Today’s Mandala Message: Have a Heart-to-Heart with Your Own Heart
This week I’m working through Principle #49 from Jack Canfield’s “The Success Principles” entitled “Have a Heart Talk”. I set my intention today to ponder the idea of connecting with my own heart. This whole week has been about having Heart Talks with others but what about having a heart talk with our own heart. I know for me, I spend a lot more time in my head than I do my heart.
On that note, I found this article posted by Julia Kent entitled Five Easy Ways to Connect With Your Heart. She states: “We spend so much of our time living in our heads and not our hearts. It can take some practice to reengage with our bodies. … To commune with your heart, you need to feel it. If you’ve spent a lifetime thinking with your head, you may find this difficult. Don’t be discouraged! With a little practice you can regain that exquisite sense of connection to your body.” She shares five simple exercises that she found in Jalaja Bonheim’s book The Sacred Ego: Making Peace With Ourselves and Our World.
- “As you breathe imagine that each in-breath gently touches your heart. With every inhalation, it’s as if your breath were ever so gently caressing your heart. Continue for five minutes, noticing any sensations that arise in your chest.”
- “Gently place your palm on the center of your chest and turn your attention to your breathing. Notice how your hand moves with your inhalations and exhalations. After a minute or so, drop and relax your hand. Notice how your chest feels. After another minute or so, place your hand on your heart and repeat this process. Do this at least three times. Notice whether you feel any after effects.”
- “When we think of our loved ones, our hearts naturally open. So think of something or someone you love dearly—a baby, a pet, a landscape—and see whether you can sense the reverberations of that thought within your physical body. Just notice and welcome whatever happens.”
- “Throughout the day check into your heart-chest-belly area as often as possible. Check in while you’re driving, when you look up from your computer screen, and as you walk into the supermarket. … the more you do it the stronger your sense of connection with your heart will grow.”
- “Play some slow, gentle music that you enjoy and that seems to speak to your heart. Close your eyes and stand quietly. Now invite your heart to initiate some form of movement. Move however you want, allowing your heart to lead you. … Whatever happens, allow it.”
This feels like the perfect way to close out this week of Heart Talk. I suspect that the more we do any of these exercises, the easier it will be to lead with the heart when connecting with others.
A good mindfulness practice would be to breathe into your heart on a regular basis.
So how about you? Are you more of a ‘in your head’ kind of person? Are you needing help with making better heart connections with others? Are you open to starting with your own heart?
“Listen to your heart.
— Paulo Coelho
It knows all things,
because it came from
the Soul of the World
and it will one day
return there.”
Blessings,
Maureen
The Mandala Lady
All Things Mandalas
An Invitation
I invite you to color along with me this year as part of what I’m calling “The Year of Self-Exploration and Expansion” with all of my “Mandalas of the ___” (day, week, month, year). If you’re interested in more of a self-exploration approach to coloring, check out my “Coloring Mandalas as Meditation”. You can download this mandala at MandalaoftheWeek.com.
Mandala of the Day 