Love is a Force of Nature.
“If you find yourself struggling against the tides of transformation, meet and match the resistance from the heart. An open heart keeps the wisdom within flowing, giving us access to our greatest strength and resource: Love.”
Happy New Moon and Blessings on your New Beginnings as we Journey into 2017! The above quote is from a NATURA Journey blog post Into the Dark with an Open Heart, emphasizing release and the waning moon energies. So, why is Love our greatest resource?
If we think of the many facets of life as different and diverse threads, Love is the force that weaves each individual strand into one great tapestry. Love is the mystery glue that binds and holds us all together. It is Love that unites two lovers. It is Love that births Mother and Child simultaneously. It is Love that keeps the family coming home. The love between fathers and mothers, sisters and brothers, and friends of all kinds, keeps our world turning. It is the love we have for ourselves that keeps us moving forward, taking care, giving life our best.
Love is not limited to the human experience. Love encompasses all of life in ways we cannot imagine. You can see it in a dog’s smile. You can hear it in a cat’s purr. You can feel it in a welcoming embrace. All creatures, great and small, have their own ways of loving. Love is a force of nature. It is the force that creates life and feeds the world. It the force that gives us strength when we have none. It the source that guides our hearts back home. Love is the resource we cannot live without.
Anyone who has ever suffered a broken heart learns the hard lessons of Love. When we have it, life is a glorious dream. When we don’t, it can feel as though we’re dying inside. You can see the glow and radiance beaming from those in love. Love is vitality. Love is life force. Love is our greatest resource! It is love that will transform our world from fear, control, and greed, back to love, freedom, and generosity.
How? Through our open hearts!
Here are 5 ways you can begin to open your heart, keep it open, and let Love as a force of Nature flow through you.
Recognize when your heart is closed.
Some sure signs of a closed heart start with your attitude towards yourself and others. Are you blaming, critical, and pessimistic about life in general? How do you react towards other people’s happiness and successes? Feelings such as anger, jealousy, resentment, guilt, and greed are all destructive to the heart and health, blocking the flow of love from going in or out liked a damned-up river going dry. Be mindful of your self-talk and whether it falls into the “hurts” or “heals” category. Also, notice your posture. A closed heart can often be indicated physically by slumped over shoulders and a caved in chest as if carrying a heavy burden. If your heart is closed, don’t worry, it’s a natural part of life and learning.
Learn and Discern.
Try to discern what feelings or experiences may have caused your heart to close. This could be anything from major losses to minor disappointments. Don’t judge or demean your feelings or the reasons behind them. Listen closely and honor your heart no matter how trivial any heart-wounds might be. It’s important to determine the cause of the closure so we can learn how to protect our hearts in the future. Ask your heart how it can heal to open? Be patient. Let the heart be heard and when you have your heart’s answer for healing act upon this wisdom. You may find yourself needing to release your burdens, forgive, or discover new ways to nurture your heart. This can be anything from allowing yourself to mourn, calling a good friend to hear you out, journaling, going into sacred space for ritual, taking time off to nurture your heart’s needs, dancing, creating art, or the like.
Gently coax your heart open.
Create a sacred space and healing environment for yourself. Let your heart know it’s safe to open. It’s said that one of the best ways to receive love is by offering it first. Practice giving from an open heart. You can start by giving to yourself. Talk yourself up, take yourself out, treat yourself right. Then, start giving to others. Give a smile, a compliment, or a helping hand. Give patience, kindness, and understanding. As we give, we receive. You can also begin to gently stretch you heart center open physically. Open your heart to the heavens, roll your shoulders back and down, free your heart from a caved in chest. Let yourself breathe into an open heart and notice the fullness of life. You can also practice heart-opening yoga postures such a cobra, sphinx, camel, bow, wheel, wild thing, and dancer!
Notice when….
Once your heart is open, or opening, notice your heart’s reactions to life. Be mindful of the good feelings and experiences that keep your heart blossoming open, feeling safe, nurtured, and in the flow of love. Celebrate and cherish these times with love and gratitude. Also, notice those that shut you down, turn you off, or create those harmful feelings that close the heart. When you feel destructive feelings such as anger, rage, fear, jealousy, self-doubt, or pity, remember what these emotions do to your heart and health and work on releasing these energies with care. Honor whatever triggers and challenges arise as teachers giving you lessons you still need to learn. Value each lesson as a way for you to discover the medicine and healing your heart yearns for.
Be a Force of Nature
When we recognize the heart as the portal for love to flow in and out of our lives, opening the way for us to both give and receive love, keeping our heart open in today’s world is no small feat. It takes practice, deep listening, surrender to our emotions, inner awareness, and consistent self-care. It takes trust in the universe, faith in one another, and forgiveness beyond reason. However, when we recognize that love is a force of nature and one of the greatest resources we have, we should be more up for the challenge. As you live with an open heart you access the love that permeates our world, you begin to see and feel it, not as romantic love, but as a force of nature that keeps the sun shining, the rivers flowing, the flowers blooming, the bees buzzing, and the birds singing. It is this Love that keeps our hearts beating and breath flowing, it is the life force within us and around us, and the more we open to it the more we become it. Be a force of nature!
Love, Natural Mystic