Your Heart Has A Mind Of Its Own

Are you holding yourself back? Do you hesitate to take action you know you need to take? Is your life in a “stall”?  Your brain may not be of much help, but your heart certainly has the intelligence that you need to jumpstart yourself into action.

Maybe there is training you have procrastinated taking that would really advance your career.  Perhaps there is an individual you desperately  need to confront before they drive you nuts. Is your career is in the ditch?  Maybe your health is withering from severe neglect or an addiction. Or how about that dream of writing a book, building an invention, or starting your own business?

You may be trying to push yourself forward with discipline and force of will –  through your fears of:  change,  failing,  more demands, or loneliness-all to no avail .  The cost of not taking action may be  disappointment in yourself, worry, not sleeping, a sense of emptiness,  feeling “off purpose”, depression, or  other somatic symptoms.

At the same time, you may be putting on the skids.  I know a woman who has held herself back for so many years that her toes are permanently curled under. And a man I once coached–visualized the obstacle that held him back in his life as a “Mack Truck”.  With careful coaching he was later able to realize the “truck” was himself.

So, what is the missing piece?  It just might be the “engagement of your heart”.  We have been taught to think of the heart as just a muscle that pumps blood and keeps circulation going.  The heart, however, has its own nervous system; it communicates with the brain and the rest of your body through nerve impulses, hormones and pressure waves. Our hearts have a powerful intelligence that far transcends linear, logical thinking.

Our hearts “know” when something feels “right”.  Our hearts ”know” exactly what we “need”.  When we listen carefully we can hear our hearts speaking to us:  “I need support from my spouse or friends, or my community before I take that leap”; or “I need to take another step first”; or “I need reassurance” before I test the waters.  Our hearts “know”. Sometimes when we are really quiet, we can hear our heart say “I can do this”!

What is your heart telling you?  If you don’t know, you may want to practice listening to the language that your heart speaks. It speaks  when you are still – in gentle nudges; it speaks  through a sense of peacefulness and harmony. Your body seems to say “yes” or “no”, “go this way-not that way”.

Stillness is a gift. And yet, our sensitivity to the stillness has to be cultivated. Those who know Stillness best and rely upon it as their greatest resource, set aside time on a daily basis simply to attend to the Stillness. Are you up for the challenge?

Your heart  will thank you, as your heart flourishes in the Stillness.