Making Life a Meditation: Is Your Heart Chakra Open or Closed?

Clearing and opening the heart chakra releases emotional blocks and attachments and unfolds unconditional love, compassion, well-being, and devotion. When you have cleared the heart chakra, not only will your love flow to all, but also you will possess a sweetness of being that is a combination of humility and an open heart. Your emotional intelligence will become your infallible guide in life.

When this chakra is not clear, you may be withdrawn, emotionally disconnected from others, and lacking in empathy. Others may see you as living “in your head,” and you may unconsciously mute your feelings. Conversely, you may experience great ups and downs in your feelings and be subject to emotional drama. You may also be jealous, clingy, and demanding in your relationships.

Are You Compulsively Analytical?

One pattern of attention commonly associated with a blocked heart chakra is a compulsive analytical focus by which you dampen your feelings. You may tend to withdraw from deep emotional connection because you have come to believe that life demands more than it gives and so you must preserve yourself and your energies lest you become depleted. In this way, you contract into the intellect without even knowing you are doing it. You become an observer of life and strive to maintain a comfortable privacy and isolation to ensure that you and your resources are not drained.

If you relate to this, notice your tendency to withdraw from others, from your heart and into your head. This is the signal to focus on engaging with others and engaging with your feelings. When you feel a need to preserve yourself from outside demands, stay present instead. In this moment you have all the energy you need to engage fully in your life, and in fact you will gain energy by connecting with others, by opening your heart.

Focusing on What's Missing From Your Life?

Making Life a Meditation: Is Your Heart Chakra Open or Closed?This is only one of many possible patterns of attention that block the heart chakra. Another example is the pattern demonstrated by my friend who focused on what was missing in his life and so suffered frequent bouts of sadness and longing. Even though he had great access to his feelings, it was stormy emotional weather indeed. By focusing on appreciating the good in his life, he was able to calm the storms.


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There are other blocking patterns, too, but whatever the pattern of attention, when the heart chakra is blocked, one element will inevitably be present, whether obvious or hidden: self-centeredness.

Self-Centeredness Wears Many Guises

Self-centeredness, in some form or another, is a ubiquitous human trait, and it wears many guises. For instance, one common pattern of attention arises from a fear of rejection or abandonment, so you focus on the needs and wants of others as a means of feeling needed and staying connected. What appears selfless is actually a desperate attempt to ensure the well-being of self.

Likewise, my seemingly altruistic teenage desire to merge into the Divine was essentially a selfish desire. I was focused only on my own enlightenment. This served me for a while, because it motivated me to meditate and heal in some ways. But only after many years did I finally come to understand that this self-centered desire had set me on a course that had to be corrected. I did not have to entirely give up my desire for divine bliss; but in order to really expand beyond my ego, I did need to learn to seriously consider and support the happiness and well-being of others as well.

How To Open Your Heart: Meditation in Action

To develop selfless action and open your heart, focus on acting with kindness and compassion. It is hard to simply “be selfless”; selfishness is so ingrained that selflessness may at first seem an abstract and almost unattainable quality. But you can act kindly and with compassion for others, which is tangible enough. And if you do, you will automatically find yourself vitally interested in the happiness and well-being of others — you will not only be interested, but you will also be acting on their behalf. That requires your time, energy, and resources. If that is not selfless action, what is?

To start, focus on acting with kindness and compassion at least once a day. As you get in the swing of it, see if you can make this your focus in all your interactions. If you can do this without expectation of rewards, not only will you be living your spiritual ideals, but also you’ll be building a deeper, stronger sense of self that does not depend on perceived fair treatment or recognition by others.

This is a powerful, albeit challenging, meditation in action that can rapidly transform your personality. Nothing is more integrating for the heart chakra than selfless, loving action.

©2013 by Ajayan Borys. Published with permission of
New World Library http://www.newworldlibrary.com

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About the Author

Ajayan Borys, author of the book: Effortless Mind -- Meditate with EaseAjayan Borys is a registered hypnotherapist in Washington state, a Reiki Master, and a certified Enneagram teacher. Ajayan Borys (aka Henry James Borys) is author of Effortless Mind: Meditate with Ease, The Way of Marriage: A Journal of Spiritual Growth through Conflict, Love, and Sex, The Sacred Fire: Love as a Spiritual Path, and numerous articles on meditation and relationships as a spiritual path. He has traveled the globe exploring human potential practices. The host of Mind Matters Radio on Alternative Talk Radio, he teaches workshops and retreats on meditation and spiritual relationships near Seattle and in the Himalayas. Visit him online at http://www.ajayan.com.