You Might Be Surprised.
My husband and I recently binge watched the Jason Bourne movie series over a weekend. These action packed thrillers are amazing! They had me on edge more than once. Again and again I found myself holding my breath with my body contracted as I watched these harrowing adventures.
My life is not this intense moment to moment (thank goodness), but I was inspired to use these movies to practice keeping my heart open no matter what was happening on screen. Motorcycles and cars careening down roadways and going airborne, wolves looking to shred someone, drones searching to blow up an innocent man; through it all my practice was to breathe deep, remind myself that life is doing life and to keep my heart open to the intensity of it all. It felt a lot like magnified acceptance as I opened to saying “yes” to whatever was happening, and to keep my heart open to it — no matter what. It was an awesome experience for me.
By now you’ve undoubtedly noticed that you can’t control life or how it plays out, but in awareness you can control how you relate to the experience. Keeping your heart open to a loved one’s diagnosis, fear of what your next step in life should be, feelings of being lost or not enough is all a practice that can only be done in awareness.
To find out if your heart is open or not, focus on your heart and feel into whether it is contracted or open. Consider feeling your heart’s reaction to the thought of a newborn baby, soft puppy dog ears, a snuggly kitten, or someone who has loved and accepted you no matter what was happening in your life. Can you feel your heart relax and open? Now see if you can take that practice into your daily life no matter what happens.
What if you fully let Love in?
Feel into that question and notice how your body responds. Is there excitement? Does your body contract as if fully letting Love in wouldn’t be safe? The Truth is: Love is that safe place you have hungered for. Yet, shifting to open to it and allowing it in fully is change. Change is often scary, and you may shut down or contract the possibility of something new. It can feel a lot like being out of control.
There are many blocks to letting Love in: lack of trust, feelings of unworthiness, fear of disrupting your life. These blocks are all in the realm of the ego fighting change to keep you safe from anything unknown. The fight keeps you from experiencing the connection to what you’ve always wanted, a pure connection with your Divine Self.
Are you open to starting a practice of keeping your heart open and to fully let Love in, no matter what is happening in your life? If so, I would Love to hear about your experiences. Remember to be gentle with yourself. We call it a practice for a reason.
