All people are born with the ability to be an open channel of love. It is our divine nature. Although each person tunes in to this energy flow differently, we all tap into the same source. It is how open we are and how much we trust ourselves that determines the extent to which this energy can be used.
Groundbreaking research shows that our hearts have their own kind of intelligence that reflects our true essence or higher self. Mystics, great leaders, and healers have long known that the heart center is the gateway to wisdom and well-being.
According to researchers at the Institute of HeartMath, heart coherence is a scientifically verified state in which our brains and hearts resonate and exchange information. The heart center has its own wave signature—heart rhythms measurable by scientists. On a spiritual level, tapping into the heart’s vibration allows us to tap into an expanded energy field that interconnects us with all living beings. Through such awareness we can open ourselves to the spiritual information flowing through us.
We can use spiritual information as guidance even while exercising the freedom to choose our life’s path. In the fifth century BC, Socrates and Plato supported the premise that there is an individual spirit and a collective soul, and that when the spirit leaves the body it continues on to the environment of the soul. Consequently, the soul is an energetic environment like the air we breathe, a pure consciousness that everyone can access. Through the energetic connection of spirit to soul, spirit can guide us while allowing us the freedom to choose our life’s path, and soul can provide us with a blank screen on which to imprint our choices in every moment.
The heart is the GPS of the soul. Similar to the way a GPS gives us driving directions, the heart directs us on our soul’s path using coordinates based on spirit’s connection to source. It is because the heart’s energy transmissions bypass the brain that we receive spiritual information to guide us. We all have the ability to sense such information whether it’s a gut feeling, an “aha” moment, or an inner knowing.
Unlike our hearts, our analytical brains are similar to computers that scan, store, and retrieve data from the past but cannot tap into spiritual information. Such data collected by the brain takes the form of negative mindsets, beliefs, and patterns stored on the brain’s “hard drive,” such as “Be careful not to let your guard down,” “If you take that risk, you’ll get hurt,” or “Don’t confide in anyone, because they’ll let you down.” All such negative messages produce a lack of trust in ourselves and our own experiences.
By contrast, our hearts give us information from an expanded perspective that can guide us without judgment, negativity, or criticism and give added clarity to assist us in making more discerning choices. To channel this invaluable spiritual information, it is important to allow our minds to recede and focus on our hearts.
In shifting perspective from the mind to the heart, we create an inner harmonic balance. For example, when we swim, our brain focuses on our strokes, pace, or the distance we have traveled. Once we let go of keeping track of this activity, our focus shifts to our hearts, allowing us to swim with less self-consciousness in a meditative, rhythmic manner.
To reap the benefits of this reservoir of spiritual information, we must develop and strengthen our ability to listen to our hearts. One way to develop this capacity is to sit in a quiet place and enter a trancelike state through breathing, prayer, or meditation; open the heart by touching it, breathing through it, or saying, “Open my heart;” then listen to the voice of spirit speaking to us.
At first, it may be difficult to decipher the voice of spirit because it often sounds like our own thoughts. With practice we can discern the whisper of our spirit through a sensation in our body such as a tingling feeling, an intuition, an image that pops up in our mind’s eye, words we hear, a message arising from out of the blue, or an emotion we feel. This flow of information is sometimes activated during activities when our brains are turned off and nothing else seems to matter, such as when we listen to music, write, exercise, or make love. What matters most is that we trust ourselves in receiving this spiritual information to guide our lives.
When we listen to our hearts, we live with passion and purpose and feel a sense of alignment with our higher selves. We begin to realize that full self-expression is not equivalent to the job we do, the roles we play, or how successful we are in the world.
Steve Jobs, the creative visionary and founder of Apple, Inc., spoke about being purposeful when he challenged students to ask themselves: “If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I’m about to do today.”2 When our answer to this question is yes, we know we are listening to the guidance of our hearts and making choices that align with it. If we answer no, we must examine our choices to discover where they come from.
Listening to the guidance of our hearts and aligning with spiritual information to live purposefully takes trust in ourselves and a desire to be in sync with spirit. In Japan, they call it ikigai, which translates into “the reason we get up in the morning.” Although we have many mindsets dictating what we should do, discovering our reason to get up in the morning involves detecting the information coming through our hearts because finding such a reason for living is critical to a long, authentic, and healthy life.
We cannot afford to give our minds control over our hearts as this impedes our ability to act from our authentic selves. We fall prey to the guidance of our mind’s critical voice that judges us instead of the heart’s compassionate voice that encourages and supports us.
Listening to the guidance of our hearts to access information from our spiritual source allows us to have an intimate, and integrated relationship with ourselves; to receive assistance with daily problems; waste less time and energy being anxious about life’s difficulties; and respond rather than react to situations. Most importantly, it leads to a more spiritual way of life, giving us greater peace of mind.
Notes
- Brown, The Gifts of Imperfection, 11.
- Steve Jobs, “If Today Were the Last Day of My Life,” Commencement Speech at Stanford University, June 12, 2005. http://chuckbalsamo.com/2011/10/steve-jobs-if-today-were-the-last-day-of-my-life/.
- Pema Chödrön, The Places That Scare You: A Guide to Fearlessness in Difficult Times (Boston: Shambhala Publications, 2001).
Excerpted and adapted from the forthcoming book Being Love byDebra L Reble, Ph.D.
