The power of your heart:
Our heart is the most powerful energy centre in our mind-body system; the source of deep wisdom, profound truth, and intuition, and a powerful gateway for healing and inner transformation.
When we are connected to our heart, we are able to access the deep wisdom that exists within us; we are connected to our inner guidance system, our intuition, and so are more able to live in alignment with our deepest desires / authentic selves.
If you’d like to discover more about the science of the heart, the nature of intuition, and why learning to live from our hearts is so powerful, you may like to read my blog: Living from the Heart
Lost in the mind:
Most people live in their heads, lost in their minds, with little connection to their body or their heart.
The mind is programmed and conditioned by our past experiences, driven by fear, scarcity and craving, and concerned with judging, analysing, worrying, planning and problem-solving. The mind is fearful, full of doubt and questions; telling us the reasons why we can’t follow our dreams, why it’s too risky, completely pointless or not possible for us; fear disguises itself as our rational, sensible voice.
The mind talks so loudly and constantly that most people become completely identified with it.
When we are completely identified with our mind, we remain trapped in fear, separation, judgement and uncertainty; we are unable to listen to our heart, and so remain are disconnected for the source of our intuition.
I’ll show you what I mean…
Do you hear the voice in your head?
You know the one... the voice providing a constant commentary on everything you see, hear, say or do... the voice telling you... you can’t... you should... you shouldn’t ... you’re this... you’re that... you’re not enough... you’re too much...
You are not the voice in your head!
If you’re not yet aware of the voice it’s because it’s tricked you into thinking it IS you.... so listen... listen until you can hear it... listen until you realise it is NOT you... listen to its incessant ramblings... listen until you are clear that YOU are not the voice but the one who listens... .Once you have developed this awareness... you can play with it... play with listening to the voice with curiosity... you do not need to believe everything it has to say... just listen... but perhaps also play with not listening... play with placing your awareness elsewhere... listen to the birds... the breeze... music... or really listening when someone is talking to you...Once you are more able to consciously focus and direct your awareness... listen again... listen to what lies beneath the voice… listen inwards... listen to the silence... it is not empty… listen to the whisper of your heart…
Awakening to your heart:
The mind is fearful and creates limitations. That is its nature. We are limited by fear and by what we believe is possible. It is only through awakening from the prison of the mind, that we free ourselves from fear and limitation, and allow ourselves to access the deeper wisdom and guidance of the heart. It is through the heart that we become aware of the field of infinite possibility that lies beyond the mind and can experience our own infinite potential.
When we begin to live a life guided by our hearts, to follow our intuition, we begin to flow with life and incredible things begin to happen.
6 powerful steps to connect to the wisdom of your heart:
I would recommend following these steps in order as they each build on the one before.
Connect with your body
Connecting with your body is one of the most powerful ways to get out of your head and begin to connect with your heart. There are so many ways to do this. For me, yoga is one of the most powerful as it guides us to consciously bring awareness to sensation in our bodies which brings awareness out of our head. Dropping awareness out of thinking and into feeling. In this way we can become more aware of our thoughts and less identified with them. We become the witness, the observer. We become present and we discover inner stillness. From this state of increased presence, or conscious awareness, we are much more able to connect with and listen to the whispers.
All of my yoga teachings have a strong focus on connecting to the body and connecting to the heart.
There are so many ways to connect with your body, including dancing, walking, swimming, massage, so take some time to explore and discover your own way.
Bring awareness to your heart
Once you have deepened your connection to your body, you are ready to begin consciously connecting with your heart. Begin by bringing awareness into your body, to shift awareness out of the head and allows us to begin to connect with the heart. A wonderful time to try this is during or at the end of a yoga practice as you will already be more connected to your body and so it will be easier to connect to your heart.
A lovely way of doing this is to simply bring your hands to rest on your heart, either when sitting in meditation, lying down relaxing or anytime that feels right. You can close your eyes if you like. Bring awareness to your heart. Perhaps you can become aware of your heartbeat. Notice how it feels to bring awareness to your heart. Allow yourself to soften. Notice how your heart feels. Spend a few minutes like this.
Heart centred breathing
Breathwork is another powerful way of connecting with your heart and creating greater coherence between heart and mind (see my first blog for more details on what this means). Becoming aware of your breath brings you into the present moment, generating a sense of spaciousness, openness and expansion, and naturally connects you with your heart.
I find heart centred breathing particularly powerful for connecting with the heart.
Once you have begun to connect with your heart, spend a few minutes in meditation breathing in and out through your heart. With every breath imagine you are softening, soothing and allowing your heart to open – you could even combine this with a mantra – repeating to yourself “soften, soothe, allow” or “I allow my heart to open”. Imagine your heart expanding and opening with every breath.
Cultivate heart coherence
Another wonderful way of connecting with your heart is to consciously cultivate high frequency emotions as this brings our mind-body system into a state of coherence where we are naturally more receptive and open to the guidance of the heart.
So, once you have brought awareness to your heart, connected with heart centred breathing, begin to bring to mind something or someone that fills you with feelings of joy, love, gratitude, appreciation or other high frequency emotions.
As you focus on whatever it is that brings you a feeling of joy, love or appreciation, notice how your heart feels. Feel this high frequency emotion of love, joy or gratitude in your heart. Feel your heart expanding and opening with this feeling. When you feel you are anchored in your heart and in this high frequency emotion, you can let go of the image and simply focus on the heart.
Breathe into this heart centred energy and imagine it radiating through your entire body and your entire being.
Spend time doing what you love:
Our heart guides us by calling us towards what we love and find most meaningful, so spending time doing what we love naturally connects us with our heart. Doing what we love naturally opens our heart and nourishes us from deep within. It is a way of honouring and tuning in to our heart’s guidance which in turn strengthens our (ability to connect with our) intuition.
Experiencing joy through doing what we love creates a state of open-hearted awareness and allows us to experience life more deeply, to feel more connected, and to be more able to be our authentic selves. This creates inner coherence and further strengthens the hearts ability to communicate with us.
Learn to listen to the language of the heart
Finally, we can strengthen our intuition by learning to listen to the language of our heart. The language of the heart is very different from the language of the head. The whispers of the heart are very different from the voice of the mind. The heart speaks to us through our emotions, our gut feelings, sudden insights, intuitive nudges, synchronicity, deep callings and inexplicable knowing.
When we begin to listen to this intuitive guidance, we deepen our connection to our heart and strengthen our inner guidance system.
So next time you have a sudden insight, a powerful nudge, or a crazy idea that you can’t seem to dismiss, have the courage to listen and to follow it, because it may well be your heart guiding your way.
In my next blog I’ll be sharing some simple but powerful ways to open your heart. The more your heart is open, the more your heart will be able to guide you.
Sending so much love and light,
Hannah x x
Comments