Wisdom of the Higher Heart

There was a time in my life when I believed that to be intelligent, I had to be in my head.

In fact, the culture and school system I was raised in emphasized using one's mind and thinking to work things out, above all else, to the point where thoughts became a source of identity.

In contrast, to be heart-based just seemed sweet, soft, but irrational, over-emotional and not something that would help one get anywhere in life. In fact, it wasn't even something to be cultivated or acknowledged in the pursuit of education.

I prided myself on my intellectual abilities that scored me many straight A's grades and awards that carried on through my studies at both high school and university.

Then, at age 19, I experienced a life-changing car accident that basically shutdown the left (intellectual) side of my brain while the right (intuitive/artistic) side of my brain took over for a while.

It caused me to begin viewing the world and myself through a very different lens, igniting all sorts of questions such as "who am I?" and "what is the true purpose of this life?".

One of the first things that occurred to me was that although I was doing all the things our culture looks up to, I was actually simply living out a programming I did not consciously choose. That though things looked "perfect" from the outside, I felt like I didn't actually know who I was or what this life is really for - thought it became blatantly clear that it was not what I had unquestionably believed until then.

With everyone around me unconsciously following the same programming or caught-up in the myriad ego-allurements and distractions of modern culture, I turned to yoga, meditation, books and teachers on Eastern spirituality, theosophical societies, healers and Gurus, visited sacred sites around the world looking for answers.

Little by little, I came to discover that true intelligence comes not from being what's considered "smart", "clever", or any other way of being in one's head. Rather, true intelligence comes from being in one's open heart.

However, it is not the emotional, feminine human heart on the left, nor the masculine spiritual heart on the right, but our higher heart, which is located where the thyroid is in the center of the chest - also connected to our innate innocence and inner child.

Once open, this higher heart chakra is the gateway to higher mind intelligence, soul wisdom and much more. On another level, it blends the wisdom that comes from having an open mind and open heart, both in balance with one another.

How do we open our hearts? One way to do this is by setting the conscious intention and commit to do so and by placing our attention on this part of our body/soul throughout the day, to tune in as it were. I like placing my left hand over my higher heart (with my right hand either over my left hand or over my belly) and consciously connect with and breathe into this area, slowly breathing in love and breathing out love, or breathing out all that is ready to be released.

We can also call upon our higher selves, our guides, healing angels and any other beings of the light we personally acknowledge to help us open our hearts further and further...and to keep them open.

When you truly begin to open your heart and see through the eyes of love, your whole life will shift and transform ways unimaginable. Every person and every interaction becomes sacred. Loves surrounds and permeates you. You see the beauty in everyone and everything, not in a naive way, but in a way that sees beyond the surface of appearances. New doors open and you experience a bliss beyond words. You became Love....in fact, you begin to realise that you always have been Love, but just forgot while you instead mistook yourself to be a name and limited physical form.

I love you.

Thank you.

The Importance of Your Kidneys in Self-Empowerment

Did you know that your kidneys are fundamentally the batteries of your body? Aside from being key in preventing burnout, it's hard to create a connection if there's no charge in your batteries.

According to Chinese medicine, the amount of charge in your kidneys determines the amount of life force (aka prana or qi) your body can draw in from what you ingest and your surroundings.

When our batteries are depleted, we lose connection with ourselves and others on many levels.

For those of us who tend to be over-givers, overgiving of our time, resources and energy levels to our family, friends, workplace, etc, it is vitally important to balance this out with re-filling our own cups with self-nourishing self-care.

Living in a society which is all about doing, doing, doing, more, more, more and faster, faster, faster, many of us tend to make no time for authentic self-care and instead revert to pushing ourselves further with the help of common workplace stimulants such as coffee and sugar.

I myself used to drink about 6 cups of coffee a day just to make it through the day as I worked 8+ hours a day in my corporate function and then pushed myself to take teach a mostly high energy class of yoga in the evenings on demand. It always felt like there was never enough time in the day and so I would stay up late every night.

