Unlike the mind, the heart is free of beliefs. What would the world look like without beliefs? “Imagine,” dares John Lennon. When I was a kid, the lyrics to Lennon's song made me uneasy because they challenged my beliefs. My beliefs defined me. Who was I without them? I literally could not “imagine” at the time. The truth is beliefs are responsible for the world as we know it. Consider that without the belief in sin and hardship, they would not exist. The ego created them, and as long as the ego commands our awareness, we will see evidence of them everywhere.
Religion reveals its deep roots in the egoic mind wherever it promotes the notion of sin. Without the presence of the ego in religion, it could never have conceived of such a thing. Anywhere sin and punishment work its way into a dogma, you can bet that the heavy hand of the ego is behind it. In the same vein, wherever unconditional love shows up, the heart is behind it.
Religion reveals its deep roots in the egoic mind wherever it promotes the notion of sin. Without the presence of the ego in religion, it could never have conceived of such a thing. Anywhere sin and punishment work its way into a dogma, you can bet that the heavy hand of the ego is behind it. In the same vein, wherever unconditional love shows up, the heart is behind it.
References to the heart can be seen in all religions: Christianity, Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, even the ancient religion of the Pharaohs attributed great importance to the heart. Wherever you find these references, you have the part of the dogma that is free of the ego's influence. It goes to show that all religions have a spiritual side to them. All have some truth to impart. When deciding on what part of an ideology to trust, go with that which references the heart. It represents the best of what a religion has to offer.
If religions are best guided by the wisdom of the heart, then of course, so are we. When we perceive through the heart, we have an unobstructed view of reality. We are never as close to the truth as then. According to Carl Jung, “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart.” Consider how empowering such a perception would be, especially in regards to perceiving ourselves.
If religions are best guided by the wisdom of the heart, then of course, so are we. When we perceive through the heart, we have an unobstructed view of reality. We are never as close to the truth as then. According to Carl Jung, “Your vision will become clear only when you look into your own heart.” Consider how empowering such a perception would be, especially in regards to perceiving ourselves.
When we perceive ourselves from the heart, we see our essence. We are met with an image of unconditional love. In it, we know ourselves to be inherently whole and perfect. There is no blemish, no stain, no defect. There is no inadequacy, no right or wrong. There is nothing to pass judgment on whatsoever. We are looking into the face of God.
The first time we catch a glimpse of ourselves from this angle, it can be one of the most moving experiences of our lives. All this time, we believed that somehow we did not quite fit the bill. Something was off. Or maybe we perceived ourselves to be special based on some attribute or talent we possessed and thought our value relied on it. These self-concepts shatter when we see ourselves from the heart. It is the most humbling experience to realize that nothing we have or don’t have has any bearing on our value. We are pure love, and it doesn’t get any better than that.
The first time we catch a glimpse of ourselves from this angle, it can be one of the most moving experiences of our lives. All this time, we believed that somehow we did not quite fit the bill. Something was off. Or maybe we perceived ourselves to be special based on some attribute or talent we possessed and thought our value relied on it. These self-concepts shatter when we see ourselves from the heart. It is the most humbling experience to realize that nothing we have or don’t have has any bearing on our value. We are pure love, and it doesn’t get any better than that.
When we identify ourselves as love, it becomes easier to recognize others as the same. We are not as tempted to try to size people up. We are not as quick to make assumptions about them either. We know at the core of their being, there is something so valuable that to focus on anything else would be irrelevant. And because we have a sense of their true being, we put them at ease when we are around them. The vibe we exude is one of wholeness, and they pick up on it. It dismantles their defenses. It negates the need to compete. Depending on the heaviness of their ego, their energy is likely to rise to match our own and reflect back to us the attitude of wholeness.
Even as our sense of love grows, we will have moments when we fall back into the mind. Someone pushes our buttons and the old defenses kick in. It is as if some people know the combination to our ego and waste no time in using it. Our perception of them becomes pure cerebral, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot shake the image of them as an adversary. With our ego inflamed, all our perceptions are redirected to the brain. Our clear vision goes out the window and with it, our feelings of joy and peace. There is only one way to get the feeling of wholeness back, and that is to make a deliberate intention to drop our awareness into the heart.
Even as our sense of love grows, we will have moments when we fall back into the mind. Someone pushes our buttons and the old defenses kick in. It is as if some people know the combination to our ego and waste no time in using it. Our perception of them becomes pure cerebral, and no matter how hard we try, we cannot shake the image of them as an adversary. With our ego inflamed, all our perceptions are redirected to the brain. Our clear vision goes out the window and with it, our feelings of joy and peace. There is only one way to get the feeling of wholeness back, and that is to make a deliberate intention to drop our awareness into the heart.
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