Listen to the wind, it talks.
Listen to the silence, it speaks.
Listen to your heart, it knows.
~ Native American Proverb
The circle represents that which has no beginning and no end, it is eternal, and the alpha and the omega point are indistinguishable. Sitting in a circle each heart is held inside the sacred eternal. This sacred eternal offers a sacred space to listen and speak from the heart.
To move from the head to the heart is an invitation to move out of the logical, calculating, analyzing, describing, and evaluating thinking patterns of daily life. It is an invitation to listen and speak from our own center, our soul, our inner teacher. Our listening is a gift. When we listen with authentic receptive openness, that empowers the speaker to do the same and hear their own inner teacher. Listening from the heart, is freeing. To listen and speak from the heart engages our experiences, senses, emotions, energies, and wounds. These are strong influences that polish the lens through which we see/perceive the world; develop a new worldview (to see the world as God does). The polished lens transforms how we experience relationships with people, circumstances, nature, art, music, poetry, story, dance, and scripture.
Our speech transforms when we speak from the heart. Heart-speak rarely mentions information resources, books, or lectures. Heart-speak isn’t instrumental, it’s expressive of our inner truth. Those information resources may influence us in many ways but we don’t speak from the heart analytically. Instead our inner experience emerges into our words. Our inner teacher manifest words such as free, peace, gentle, patient, joy, sad, dark, innocent, love, accept, receive, hold, sense, breathe, witness, whole, and wholeness.
We begin to recognize a subtle energetic shift, a guiding presence, a larger openness and receptivity, as well as a deeper capacity for depth. Even our anger, grief, guilt, and shame are held with the gentleness that we would hold a baby. And a compassionate breath fills our essence reminding us these dark parts belong too. A smile may find its way to our face because we know God can even use those parts of us to transform our consciousness. Our wisdom grows and strengthens our ability, and willingness, to live with paradox and unknowing. As our subtle energy and inner wisdom come alive within us, we reflect on meaning, significance and sometimes purpose. Life is felt with passion. Means and ends become clearer and inseparable. Life is one indivisible whole.
In closing, I offer this prayer from Colossians 3 (NRSV):
12 As God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience. 13 Bear with one another and, if anyone has a complaint against another, forgive each other; just as Christ has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in the one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly; teach and admonish one another in all wisdom; and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
AMEN.
