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 The Heart Is Where Home Is In all of my work, I encourage, invite, and cajole people to come home to their hearts -- to the love in their hearts. Ultimately, I feel it's the most valuable journey one will ever take. It's no accident to me that in the
romance languages the word for heart is cor, core, coeur, and that Webster's definitions of the English word "core" include:
In the framework of my
orientation, this leads me to conclude that the very core of us is our
heart, the inmost -- the most important part. So as a paradigm shift from
the adage "Home is where the heart is," I hereby offer, "The heart is where
home is." It seems to me that until our life is aligned with our heart,
we're a house divided against itself.
Strictly from a physical point of view, the incessant beating of our heart plays an inestimable role in the overall well-being of the body. And clearly, it's where we feel the experience of love -- romantic love, mother love, the bond we feel for a beloved pet. Now, to my great delight, research scientists at The Institute of Heart Math in Boulder Creek, CA, are telling us that the heart generates the strongest electromagnetic field produced by the body. Moreover, this field becomes even more coherent as the individual shifts to a loving or caring state. This data corroborates what metaphysicians have been telling us forever. The physical heart is housed in an energy center referred to as the heart center. This center is considered our gateway to spirit and to the most powerful and creative energy in the Universe: Love . It's here that we connect with our Source. This is home. Several years ago at a Dr. Brugh Joy lecture I received an exquisite gift. His theme that evening had been expanding our awareness of the heart energy. At one point, he had us sitting with our right hand on our heart center (the very center of the chest cavity), feeling the subtle variances in the energies of love there. Slowly, one at a time, he had us tune into Compassion. Tenderness. Gratitude. Joy. Each elicited a slightly different feeling. The next morning I was recapturing this glorious meditation process, and prompted, I'm sure, by this familiar "pledge" pose, these words came to me: "I pledge allegiance to the love in my heart -- to the wonder of wonders within me -- and to the divinity in all life -- One God, One Truth, One Love -- Now and forevermore."* I was so moved by the simplicity of this statement, I repeated it to myself several times and before I entered into my daily routine, wrote it down. It's my contention that this pledge is what we're up to now. What could possibly be more worthy of our allegiance than love and the deep caring and compassion that love engenders? It will save our lives; it will heal our planet. We sing "Let there be peace on earth and let it begin with me" and my prayer is for us to finally embody that phrase -- to truly claim our connectedness to all of life through the spirit of love that beats our hearts, and breathes us, and moves the tides, and blooms the flowers. It's all the same energy -- the essential energy of the Universe. God, The Force, The Source, Spirit -- whatever we wish to call it. It's time we make a covenant with that intrinsic part of ourselves. The Indian master, Sri Nisargardatta Maharaj says: "If we are serious about the sufferings of mankind, we must perfect the only means of help we have, ourselves." In this tiny village of a world we inhabit, all of creation is beckoning us to be a blessing to each other and to our earthly home each day -- to pledge our allegiance first and foremost to Love, the Love in our own hearts. Love is the power. Love is the healer. Love is the answer. Come Home to your Heart. *Click to see Pledge of Allegiance postcard Link to previous column: |
