by Alan McAllister, CCHt PhD-phys
“I open my heart to the emotion that will guide my soul. In this movement of openness, I release my fears and cross the threshold leading me towards a new beginning.” From the frontispiece of James Twyman’s book The Secret of the Beloved Disciple.
The heart is a magnificent compass that, when opened and given ear can guide us through life more gracefully and powerfully than the mind can ever hope to. Learning to open it and how to listen to it is a process that is well worth the time and the pain that comes as we learn to release the fears that close it and block our inner ears.
It is indeed a place in which we can connect to our soul, in which we can hear the voice of our true self. It is a compass that is always working, though we may not listen, and one which, when we trust it, can magically and magnificently guide us home, back to our soul.
It will tell us when we are being true to ourselves, and when we have strayed, what places, people, and activities really feed us and which ones drain us. Its language may be new to many of us, but it is rich and deep, like the song of the whales, and will take us places that the gyrations of our minds can never get to.
The heart’s language is full of gratitude, love, joy, enthusiasm, playfulness, and the other emotions of the soul. When we open our hearts we can access these in infinite supply, not as something other, or out there, but as a part of who we are, in here, our essence shining forth for us and through us for the world.
The journey of discovery that opens our hearts, that learns it’s emotions, that learns it’s song, is the greatest journey that human beings can take. It is why we come here, to this beautiful planet. And when we are ready to let go and trust our hearts, we (the small we of the mind and the ego) have nothing to do but follow the flow of the energies and emotions that naturally pour through our open hearts.
Perhaps we come here to this beautiful green/blue planet, because it offers us so much opportunity for wonder and love. Opening your heart to other people can be challenging, scary, too much past experience that says we may get hurt. So practice opening your heart to a hill, a mountain, a tree, the ocean, what ever aspect of nature most draws you. Let that be your teacher. Or perhaps you know a small child, or a pet that still knows how to live with open heart and practice with them.
As this new knowledge and awareness grows, you will find other opportunities. A piece of music, a work of art, a really funny joke, the smell of a flower, or a diner cooked with love. These are all portals to the magical world of the heart. Then one day you may meet a person and you can find it there too. They may be someone you are in relationship with, or will be, or they may be a clerk at the post office or a waitress at a diner. Spirit is funny this way.
Just let your heart open, and own that for yourself first. That wonderful feeling is you giving to you. You listening to the song of your soul. It is a station that you can always tune into night or day, rain or shine, just step through the fear, to that wonderful shore which is washed by the ocean of love that is Spirit, that shore that is inside your own heart.
Like many journeys this one can have its twists and turns, ups and downs, rainy days and blistering heats, but it is guaranteed to get you there in time. All it really requires is sincere intention, belief, and trust that your own heart knows its way home, that allowing the emotions to flow will cleanse you, purify you, and make you ready to receive all that you are. So when you are tired of trying to figure it all out, call out to your heart, commit to opening it up, and let it lead you.
(© 10/2007)
