The Path With a Heart

    “Always follow your heart, it knows the way” is a hand-lettered sign on the copyboard by my computer. 
    Eastern wisdom says, “follow the path with a heart.” 
    You could interpret this “heart wisdom” to mean follow a path that resonates with who you are, what you want to be, where you find joy, and who you want to be with.
    Or you can look at the wisdom from a higher perspective, which perceives your spiritual heart to be the center of your soul. This spiritual heart is your connection to God, the Tao, the Universe, the All That Is.
    According to the mystics, if you can move your consciousness from your head to your heart, you will transcend all problems. Freedom from the self will be found by following this heart-centered path through life. 
    The path is a state of consciousness--a mind-set allowing you to be in the world but not of it. There are five steps to put you on the path.
    1. ACCEPT SELF-RESPONSIBILITY. If you accept karma, you accept that you and you alone are responsible for your experiences. There is no one to blame. You needed each unpleasant (or downright painful) experience in your past to teach yourself what you came here to learn. What were the lessons? You don’t want to miss the lessons. Accept others without judgment, blame, expectations or attempting to control.
    2. ACCEPT WHAT IS. When you recognize what is, you stop wasting  mental or physical energy attempting to change what cannot be changed. I am not advising you to passively accept life. What you have the potential to change, go ahead and change. But recognize the things you can do nothing about, and stop wasting your time complaining about them. Gravity exists, that’s what is. Your mate is quiet and stubborn, that’s what is. Greedy corporations exist, that’s what is. 
    3. DEVELOP DETACHED MIND. When your state of mind fluctuates only from positive to neutral as outside conditions change, you have learned detachment. Accept self-responsibility, accept what is, and monitor reactions that are not in keeping with the above. Detached mind will result.
    4. MONITOR VIEWPOINT. The way you experience life results from the way you choose to view what happens to you. Your viewpoint is the deciding factor in whether you experience a situation positively or negatively.
    5. ACT WITH COMPASSION. Compassion is passion transformed--a desirelessness state of mind from which you give mercy or supply aid with no expectations of remuneration or acknowledgment.