In this meditation, I explore the importance of engaging the heart in our contemplative practice. Meditation is sometimes imagined as something purely cerebral, distancing us from feelings or emotions. In the tradition to which I belong, the opposite is true. Our emotional life is acknowledged as part of the fullness of who we are.
We begin by noticing our emotional weather without judgement. Whatever feelings are present are allowed to be present. As the body settles, we gently release tension from the jaw, throat, chest, shoulders and abdomen, areas where emotion and physical tension can often be held.
We then bring our awareness to the centre of the chest and imagine a field of rose-white light emerging from the heart. This heart is more than the physical organ. It represents the affective centre of our being: a place of true desire, love, longing and our hunger for communion with the divine.
Resting in this awareness, we consider the heart as an inner compass capable of orientating our decisions, relationships and actions towards compassion, grace and love.
Drawing on the words of Saint Augustine, we finish by recognising the deep restlessness of the human heart and its longing to rest in divine love.
Chapters:
00:00 – Introduction: Engaging the heart
01:06 – Opening bell
01:17 – Checking our emotional weather
02:36 – Settling the body and breath
03:03 – Releasing tension from the jaw and face
04:09 – Relaxing the chest and shoulders
05:10 – Emotions and the solar plexus
05:56 – Following the breath through the body
06:36 – Resting awareness in the heart
07:18 – Visualising the rose-white light
08:19 – The heart as the centre of desire and love
09:23 – The heart as an inner compass
10:02 – Expanding the field of love
10:57 – Aligning our lives with the heart
11:59 – Returning the light to the heart
12:41 – Resolving to live from love and compassion
13:19 – Saint Augustine and the restless heart
13:57 – Returning to the day
14:11 – Closing bell