We have all heard the statement 'the heart is the seat of the soul' I am sure . All my life I have been led by my thinking mind and even in the religious experience of 35 years in Christianity, I was basically living a form of godliness but lacking the power of living from the heart and spirit. I did learn in Christianity that to be filled with the holy spirit and led by that presence was the ultimate life fulfillment. However, Christianity has been influenced by fear based teaching from the beginning. It has truth but it seem somewhat distorted in many ways. I do admire the Christian mystics, and they do understand this living from the heart. There is a type of meditation among the mystics called the prayer of the heart.
I began searching for 'what is truth?' about 6 years ago. I began to
realize that to grow in heart and spirit is different then growing in
head knowledge. The intellect part of the human mind seems to lead us
away, and in a different direction from that of the more intuitive
intelligence of the heart. Recently I learned that the heart has a mind
of its own, it has its own intelligence and its not just a pump that
pumps blood. The heart seems to be the center of love, compassion and
empathy . It is influenced by thoughts of gratitude, forgiveness and
caring and can generate the biological chemistry and electrical currents
that give us the greatest emotions of well being. So, for me the
greatest secret of life, lived well, may be found not just within but
more specifically within the heart. When the Jesus character said 'the
kingdom of heaven is found within' he may have been referring to the
heart. He also mentioned somewhere about going into the inner room and
being with God .This may be where the soul resides, in this inner most
chamber, the heart (the holy of hollies) beyond the outer temple (the
mind) and the outer temple courts (the body).
So,
for me, life has become more about living from this heart center and not being
led by the intellect mind as the dominate guide. The mind seems to be
egocentric and works from a separate identity where as the heart is
centered in unity consciousness.
However
, I am finding that this opening of the heart center exposes us
to a training process that seems to take us through deep teachings that
are not comfortable. I have been going through a process of releasing,
releasing, and releasing. This letting go of all that hinders the flow of
heart (love) based living is a process that we may never finish. The
letting go process is hard work and many will not go there and they stay
on the wide path of conformity and certainty . Its the narrow path of
liberation from suffering that Jesus,Buddha, and Lao Tzu talked about.
This
life for me is a work in process and progress. It may seem at times to be one step forward, and one step back. But
my destination is onward toward a life that is centered in love based
living. I believe the heart is the inner chamber where we meet the
epicenter of life and love. As within so above. The whole universe is
filled with this loving intelligence and we have access to it now if we
can break through the thin veil of egocentricity that seems to trap us
with its iron grip.
Beautifully said, Brian. The heart wisdom seems to be that which is in alignment with the universe, Tao, the Holy Spirit, God, whatever vocabulary you want to use. It is harmonious and effortless and connecting. The mind seems to operate more from a perspective of separation and thus is often not in alignment with this universal energy. I like my mind, and I appreciate what it can do, but like you, I've learned that it does best in a supporting role and not as the lead.
ReplyDeleteThis illusion of separation has gotten humankind in a lot of trouble since falling into the mind dominated thought form trap.This maybe the fall that the myth of the fall of Adam and Eve points to. Eckhart Tolle summed it up well with this quote "The human condition: lost in thought.” Thanks for commenting, Galen.
ReplyDeleteGreat quote! And interesting thoughts about Adam and Eve. I find myself circling back to that story often. The tree of knowledge of good and evil. The labels create the first separation.
DeleteThe perception of good and evil ...the birth of dualism. In Taoism we are taught to not label. Everything is a phenomenon that we perceive. If we could learn to not label what is here now, we would certainly enjoy life and happenings so much more. I am slowly training myself to live now and I say often 'just this' and then 'just this' .... Things come and go and if we don't accept and engage in this moment what else is there. To project thinking into past and future is to be lost in thought as Tolle mentioned.So much to learn Galen, but, this living in the Now is the state of being I come back to over and over again. This living from the heart with its intuition, and love based emotion is living life the way it is meant to be and it has the benefits for health and well being.
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