Opening your heart is simple

Yesterday, my partner Dessie and I visited a Buddhist monument a 40-minute drive outside of Vienna. It is a picturesque place.

I really like the atmosphere there. Most of the time, a monk hangs out there, too. His name is Sunim. He’s originally from South Korea and has been building these stupas in Europe for 40 years now.

When we were about to leave, we had a conversation that quickly turned into a powerful teaching.

I couldn’t understand everything he said.

But I could understand the most important.

“The heart is the temple of our peace. Not the mind. It is where we can find refuge, and freedom from suffering. Not in the mind. People think too much.”

Jup, I thought. It was so obvious, yet hit me deeply.

So often, we feel disconnected.
Trapped in worry about the future.
Trapped in regrets about the past.

We feel lost and don’t see the direction that is always there.’

We’re everywhere but here.

It can be overwhelming.
It triggers a vast spectrum of emotions.

The mind becomes the boss.
Fear drives the car.

Familiar?

I’ve encountered this 100s of times.

The thing is: we must not believe that voice. And we must not suppress it either. This is the beautiful dance we need to dance.

Fear signals that something needs attention.
It’s a brilliant opportunity to become rooted in the present moment.

If we choose to.

What are you afraid of right now?
What demands your attention?

If we’re ready to look at this, the practice is to:

Embrace.
Integrate.
Self-Regulate.

Become so aware, that you can put the fear in the back seat.
Even if it is screaming louder than the maximum volume of the car radio.

Please put it in the back seat, treat it well.

And do it scared.

Make space to sit, be, and breathe with it.

So you can do it from a strong core.
Aligned with who you really are.

Sitting, breathing and being?
The mind for sure doesn’t like that plan.

Let’s give it something to ease into it:

This alters your brain wave state.
This brings you closer to a state of flow.
This calms your nervous system.

The power of observation, mindfulness and awareness training is evident. We know this for thousands of years. However the present egoic mind doesn’t like non-doing and detachment.

It would mean its death.

But hey - let’s assume we’re all brave warriors of the heart who want to do it scared despite the fear.

The more we observe, the more we connect with that still quiet place within. Or the words of our monk Sunim, find home in your temple, the heart.

The more you do that, the more confident you feel. The more confident you feel, the less afraid you are of your power. One of the main reasons why we self-sabotage.

Then, if you keep focusing on connecting with the heart, ironically often very quickly changes happen on the outside. They originate from deep inside, a place beyond mental concepts and logic explanations.

What can you do today, to open your heart 1% more?

And what does living with an open heart mean for you?

Can you come up with 3 specific examples?

Love. Chris

P.S.: I’m opening a few slots for 1:1 work with me. Hit reply to schedule a relaxed call, if you want someone on your side to: help you find and dissolve hidden mental blocks, find freedom in the storm, and get grounded in the here and now.