Many fans and followers have asked me what the tagline (the art of holding heart space) to Love Wide Open means. Well, it’s a concept and a way of living. It means so many things that I thought I would finally write about it.
We live in a world where the pain and suffering we see around us is almost more than we can bear. Regularly, we witness people hurting each other and themselves. Trusting others can become difficult because we have been betrayed, abused, used and abandoned. We have all been lied to and we have all been left behind. Every one of us has been, in some way, hurt by someone else. Some of us have been hurt so deeply that our healing will last forever. Because we have been hurt by others and because we have witnessed the pain that some individuals are capable of inflicting on other human beings —the apathy and disregard for life that exists, we close our hearts.
Sometimes quickly, from a tragic event or loss, and sometimes slowly over the years, we close our hearts to those around us and to the world. We do more talking than we do listening and we intervene more than we witness. We have forgotten the sacred art of holding heart space. And it is heart space that will heal the world.
So what is heart space and what is this sacred art that is, by so many, forgotten? In yoga, heart space is a term used to describe the upper part of the chest where the heart is located. Many people even slouch or round their shoulders, which is one way that we subconsciously ‘protect our hearts’. You sit or stand up tall in order to lengthen your spine and open your heart space. Many people have a very difficult time adjusting their posture in this way. In the same way that we guard our hearts physically by slouching, we squelch the healing power of our spiritual hearts by closing them to others.
The spiritual heart is considered by many to be the seat of human emotion and psychic energy. We as humans, possess the power to heal and the power to destroy. The spiritual heart is the main conduit of this immense power. The invisible frequency that we emit from our hearts can have a direct and indirect effect on the world around us. The space in which this loving frequency can flow is regulated by our ability and willingness to open our hearts completely.
When we open our hearts wide and hold that space, we introduce healing to the world. When we close our hearts, we barricade that space, and employ the degradation of healing vibrations. Our hearts are powerful beyond measure. Our emotions alter the world around us. When we hold the space in our hearts open for others, life can be beautiful and love bountiful.
When we came into this world our hearts were so open that the world could feel it. All we were was life and love. Our little hearts were wide open. Without words we healed those around us. This is why babies heal our soul before they can even speak. They unselfishly share the loving space of their hearts with all around them without saying a word. We do not need words to heal. The supernatural language of the heart is all that is required.
The art of holding heart space is less about what we do, and more about what and who we are. It is about what we allow and are simply willing to witness. It is less about doing and more about being. Heart space is a place inside of you that, when open, is filled with pure love and acceptance. When you open this space to others they can find healing there, in your heart.
We feel the power of holding heart space when we are healed by another person listening, truly listening, to our story —not to give us answers or make us better, but just to witness our pain with us. Most of us have been through great challenges in our lives and some of us had people who held heart space for us during our most horrible moments. They were the people we felt didn’t judge or doubt us —the ones who trusted in the value of our own journey. They let us find our way. We may have been making huge mistakes, but they did not attempt to change our path or abandon us for our imperfections. They stayed —sometimes physically and sometimes from afar. They were just present, with their hearts wide open, believing that we would heal and find our way. They were holding heart space.
When we hold heart space for others, we facilitate their healing simply by allowing —allowing others to tell their story, allowing others to be who they are and allowing them into the wide open space of our loving hearts. Sometimes all people need is the space to heal, an ear to listen or another person to stand beside them in their pain.
Heart space is so powerful that it could heal the world. Maybe when the time is right it will. Maybe it already is. But right now we have the choice of what to do with our hearts. Will you close your heart to the world or will you hold the space?
Sending lots of love.
~Heidi
© Heidi Dellaire / H Hill Incorporated
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