how to get into the heart
I look down at the family room floor and amidst the colorful Magna-tiles, are dolls in need of keratin treatments, a pair of scissors, tape, and my youngest daughter’s salmon colored bathing suit bottoms. It is a strange array of items but in my defense, it had been raining a lot, school hadn’t started, and the day before, I had to wear a blood pressure cuff for 24 hours which turned my hand purple when my arm was down by my side.
As a friend picked up my youngest for a play date so I could get the results from the cardiovascular torture device which were, thankfully, normal, we had a brief conversation about getting out of our heads and into our hearts.
Although, I have been trying to get back on track with mediation and exercise, I find myself stuck in my head thinking about uniforms, getting two kids at the same time from two different places, the devastation caused by nature and people, why I have to pee again when I just went five minutes ago, and on and on and on.
If I want to crawl back into my heart, this helps:
Quiet. Silence. Stillness. Peace, Rest. A nap. Comfy, cozy blankets and soft billowy pillows. Lighting a candle. In the spinning tornado that is life, stealing a few moments of closing my eyes while sinking into the silky space of our beating hearts and breathing in and out.
Writing. Or painting. Or dancing. Listening to music. Watching a movie or a play, A book. Art. Anything creative, expressive, fluid. Anything that makes us feel something. Asking: What is your heart yearning for? What does it have to tell you? What do you want it to know? Is it achey? Content?
Make room for it all. Sadness, heartache, irritation, anger, disappointment, shame, it’s all okay in this space, even your bad mood. Don’t try to change it, let it be. Give it some space. It’s okay. Then it may shift.
Feeling the bottoms of our feet on the ground. Filling up on the supportive, buzzy energy of the Earth. And water…drinking, bathing, swimming, anyway you can get it, letting it wash it all away.
Laughing. Watch, read, do something silly. Making others laugh. Being ridiculous. Dressing up. Playing a joke on someone. However you can, lighten up!
JOY. What brings you joy? DO that. Be that. Radiate joy, we need your joy!
Gratitude. What fills you up with bursting, giddy, abundant thankfulness in this very moment? For me, right now it is that my older daughter is sparing me from having to play Barbies.
Generosity of spirit. You don’t have to buy anyone anything, Just be present, pay attention, love them for who they are. Flaws, quirks, spinach in their front teeth and all.
Listen. The head likes to think and talk and figure out, the heart likes to feel and hear in those soft in-between spaces. The heart knows. Trust it, surrender to its patient wisdom.
Rose quartz, hold it in your hand or simply…
Place one hand on your heart, the other on your belly. Feel a warm green glow radiating in and out shining light on your entire being and everything and everyone around you. Be a beacon of light, a light house for those around you, bask in this glow.
We need both, head and heart, intuition and knowledge to help guide our decisions. But if our heads are hurting or we are just feeling too cerebral, anxious or overwhelmed, try dropping into the body and settling into the center of your being. We try to control so much and so often what is needed is the exact opposite - to let go, drop in, and let go again.