What does it mean to have an open heart? I wanted to offer and explanation of what it really means to have an open heart, from my understanding, because if people are like me, and I’m sure there are many who are!... it might be a more puzzling term than it seems at first. The term open heart can very easily come with a lot of “baggage” that we may have knowingly or unknowingly brought to the concept. Therefore I feel like it is important to take some time and really try and get to know what this means. If you have a contemplative part of your spiritual or other practice, maybe contemplating its meaning might be interesting, and fun. When we connect with another living thing, where in ourselves do we feel that connection? Perhaps we can feel it in our totality, but I imagine we are all familiar with that warm, fuzzy feeling we get in our chest. Maybe it’s different for each of us in some way, but it’s a feeling from the heart. If you’re unsure where the feeling is or what it feels like it might be really fun and interesting, and powerful, to pay close attention to that next time. I find it easier sometimes to connect with animals. I’m the world’s biggest animal lover, especially horses and dogs! If you disagree with me about that then we can debate it, but I’m still right! Lol ;) But it is sometimes easier to connect with animals for some of us, maybe because it feels safer. Maybe for you it’s easier to connect with babies or infants. Either way, we can feel what it is like to connect with someone or some other living being. Interestingly, the most powerful tool for preventing us from connecting is our heart…. the very thing that connects! When our heart closes off, the walls we build can simply be impenetrable, stopping others from getting in, as well as stopping us from reaching out, and thus preventing us from connecting. We cannot feel that warm, fuzzy feeling when our hearts are hardened, closed off, numb, or however else you might like to describe it. When we can be open, we can feel that sensation of warmth, openness, and expansiveness. If I were a poet I could probably come up with some more beautiful words to describe this, but perhaps there are no words that can. One thing is certain though, when we feel this openness we cannot purposefully do harm to ourselves or our world. Isn’t this where love blossoms out of? One of the practices I have picked up along the way, and now use daily, is the practice of “feeling into my feelings.” What I mean by this for instance, is when I feel my heart is open, and when I feel my heart is closed, I like to really pay close attention to how that feels in my body. I take special note of it and ask myself some questions like “Where in my body do I feel that?” “What is the sensation?” “Is there anywhere else in my body I can feel it also?” “How can I best describe this sensation?” I keep looking for more and more subtleties of the sensation. Some of the things I have noticed are how icky the feeling really is when I’m closed off, or numbed out. I have noticed that it just… feels… BAD. I’ve also noticed how when my heart is as open as I have yet to experience, the feeling is expansive beyond what my mind could have imagined. It feels like I could wrap my arms around the world and exhale all of it’s pain, just like John Coffey in the movie The Green Mile. Wow! It’s an amazing feeling. With that being said, I can’t help but wonder how much more in depth I will get to know these sensations as I keep putting my attention on it. If we could all place more attention each day on becoming more familiar with what it feels like to have an open heart, perhaps we’ll all find amazement of our own. Perhaps we’ll also discover ways that by just being such we can touch those around us and make differences in others’ lives that can last lifetimes. Do you want to try this with me? This is what my experience is. What has your experience been? I am very interested in getting to know what everyone’s experience is so please feel free to share.
Posted on: Wed, 07 Aug 2013 18:03:27 +0000
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