How To Follow Your Heart. In 8 Awesome Ways.

 
Your heart is like an inner GPS. It has the ability to guide you through the world, and nudge you toward your purpose. It’s also interchangeable for you intuition. Usually, the heart speaks through your intuition. Your heart gives it a voice that you can comprehend.
 
When you follow your heart, you increase the joy, happiness, and fulfillment in your life.
 

 
FOLLOW YOUR HEART
When I talk about following your heart, I’m not referring to your physical heart, clearly.  Although I’m sure it plays a part.
I’m pointing to the area in the middle of your chest, because that is often where I feel the energy that I call my heart, and that most people refer to when they tell you to listen to your heart.
It’s also known as the fourth chakra, the heart chakra. It is often associated with love, wisdom, and compassion.
 
We could spend time theorizing about what it does and how it works, but what I care about is that it helps me live a passionate, purposeful, and fulfilling life.
 
I default to listening to my inner GPS, not to an external source, even if it is family, friends, or world-renowned expert. I know what is needed in my life. If I blindly follow advice from others, I’ll end up unhappy, because no one can know what will work for me.
 
The reason most people aren’t living like this is because it’s been drummed out of them.
 
“We’ve been told that we should make logical decisions, and that everything should make sense. But if you’ve been on this planet for a while, you know that you can’t really make sense of life. You can’t figure life out.”
 
So following your heart means listening to your inner guidance. We all have a guidance system within us waiting to help us. But we have to be willing to listen.
 
I also had to learn to listen to my body and heart when it came to making decisions.
 
To rely on feelings, however, can be challenging. Most of us are switched off to our primal instincts, and instead, let fear, pack mentality and society’s expectations dictate our paths.
 
I have been lured by the sweet promise of safety and security, at my soul’s detriment, and have come very close to settling for a life that was far removed from the one I dreamed of and the one I feel I deserve.
 
Sometimes the wrong decision is disguised as the easiest. It’s a little trick our minds like to play on us to lull us into a false sense of security.
 

Our minds seek comfort. Our hearts seek truth.

 
 
WHAT IT DOESN’T MEAN
Listening to your heart doesn’t mean that all of the challenges and problems in your life disappear.
 
It doesn’t mean that suddenly you’re happy 100% of the time. It means that you start living life more holistically. You live life through your whole being.
 
And it doesn’t mean that you wage war with your mind. It means that your mind becomes a servant to your heart, but you still see your mind for the useful tool that it is.
 
People may say that following your heart is impractical, but what’s even more impractical is thinking that you can control life and force it to bend to your will. Being practical means living your life with your whole being. That means using both your mind AND your heart.

What happens when we need to make big, life-impacting decisions? Fear takes over, the voices in our head get loud and bossy and urge us to avoid taking risks. Our ego tries desperately to con us into taking the easy way out.
 
We, therefore, don’t often make our choices from the heart, we make them from the mind space which governs much of our lives and tends to try to keep us small.
 
Our worried minds are not on our sides. Anything that favors fear over love is not an ally of mine. If 60-80% of our thoughts each day are negative, how do we learn to make decisions based on what is truly best for us rather than what is easiest, or avoid making the wrong choices based on fear?
 
WHAT IT DOES MEAN
“I believe in intuitions and inspirations… I sometimes ‘feel’ that I am right. I do not ‘know’ that I am.” | Albert Einstein
 
When a choice is made based on a deep and instinctual knowing felt in our gut or heart, we tend to find that the outcome is beneficial for ourselves and our life path. Our bodies are our greatest and wisest guides.
 
We simply need to learn to recognize and listen to their quiet wisdom, rather than the misleading chitter-chatter of our mind. This way, we will be following a deeper calling — an instinctual and soul-driven knowledge that whatever it is we are drawn to is ultimately the best opportunity for us.
 
You know those pieces of undeniable wisdom which seem to speak out loud at 3 am? That is our higher self communicating, often when you least expect it. It is our inner guru — the you within you, the divine within… our celestial soul.
 
“We have five senses in which we glory and which we recognize and celebrate, senses that constitute the sensible world for us. But there are other senses — secret senses, sixth senses, if you will — equally vital, but unrecognized, and unlauded.” | Oliver Sacks
 
8 AWESOME WAYS TO FOLLOW YOUR HEART
 
So how do we distinguish between the wise voice inside which speaks the truth and the voice which keeps us small and prevents us from being bold?
 
1. Breathe. Our breath is the single most effective way of connecting with our bodies — and therefore, our truth. Joining the space between our bodies and souls opens up a communication channel from which we can learn ideas, inspiration and truths behind choice.
When it all seems too much to handle, when you’re stuck between a rock and a hard place, sit and breathe… what do you feel? Go deeper within, keep breathing and you may feel a gentle pull towards what’s best.
 
2. Trust Yourself. Our friends and families want the best for us. They want us to be happy, but Only You know what’s best for You. Our friends might think they know the answers based on their unique experiences, and our families might advise us based on their need to protect us.
Both are wonderful sources of support, but neither have the answers you need to make that decision. If you go against the advice of everyone around you, that’s fine; it’s your choice, and your heart is leading you on your own special journey.
 
3. Look for the signs. Often we overlook subtle synchronicities which are there to guide us down the best path. I believe that such signs are actually our subconscious trying to communicate with our conscious self. We should pay attention to coincidences and make note of subtle symbols which might lead us to discover a more authentic life choice which is truly best for us.
 
4. Smile and let go. Sometimes, when faced with the hardest decisions, we put so much pressure on ourselves to do what’s right that we forget to realize that life is a beautiful ride and is made up of a series of experiences. The choices we make are never wrong — they simply contain the lessons we need to grow as people and be the best we can be.
Know that whatever happens, as a consequence of our actions, will always be the best for us, at that time. Smile, trust, surrender and enjoy the ride.
 
5. Know that the Universe wants the best for you. Sometimes we have to let go and surrender to the flow of life. We like to be in control of the little fleshy spaceship we call our bodies, but our bodies will operate with or without our instruction. We will keep on breathing, our heart will keep on beating.
The Universe is a complex, intelligent and loving organism, and I’m pretty sure that if it can create planets and stars, then it can guide us on the right course.
 
6. Move. When water stands still, it becomes stagnant. Similarly, our lives become stale if we become physically stuck. When faced with a big decision, the worst thing we can do is let it paralyze us; we must keep moving. It doesn’t matter where, just move your body.
Those energies shifting inside, when we release our bodies from the shackles of stillness, may just release the answers we are looking for.
 
7. Create. Sometimes my biggest revelations have come about whilst writing. I let my fingers hit the keyboard, and as I start to type, it quickly becomes a stream of consciousness which can often reveal the answers I was pondering.
Creativity is a direct line of communication between your heart and the world. If you paint, write or build, get lost in creating and your heart might just speak her truth via the medium of your art.
 
8. Experiment with being aware of your heart. Bring your attention to the centre of your chest, and notice what goes on.
There’s nothing else you need to do. If you’ve never connected to your heart, or if it’s been a long time, you may notice some anxiety or fear there. If you do, feel it fully, and stay with it. That’s the only way to let it go.
 
“Intuition is seeing with the soul.” | Dean Koontz
 
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