heart-center
Always Choose Your Gut Over Your Heart And Mind
We all have a higher purpose in this lifetime, and yet many never awaken to it, much less achieve it, because their ego has become more prominent in their lives than their higher self.
How do you know if what you are doing is for your highest good? How do you make sure you are aligned with your soul purpose? How do you know if what you want out of life is based on your worldly desires instead of your spiritual mission in this lifetime?
Well, you listen to your inner guidance. You trust your intuition. You follow your gut.
When you were born, a deep-seated dream was placed within you. As children we are often more in touch with our true calling or purpose, but many of us lose that awareness as we grow older. Unfortunately, it has been buried by the expectations of society and the many distractions of the material world.
Often our parents, peers, teachers, and mentors play a significant role in this process of shutting down our spiritual awareness. Has anyone ever laughed at you when you told them what you wanted to do or be? Did someone say, “Go back and think about that because it will never happen”? Each of us has a different story as to why we do or don’t achieve our dreams in life.
Today is the day to decide, “I will achieve my dreams as long as they come from the spirit and are for my highest good.” It is time to look at your dreams for your life from a deeper perspective.
The Soulful Practice Of Kirtan Chanting
An ancient spiritual practice less known in the West has transformed my spiritual routine in recent years. It is known as kirtan a beautiful form of devotional chanting that originated in ancient India.
The term “kirtan” comes from Sanskrit and means “narrating, reciting, telling, describing” of an idea or story, particularly in a religious context. This enchanting practice weaves together music, meditation, chanting, and a deep sense of spiritual expression.
Kirtan is a central practice in the Bhakti Yoga tradition, which emphasizes love and devotion to a personal deity. It involves the repetitive chanting of mantras and divine names, traditionally in Sanskrit, accompanied by musical instruments such as the harmonium, tabla, and cymbals.
Traditionally, kirtans focus on chanting the names of deities like Krishna, Rama, or Sita. The kirtan leader sings a line and the congregation responds, creating a rhythmic and melodic interplay that is both meditative and invigorating.
While Kirtan remains rooted in its spiritual origins, it has gained global popularity beyond India and the Bhakti tradition. As the practice of yoga has boomed worldwide, kirtan too has seen an immense rise in popularity. It’s a testament to the universal appeal and transformative power of this captivating practice.
Kirtan events and gatherings are known for being welcoming and inclusive, focusing on the shared experience of chanting rather than strict religious adherence. Unlike the typical musical experience in spiritual settings, kirtan invites everyone to participate in a soulful, call-and-response chanting that creates a profound connection to the divine and brings people closer together.
The Spiritual Heart Of Watermelon Tourmaline
Watermelon tourmaline holds a special place in my spiritual practice, and in my heart! Not only is this captivating stone a feast for the eyes, it is also a powerful tool for personal and spiritual growth, especially in opening and healing the heart chakra.
As a psychic practitioner, I have witnessed the transformative power of this gemstone in opening the spiritual heart. From a psychic perspective, its energy is a bridge to the heart center, helping us to connect more deeply with ourselves and others.
Watermelon tourmaline is a unique and visually striking variety of tourmaline that features a color gradient resembling the interior and exterior of a watermelon. This gemstone typically displays a vibrant pink or red center, surrounded by a green outer layer, mimicking the look of a watermelon slice. This distinctive coloration is due to the natural zoning of different trace elements within the crystal as it forms.
Its unique coloring symbolizes the harmonious blend of heart chakra energies, with the green representing the nurturing and healing qualities of the heart chakra and the pink embodying love, compassion and emotional warmth.
The heart chakra, or anahata, is the fourth primary chakra, located in the center of the chest. It is the bridge between the lower and upper chakras, connecting our physical existence with our higher spiritual aspirations. When balanced, the heart chakra emanates unconditional love, empathy and emotional balance. However, energy blockages in this chakra can lead to feelings of jealousy, resentment and emotional instability.
Embracing The Gift Of Empathic Insight
Being attuned to the emotional energies of others is a beautiful gift that many spiritual individuals discover and enhance along their spiritual journey. This gift facilitates connection with others and provides insights into both others and ourselves.