Little did I realise at the time that like many others, I was living on a "false yang", an imbalanced masculine energy that was superficial and non-sustainable, depleting my adrenals and kidneys in the process.

Symptoms of kidney depletion may include: hormonal imbalances, impaired hearing, stiff or painful joints, fatigue, back pain, impaired short-term memory, fear, lack of libido and/or creativity and/or initiative, weak knees, incontinence and hypersensitivity to noises.

For women going through menopause, additional symptoms due to hormonal imbalances may include: accelerated aging, night sweats, osteoporosis and dizziness.

Women in particular tend to be great over-givers and big spenders who love pleasing others. However, as the list of symptoms suggest, it is of vital importance for us to regularly engage in yin-nourishing practices such as conscious resting, self-care, stillness and simply BE-ing (rather than Do-ing) to empower ourselves and balance the yang.

What are some of the ways we can do this? Surrounding ourselves with beauty and things that inspire us, drinking floral teas such as rose and chamomile, receiving massages and other spa treatments, soaking in a hot bath with essential oils (I like to add rose petals and candle light), listening to relaxing music like Solfeggio frequencies or soothing nature sounds such as flowing water, getting to bed before midnight, engaging in gentle yoga practices, meditation, Qi Gong or Tai Chi...

All these ways can be further enhanced simply by being quiet, closing our eyes and allowing the dark yin to nourish us, conscious and deep belly breathing, tuning in and becoming aware of bodily sensations and receiving pleasure.

Even for those of us with busy schedules, some of these ways can be easily integrated throughout the day by taking just 5 to 10 minutes throughout the day to create some alone time to close our eyes, relax our muscles and consciously focusing on our breath.

Blessings and Gratitude x

Committing to Yourself (and dealing with resistance)

There are many old patterns and programs within us. We are actually programmed to avoid anything that brings up unpleasant emotions and feelings and when they do arise, to seek out distractions that are considered more "fun", "pleasurable", "light", "easy", "gratifying" and "entertaining". This can take the form of reaching out for a candy bar, salty snacks, social media, partying, sex, tv....and the myriad of other options we conveniently have available to distract us from our inner work of becoming more conscious and whole.

After a while we realise and accept that no matter how many ways we have to distract ourselves, all these provide but temporary, if not fleeting moments of relief, after which those uncomfortable feelings surface again....be it lonliness, grief, emptiness, anxiety, depression, etc. Not to mention that many of these fleeting distractions often lead to problems of their own, like addictions, health and relationship problems, etc.

All emotions are normal and OK. Emotions are also part of our inner guidance system to signal met and unmet needs and values. Met needs and values stimulate pleasant emotions, whereas unmet needs and values stimulate unpleasant emotions.

Start to notice your feelings throughout the day and next time you find yourself feeling something unpleasant, just give yourself permission to stop, become still and ask yourself, "What is this emotion trying to tell me? What is the unmet need or value underlying this emotion?". Try embracing the unpleasant emotion like a newborn baby or a puppy who is feeling the same feeling. Imagine holding it tenderly, with compassion, understanding and an open heart.

Every time you allow yourself to go beyond the resistance and the discomfort and just allow yourself to hold space for whatever feeling is arising, tuning into underlying message of the emotion and finding healthy ways to embrace, feel and express your feelings (in non-harmful ways), rather than reaching for the next, easiest available distraction, you will connect more deeply to your authentic, core self and step into greater levels of self-empowerment and conscious living.

When the resistance comes, do something for yourself. Experiment with what works for you to release difficult feelings, be it by going for a walk, drawing, playing music, writing, dancing, meditating, or talking to a trusted adult.

This is what committing to yourself is all about. Committing to your next level in every area of your life. It's about committing to your energy, your being, you purpose and becoming whole, light and as fulfilled from within as possible.