Our heart is at the center of our function in more ways than one. According to the great wisdom traditions of the West, the heart is most importantly an organ of spiritual perception whose function is to look beyond appearances to a deeper reality of meaning, insight, and clarity, and be our interface of intelligence and connection with our world. Often, the word ‘heart’ is associated with the emotions as opposed to the thinking functions of the mind. Although the heart’s language is indeed a deep feelingness, it is not one of sentimentality but a knowingness that is not necessarily linear. Here’s an excellent definition of heart is from Kabir Helminski’s book Living Presence :
‘We have subtle subconscious faculties we are not using. Beyond the limited analytical intellect is a vast realm of mind that includes extrasensory and psychic capacities, intuition, wisdom, a sense of unity, aesthetic qualitative and creative faculties, and image-forming and symbolic capacities. Though these faculties are many, we give them a single name with some justification for they are working best when they are in concert. They comprise a mind, moreover, in spontaneous connection to the cosmic mind. This total mind we call “Heart”. The heart is the antenna that receives emanations of subtler levels of existence. The human heart has its proper field of function beyond the limits of the superficial, reactive ego-self. Awakening the heart or the spiritualized mind is an unlimited process of making the mind more sensitive, focused, subtle, refined, and joining it to its cosmic milieu, the infinity of love. ‘
The way of the heart is the way of practice…learning to bring attention to the heart, ‘putting the mind in the heart’, and directing attention from there. In this way, we begin to engage the full potential and intelligence of our being. It is essentially the path of our wholeness and evolution…and changing the world from the inside out.
The practices and knowledge that support our shift to the unitive consciousness of the Heart and attention in the Heart are at the center of my work and what I share in my sessions and in my upcoming program ‘Spiritual Alchemy’. If you are interested in learning more about my programs, email me at [email protected]
I look forward to hearing from you!