Opening of the heart and gratitude, November 2008
The key to ourselves is the opening of our heart.
The first step to opening the heart is awareness. Direct your attention to your heart. Feel its beat. Feel how your heart nourishes the whole body with life. Feel how warmth and Chi are pulsating within you. Should unpleasant emotions arise try not to evaluate them. Perceive them and stay connected with your heart.
Through opening the heart we become aware at a deeper level what great a gift life is. An incredible marvel. Become aware of this marvel. It is a wonder that your heart beats. It is a wonder that a child is born and that nature is filled with new life every year. Each and every moment in life is a wonder. You and I – all of us are wonders. To feel this truth within ourselves is the beginning of every healing process.
The second step to the opening of the heart is practising gratitude. By learning to be grateful, we create a positive and light-flooded field of energy around us. This field of light nourishes our organism and our whole being with strength and vitality. All cells of our body are revived and we feel joy, harmony and comfort. The power of gratitude enables us to grow – to rise above our own shadow. The shutters of the mind open up and we come in touch with our true potential.
As you wake up in the morning, direct your awareness to your heart, feel its beat.
Say “thank you” to your heart. “My dear heart, thank you! Thank you for giving me life. Thank you for enabling me today to experience life again. Thank you for giving me consciousness .” Thank the air for keeping you alive through breathing. Thank all new things which you will experience today and carry this gratitude with you throughout the day. Allow gratitude to flow every single moment of your life.
A life in gratitude results in unpleasant experiences and events no longer being considered as being negative but being seen as chances for development. When we rise above our shadow we recognize that disagreeable feelings are no setbacks in our development. On the contrary, we become aware that our inner state of mind is a natural part of our development. We welcome not only the positive moments in life but open up to painful feelings and experiences because we become aware that they contain a great potential for development.
By gratefully accepting the adversities of life, we become open for understanding and healing the true causes of our distress. We recognize that people or situations which trigger unpleasant feelings in us, open up hurt areas and enable the healing of these old mental burdens. When we become aware of this and can feel gratitude towards the person or the situation despite the possibly strong emotions, we allow our inner healing power to dissolve the true cause of the distress. We can decide ourselves whether we burn in the fire of the unpleasant events and emotions or whether we transform them through the power of the heart thus finding a greater inner freedom and approaching our true core of consciousness.
Gratitude is a tool. It is an aid to live life consciously. It is the driving force which carries us along the flow of life. It puts us in touch with the centre of our heart, our essence. Gratitude is the gift to live positively. It enhances our attitude towards life. Gratitude makes our words wise and meaningful. We become attentive and loving in our actions. Gratitude is the force which enables us to live our life consciously and in the present. It opens us and supplies us with compassion for all creatures. It connects us with ourselves, our fellow human beings, nature and the whole cosmos. Gratitude is like music; its sweet sound colours our inner vibrations. Gratitude provides hope like the light of a lantern shining in the dark. It renders us soft and gentle and, at the same time, mentally hard and strong. As it disperses limiting clouds and veils, gratitude opens our heart and allows the warming light of the sun to enter our mind. Through gratitude the “water of life”, the cosmic divine energy can flow within us. In this manner, gratitude feeds us with love and strength. It shows us the way to our innermost and provides us with the possibility to meet and live our true self.
Through the following extraordinary experience I myself met the loving, healing and transforming power of gratitude. It was in 2003, while renovating my practice. I had to procure building material and decided to do this during my lunch break. In little more than one and a half hours I had to collect the hire car, buy the material, take it to the practice and return the car. A rather tight schedule, I admit. Everything went well until I reached the goods collection counter at the DIY store. More than 20 people were waiting to be served. I became increasingly nervous and impatient, in particular, as the man behind the counter was extremely slow. I did not know what to do. Stay or come back some other time? I felt like sitting between two chairs. All of a sudden an idea struck me: “Focus on your heart. Breathe consciously through your nose. When exhaling, imagine that all your emotions, energies and thoughts flow to your physical heart.” I acted upon this idea and I felt immediately how I became calm, hopeful and joyful. I repeated it a couple of times. Then I had another brain wave. I should look at all people in front of me, concentrate on my heart and thank each and everyone of them for their support in my difficult situation. I concentrated on each person and, without expectations, I kept repeating thank you … thank you …thank you … thank you … I had hardly finished my thanks when the employee emerged and asked who was next. Something incredible happened. All waiting people turned nearly at the same moment, pointed towards me and said: “He is”. I was so touched and moved that I could have cried. That moment I understood deep inside me that we are carried by the loving power of life.
Gratitude is a tool with which we can bring harmony and flux into our life. The love which lies within gratitude is like a balm healing the wounds and injuries of our soul. It is important to really thank with the heart because only then the precious gift of love can fully unfold. If our intellect alone says thank you we remain within the empty shell of words. Through heartfelt gratitude you activate pure light within you. It transforms your shadows into light and your fears into loving strength and confidence.