These days the head, the mind, gets a lot of attention. We talk a lot about how we can improve our minds, improve focus, lessen anxiety … you get the idea. Mindfulness, in fact, is a theme of this very blog! However, if we just leave it at the mind, there is a missing link – the heart. So, with Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought it would be fitting to chat about how we can go beyond mindfulness to what I like to call heartfulness and cultivate a deeper love for ourselves and others.
1) Understanding love and the heart. Love and the heart space can sometimes get a bad rep as being “emotional,” not rational and subject to apparently whimsical ups and downs. Love/hate anyone? When we talk about true cultivation of love and heartfulness though, we are talking about learning how to cultivate a deeper and more profound love and heart connection. A love anchored in our higher self, in the divine, a love that transcends a mortal love that could never be broken. A love with compassion and gratitude. That is the love we want to cultivate.
2) How to cultivate a higher love and heartfulness. Ok so how do we actually do that? We can begin to cultivate heartfulness the same we practice mindfulness, one moment at a time. Each moment, each day is an amazing opportunity to connect deeper to our heart of hearts and feel that love expanding from ourselves to others and the world. Each seemingly ordinary connection with another being is a chance to connect from the heart, to lead with love, compassion and gratitude.
3) What to do when your head gets in the way? You’re going along through your day, trying to practice heartfulness and something happens that triggers your mind to hijack your heart and take over in a swirl of perhaps anxiety, frustration, etc. Maybe someone cut you off in traffic. Maybe you are having an especially frustrating call about health insurance and just aren’t feeling heard. This is where you can use the practice of mindfulness to connect you back to heartfulness. As soon as you notice (mindfulness is the practice of noticing our thoughts without judgement – and we have to notice when we’ve strayed to be able to bring ourselves back) that your mind has taken over your heart, you could choose to take a few slow deep breaths, bring your mind back to the present and slowly allow your heart to enter into the equation again. For the heart to work properly it needs the mind to be in the present. We can’t be in our hearts if our minds are all over the place. Use your mind to help you ground yourself in your heart and then allow your heart to send it’s love to your mind until your whole being is filled with love and that expands to the world around you, shining your bright soul love on everyone you touch.
What is love
The very fabric of the universe
Of all universes
Of all hearts
What is love
But the radiating light
Of each living being
From a flower to a great tree
From a sparrow to an elephant
What is love
But the meaning of existence
For what would existence be
Without love
What is love
A hand extended in compassion
A soul smile that speaks a thousand words
A hug that speaks a thousand more
What is love
For all attempts to define it
Are probably beyond the scope
Of human words anyway
What is love
But a feeling
Not a thought
Or a feeling so powerful
It becomes a thought
That becomes word
Love
What is love
But the dance
Of Divine Lovers
Sung in the songs
The ancients
Sung in the songs
Of our hearts
What is love
But being here now
Our hearts a brilliant glow
Soul radiance shining through
Connected to the brilliant
Love soul connection of life
Of life beyond death
Of life eternal
Fed by love
What are some ways you connect to your heart?
“Through my love for you, I want to express my love for the whole cosmos, the whole of humanity, and all beings. By living with you, I want to learn to love everyone and all species. If I succeed in loving you, I will be able to love everyone and all species on Earth. This is the real message of love.”
– Thich Nhat Hanh.