Your Heart: the Portal of Compassion
One Hundred Thousand Beats by Diana Turner-Forte Sentimentalized with a special day: memories of youthful romances like hummingbird wings send my heart fluttering, No mere pump, life its fullest function, Called to attention--an unsynchronized blip signaling potential physical danger; we gasp and grab our heart chakra. A secret courier centered in our body encasing intimate secrets, the heart's inner landscape knows joy and sorrow, love and forgiveness, truths and lies. Hardy as dicentra sepctabilis, Harmonious rhythm of less than 12 ounces synchronizes our entire being. Awake to its actions or ignorant of its impact: 100,00 beats per day keep you alive. from The Cosmic Pause
I wonder how often you think about your heart during the day. Unless I’ve worked out really hard or walked a few quick laps, I don’t pay much attention to my heartbeat. I merely trust that it will do its job of 100,000 beats each day. Combined with breath the essential work of the heart usually goes by unnoticed, but my awareness of it, as a thinking part of my being, albeit the work of the autonomic nervous system is an even more compelling reason to notice its essence.
How magnificently we are made. It’s a wonder, isn’t it—that we can do so much throughout the day and not have to be concerned with our body functioning in synchronicity with all its other parts.
We are part of nature in such a seamless way that we cannot fathom the depths of the wisdom. Our bodies are made up of five elements: earth, wind, water, light, and space. This wholeness and interconnectedness is wonderfully articulated in the words of Howard Thurman.
I had the sense that all things, the sand, the sea, the stars, the night, and I were one lung through which all of life breathed. Not only was I aware of a vast rhythm enveloping all, but I was a part of it and it was a part of me.
Ah, what a sweet flow to embrace within our daily lives. It’s a dance of the cosmos of which we are participants in form: psychic, physical, and five senses. We have the benefit of being human and being able to stand erect and carry ourselves forward into the universe with dignity, love, and respect for ourselves and fellow humans.
Ballet dancers are quintessential examples of living in that space, that trinitarian flow as they are consciously functioning from their heart center. The carriage and stance of a dancer is open and the heart is lifted to convey a specific emotion, attitude, or demeanor. These are not affectations but the result of training with the sole aim of communicating non-verbally with an audience. To allow stillness, postures, and movements to flow together and convey what words could never express is the gift of the art form.
For the pedestrian not trained in a dance studio setting the ability to stand erect and be aware of the aligned posture is just as important to their daily expression. Even in a static pose like that of meditation participants are reminded to sit with an elongated spine and a relaxed but lifted body. There must be a reason for that; to connect to the upward and downward flow of our Divine essence.
How we carry ourselves, our self-care is reflected in universal human care. The focus begins with ourselves. Notice the difference between the body of a person engaged in an argument versus one participating in a harmonious discussion. The one ready to argue is in a constricted frame: flexed muscles, tightened fists, ready for reflexive, unhinged behavior. Whereas someone just going for a stroll is relaxed and the arms swing freely and they may even smile unconsciously as they walk. I wonder if more people were aware of how they presented themselves in the open, heart-centered carriage of a dancer if there would be less violence in the streets.
It’s just a thought.
The Canadian/American artist Beverly Glenn-Campbell sings a song, “Heaven in Your Heart” dedicated to 13th century Persian Sufi mystic and poet, “and to all others who embody compassion and peace in this world.” He also demonstrates the kind of feeling you might experience if you entrust yourself to moving with an open heart. And here is a sampling of his music.