Spiritual Practices for a World Falling Apart — 04: Keeping an Open Heart No Matter What
In my previous article Living with Discouragement I identified maintaining an open heart as part of the practice. In my own journey of awakening there have been times and seasons in the practices I have engaged in on the spiritual path, with one common undercurrent to all of them: maintaining an open heart.
Maintaining an open heart requires both physical and non-physical body awareness. I find the acronym PEMS — physical, emotional, mental and spiritual — a useful way to described the physical and non-physical aspects of the human energy field. Chakras — energy centers associated with different parts of the body — are another way to describe and perceive the human energy field.
I experience an open heart as a feeling of expansiveness in the area of my physical heart and associated heart chakra. Individuals with clairvoyant high sense perception are able to *see* the human energy field and observe whether someone has an open heart chakra. I perceive my energy field through a form of high sense perception called claircognizance, a fancy name for inner knowing. This kind of of high sense perception is available to anyone who is willing to listen to, and cultivate, their intuition. Consequently, I see the practice I describe here as accessible to anyone who feels they might benefit from it.
Energetic contraction in the emotional, mental and spiritual bodies reduces the heart’s openness. Negative emotions — such as hate, anger, greed, jealousy, envy, irritation, impatience — cause the heart chakra to contract, with the degree of contraction correlated with the intensity with which the emotion is felt in the moment. Ways in which contraction in the mental and spiritual energy bodies occur are subtler and not always obvious, a topic I’d be happy to explore in the comments, if there is an interest.
My practice for keeping an open heart is simple and I have been doing it long enough that it’s become second nature for me. I don’t mean to imply that what I share below is necessarily easy.
· For physical tension I find that slow, deep breaths, expanding my lungs with as much air as they can hold with slow exhales supports an expansive feeling in the area of my heart. If there is tension in my neck and shoulders gentle massaging helps release it.
· When a situation unexpectedly triggers a strong negative emotion I focus on my heart area, acknowledge and release the emotion. If a feeling of contraction remains, I continue focusing on the area of my heart and with deep breathing fill my heart with love, feeling it expand with each breath.
· More commonly I experience less intense emotions such as irritation or exasperation with someone I care about, and I open my heart back up by filling it with love for the person.
· Over the years I’ve trained myself when I’m driving to automatically smile and say “bless you” when another driver does something stupid.
I first learned to become aware of the feeling of energetic contraction almost twenty years ago when I began working with individuals as an energy healer. A few people I worked with said they felt fatigued after an energy session, and I sought out some experienced energy healers for advice. After being observed as I worked with several, I was told that my desire to make a positive difference, while not harmful, reduced the positive effect of my work. I was advised that I could recognize when that was happening through a feeling of contraction in the area of my heart. Not long after I was in a situation where I really wanted to make a difference. The feeling was so strong, and remembering what I’d been advised, I was able to recognize the feeling of contraction, paused long enough to release it, and continued. With practice I’ve learned to recognize the feeling of contraction as the triggers became subtler.
A dramatic test of my ability to keep an open heart no matter what happened around ten years when I walked out to our mailbox to pick up the mail. At the house across the road a couple of dogs were barking, not an uncommon thing in the neighborhood, so I didn’t pay much attention. As I opened the mailbox with my back to the house the barking got louder and before I realized what was happening the back of my left leg was bitten — tooth marks of both the upper and lower jaw were left by the bite. In shock I turned around to find a large mastiff I didn’t recognize barking fiercely. I felt the contraction in my heart, took a deep breath and opened it up again as I calmly faced the dog. He backed off, returning to the neighbors yard. The dog was owned by a friend of the neighbor, was staying temporarily in the neighborhood, and hadn’t been vaccinated for rabies. The details of what followed, aren’t germane except to say that all issues were resolved satisfactorily without drama.
As I’ve noted, applying the practice I’ve shared here isn’t necessarily easy. I can say from experience that, in a world falling apart, it helps me maintain an equanimity that I am grateful for.
A list of articles in this series can be found at the end of:
Introducing Spiritual Practices for a World Falling Apart, June 24, 2022
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