Instantly Improve Your Life By Taking The Time To Understand Your Heart
By Tony Fahkry
“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.” — Buddha
Take your hand and place it on your heart. What do you feel?
Some would say nothing, while others can attune to the energy in that area because the heart has a subtle energy. We are used to processing thoughts and rarely take the time to perceive the quiet stirring of our heart.
It is said the heart is the seat of the soul with a language of its own, not perceived through thought. For example, are you aware of the feelings that emanate from your heart? Do you take the time to focus your attention on this part of your body or do you find yourself seized by thoughts?
People often ask: what is the point of connecting with our heart when we make sense of the world via thought? Whilst it may be true, there are other faculties not accessible by the mind such as intuition and love. We don’t fall in love using our mind but our hearts. Considering this, what is your predominant outlook on life? Do you believe life is scary and you’ve got to have your wits about you? Or do you have an optimistic outlook? Maybe you want to develop a deeper connection through your relationships or find love through a like-minded partner? Whatever it may be, there are traditions that espouse connecting only with our heart since they believe the mind cannot be trusted. However I believe we can do both within a sacred union of harmony.
The heart emits one of the strongest electromagnetic fields of our organs; it can extend out in all directions up to two meters outside the body. Research by the Institute of HeartMath shows this emotional information is encoded in our energetic field. We are wired to connect to others and our environment.
If we wish to improve the quality of our life, we must learn to understand the language of the heart. We ought to listen more, which is difficult to do because our world is constantly trying to get our attention. We are distracted by mobile phone devices and find it difficult to engage in conversations without looking at our phone. This comes at a cost of creating a divide between our desires and our core self.
What is your impression of this? Do you find it difficult to sit alone in silence? Perhaps you find it hard to disconnect from your mobile phone because of the fear of missing out? Whatever it is, we cannot live this way without doing anything about it. Distractions do little to foster a true connection with ourselves.
We should carve out time to discover what is taking place within us. Otherwise, we’re likely to succumb to the forces of life which keep us from realising our true nature. I love this quote by the author and creative director Ian Thomas who wrote: “And every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, ‘This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this! And this!’ And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, ‘No. This is what’s important.’”
The passage captures our discontent since we allow life to pull us in every direction, except the one we want. It is important to carve out time to be with ourselves, so we may understand who we really are. It is in knowing our true self we find the deepest well of happiness and understanding. We are likely to create meaningful connections with people and discover our true purpose when we spend time with ourselves.
Are you comfortable with this idea of being less distracted to understand yourself better? I know it’s difficult and why many people don’t try. I’ve observed this frequently while coaching clients who ask for my advice on finding their purpose. My guidance is mostly the same and revolves around journaling and knowing what they really want. Many are reluctant to do the work because they are looking for a quick fix to their problems. They look to others to tell them what to do and point them in the right direction.
No one can do that for us, because it requires taking the journey into ourselves to connect with our heart and mind. Considering this, I’d like you to spend 5 to 10 minutes once or twice a week (to begin with) journaling how you feel. Write down what is going on in your life from an emotional perspective. What are your challenges right now? What do you wish to improve? What do you want out of life? Once we find the answers to these questions, we can begin to walk in the right direction towards our hopes, our dreams and highest aspirations. In doing so, life will greet us with the same commitment to what is held in our hearts and mind.