musings of the heart

photo of hibiscus — a flower associated with the heart — found via @slimesunday on pinterest

In my previous newsletter, I touched on blocks to love and intimacy. I’ve identified jealousy, as it comes up in my most intimate relationships, as one such block. 

Through a compassionate process of acknowledging, sitting with, and deeply listening to the feeling instead of dismissing or resisting it — much like the cathartic process Kwonyin guided me through, or the hypnotic process that I practice — I came to understand the difficult feeling as a mechanism of survival.  

Within me was a voice, perhaps from the generational or karmic past, cautioning me against further hurt. A voice that, while protective, has kept me from fully owning my desires and connecting with others.

When it comes to love — romantic, platonic, or otherwise — many of us may have learned stories or cautionary tales encouraging us to guard and protect our hearts from imminent pain. But, 

What if we imagined our hearts as fierce, radiant, and discerning rather than fragile and in need of shielding and armor? 

What if we listened to and moved with the rhythm of our own heartbeat? 

What if the strength of our pulse, our inner song, was its own form of protection?

What if the flow of harmony was stronger than the stagnation of pride? 

With gratitude,
Kristen

PS — a track to remind us that love is stronger than pride.