Love is the Source of Your Own Being

"Someday, after mastering the winds, the waves, the tides and gravity,

 we shall harness the energies of Love,

 and then, for a second time in the history of the world,

 humankind will have discovered fire'.  

~ Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

In Kabbalah, the center of the Tree of Life is associated with the heart region. Christian Kabbalists associate this area with Jesus and with healing. Sufis, the mystics of Islam, talk about the Sirr—the secret, innermost heart of the heart. In the Chinese system of Qigong, the heart region is call the dantian, the “furnace” that transforms the qi energy into shen, spirit energy.

When you work to clear and balance your fourth chakra, you grow spiritually. It is in the heart that you can come into universal love and dissolve the illusion of separateness. It is here you can heal, both emotionally and physically. It is when you open your heart to love so you can forgive yourself and others, connect deeply to others, rise above the lower emotions of anger, hatred, and envy, and rise to a higher state of consciousness. It is in the heart center that you experience peace and deep inner balance.

A balanced heart chakra is beautiful. It is the center of compassion, altruism, devotion, and the ability to accept that all the circumstances of your life are within the divine order.

However, many of us have built walls around our heart chakra to protect ourselves from getting hurt again. A blocked heart chakra can make you feel defensive, or you may be critical, controlling, withdrawn, or afraid of letting go. You are likely to feel lonely, and think of others as being separate from you. Your life may be full of suffering.

So how can you open your heart and bring that center into balance? 

• Get out in nature. The color of the heart center is green. Let the green of nature start the process of healing for you.

1. Before you meditate visualize green light filling and surrounding your heart center.
2. Allow yourself to receive love, including loving yourself!
3. Love others unselfishly, not demanding anything in return.
4. Be thankful. Gratitude is a great way to stop finding fault in everyone around you.
5. Learn to forgive. A lot of heart chakra blockage is caused by not letting go of past hurts.
6. Move your body. Try a practice like yoga or tai chi to gently let go of stiffness and open your heart center.

 As you do the practices and meditations that are designed to help you open your heart, your ability to love grows. You go beyond what we think of as love (the affection and warmth we feel for someone) to unconditional love (love as a force that comes through you and has no attachment) and on to universal love, where you understand that love is the Source of your own being. You will be a more caring and joyous individual.