While this empathic ability can bring profound understanding, it can also lead to anxiety. Feeling others’ emotions deeply may prompt self-reflection, causing concern about the impact of our actions on others and fear of judgment. Societal pressures become more intense, especially when expressing unconventional opinions, making those on a spiritual path feel isolated or misunderstood during a spiritual awakening.
How can we balance this empathic insight with personal expression and development?
Navigating meaningful relationships becomes challenging as our perspectives expand. Striking this balance requires self-reflection and working towards a more whole and heart-centered way of living.
Maintaining an open mind while expressing our own understandings is like a tightrope walk. We don’t want to become closed-minded, yet we need to articulate our perspectives and advocate for what we believe is right. A spiritual life is a journey of constant growth and understanding. Plateaus and challenges are part of the path, requiring breakthroughs to overcome.
The Constant Battle Of Head Versus Heart
Have you ever second-guessed yourself, done or said something that went against your gut, only to realize in retrospect that your initial feeling or hunch was right? Had you acted differently, it could have saved you a lot of heartache and loss, emotionally, physically or financially?
If you have ever been in this position, know that you are not alone. The “head versus heart” dilemma can be very confusing and frustrating. Many of my clients struggle with it and some experience a great deal of confusion, stress and emotional discomfort as a result.
When faced with difficult decisions or challenging situations, we usually have a good sense of what the best course of action might be. But then we tend to look for concrete evidence to support our feelings and intuitive hunches, and when we cannot find any, which is often the case, our heads take precedence over our hearts. So we end up discounting our feelings and intuitions, usually to our own detriment.
The struggle between head and heart is a common theme in philosophy, literature, art, and popular culture, as we all regularly experience inner conflicts between reason and emotion, logic and intuition, responsibility and passion.
Spiritual Self-Care Or Ego Indulgence?
Spiritual or metaphysical practice is a pursuit designed to help bring greater meaning and fulfillment to our lives. It is a lifestyle that requires us to be very honest with ourselves and very intentional about the choices we make. But lately I’ve seen a lot of discourse around spirituality that basically encourages you to do pretty much whatever you want in the name of ‘free will’ and ‘self-care.’
Free will is sacred. Yes, it’s true that we are divine, spiritual beings who get to enjoy this incredible adventure of physical life. We get to choose how we move in the world, what we want for ourselves, and how we want to live. But there are two sides to this coin. Yes, we can choose what we want to manifest and how we wish to live our lives, but that does not absolve us of our karmic responsibilities and the consequences of our actions.
I’ve written before about karma and how it’s not meant to be a punishment, but rather a teacher. There are to metaphysical laws that are the basis to our karmic responsibility in this lifetime, namely the universal law of cause and effect and the spiritual law of karma.
The universal law of cause and effect is that for every action there is a reaction. There is a natural order in the universe in which our actions always have consequences, both good and bad.
The spiritual law of karma is a more specific application of the law of cause and effect. According to this law, the totality of our actions in this life, as well as all of our past lives, determine our future. This means that our actions create the conditions for our future experiences, both good and bad.
How To Ground Your Energy
‘Grounding’ is a common term you are likely to encounter early in your spiritual awakening journey. If you are interested in energy work of any kind, grounding is a key technique to help you stay energetically balanced and enhance your metaphysical practice.
Essentially grounding is a type of meditation that is quick and very intentional. Through grounding we connect our own energy field or light body with the energy of the Earth. This balances our chakras by clearing out those energies that are no longer serve us. Connecting to the Earth’s energy in this way releases negative patterns, thoughts, emotions, and habits, to achieve a clearer, elevated state of consciousness.
To become more grounded, try this visualization exercise. Start by closing your eyes and focusing on your breathing. If you are used to meditation this will be very familiar, if not that is okay! Just be present with your breath and pay attention to your breathing as you inhale and exhale.
Count to three as you draw in your breath, and again as you exhale. Gradually slow the rhythm of your breathing down and just be present with the experience of the air moving in through your nose and into your chest. Feel your physical body around you as you breathe.
I like to focus on my heart chakra while I do this, but it is not necessary. I just find that as I breathe in and out, I like to feel the swell of air in my chest, as if is ‘hugging my heart.’