The Opening Heart
What Opens the Heart? Pain and Love.
There are different wells within your heart.
Some fill with each good rain,
Others are far too deep for that. -Hafiz
You will notice that in both of the conditions (love or pain) there is something in us that is dissolved or shattered to allow for the heart to continue to open - herein lies the rub, for it is not easily that we go into that good night. Great pain or love shatters the self-centeredness of the ego, breaking down long held foundational values, perceptions, judgements, and opinions all upon which we have built our security, life and personality.
"Either the lover exists or the beloved but not both." - Khan
Once the heart has begun to open it becomes very sensitive and then, naturally, we try to hide or protect ourselves from the thousands of blows we now feel coming from living in the world and once again we rebuilt barriers that were torn down. So the trick then is how can we become strong enough not to do this, to allow the heart to stay open and not become afraid, or bitter or closed off?
"The pain of life is a price paid for the quickening of the heart." - Khan
Well this is much easier said than done and no one is perfect about it! This is a major challenge of awakening in life, and in order to do this I think we must consciously practice allowing our hearts to expand and become great. We need to practice remembering that there is an aspect of our heart that is like an ocean capable of embracing, integrating and harmonizing all the influences that flow into it. Ultimately with this practice we will find our perception becoming more and more inclusive of all beings - in a state of unity with all beings.
One Wazifa that is a Blessing to help with this is: Ya Khabir - Er Rahman,
may our hearts ever expand and become great in their capacity for harmonization through the mercy, compassion and magnanimity of God. This is what it means to be a great being.
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Pir Zia Inayat Khan of the Sufi Order International once gave a beautiful visualization/concentration practice that I use often to help me remember how expansive my heart can become. I wish to share this visualization with you:
Pain melts or breaks the heart, creating a condition that allows it to be reborn; Love, where we feel utterly carried beyond ourself, overwhelms and expands the heart.
We live in a condition of various degrees of open heartedness, but in the process of awakening the heart must always open further.
There are different wells within your heart.
Some fill with each good rain,
Others are far too deep for that. -Hafiz
You will notice that in both of the conditions (love or pain) there is something in us that is dissolved or shattered to allow for the heart to continue to open - herein lies the rub, for it is not easily that we go into that good night. Great pain or love shatters the self-centeredness of the ego, breaking down long held foundational values, perceptions, judgements, and opinions all upon which we have built our security, life and personality.
"Either the lover exists or the beloved but not both." - Khan
Once the heart has begun to open it becomes very sensitive and then, naturally, we try to hide or protect ourselves from the thousands of blows we now feel coming from living in the world and once again we rebuilt barriers that were torn down. So the trick then is how can we become strong enough not to do this, to allow the heart to stay open and not become afraid, or bitter or closed off?
"The pain of life is a price paid for the quickening of the heart." - Khan
Well this is much easier said than done and no one is perfect about it! This is a major challenge of awakening in life, and in order to do this I think we must consciously practice allowing our hearts to expand and become great. We need to practice remembering that there is an aspect of our heart that is like an ocean capable of embracing, integrating and harmonizing all the influences that flow into it. Ultimately with this practice we will find our perception becoming more and more inclusive of all beings - in a state of unity with all beings.
One Wazifa that is a Blessing to help with this is: Ya Khabir - Er Rahman,
may our hearts ever expand and become great in their capacity for harmonization through the mercy, compassion and magnanimity of God. This is what it means to be a great being.
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Pir Zia Inayat Khan of the Sufi Order International once gave a beautiful visualization/concentration practice that I use often to help me remember how expansive my heart can become. I wish to share this visualization with you:
The heart can feel like a clenched fist that needs relaxation. It needs the experience of the love that surrounds it – the nurturing womb of the divine love. It needs to know that it was loved ever before it loved.
Inhale, become present to the heart and draw breath and love (Ishq) into the heart. Feel it becoming supple and sensitive. Soft like clay that has been heated. Maybe you’ll feel an almost ticklish feeling. Inhaling, one is converging the love, the energy of love that moves the stars in their orbits, the love that gives birth to the stars – converging that love in the heart.
Upon Exhalation, the heart begins to expand. It presses against the cavity of the chest so full does it become in the presence of this divine love. One feels more and more that the heart is not contained within ones body but ones body is contained within the heart. Exhaling – expanding, feeling your own heart expand to embrace all of humanity, all of creation. To fly upwards, flying into the furthermost reaches of space and the universe on the waves of an emotion that is simultaneously joy and pain, an emotion that has no name.
