Heart Thinking

Most spiritual traditions teach about the duality of the human condition, the reality that you are not your thinking mind, and that the real or authentic you resides in your heart.  Every day along my own spiritual journey I become more and more aware of this reality.  As I learn to quiet my mind in meditation and listen to my heart I become more at peace and less likely to get caught up in my emotions, so I feel like I have a pretty good grasp on the whole listening to my heart thing.  I have had many experiences that have shown me that my happiness is dependent on me following my heart not my mind. However, I continue to have challenges quieting my mind and stopping the obsessive thinking in my everyday life. The other day when I became very aware of this fact I thought wouldn't it be great if all of our "thoughts" could come from our heart instead of our mind.  I don't mean the intuitive answers that come as a result of our meditation practise or other forms of surrender, I mean our every day thoughts.  We all know and the psychological research will prove that our minds obsessive thoughts are mostly negative, but the thoughts that come from our hearts are positive.  If this was possible we could change the "mind thoughts" from "your not enough, you need to work harder, they don't like you, your not good looking enough, your not smart enough, to the "heart thoughts" of "you are fabulous just the way you are, you are loved, you will always be happy, you are successful, you are gorgeous, you have so many gifts to offer". Wouldn't it be a wonderful world if everyone "thought" with their heart instead of their mind? Now I know this is a lofty goal, and some people will call me a Polly Anna, an idealist, a crackpot or even crazy, and that's okay.  I know that no real change or growth has ever come from staying and/or "thinking" inside the box.  The limits need to be pushed, and I am always happy to push them. Are you? Would you be willing to commit to a regular meditation practise? Or take daily walks in nature? What about sitting in a beautiful garden for 30 minutes a day? Or maybe practise Yoga or Tai Chi? How about using your creative ability to paint, draw, sing, play, write?  All of these things lead to connecting with your heart with your true self.  They also lead to a feeling of connection with the rest of humanity and that says to me that if we change our own behaviour we are actually changing the world. So if you are a little bit crazy like me and want to do your part to contribute to change lets all give it a go!  The Heart Thinking Movement is born!

 

**I wrote this post last night and this morning I happened upon this teaching from the Dalai Lama and thought it was fitting to share on this post**

 

"Changes in the world come from individuals, from the inner peace in individual hearts.  Just as ripples spread out when a single pebble is dropped into water, the actions of individuals can have far-reaching effects"