So … How do we go about opening our hearts?

Here are some simple practices you can do at home to open your heart chakra more and more each day, beginning to feel the love again.

The whole universe is waiting to love you. Your higher self is waiting to love you. Your twin flame is waiting to love you. When will you fall in love with you again?

1. Be in Nature, Be Nature Itself

When we commune with Nature, we tap in and connect to the interconnectedness of all things—this interconnected web of life that makes up the fabric of our reality of existence. It is here in nature that we can tune back in to our innate gifts and re-commune with ourselves on a whole different level.

Try sitting in a quiet place, in nature, coming to the present moment, the only moment we really ever have.

Once sitting in nature, begin gazing with your left eye, dominantly yet slightly out of focus. Begin to look at the outline of the trees, plants, and things around you. Everything—I mean everything—has an aura. A halo-shaped, crown of light/love energy around it. When you softly yet dominantly gaze out of your left eye, you begin to see this haze, this fabric of existence that makes up this space time reality. Try it next time you are in nature and witness the feelings that arise as you realize you are One with the Infinite Creator of All that Is.

In these moments, we smile to ourselves at the subtleties—we are not in nature, we are nature.

Not to mention, that, spending time in nature puts us in resonance with Mother Earth’s heart beat. Through grounding, or sometimes called earthing, the electromagnetic resonance of our hearts will tune in to the electromagnetic resonance of Mother Earth’s heartbeat. As our heart consciousness beats with and aligns with hers, we feel a sense of “home” wash over us, reminding ourselves that we are loved, we are worthy. We are infinite, spiritual beings having a human experience. And we are supported by all of Creation.

2. Come to the Present Moment

In an earlier blog post, we talked about four ways to come to the present moment (surrendering, asking for help, trusting the universe, and choosing love).

When we are in the Present Moment, using our Breath to re – align us and bringing us back whenever we feel adrift, we allow ourselves to tune in to this loving connection to all that is. This is the second way to open our hearts.

3. Meditation and Stillness: Be the Witness

The third way to open our heart space is through meditation and stillness. When we are the witness—when we make a commitment to “Be the Witness”—meaning when we stay in Observer Consciousness and witness what is coming up for ourselves in any given moment, we give our hearts permission to stay open and and invite love to flow through us.

The next time that something is “coming up” for you, try staying as detached as possible—practicing detachment, non attachment, and staying in that observer consciousness—merely witnessing what is coming up for you. So, much like if it were raining outside, you would say to yourself, “Oh, it is beginning to rain, I can feel rain drops on my shoulders. I am noticing that it is raining.”

That same thinking holds true when feelings are arising. Just like you would notice these raindrops, or perhaps just like you are watching clouds float by in the sky, you can say to yourself, “Oh, here comes sadness, I see you. I am witnessing you. I love you and am here for you.” And hold yourself with love and compassion as you observe what is coming up and through.

Staying in this heart-centered space invites your heart to feel safe and stay open.

4. Breathing

Returning to the breath is a powerful tool in co-creation.

Our breath is our life-force energy and so we can use the breath any time we wish to come back to the present moment—the Eternal Now. When we say that the “Eternal Now” is the only moment we really ever have, we mean that because ALL that exists, ever has existed, and ever will exist is only ever happening right here, right now.

There are a myriad of breathing techniques, and finding one that works for you is a beautiful permission slip to accept.

So whether it is taking deep, nourishing inhalations on the in-breath, and long, audible exhalations on the out-breath. Or, whether it is another technique where you hold the breath in for five seconds, pause for five seconds at the top, and exhale for five seconds—finding a breathing technique that works for you can help slow us down in any given moment.

Returning to the breath is the fourth way to stay centered and in your heart space.

5. Lighting a candle

The fifth way is to light a candle. The next time you are in a quiet place and have a moment to your Self, consider lighting a candle.

Begin breathing taking a few deep breaths in and out. Softly begin gazing at the flame. Again, with your left eye dominant, and slightly out of focus, gaze at the flame that is the blazing fire of Spirit’s love for you.

