My favorite gift of the spiritual heart is wisdom. I have so often been in a situation where I believed that there was no good answer. I have been so convinced that nothing could be done that I almost didn’t call upon my spiritual heart. Fortunately, sometimes I did it anyway. I would take the steps because I had made a commitment to myself to ask my heart. After all, what is one or two or even five minutes?
I would go through the steps, and suddenly I would be aware of an answer. I was aware of how to deal with the situation. I was seeing the situation differently, and I knew how to go forward successfully.
It is one of the most beautiful moments in life when we discover the amazing wisdom responding to us through our spiritual hearts. I have often laughed at myself when this wisdom’s response came to my
awareness. It has seemed as if what my heart just told me to do should have been obvious (like putting on the relaxing music and driving my children to school in a supporting, nurturing way when we missed the bus).
However, that wasn’t a choice that my mind came up with. My attention and actions before I engaged my heart were directed by the emotions of frustration that were running through my system at the time.
Having told you of my children’s commitment to address our lateness in the mornings, I can’t help but share what I observed from my daughter Anna. Anna, who at this time was twelve or thirteen, is a year and a half younger than her brother Peter. Peter had developed that “older brother ability” to come up with the thing to do or say, or the look that seemed so innocent, that would instantly upset Anna and set off an intense emotional reaction. One of those regular situations was about using the only bathroom in the house in the morning before school.
Anna had complained to me about Peter taking so much time in the bathroom in the morning, which she knew he was “doing on purpose.” She had learned how to access her spiritual heart, so I reminded her of
those steps and suggested she try it. (I’ll go over the steps in the next chapter.)
The next day we had no trouble getting to the bus on time. I also noticed a smile on Anna’s face. That evening I checked with her on what had happened.
She reported that she was about to start shouting at Peter to get out of the bathroom that morning, when she remembered to check with her heart. She went through the steps she had learned. Several things happened. She realized that her shouting was just what Peter wanted, and it would make him take longer if he knew it upset her. She understood she would get in faster if she stayed very quiet, so that he did not know she was outside waiting. She also felt different. Instead of mad and frustrated, she felt smart – and she felt she was getting the better of the situation.
She stepped back into the bedroom closest to the bathroom and waited quietly. She did not make any noise. Peter came out of the bathroom, and the minute he turned to go down the stairs, she jumped into the bathroom. She got in much quicker than usual. Her smile let me know that she felt very good about this new approach. I enjoyed her success – and
the lack of pressure in getting out the door to start our ride to the bus.
Sometimes our spiritual heart’s wisdom seems like the natural result of the shift out of our emotional turmoil. In the situation where the man was creating a conflict between himself and another leader of the organization, I had thought about that situation and my alternatives many times. Some of these times, I probably felt angry or frustrated. At other times, however, I was peaceful. Yet my brain did not come up with the answer, even in that peaceful state. The answer I needed did not surface to my awareness until I activated my spiritual heart and called upon its wisdom.
What is it that you really want to know? What is it that has seemed to elude you? Within you is a much deeper, more powerful and effective wisdom than that which you have normally accessed – even in your best moments of intellectual brilliance. That is the wisdom of your spiritual heart.
As you meet your life’s challenges, big and little, you have this same opportunity to take the steps that activate your spiritual heart and call upon its wisdom.
As you experience its wisdom, I know that you too can find a whole new level of effectiveness and satisfaction from your spiritual heart.