and knowing and is not logical.
- The head relies heavily on verbal communication, whereas the heart utilizes non-verbal communication more.
- The head is mesmerized and obsessed by forms and appearances, whereas the heart sees through all appearances to see the essence.
- The head person sees the world as full of problems, concerns and troubles. The heart person sees the world as perfect, complete and exquisitely beautiful.
- The head person tends to see the world is made up of separate entities and therefore the self is independent. The heart person sees no entity as separate and therefore sees the self as not independent but as part of a whole.
- The head is always carrying uncertainty and doubt, which is therefore a weakness. The heart does not doubt, and this generates only confidence and inner power.
- The head comes to decisions and conclusions from the process of reason and cognitive processing. The hearts decisions and conclusions come from nowhere.
- The head person often has a tight chest. The heart person’s chest is soft and open.
- The head person often has little body awareness and lack of body sensation. The heart person has a finely acute sense of body awareness and bodily sensations.
- The head person is often predictable, as the behavior relies on past behavior and thinking patterns. The heart person often surprises oneself because the heart creates new behaviours from a space of spontaneity.
- The head person often talks too much and does not do enough. The heart person does not tend to talk so much, but does a lot.
- The head person is generally not a good listener. The heart person is a great listener and hears everything.
- The head person doesn’t trust life and instead seeks to control it. The heart person trusts life fully and allows it to unfold naturally.
- The head person can often lack discipline, patience and focus. The heart person is patient, persistent, dedicated and self-disciplined.
- The head person is always grasping for and seeking security and certainty in the outside world. The heart person understands that life is changing and nothing is certain.
- The head person can easily come to depend on others for identifying sense of self. The heart person does not depend on others, yet is grateful for any assistance.
- The head person focuses on what one can “do” in this world. The heart person is more focused on how to “be” in this world.
- The head person’s energy and focus is directed largely outside into the outer world. The heart person focuses most of their energy inwards to the inner world.
Hetherington, Michael. Moving From Our Head To Our Heart (Kindle Locations 367-368). . Kindle Edition.
It seems pretty obvious that the heart centered life sounds like Shangra La….well…it is. And the presentation of the head seemed pretty dreadful, but familiar. Likely in the Earth domain we find some balance between the two, because that is where the juice is, the adventure, and the opportunity to see ourselves in many flavors. We are all good people, designed to be full expressions of the I Am Love frequency. Things happen and we go astray either driven by some force or by choice…so be it. Life is not an either or. Even when we stand in the B&B in Shangra La we may wake some morning remembering the good ol’ dysfunctional days and before you know it…there you are spewing all the folks around you….and everyone is loving it…Those were the days my friend, we thought they’d never end… but they do and so does your dalliance, because the resonance of the higher frequency life is so much richer and simply soothes and nourishes and brings the inner and outer smile more often than not.
When you start to dwell effortlessly in the heart space you are different in the world, more expansive, more open, more present to the beauty in all and everyone. In a channeled book , The Divine Mother Speaks, by Rashmi Kilnani , she makes a list of 21 Qualities of Openhearted Beingness. They are:
Nonjudgment, simplicity, courage, vulnerability, allowance and acceptance, giving and sharing, silence and peace, beauty and harmony, detachment,praise and gratitude, sense of humor, innocence, service of all life, whatever makes your heart sing, inspiration and creativity, being here now, unity consciousness, embracement, highest good of all concerned, unconditional love, and responsibility.
How many are you using currently without even thinking about it? These all live in you and are pushing to be free to flow and fly…get out of your way. Take a day and become one of them. See what happens. Make adjustments and do it again. Adjust again and do it a third day. Then you are ready to move to the next. 63 days to living in a new frequency without hesitation. Then watch how and what shows up for you in this blessed life…Love is…and Love will always deliver the goods, far beyond what you can imagine.
Shems Heartwell, in the book, Empowered Loving, offers some elements of living in the heart space. Here are some of them, some being annotated.
- Make loving conscious (be mindfull of how you treat self and others. Intend to elevate everyone. Recognize that we often use others to see our own issue before us. Knowing that, step aside and become the master of loving for the sake of love)
- Practice loving fully (do not hold back. Most hesitation is a sure sign that something is being triggered. Stand in the middle of it. Embrace it and use it and the situation before you to dis-integrate it from your whole being)
- Talk from the heart (as if your words came directly from and through there into the heart of who you are conversing with. Breath deeply before you speak. Listen with the heart and feel their words rather than preparing your rebuttal. Seek a win/win in all your interactions. Two people, both sides happy…I know it’s not democratic. But….)
- Cultivate Trust ( This is one salve that will invite the gentle life. Too many magnetize a life of fear through thought, word, and action. It takes courage to trust. Seek the beauty in each soul. Give second and third chances and allow the one before you to work through their own resistance. Your witnessing through trust is a gift of spirit that just may assist in shattering the hold of the great wounding)
- See challenge as the Higher Self bringing you exactly what you can handle (start from that knowing and immediately go to the Higher Perspective, for there is always more than meets the eye. If there is emotion involved it is wise to allow the initial gully washer and then see the vulnerability on the other side. That is where the heart centered life lives and holds dominion.)
