11:11 Waves Blog 34: Heart

Every Monday, I share 1 question for you to contemplate, 1 idea from me, 1 quote from others, and 1 inspiration for us.

This week’s topic is: Heart

On August 8th, I had the precious opportunity to attend an event hosted by a spiritual teacher I followed for many years who visited Vancouver Island. The event focused on manifesting that which serves our highest good from the heart and it was attended by individuals from around the world. At the end of the evening, as I was chatting with people from different countries, we discovered that, in fact, the word 'heart' means slightly different things in different languages. Despite the differences, it became clear that the heart is still commonly considered the center in the human self where everything comes together—where will and intellect, emotions and reason, intuition and vision all converge. This conversation made me think about how humanity, workplaces and societies are, more and more, moving away from command-and-control approaches and growing into new powerful models where the heart’s energy is much more prominent and where leadership is focusing on unity, togetherness and inner transformation.

One Question for you

"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakens."--Carl Jung

Discuss the question here.

One Idea from me

Following the event, I looked into what ‘heart’ means in various languages. Below I am sharing some interesting highlights from my research and three suggested practices.

Heart-Mind: In Chinese, the word ‘heart’ is ‘xin’ (心) which could be translated as ‘mind’, because the ancient Chinese believed that the heart was the center of human cognition. So, in Chinese philosophy ‘xin’ refers to the ‘heart’ and the ‘mind’ - emotion and reason are not considered as separate, but rather as coextensive. Xin is as much cognitive as emotional, being simultaneously associated with thought and feeling.

The practice: Based on this definition, this week I invite you to think about ways on how you could integrate mind and heart more often when making decisions or approaching situations in life.

Courage: In Latin, the word ‘heart’ is ‘cor’. ‘Cor’ is also the root of the word ‘Courage’. Researcher and author Brené Brown explains that Courage originally meant “To speak one's mind by telling all one's heart." Over time, this definition has changed, and today, "courage is more synonymous with being heroic". But courage is about being vulnerable and putting our full selves on the line by talking about how we feel, asking for what we need, being ourselves, showing how we truly feel even when we are not sure what people will think and learning how to be brave and uncertain or afraid at the same time.

The practice: This week I invite you to explore how courage shows up in your life. What does it look like in you? What does it look like in others? How can you acknowledge courage when you see it? How can you tell the story of who you are with your whole heart more often?

Harmony: Have you ever heard of “finger heart”? It is a super popular hand gesture that has grown in popularity worldwide and involves folding the index finger and thumb, creating a small heart shape with the hands. This simple action of moving your two fingers shows your love to those you hold dear. The two fingers indicate the relationship between two distinct individuals, the giver and receiver, forming an harmonious shape through love, unity and connection.

The practice: This week I invite you to reflect on how you view the relationship between heart and mind and, rather than viewing them as opposing forces, explore how you can embrace the harmony that comes from integrating their wisdom.

One Quote from others

“And now here is my secret, a very simple secret: It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.” Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, The Little Prince

One Inspiration for us

Inspired by this topic, this week I share one of my favourite songs from my second favourite band of all times, Roxette. Listen to Your Heart is such an iconic song and the music video – which you watch below - was filmed during a live performance at the Borgholm Castle ruin on the Swedish Baltic Sea Island of Öland.

Fun fact: The song has been performed on all of Roxette's concert tours, including the “Never-ending World Tour” in 2011. The video below features Listen to Your Heart live in Wembley Arena in London, a performance out of this tour which I had the privilege to watch live. Enjoy!