After a few minutes of staring at this flame of Universal love/light energy, visualize this flame coming into your heart centre. Invite this flame to come inside of your chest, pulling in the flames of the Universe’s love, gently washing yourself in light/love, love/light energy. Feel the beginnings of the flickerings of love as this light of Unconditional Acceptance of Self is installed in your heart space.

Any time after this, you can bring your attention and intention to this blazing fire of “munay” (moon-ahy) (unconditional love), fanning the flames of your existence and eternal Being.

6. Connecting with Friends

Connecting with tribe is a beautiful way to keep your heart centre Open and activated. When we connect with like-minded people, we feel safe. And when we feel safe, our heart can stay open and in balance.

Our vibrations come together like tuning forks resonating at the same frequency. When we are vibrating at the same frequency, we can make a quantum leap in healing, aligning to one another’s true eternal nature, the one who was never born and who will never die.

True friends are those who witness you in non-judgment, non-attachment, and with love and compassion. They allow you to be your Authentic Self, and they hold you in sacred space as you fan these flames of existence for yourself.

The next time you are feeling down or like your heart is closed, pick up the phone and call someone you know who truly cares about you.

Set your intention to connect to their heart space, and begin breathing and coming to the present moment.

7. Color therapy

Color therapy is a beautiful practice and an invitation I accept and use in session work all the time.

Sit comfortably in a quiet place and bring your attention to your heart. Begin to breath as you focus on your chest area. After taking a few deep breaths, visualize the first colour that comes to you. Trust your inner guidance: whatever color is coming up for you is the color that your aura is wanting for, for harmonization and balance.

Your aura is also called the Luminous Energy Field—the torus, egg-shaped like field of vibrations—surrounding your physical body. This is the pattern of vibrations shamans are trained to see with the naked eye, and where our imprints, wounds, traumas, and affinities lie. When imprints are created in the Luminous Energy Field, there are ripples created in our state of beingness, and these ripples become affinities, and these affinities become patterns.

In another blog post, we talked about beliefs—our disempowering beliefs and how they make up the fabric of our existence of this space-time reality. Our beliefs are powerful, mighty beings who can get us off-kilter in a matter of moments. So, the next time you are having trouble opening your heart, or perhaps feel a tightness in your chest that you know is not physical and yet can’t seem to ignore, examine what beliefs are coming up for you.

What are the lies the mind is telling you (mainly about ourselves) that are stemming from a belief— a belief that is branching from an illogical distortion?

What “belief baggage” are you carrying? We all have it, we just have to bring it into our awareness.

And then invite yourself to master awareness of awareness, and awareness of awareness of awareness, and so forth. Bringing our beliefs to the surface, especially contradictory ones that we hold, is another one of the quickest ways to begin self-healing.

8. Journaling

The practice of Journaling is an amazing tool for processing. There is nothing juicier than opening up the fresh pages of a new Journal, waiting for you to fill the pages with your story and experiences.

The next time things are coming up for you, consider pouring everything out on the pages of a sacred Journal. Sometimes, we just have to “get it out.”

It doesn’t matter what you write or how you write it, simply getting the words out on to the pages can help you release whatever you are harbouring inside of you at any given moment.

After you Journal, breathe confidently knowing that you have released what no longer serves you and allow yourself to go about your day calling back in all things that are your birthright—love, bliss, abundance, inner peace, and all things in our best and highest good.

9. Living Authentically

When we live authentically, we give others permission to do the same. Some people are not in a place to honour our chosen path, and so judgments, comparisons and the like, can arise.

What is more, is that you are a “secondary character” in the so-called drama or play of their life, and when you begin to change, you no longer are fitting into their box or role you were previously playing for them.

This makes them uncomfortable and so (most times unconsciously), they try to re-correct you back into the character that you were once playing for them. This can hinder your growth and be unhealthy in a number of ways.

All the more reason why having healthy boundaries is imperative.

10. Healthy Boundaries

Setting healthy boundaries is necessary for going forth in our exploration of Self and the Universe. We are the Microcosm to the Macrocosm, and we cannot explore the Macrocosm if the Microcosm does not know it’s Self—it’s individuated sense of Self or Beingness—who has healthy boundaries. It is true what they say, “We are all one”, but many people confuse this by thinking that that in some way means we don’t have to, or shouldn’t, have healthy boundaries.

