What is the "heart"?

I sat down this morning to write a new blog post on being raised by a parent suffering from alcoholism and the affects that can have on your mind as a child, and realized my heart was just not in it.

What does that mean? My energy was not supporting the idea.. at all. Not that it was a bad idea, I just had no motivation to write about it.. my heart or spirit was not in it.. there was no inspiration or in-spirit-action behind it.

It is important to listen to your mind and your heart during these times. Many times we push our minds to do things out of fear, desperation, or time pressures. I know that with the kind of mind that I have, that this isn't healthy. 

So I stopped trying to force it, and decided to listen to it..and apparently it would rather write about the importance of listening. I would also like to write about the heart and how it works with the healthy, functional mind to create and bring what is needed into the world in just the right way and the right timing.

It's possible that someone reading this, really needed it today. It's possible that someone's heart is trying to tell someones mind something, and the person doesn't know how to allow that to happen.

Letting the Heart Lead.
Here is my belief or understanding. Your heart or spirit is a pure divine essence connected to the Great Heart of Great Spirit..or God..whatever label you have for that big, all knowing, creative energy of the universe. It is the very core of your being. You came here with it and you are still connected to it.. You can't be separated from it, nor can it be touched or damaged. The mind, acts as the eyes and ears of the heart.. the story teller of the experience..
A dysfunctional mind that is full of misunderstandings, one that has told many negative stories full of lies, can't be used by the heart. Not only can it not be used, that kind of mind overpowers the heart. It is too loud, to emotional, to unstable. The heart (who you truly are) just has to sit back and wait for an opening. If the mind is dysfunctional an opening only happens once the mind exhausts itself. Its why the best ideas or the answers usually come once you "give up". This is also called surrender. You can surrender from exhaustion or by choice. I suggest learning to surrender by choice will save you lots of time, struggle, and suffering.

Think of the mind and the heart as dancing partners.
Did you know that when we put our hands in prayer pose in front of our hearts and bow our heads towards our hands, we are signifying that our minds are surrendering to our hearts? We are surrendering the lies, the stories of who our minds think we are or think we should be. We are asking for truth to emerge from deep inside and come out and interact with the world- despite the fears and rules of our mind.
A healthy mind can allow this. An unhealthy mind can't wake up and separate from being immersed in the stories. The heart holds the line that connects it to the answers. It can receive the instructions, directions, and next steps. Then the heart can take the hand of the healthy, relaxed, surrendered mind and create beauty, peace, and contentment.

What direction does your heart want to take your mind today? Will your mind relax and allow it? Take a few minutes now and try to listen. If your mind is too loud, it's time to learn to take care of it and help it relax and trust the heart. You can start with the Learn to Tidy and Relax Your Mind Course.

a meditation of surrender for you