“You’ll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart.” George Micheal
What is the wisdom of your heart? I have been asking clients and colleagues this question and what I have heard has been fascinating and inspiring. The wisdom has been grounded in compassion, kindness, encouragement, love, support, and truth. In fact, the wisdom that was shared from people’s hearts felt truer than any wisdom they could have shared from their minds and was communicated with a calm confidence that reflected the empowerment they felt in sharing.
In addition, what was curious is that no one shared the wisdom of their hearts from a place of doubt or self-judgement. No one said I cannot find any wisdom or that the wisdom of my heart is not worth sharing. Issues of unworthiness or insecurity did not arise. People expressed a trust in the wisdom of their hearts that reinforced an experience of hearing truth being spoken. From this trusting place, faith that all is well seemed to sprout and blossom. As Khalil Gibran wrote, “Faith is an oasis in the heart which will never be reached by the caravan of thinking.”
Connecting to the wisdom of our hearts rather than our heads appears to subvert the judging critical mind who wants to over think everything and undermine our sense of confidence in ourselves. Listening to the wisdom of our heart connects us to our authentic truth and to the radically compassionate part of our selves. Developing practices to consistently listen to the wisdom of your heart is an important way to cultivate the art of self-nurturing. Choosing to connect and listen to your own heart’s wisdom will support you in deepening the relationship you have with yourself and allow you to treat yourself consistently with kindness like a dear friend.
Here are five ways to connect intentionally to the wisdom of your heart:
1. Mindfulness
Spend time every day, reconnecting with yourself through mindfulness, the art of paying attention on purpose with curiosity and compassion. This important self-nurturing practice allows you to tune into how you feel and what you need so that you can prioritize yourself in your life. Begin by closing your eyes and taking a few intentional breaths in and out. Then tune into your body and notice any sensations that arise. Now connected to your breath and your body, tune into how you feel and what you need. To connect with the wisdom of your heart place your hand on your heart and ask what wisdom does my heart have to share with me today? Take a few more breaths and thank your heart for its wisdom.
2. Journaling
Give yourself permission to connect intentionally to the wisdom of your heart by journaling regularly. Set a timer for 5-10 minutes and allow the wisdom of your heart to unfold on the pages. This practice will flow beautifully after you have connected to the wisdom of your heart through mindfulness. See if you can maintain your curiosity and compassion when you read what you have written and feel inspired by how wise your heart is! You can return to this wisdom when you need encouragement, support, or to feel uplifted and this practice will help grow your confidence and belief in yourself.
3. Return to the wisdom of your heart when things go wrong.
When things don’t go the way you had planned, or when a mistake has been made you have a beautiful opportunity to return to the wisdom of your heart instead of listening to your self-criticism and judgement. Indeed, listening to our hearts in that situation rather than our minds will be the healing salve that is needed and provide us a way to understand our current situation with more love, compassion, and creativity. As Sarah Fielding reminds us, “The words of kindness are more healing to a drooping heart than balm or honey.” When things go wrong, place your hand on your heart and ask what is the wisdom of my heart right now? Then choose to listen, soften, and begin anew.
4. Create a ritual of sharing the wisdom of heart with family and friends.
Can you imagine how wonderful it would be to have family and friends share the wisdom of their hearts and to have an opportunity to share yours with them? You can create this positive encouraging space by creating a ritual of sharing this beautiful wisdom at meals, gatherings, and by simply asking people what is the wisdom of their heart today? You can be a positive force in the world when you connect in meaningful ways with others. If you feel like Christina Rossetti, “My heart is like a singing bird,’ then share it with others in your life and invite them to share with you!
5. Start and end the day by connecting to the wisdom of your heart.
As you practice connecting to the wisdom of your heart in a regular way, you will feel more empowered, hopeful, and inspired. Recognizing that your heart has wisdom to share to support you to be more compassionate, curious, kind, loving, and creative may encourage you to begin and end the day with a practice of connecting to your wisdom. Before getting out of bed in the morning or before you go to sleep at night, place your hand on your heart and ask what is the wisdom of my heart? This simple but profound practice will become the foundation of your beautiful self-nurturing practice!
May you intentionally connect to the wisdom of your heart regularly as you nurture peace in the world from the inside out!
Sending you peace, love and gratitude, Kelley
