A few years ago, at a Qoya retreat, I practiced seeing with my “heart eyes,” an energetic tool from the Inka tradition taught by Elizabeth B. Jenkins.
We worked with a partner, holding each other’s gaze for an uncomfortably long time, then closed our eyes, dropped our awareness into our heart space, and “saw” that person from our heart’s point of view.
The practice was magical. Every experience I’d previously had with my partner was gone, as well as her personality and physical body. I remember seeing her as a crystalline ocean and a brilliant blue sky. I recall sensing a vastness I had never experienced before.
At the Qoya retreat, looking through my heart eyes at a dear friend was spectacularly beautiful and easy. But what about seeing ordinary life through my heart eyes? At the moment, I am part of a community that is being tested. People are angry, troubled and confused. Mistakes have been made. None of us understands all the nuances of the situation and certainly not the nuances of each other’s hearts. Most of us have fallen into the myth of separation, wanting to blame an enemy, and no wonder because that’s what we have been taught by our culture.
Viewing the situation one way, I see through my own narrow lens. But when looking with my heart eyes, the picture is altogether different.
Seeing with the heart eyes allows us a better understanding of Oneness. It helps us move out of the energy of judgement and into the energy of compassion. Compassion. Doesn’t that feel essential right now in so many contexts?
I wonder about the larger world with all its heartbreak past and present—how do I see that through my heart eyes? And if I do, am I condoning hate and injustice and being naïve?
Tuning into higher wisdom provides me these insights: 1) It is possible to hold two ideas at once. For example, outrage and compassion, grief and joy, hurt and forgiveness. 2) When we see the bigger picture, we understand that chaos precedes transformation.
The issues we wrestle with feel so overwhelming at times. And at some level it feels like we need to open every eye we’ve got! Perhaps so. And naïve or not, I plan to keep practicing looking at the world through the eyes of my heart.
Next Tuesday, I am leading the first of a series of Resiliency Circles at Welcome Goddess in Golden, CO. We’ll share what is on our hearts and practice energy tools to help us navigate through the chaos to move toward heart consciousness. You can find more information here. I’ll be at the Awake Festival in Evergreen Sept. 13-15 offering deeply discounted mini readings. I am also available for full intuitive readings, healings and spiritual mentoring. More info at RememberYourWings.com.
