How can we let our heart speak before the head intrudes?
Some time ago I discovered the deliciousness of longing. This is a state that, prior to this discovery, I realized I didn’t allow myself to have. As soon as a longing appears, the head moves in to say, “Forget it, it’s just not possible, feasible, practical…” and so eclipses the experience.
But this particular time, with the urging of my teacher, I allowed the experience of longing to fully bloom in my heart. I held the head at bay with all its dismissals, evaluations and assessments of possible or not possible outcomes that often come from thinking. Instead, I luxuriated in the experience of longing. I discovered that it is so enjoyable unto itself—a transitional place that is neither past or future but wholly present.
Do you know of what I speak? Can you in this moment allow your heart to speak fully of a longing you have, and not let the head intrude? Feel into the goodness of this experience. What is it like for you? It is a way of honoring yourself, practicing self-care and listening to what the heart has to communicate to you.
Last week in yoga class the phrase came to me “what does my heart want now?” I have been moving steadily towards living from a heart-centric place and allowing my head to be of service to my deeper heart’s desire, instead of often the other way around. The brilliancy of the head is to creatively figure out how to enact the desire of the heart. And then the belly is to take action on that desire with the guidance of, first the heart, and then the plan from the head.
When we function in this way, we are using the powerful guidance system our heart offers—expressing who we are, our uniquely beautiful selves in a purposeful way that has a positive impact on the world. The head without the heart gets us all tangled up in ‘shoulds’ and ‘should nots’, as dictated by our conditioned history and the culture that lives outside of ourselves.
When we live from our heart, life is a beautiful expression of who we are and the potential of who we can be. We are inspired, directed and fulfilled because we have answered our heart’s call and are following it.
What does your heart want now? A great question as a practice to more and more tune in and listen. And when you do, life is delicious.
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