Many people feel that when they come in to therapy they will be using their mind a lot. In some ways that is exactly what we do, we learn to look at and manage difficult thoughts, especially if they cause us anxiety. We become aware that the mind and our thoughts are fallible and can often lead us down the wrong path.
Instead we learn to listen to a different part of ourselves, to our intuition and our inner guide; the heart. As the seat of emotion in the body, learning to listen to the heart has enormous potential for us, it often a untapped resource of wisdom and strength.
The heart; often seen as fluffy, pink and emotional, gets downplayed and ignored by modern day society. Yet the word ‘courage’ comes from the Latin ‘cor’ meaning heart and the Greeks believed that the strongest emotions; courage, compassion, love and connection came from the heart. We use expression like ‘take heart’ and ‘heartfelt’ without really connecting them to what they truly mean but if you let the heart guide you, you might be amazed at the places your life goes.
To practice this, find a comfortable place and gently let the breath deepen. Connect with your heart and listen to it’s gentle beat and rhythm. Let all your attention focus on this area and feel the area expand and open. Then listen and see what you hear, let your intuition speak to you and see what you discover. Ask yourself the question “What is my heart’s desire?” and remain curious about what this brings up for you. Learning to live in a heart felt way can truly expand your experience and help you connect deeply with your self and your purpose.