Wednesday, June 20, 2012

The Heart Chakra—What's Love Got to do With It?

The heart chakra is the fourth of the major energy centers running along the spine. The heart center plays a powerful role in our overall wellness as it connects the lower, or physically oriented chakras, with the upper, more spiritually oriented chakras. For this reason, when we have an energetic blockage in the heart center, all other chakras are also impacted making us feel completely off-center. We may find ourselves having issues related to the root chakra, for example, if in conflict with a close family member. Not only is there a disruption in the heart center, our foundation is knocked out from under us too.

A few things that can block energy in the fourth (heart) chakra:

• Holding onto past hurts, harboring resentment or anger.
• Unable or unwilling to forgive others—fully and completely.
• Unable or unwilling to forgive ourselves—fully and completely.
• Unwilling to love yourself—fully and completely.
• Loving others with "conditions" or "expectations"—the opposite of "unconditional" love.

Love is the governing energy behind the heart chakra. The problem is that when we choose to ignore the warning signs that something is off; such as feeling out of sorts with a loved one and not taking action to correct it, we are at risk of mental, physical, and spiritual issues (because love is what heals and balances every aspect of our being).

Using the issue of having a fight with a loved one as an example, below are some issues that might show up:

• Mental/Emotional: lack of compassion and understanding.
• Physical: breast cancer, lung cancer, respiratory issues, thymus gland (the master gland of the immune system).
• Spiritual: lack of devotion or trust in Life (be it God, Guru, Nature ...that "higher source" that binds us).

What to do:

For repairing damage: The number one thing we can do to correct an imbalance in the heart center is to simply express love, even a little bit, toward the person causing you to feel victimized—and surround them in pure light. We must also surround ourselves in light and expand our radiance, filling our aura with pureness, truth, love. Sounds simple.  But it's far from easy. 

For preventative maintenance: Always commit to looking out for each other. My husband and I have a pact that no matter what, we will look out for each other. We learned this the hard way— by not looking out for each other in the past—and value the power behind these simple words. We fully understand that if we simply remember to "look out for each other" love automatically fuels our relationship and makes it flourish. 

When it comes to family, looking out for each other is what builds trust, which allows us to be more open to receiving the very thing that binds us—love. Without trust—knowing "you've got my back"—we block our ability to receive. Family, above all others, is where we have the best chance of cultivating true, unconditional love.   But, it takes all parties to "look out for each other" in order to be completely vulnerable to receiving.

Love is at the heart (pun intended!) of all healing.

To read more about love's connection to the heart center along with several tips on balancing the heart chakra read my column, Chakra Talk, in the June issue of New Spirit Journal.

For one more tip on clearing and balancing emotions for the heart, see Trinity of Truth Tip: Ah-motional Breathing for Emotional Balancing