How to Connect to your Heart’s Desires
Connecting to your Heart-Brain
(Credit to Mami Onami)
This is one of my favorite practices to do with myself and to guide people through. It can be lifechanging, so if you are ready, please grab a journal or have somewhere to write, draw, or vocally record what you experience.
Our minds love to think. It is what they are good at! When we are faced with a decision, experiencing mental overload, rumination, or the crazy 8 loop as Mark Pointer calls it, it is time to drop in to our hearts to gain clarity. Otherwise, we can ride that thought train to the middle of indecision city!
The mind speaks in thoughts and reasons, pros and cons. The heart speaks in images. If you are someone with aphantasia, there may be a feeling or a distinct word, rather than a clear image.
Let’s begin:
Take some deep, slow breaths. Begin to turn your attention inwards, on your breath, your body. You may close your eyes for a moment to really connect in. Take three breaths with your eyes closed, soaking up the present moment experience of just being you. Notice any sensations your body has for you when you connect to it. Sometimes I get a tingling sensation that makes me smile, like my body saying hey girl!
Next, shift your focus to your mind. Place a hand on your head or fingers on your third eye. Feel that attention all in your mind. Now we’ll bring that attention down. Slowly trace your finger down your nose, your cupid’s bow, lips, chin, throat, sternum, ending at your heart space.
Flatten your hand against your heart. Feel the space beneath your hand, in between your chest and your back. Your heart is here. You might visualize it as a glowing green orb, a different colored light, an anatomical heart, or another symbol. You may imagine a galaxy beneath your hand. Whatever it looks like (or feels like), connect with the spaciousness that exists here.
You are going to ask your heart a question and your heart wants to know that you will listen to it. Tell your heart that you promise to listen, even if it doesn’t make sense to you. Say, “I promise to listen. I will receive what you show me.”
Now ask your heart, “What do I want?” When you see an image, zoom in and zoom out. Stay with this image. Who is around you? What is around you? Where are you? Take it in.
Once you receive this insight, the mind may take over and begin to make sense of it, planning steps, and thinking. Stay with the heart, come back to the heart. If you need to, say outload, “I am with you, heart, I want to see what you show me.”
The second question you’ll ask your heart is “What do I need to do?” Again, when your heart shows you, stay with it. Just observe. You don’t need to do anything right now; you are just listening to your heart’s intuition. All you need to do is listen.
Write down or record what you learned. You may also share it with someone who you trust. To share it with me, email me at talya.matz@gmail.com. I would love to hear your heart’s desires. Again, know that you don’t need to do anything right now, but you now have the option to take a step closer to what you really want. You can do this heart practice anytime you need heart guidance.
