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by Deb Schnitta
An open
heart freely invites the world around it to enter and engage. It
acknowledges the wisdom within and creates opportunity for expression
of this largeness out into the world. Part of the path of
enlightenment, an open heart is one without limitation. It is the
doorway to deeper spiritual connection and service. When the heart is
open, there is deeper capacity to manifest. The open heart supports
guidance, health, and the ability to be in the world from a place of
largeness, as a Soul, in every day life. An open heart is necessary to
raise the spiritual vibration for evolution.
To be openhearted
is to allow the world to move freely, without the need to control
circumstances and individuals in that world. It occurs as the heart is
able to discern what is truly occurring in the moment. Having an open
heart takes practice and discipline to achieve and begins with clarity
of mind. When clarity is present, the mind does not react from past
history and distortions overlaying these onto current events. Rather it
sees the situation at it truly exists. Often factual and devoid of
drama or excitement, the presence of clarity is a simple statement of
what is currently unfolding around you now.
Through years of
history and life experience the mind has become cluttered with
perceptions and opinions. Although useful in some venues, these
attributes do not contribute to a clear mind. To begin the process of
opening the heart then requires a mind that is quiet, one that can
observe what is transpiring and witness the components as they unfold.
Often the act of stepping back from what is occurring and seeing it
from a larger perspective allows the mind itself to learn more about
the situation than it could from its previous vantage point. As the
heart opens, access to higher wisdom, soul presence and divine energy
are all possible. From here the personality, including the mind, are
supported to relax, and open to these higher possibilities.
The
heart opens in stages, rather than like a light switch that is on or
off. As the heart gains comfort at one level of opening, it acclimates
and seeks out new opportunities to deepen its capacity to open further.
With greater opening comes a deeper capacity to love, not just as a
personality, but as a Soul. Here Soul qualities emerge, such as love,
compassion, peace, and inclusivity. An open heart is necessary for life
work, the extension of the soul’s contributions out in to the world, as
well as living the fullest life possible here now.
Oftentimes
life experiences have provided the opportunity for defenses or
strategies to not be hurt to be formed. Although useful at that time in
history, they remain and color the current experiences in ways that
prevent ease of heart opening. As the heart opens, layer by layer, it
resembles a flower that opens one petal at a time. Each petal has
consciousness, stored life experiences and expectations, which are
useable energy to sustain the open hearted state. Exercising the
heart’s capacity to open supports its ability to remain open, even when
life circumstances mimic previous hurts or disappointments. Healing
occurs in this process, as both the heart and mind begin to recognize
the capacity of the heart and that similar circumstances do not mean
similar outcomes. In this way the individual has learned to move past
their history and create in new ways.
Regardless of the capacity
of the heart to be open, there is always a deepening that is possible.
As a conduit to higher consciousness, the heart plays a pivotal role in
spiritual development, as well as the experience of joy in everyday
life. The stages of heart opening fall into three areas of exploration:
receptivity, generating, and service (or outflow of energy and light
into the world.) As the heart finds comfort in its new layer of
opening, the stages repeat, the next time often easier and softer, or
even faster in pace. Each wave of opening creates the opportunity for
the next. The receptive state of the heart opening is required for the
other two stages, generating and service, to be present. The degree of
receptivity impacts on how much generating and service can occur. For
this reason it is explored in depth here.
To begin to cultivate receptivity is simple.
Practicing
three organic steps to quieting the mind begins to produce results that
the mind itself recognizes as helpful. Since the mind is more likely to
engage with something it identifies as beneficial, we begin to see the
forward movement as desirable, rather than something to resist. In any
given situation, practice these three steps to cultivate receptivity:
Step
back -- create the environment of the observer. Witness what is
occurring as if you were watching a play or reporting the facts for a
story. In the beginning or during an emotionally charged moment, this
may require removing yourself from the event that is transpiring and
reflecting back on what has occurred.
Neutrality -- “What do I
know to be true right now?” Here the mind begins to offer up the facts,
like the items on a shopping list. If you notice the sentences are long
and defending a particular position, you have lost the moment of
neutrality. Take a breath and return to the grocery list approach to
listing the facts, without attachment.
Cultivating Peace -- an
ongoing process that allows the higher mind as well as the spiritual
mind to step forward. The higher mind offers insights into life events
in ways the mind of the personality would not. It is compassionate and
inclusive, not blaming. The spiritual mind exists in a place of
knowing; it is quiet, devoid of thought but extends its wisdom through
presence. Peace emerges as the higher mind assists the personality to
open to greater flows of energy and allow the spiritual mind and
presence to move to the forefront.
Simple acts in every day life
that assist to cultivate peace include: spending time free from the
input of external sources such as television, walking in nature and
connecting to the earth, and meditation.
As the mind develops
comfort in quiet, it will become more receptive. No longer feeling the
need to be on output, either by having an answer or knowing what is
next, the mind then opens to the receptive state. Receptivity invites
what is next to step forward. It includes all aspects of consciousness
as contributors of value even if it does not understand the role or
significance. The quiet state of the mind promotes receptivity of the
heart. The receptive state of the heart promotes receptivity in the
mind, as higher understanding and awareness prevail, even if it is
without words. In this way, the mind begins to touch in with
knowingness, an understanding that exists beyond words and brings
deeper understanding.
As the mind is nourished here, its world
view begins to change. Events previously seen as stagnant are now
easily transformed. Often one small change from this place of awareness
and receptivity provides a great yield. The open hearted state
continues to grow allowing for more useable energy for creating a life
of joy and ease.
Transformation of old held consciousness opens
the doorway for ongoing evolution and heart opening. Each time we
engage with what is here right now we learn to open to the depth of who
we are right now, not who we once were. In this single choice we open
to the divine, we choose our path and we invite our spiritual dimension
into our daily lives as a partner along this path of evolution.
For those desiring support in a step by step fashion to open to the depths of their capacity we suggest: Transforming the Personality, a series of eight energy programs and written teachings to transform
issues of lack, anger, love and more, to open the heart to what is
possible from our largeness.
Deb Schnitta, RN is a leading pioneer in healing and
consciousness and the originator of Cellular Expansion and Healing TM (CE) a
revolutionary energy work that supports the resolution of constrictions and
illness at the level of the cells. CE affects the consciousness stored within
the cells and provides connection to Soul and the Divine.
An author of many books and Meditation CD Energy Programs for living a life
connected consciously to Soul and Spirit, Deb supports individuals seeking
healing, spiritual development and enlightenment. She has co-founded Vanati: A
Center for Energy Medicine and Consciousness with her partner, Pauline Dishler
M.Ed. Information about their revolutionary approach to healing, free distance
healing, and dynamic Meditation Energy Programs can be found at
www.vanati.com.
For more information about this article, email vanati@vanati.com.
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