What Is My Heart Telling Me That I Need to Listen To?
“Heart” comes from the Latin cor and points not merely to our emotions but to the core of the self, that center place where all of our ways of knowing converge — intellectual, emotional, sensory, intuitive, imaginative, experiential, relational, and bodily, among others. The heart is where we integrate what we know in our minds with what we know in our bones, the place where our knowledge can become more fully human. Cor is also the Latin root from which we get the word courage. When all that we understand of self and world comes together in the center place called the heart, we are more likely to find the courage to act humanely on what we know.” ~Parker Palmer In Healing the Heart of Democracy How do we listen to our hearts? What does that even mean? Sometimes it is easier to listen to friends, family, a favorite author or teacher, anyone rather than listen to our own heart. Listening to our hearts is tuning into our longings, hopes, dreams, and our tears. Those thoughts that catch us off guard. The things that scare us. I read recently the things that really scare us are the things that matter the most. I know I am listening to my heart when something feels “just right” and “a little crazy” all at once. There is a sense of “yes” and “what am I thinking” all jumbled together. The heart is subtle, but persistent when trying to get our attention. When I think back on the “heart-telling” moments in my life, they are big and small moments. Sometimes small interesting ideas the “pop-up” is what listening to my heart looks like. Other times my heart has helped me make big, important, life-shaping decisions. Listening to our heart is a task and tool that is for big and small decisions. We error when we categorize listening to our heart as something that we do for the “big” things. Our heart is available to guide us in all decisions. There have been times when my heart whispered an important insight long before I was ready to listen. It is funny how our heart is always right. There have been times when I have known my heart was saying, “not the right path.” I choose to listen to my logical, “smart” brain, only to end up making a mess of things. Later I realized, when my heart told me, that was not the right path, it was right. If I would have listened then I could have saved myself at minimum some frustration. It is all too easy to become disconnected from our hearts. The more that I listen to what my heart is telling me, the more “it speaks”. There are also times when I forget or stop listening to my heart and it will be quiet and still. What we focus on expands. The “shoulds” and the “oughts” are a hint that it is not from the heart. I should go see that person, I really ought to volunteer for that thing. Should means: “to indicate obligation, duty, or correctness.” (That is straight from the dictionary, the primary definition of the word). Obligation, duty, and correctness do not feel like heart words. Those words feel like words of expectation and conforming (preforming) for others. KEY: Any time a thought starts with “I should. . . ” it is worth stopping to consider, “Is this my heart telling me or is this my head telling me?” What does it look and feel like when you listen to your heart? Can you identify times in your life where you DID listen to your heart? How did you know it was your “heart telling”? What about times you listened to the “shoulds” and “oughts” over your heart? Enter your email to subscribe– It’s only ever used to notify you of new questions from The Art of Powering Down.
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