How to Live from the Heart

The article Goodbye, Columbus? Here’s what Indigenous Peoples’ Day means to Native Americans, peaqued my interest this morning as I read through the news. Native Americans have always been an inspiration when it comes to being appreciative and feeling connected with Nature. What are we missing in this Age of Information?

What does it mean do live from the heart? How is this done?

In order to live from the heart, one must slow down to the point where one realizes to appreciate one’s inner being as well as the outer phenomenal world whilst seeing both as one and be so gracious as to express gratitude. In other words, heart is not a matter of mind i.e. intellect, but it is an intuitive flow of appropriate energies when expressing itself, a participation in a greater dance. Hence illuminating this subject with words is counter-intuitive, but I’ll do my best to express that for which words are insufficient and inacurrate (I’ll come back with some edits when I realize there’s a better expression).

Perhaps an easy way to express heart is to simply feel ~ empathize and hence connect rather than attempt to understand or even judge, which will more than likely block connection. When another’s joy or sorrow is observed and expressed, the observer can draw from one’s own life experience to empathize or simply choose to feel compassion if experience is lacking. Such choosing already requires a hightened level of self-awareness that needs to be developed and is part of our evolutionary journey if we are to socialize in a meaningful way. Make the time to be present in that moment, listen and visualize what another is conveying. That will make for a memorable experience and strengthen relationship.

Life is an exuberant energy that expresses itself in a myriad of forms, energies and wavelengths … All of these energies were designed to participate in a balanced dance, interdependent, yet in rhythmic synchronicity, each playing their part, though far beyond human intellect which will always lack knowledge and is much too slow to participate appropriately.

Love furthermore expresses itself on many wavelengths

Love starts by looking inward, taking a truthful look at one’s self and seeing what is within. Just see, don’t judge. We have strengths, aptitudes, weaknesses, shortcomings: but that is who you are. Accept all of it. Then simply work on the areas that need development or transmutation even. It’s that simple. You live by your own standard. It is not your place to judge others; it is your place to develop yourself. Accept yourself in that process – be love and hence have the inner depth to love others as well. A way of approaching this part of life is through daily reflection which could mean you allow for spirit to touch you whilst surfing or sitting quietly and meditating in serene, natural place. If there are no serene, natural places then we better make sure we create them via group effort.

It can be felt by others when one listens quietly, patiently and sincerely (without needing to express self at the expense of interrupting the other), when it’s time making a comment so as to show one’s absorption and caring, then we make a connection.

When another life is in need for help, help if you can. Isn’t this intuitive already? Oddly by helping you’re confirming the goodness that is in you which serves as its own reward!

Obstacles that prevent us from Living Profound and Healthy Lives

In contrast, the world that humankind has built, at least to some extent, appears to be hellbent on destruction, from the inside out and from the outside in.

Inner World

• Strong negative emotions: hatred, judgement, jealousy, envy, deception, greed ~ fear
• Isolation, loneliness, separation ~ disconnectedness
• Rushing through life ~ insincerity, lack of quality outcomes

Outer World

• Harmful substances in our food ~ perpetual breakdown of a healthy and full functional human organism
• Pollution i.e. poisons in the environment: air, water, earth ~ cascading destruction of interdependent life across the planet
• Noise ~ psychological impact
• Environemental disasters ~ mass extinctions, global warming
• Cultural destructiveness: one overbearing another
• Religion, over past centuries, has had a very destructive impact even instilling fear and exacting judgement (ignorantly so) rather than exemplifying love, hence completely failing Jesus’ message
• Materialistic focus ~ wastefulness of resources and adding to discarded waste
• Competition ~ self-serving ambition isolate rather than build community
• Government (global), as much as it can be useful if done right, it’s so overly bureaucratic and convoluted that its best competency is tax collection, and that’s still arguable ~ unecessary added stress

Being a Seeker

If you’re looking to intellectually understand the psychological underpinnings of personality and behavior (what makes me tick), I highly recommend you seek out Jordan Peterson. His breadth of experience and learning is comprehensive enough and has already studied the likes of Carl Jung et al, but you can delve into the old school seekers as well.

If you want to better understand the inner workings of your being, then I highly recommend people like Sadhguru, Suresh Ramaswamy, … this can be done on your own, but in this case, you can save time by listening and then practicing …

Just know that there are no shortcuts.

Part of our present being on this plane of existence is to experience life akin to a sojourner passing through. That brings us back to Know Yourself, follow your interests, follow your intuition, and experiences you shall have. There need not be a plan early in life for what do you know, even about yourself, to be making plans, other than perhaps being influenced by others? Some just know early on the path they want to take … everyone’s different, everyone has a different timetable. Be true to yourself.

The Future of Humanity

The title is a bit of an oxymoron in light of our perpetual history as a species, be that yesterday or a thousand years ago.

If we are to have a future, we must understand who we are, be in harmony globally, and see our rightful place in the universe and what purpose we serve as an individual and perhaps as a species. Without this there will be no future as humans will otherwise be so enthralled with technology, to the point of incorporating it into our bodies in the name of sophistication, clouded by the illusions of our own cleverness, that we’ll eventually lose our humanity completely.

And at that point, what is the point?!

This writing is a work-in-progress …