The Journey to our Heart

“Open your Heart” this has to be one of the most commonly espoused and yet misunderstood tag-lines of the spiritual movement. It sounds so sweet and innocent, after all “Love conquers All” and “All we need is Love” Right? Yes. No doubt.

And yet there is a massive denial often at play which seems to imply that the path to our heart is paved with rose petals, rainbows and dolphins. That once we open our hearts everything will fall into place and with a soundtrack of angelic harps we will effortlessly manifest our hearts desire.

Sorry, but No. Truly if it was this simple don’t you think we would all be walking around with open hearts, beaming love at strangers? The reality is a much harsher truth. The path to opening our hearts is one of the hardest and most courageous journeys any one of us can ever take. It’s no coincidence that the word courage is derived from the French word coeur meaning heart. For truly following the path of the heart requires gut wrenching courage, the kind of courage that has you shaking as fear consumes you, as shame overwhelms you and as grief and sorrow bring you howling to your knees. For to open our hearts means to let go of all of the fabrications of our mind about who and what we are and to willingly step into the abyss of unknowing.

So what stands in the way of opening our hearts? And why did they become closed in the first place? As children we are born with wide open hearts yet we are often born into families and a world that has shut down this most vital connection- and so we too learn that in order to survive we also must shut down and protect this tender and precious part of ourselves. We learn to live within our heads and thoughts and come to think that this is who we are. And yet living in this way we are often left with the feeling that something is not right, that something is missing and yet we are not shown how to reconnect.

“We Are All One” Only Love is Real”whilst maybe in an absolute sense there is truth in these statements for most of us they only encourage a dissociation and a denial from the very real emotional landscapes of our lives which are filled with generations of trauma, grief and fear. To truly open our hearts means coming back into contact with all of these cut off aspects of ourselves and being able to ride the waves as we allow them home again. Rather than being strewn with rose petals the path to our heart is much more likely to be covered in snot, tears and puke- not such an easy image to offer or to want to embrace. And yet the rewards are truly immense and we may well experience the bliss of deep connection to everything and everyone and have a taste of our true nature. It’s just that the tales of an easy journey to arrive at this place are at best the initial lure that will encourage further exploration and at worst another trap that will keep us stuck in dissociation, denial and suffering.

So yes do follow your heart and do open your heart but please be aware that the journey is not an easy one, it will require you to let go of your beliefs, your thoughts of who you are and drop into the abyss. And yet it truly is so worth it. Anyone up for the ride?