An Incredible Indestructible Heart
Hi! I’m Daniel. I wanted to introduce my self and share some my own personal journey. This journey has led me to seeing yoga, meditation and somatic learning not just as powerful tools for inner growth and transformation, but a vital component to the awakening heart of humanity and the health of our society. For this reason, I’ve dedicated myself to sharing what I’ve learned with others.
For me, there is one aspect that has always been particularly compelling. Early in my journey, it was suggested to me that I perceive my experience with my entire body, as if every cell was an eye all working in harmony to comprise a totally new-to-me sense organ capable of perceiving via feeling and sensation. We can tune into our bodies in this way and glean more information about ourselves and our relationship to whatever it is we are experiencing. Tapping into this superpower not only provides a richness to our experience of life, but also serves as our most reliable mode of interpreting our experiences.
This was a truly ground-breaking revelation for me. Like all beings, I have been feeling things my entire life. But rather than spending time exploring this world of feelings and gaining a better understanding of myself thru it, I had always just gotten caught up in the thoughts that arose in response to those feelings.
It's a very natural and sensical thing to think, I love this feeling! How can I re-create this feeling again, as soon as possible?! or Ew! I don’t like this feeling at all, how can I avoid this feeling, forever?! And then try to determine how to make either of those wishes come true by playing out numerous scenarios in my mind.
However, when I allowed myself the time to reside in that awareness, to really allow it to take up a larger part of my consciousness, those layers of discursive thought I was accustomed to slowed down and receded to the background. A new kind of space opened up for me and I became aware of a long-lost part of myself, which I had forgotten was there.
I experienced it as an endearing and innocent child-like wonder and inquisitiveness. It was beautiful in its simplicity and yet had a profound and eternal quality. I felt its warmth, creating a sense of safety and curiosity about myself, a newfound interest in my own evolution, and a love and zest for this precious life.
When I viewed the people around me, I saw that strange and beautiful inherent nature radiating out from everyone, trying to break free, yet still loving and patient. I can sense in the space of my own heart, this awakening heart in all beings. It inspires me to stay close to this work, to make time to connect with this part of my self and be a source of encouragement to others.
We each have our own unique perceptions and interpretations of those sometimes-hidden endemic components of the soul, but of this I am sure, there is something fundamentally good in its nature.
The disruptive quality of excessive thinking vs feeling with our bodies, and the pressures of the fast-paced modern world result in a social and cultural conditioning that leaves too little space for this aspect of ourselves to shine through. It’s obscured to us and each other making it all too easy to get swept away by all the conflict and exponentially increasing divisive reactions. It's too much for one person to face alone and we forget that we are all trying to shine and and we all have something very precious to protect. When I’m feeling overwhelmed and distraught responding to complex issues, I reconnect with this part in myself. I re-establish that connection and remember its eternal indestructible presence in the heart of all beings. We all know there is something good within us worth defending and, just maybe, we could fight back by expressing that goodness.
I invite you all to take some time this week in meditation and connect with your own basic goodness. Contemplate or journal about that experience and try recognizing its presence in all beings, especially someone who particularly challenges this perception. How can you connect with this part of yourself more regularly? What boundaries could you put in place to avoid situations that challenge your ability to remain in that awareness for yourself and others? What kind of situations can you put yourself in that encourage a safe externalization of your own awakening heart?
