HEART CHAKRA
“ANAHATA”
As I begin a new Chakra level each week I’ve been reflecting on the first cleanse I did a few years ago. I looked at the date that I wrote my first post about the Heart Chakra and recalled the time that I wrote it. I had just begun a new position working with autistic children and was also beginning a new chapter in my life. I realize now that our Creator must have been carrying me then, because I don’t think I could have written what I had if it wasn’t for my deep faith. The post was very short and sweet, but the words are profound for me.
I spoke of the Heart Chakra as it is written in Sanskrit, Anahata: unstruck, unhurt, unbeaten. At the time, it meant for me that the heart stays true to what it is, no matter the challenge or damage. This is still true for me. The heart is a muscular organ and if you are aware of how the muscular system works with lifting weights, when muscles tear and heal, they grow back stronger. I’ve come to find out just how resilient the heart is these past few years.
As a spiritualist, I am very aware that our world has been in a perpetual spiritual battle for some time now. Many of us have recent tales of hardship and experiences that have thrown us completely off our course. We seem to be at a very gut-wrenching time of our lives as we are being called to transform and evolve. Part of this process is coming to truth with who we are and what we’ve done with ourselves, our humanity, the animal kingdom and our beautiful planet. It’s a difficult time of existence to say the least. Purging and facing the truth of our behaviors is never easy, but a very necessary process and crucial for humanity and our planet to function properly and thrive.
The Heart chakra being the center of the body and ruled by love, joy and compassion, is easily affected by its outer surroundings. The heart uses all the senses of the body and its energy greatly affects the higher chakras and their ability to function optimally. The heart is incredibly strong and is a vital organ. We keep many deep emotions in this space such as, unconditional love, forgiveness and empathy, as well as lower vibrational emotions such as fear, anger, lust and resentment. The heart nourishes our body and carries much of the burden of the life that we create and the life that happens to us. And it does it with such courage and determination, at times it can be shocking. Many of us have felt the equivalent of someone physically ripping our heart from our body and it feeling torn apart. Everyday many of us face battles that no one knows about. One never truly know the depths of a person’s pain and suffering but one thing is certain, we can relate to a deep need for healing. Humans can get ourselves into very difficult situations at times.
I mentioned in my previous chakra blog post, part of living a balanced life is implementing boundaries. I have come to find having boundaries is essential to enjoying a peaceful life. That’s not to say that there can’t or won’t be drama involved (I have 3 teenagers), but everyone deserves to live in a space that is free without judgement. I believe people are generally doing the best that they can. Many people I find have self-inflicting wounds and illnesses more than lashing out or inflicting harm on others. Although there is a lot of hostility in the world, there is still so much that is good. People’s personal battles are often left at the door as they leave their home. How these battles are expressed in your daily lives with work, school and social life depend on your ability to cope with your battles. I think the energy of the heart is a true testament to how one has been impacted by their experiences and where their life often needs the most healing.
While studying and understanding the energies of the heart, I have learned that an underactive Heart chakra can have emotional symptoms of loneliness, being closed-off or anti-social and holding grudges against others. While an overactive Heart chakra can have you feeling over-committed, neglecting your own needs and being overbearing. It’s easy for us to stretch ourselves thin in many directions with a full life. Humans are natural givers and takers. We love to please and be pleased. The heart is the ultimate people pleaser and stores all its treasured memories. But, as well as pleasing it can be incredibly hurt and store resentment and unforgiveness too. A blocked chakra can cause symptoms of withdrawal, jealousy and codependency. Loss and grieving can also block our heart from giving and receiving from our natural state. These deep emotions can produce physical symptoms such as, heart palpitations, poor circulation and high or low blood pressure. Chest pain can be experienced, and a more serious symptom could be a heart attack. The heart needs ongoing maintenance to continually restore balance to its peaceful center of awareness and love.
Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it.
As well as feeling deep emotions, the heart is an important guide. One of my favorite bible verses is Proverbs 4:23 Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. What a powerful verse. It teaches us what a precious organ the heart is by telling us to protect it specifically. For me, this means to guard it with truth. We may at some point in our life find ourselves in situations that are beyond our control. We seem to have to experience deep lessons pertaining to the heart as humans. We are called to make choices based on our heart’s desires and, we are often told we should follow it. Because we are led with our heart, it would be wise to heed the advice of protecting the place that holds our greatest truth. There’s a great quote, “Use your heart, but take your brain with you.” It’s a holistic approach to remembering that we need continued balance. It’s a constant act of holding on and letting go of situations, people and things. I believe it’s important that we learn to wear an armor of truth to protect what our heart truly wants. We can easily be confused or deceived because of the depth of our hearts emotions and because there are times in our life that we are in a more vulnerable situation such as, a job loss, divorce or death of a loved one. Loss can make us susceptible to challenging experiences. There also may be times that the heart doesn’t know why it feels what it does. It’s almost like an unexplainable force or attack. We may find ourselves questioning our actions and truth. We may also ignore or neglect its calling. We may even let it get torn apart because of our inability to let go. Listening to where it wants to guide you takes experience and practice. Our energy can become clear as to what our heart wants when we utilize our boundaries and protect what is truly important to us and our way of life. It takes a great deal of patience and listening. These valuable virtues strengthen with continued practice.
As I place a drop of Replenish Pure Essential Oil Blend from our SOUL ESCENTIALS™ organic product line in the palm of my hands to cup my nose and breath in the sweet nourishing vapors, I meditate and reflect on nurturing my resilient heart. What a vibrant, colorful vessel that sits in the center of my body. The depth of love and joy that strengthens it, radiates to the torn, healing parts. As I breathe in deeply I allow my heart to expand and experience the freedom to feel all its emotions and to release them to guide my spirit and strengthen my relationships. I open my heart for greater intimacy and capacity for connectedness to my fellow humans, our animal kingdom and our environment. I allow my heart to continually transform and grow stronger. I am love.
