There’s much going on in the world right now that requires our loving, compassionate, and empathetic presence—and many of us are feeling heavy hearted.
I subscribe to the notion that humanity is going through the transition phase of birthing a new world; the pain is real, and many of us feel like we can’t go on, but this too shall pass—we can gather the strength to go on— and we’ll be amazed at our courage, power, and capacity when we’re on the other side of the ordeal.
We need to tend to our spiritual heart in order to be the most beneficial presence we can be, and to be able to contribute to the unfoldment of humankind with love and courage.
What do I mean by “spiritual heart”?
In Chinese medicine they speak of Shen, the energy of spirit, mind, or consciousness. The physiological heart is considered to be the home of Shen—of our spirit—and the Fire Element circulates the Shen through the body by way of the blood. John Kirkwood says “[shen] is the heavenly light of awareness and consciousness residing in the heart of each one of us”.
The heart and lungs are intimately connected not only by proximity, but by the movement of the shen-infused blood that moves directly between them. The right side of heart sends deoxygenated blood into the lungs where it is energized with oxygen before returning to the heart and being sent down into the body, carrying both shen and oxygen. Emotionally, the heart is associated with love and the lungs are associated with grief—two emotions that are directly related (we’re not likely to grieve the loss of something that we don’t love). The field of the heart chakra contains and energizes both of these organs, and processes the emotions associated with them.
The archetypal image of Fire Element is the hearth – the area of the home where heat and cooking takes place.
Because of the warmth, light, and delicious smells, the hearth is where a family tended to gather and connect with each other. Surprisingly, the words ‘heart’ and ‘hearth’ do not share etymological origins despite them both being the center of the home/body-temple where warmth, love, and connection take place. Energetically speaking, the heart is a Fire Element organ around which the other Fire Element meridians gather and align themselves, so while the hearth is the heart of a home, the physiological heart is the hearth of the Fire Element and the organizing center of the body temple.
When we talk about our heart-center we’re including the heart and lung organs, the chakra, our emotional body, and our spirit. Fire Element carries the expression of Spirit through our blood, and imbues our lives with Love.
In looking at how we can keep our hearts open during prolonged periods of emotional duress, I want first to pull back to a macro perspective and remind ourselves that in our spiritual knowing, we recognize that there is one primary field of Source energy, and that each of us is a fractal of that One source. Being human is the process of living in the density of matter while being of Spirit—which is a challenging and often painful feat. Remembering this about every individual we encounter—whether it’s face-to-face, or in news, or online—will bolster our capacity for compassion.
It is helpful to develop the spiritual perspective that there is so much going on underneath our awareness and beyond our control, and we can’t fix it all by micro-managing or manipulating everything in our experience (or another’s). There is no “worthy” or “right” or “should” – there simply IS. My personal mantra is “show up, do your best, and allow the rest”, and trust that the Holy Mystery has greater insight than I ever possibly could. It is our presence—our vibration that we bring to a situation—that serves the needs of the moment. We can’t fix things for other people, but we can hold a high-vibrational space for them.
How do we change our vibration (outside of energy medicine techniques)?
We pay attention to and amplify joy, beauty, appreciation, playfulness, and whimsy. These are crucial qualities to cultivate to keep our own hearts uplifted, and it’s from that place that we can best help others. Please do not underestimate the power of joy, play, creativity and laughter in the face of adversity. We affirm and call forth the infinite possibilities of Source when we throw convention out and explore and experiment with the unconventional. At the same time we give our hearts a break from the weightiness of being human, and all the suffering humanity is causing itself. Somebody has to hold the vision of a joyful and peaceful world, and it may as well be us.
I also want to evoke courage in this discussion of tending to our spiritual heart.
Courage is the ability to do something that frightens you. Its origins come from the Latin word ‘cor’ – meaning heart – and then corage from Old French. Our heart is the seat of our emotions, spirit, and temperament. Courage is what helps us face adversity with bravery and fortitude. We could all use a bit of courage these days, to forge on through the birth pangs of a new world; to stand up to cruelty, greed, and deceit, and to make our voices heard in favor of kindness, generosity, equality, justice, and love. So have courage—notice when you are frightened and lean into it. Take the risk to speak up—speak what your heart would have you say.
Let’s look at how energy medicine techniques can move the weight of grief through our heart, lungs, and heart chakra, and how we can improve our capacity to hold space for humanity.
Let’s keep in mind that energy wants to move, it needs space to move, and it wants to move in specific patterns. These exercises are aimed at doing exactly that for our heart-center. (I demonstrate all of these techniques in the accompanying video.)
- Blow Out (Expelling the Venom/Grief/Frustration/Anger/Weight)
- Vigorously rub along the Heart meridian with knuckles, include the Heart Source Point at the wrist (Ht 7), twist off the baby finger
- Rub Heart neurolymphatic points on chest
- Artemis Stretch
- Hug yourself, kiss your upper arms and say “I love you” to yourself
- Heart Source Points (Heart 7 on inside of wrist), kiss and rub both sides
- Hold Heart 7 and Small Intestine 7 together. Take several full breaths and relax. Repeat on second side. (Sm Int 7 Resolves ambivalence and confusion by conveying the intent of the heart)
- Counter clockwise clearing over heart chakra, followed by holding the right hand on the chest, left hand resting with palm up, breathing fully repeat the mantra – “I am the I AM presence, Infinite and Eternal”
I wish you all good blessings for your spiritual and physical heart – and all good blessings to the hearts of your family and friends, and to the heart of humanity. Let’s move through these heart-heavy times together, with love and courage.