- In times of me vs you choose clear communication (1. Stay with what is happening now, 2. Listen carefully without interruption (many just want to be heard), 3. Attempt to see the issue from their point of view, 4. Respond to any criticism with empathy, 5. Own what is yours by speaking your deeper understanding of your hook and revelation, 6. Use I messages (sure they sound corny…but they work by diffusing strong emotion and not pointing fingers to open the door to retaliation and escalation), 7. Take a pause and breathe (doing this regularly allows the higher perspective to drop in more easily), 8. choose to stick with it and see it out (you have been blessed with an opportunity to see yourself more clearly, help someone remember who they are, and likely turn an old pattern of wounded based action around to reveal, finally, an option), 9. Ask for help if you need it (only parental injunction patterns told us we had to do it alone…bury that one…)
- Embrace your emotions and support their safe release
When you have cleared the energetic debris enough to feel empty and find balance, then consider engaging forgiveness (forgiveness served too soon is like bad wine…true forgiveness requires a very open heart.wise it is a new age manipulation with an agenda accompanied by the song Wishin’ and Hopin’. No one likes to take accountability for their actions much. To see and identify and then own our own flaws/issues is a powerful, and challenging thing to do in the beginning. Genuine forgiveness is felt by all involved immediately. It is like a heavy coat removed. Here, from the book, Empowered Loving, once more is a forgiveness practice:
a. Try to understand exactly how you feel about what happened and be able to articulate what about the situation is not OK. Then, tell a trusted couple of people about your experience.
b. Make a commitment to yourself to feel the feelings fully and give yourself the loving attention that will help you feel better. Forgiveness is for you and not for anyone else.
c. Forgiveness does not necessarily mean reconciliation with the person who hurt you, or condoning their actions. What you are after is to find peace. Forgiveness is a doorway to greater peace and understanding within yourself.
d. Use the Hawaiian Hooponopono practice. It means to make right and is an ancient practice of healing and forgiveness. It is in essence a cleaning or washing practice. We repeat these four phrases below with the intention of taking 100% responsibility for our actions, for the actions of others towards us and for everyone else as well. It is simple and very powerful when done
I love you, I am sorry, Please forgive me, Thank You
e. In moments when you feel upset, consciously breathe and be aware of your body and its sensations. Try to relax and shift out of your body’s flight or fight response. This will help you to integrate and heal the pain.
f. Give up expecting things from other people, or your life, that they do not choose to give you. Remind yourself that you can generate hope, love, peace and prosperity and focus on feeling positive energy within you.
g. Put your energy into looking for nourishing ways to get your needs met through cultivating healthy relationships. Instead of mentally replaying any hurt stories, seek out new ways to create what you most want.
h. Remember that a life well lived is your best revenge. Instead of focusing on your wounded feelings, and thereby giving the person who caused you pain power over you, learn to look for the love,, beauty and kindness all around you. Forgiveness is about reclaiming personal power.
Heartwell, Shems. Empowered Loving: A Guide To Learning and Growing Through Relationships (Kindle Locations 806-815). . Kindle Edition.
And now, a simple stream of consciousness sharing of some actions to take to bless our world with an awakened heart:
- Be gentle with living things, including you
- Be genuinely complimentary
- Engage life without hesitation
- Know that everything will be OK/work out
- Hug more
- Smile more
- Spend more time in the mirror affirming the beauty and magnificence outside and in
- Spend time watching children play, with your own inner child sitting in your lap
- Touch a lot in your relationship. Spontaneous hugs are a thing of beauty. If you are not in relationship get massages and body work and get a lot of cushy pillows for your bed
- Stop and smell the flowers
- Watch at least 10 minutes of the sunrise or sunset or both
- Acknowledge beauty in people, places, and things
- Open the door for others
- Help somebody out
- Pay something forward
- Sing a song once a day
- Dance your dance spontaneously
- Spend time looking at the stars and the moon
- Cry whenever you feel like it
- Do giveaways spontaneously and anonymously
- Hug a tree
- Tell a friend a story about something that gave you a powerful learning
- Make some calls to people who used to be important and thank them
- If you are in a relationship do more wet kisses
- Pet dogs and cats and llamas and …
- Visit a place where people are lonely and sit and talk with them
- Love the one who is pushing you from the car behind….get out of the way and bless them as they go by
- Send Trump some love
- Put a dollar in an envelope every day of the month. At the end of the month seal the envelope and pick a name/address out of the phone book…mail it to them with no strings.
- Talk to and breathe on your plants
- Make a point to notice and talk to something in your house that has disappeared from familiarity
- Take your comfort zone out for an adventure
- Treat yourself once or twice a week with something that brings you joy and reminds you that you are important, special, and a delight
- Go somewhere on your own, a place completely new, and engage with the people you notice
- Go for a drive and stop everywhere you feel drawn to
- Sit in a public place and open your heart. Notice where it leads you. Send random heart born blessings to those you think could use it
- Create something
- Cook a meal and sprinkle love all over it as you do so. See if it tastes different
- Initiate contact more
- Speak anything unsaid during the day out loud before you go to sleep
- Make these up as you go through your day. Think them and then do them…no hesitating. Build that awakened heart to become the best of you in this life, in this world, in this Cosmos…
Your heart is designed to be your center. Bring it back to life in all you think, say, and do…
