Living by Heart
Do you dream of a beautiful life — a life of true love, intimacy, and self-expression? Will those dreams come true? It depends on your alignment with the heart. Only the heart is feeling enough, present enough, attuned enough to respond to life appropriately. Standing behind a wall of thoughts and beliefs, we can’t respond freely and sensitively, in the moment. Thinking too much. Processing everything. It gets in the way.
Real life presents itself to us always — in people, in their feelings, in an abundant display of subtle expressions we can respond to, dance with, be absorbed in. Life puts out its hand to us, but often, because of our thoughts, we don’t see it. We could twirl or be twirled — but if we’re too absorbed in our thoughts and beliefs, we miss the chance to dance.
Living by heart
Always, our heart is responding to the reality of every situation. We’ve never been without its quiet counsel, even in our darkest hours. So why don’t we always hear it? Because we’re not listening!
With fear and self-interest in mind, we’re out of touch, insensitive. We make a mess. With heart in mind, we can play sensitively, think truly, with living/loving consideration for life all around. The heart won’t steer us wrong—it knows what we need to be happy. It knows what to do to express love, so we can dance real close — heart to heart. It provides us with a steady stream of wonderful impulses. Living by heart, you’d call somebody and tell them you love them. Living by mind, you might be afraid to call them, thinking, “What if they don’t appreciate it?” Living by mind means hardly living at all.
As you surely know by now, much of what’s popularly considered “living by heart” isn’t. Insensitive animal passions, impulsive and compulsive behavior, irresponsible whimsy — ”I was just following my heart.” Horse feathers! That’s all selfishness, not heart. We ignore heart wisdom when we do that junk. True heart knows better. It rejects tendencies that are impulsive, foolish, insensitive, irresponsible, self-indulgent. Genuine heart- sensitivity is a purely positive, life-supporting quality — it makes life workable, meaningful, and satisfying.
Let the heart guide the mind
The mind easily goes astray, but heart steers smart. It feels darkness instantly. And bright. And right. The heart feels how our logic feels, what our intentions do, where our choices lead. The heart always discerns whether a thought or action helps or hinders a relationship, or one’s well-being. Does it bode well, or ill? This is the way the heart minds the store, how it heals: by choosing what will serve love’s purposes. What to feed, what to weed. If everyone followed heart wisdom, this world—and each life in it—would be close to paradise.
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