This could not be farther from the truth.

Compassion and healthy boundaries is another place that seems difficult for people who come to me to reconcile. Many times they’ll say to me, “I want to have compassion, be a compassionate person, be there for someone, do the right thing. And yet I feel awful once I have done so because I am not putting myself first.”

We can have compassion, for ourselves and others, and have healthy boundaries. In fact, setting healthy boundaries is compassion. It is a “both/and” situation, not an “either/or” type of thing.

And so healthy boundaries is a must, during the self-healing process, and always.

11. Standing in Your Truth

In Shamanism, the direction of the West is represented by Jaguar medicine. Mother sister Jaguar reminds us to stand in our truth, to have the courage to say what needs to be said when it needs to be said.

Speaking our truth is a powerful way to invite others to do the same. This doesn’t mean we are creating conflict or otherwise in some way being mean-spirited, discompassionate, unloving, or disconnected.

All it means here is that we are being authentic to ourselves, we are standing on our own two feet, we are doing our best in any given moment, and we are choosing ourselves—before anyone else. Not in a place from the Ego, but in a place derived from self-love.

It is not selfishness, it is self-love.

Standing in our truth and allowing others to see what we are and who we are gives them the go-ahead to also stand in theirs.

When we are authentic with people, and speak with words of love, our truth resonates with them on a level that simply cannot be argued with. Because it is our truth.

Everyone has a personal dream, meaning a unique way that they see the world. We are all artists painting our realities and co-creating what is before us in every moment. Respecting other people’s dreams—the way they see the world, the beliefs they hold, etc.—is one of the most compassionate ways we can go about our days. Relieving ourselves from conflict, dramas, arguments and battles. Respecting the dreams and visions of others, for no one person sees this reality in the same way.

12. Sending Love, Embodying Love

Sending love, embodying love, is one of the quickest ways to fill your own Self up with love. When we send love, we are connecting to our own individual Source of energy.

When we are connected to Infinite Source Energy of all that is, we allow others to do the same.

The next time you are feeling that tightening in your chest, or perhaps those overwhelming feelings of despair—or any kind of lower vibrations—visualize someone in front of you want to send love to (or better yet, someone you don’t want to send love to).

Set your intention to connect to their heart centre. Imagine for a moment love/light energy pouring out of your heart into theirs. Begin to feel gratitude in every fiber of your being for this thing we call “life”, and then send those feelings of gratitude out through your core to the other person and the rest of the world.

Gratitude is one of the highest vibrations, other than Unconditional Love, and so when we emit these powerful resonances, we can vibrate higher daily and connect back into that space-time reality where miracles are commonplace and magic is real.

13. Listen to Your Heart

Listening to your heart and cultivating inner stillness is a powerful tool in self-healing.

What is your heart saying? What messages does it have for you?

Are you thinking with your head, or with your heart?

Coming to the Present Moment, residing in that still place within you, turning your focus inward—instead of outward—and then quieting the mind long enough to hear what messages are coming through for you. Set your intention that you only hear messages of love and nothing else, that you feel with the mind, and think with the heart. Begin breathing deeply. Focus on the chest rising up and expanding, and then falling down closer and closer to the body.

There is safety in this quiet place of Surrender. There is Expansiveness here. Breathe.

14. Following our Bliss

In earlier articles, we’ve talked about a formula for living life presently and fully. When we Follow Our Bliss, amazing things become possible: We step into the flow of the Infinite Creator of all that is.

Following our bliss, to the best of our ability, in every moment, without attachment to or insistence on the outcome, is the formula. And one of the easiest ways to enact the formula is through passion.

When we do things we are passionate about, we step into that magical Flow, that “zone”. Passion, bliss, love, excitement—or any derivative thereof—is the way to get there.

Love is the vehicle.

Love is the vehicle for all things. The way we love says the most about us. The way we love ourselves and the way we love others.

You can ask yourself, “how are you loving today?”

Have you loved you today? If not, then why not? What is stopping you? If you are not loving you, or are not feeling the love for others, try practicing some of the tools we talked about here today.

And if you are loving you, and are loving others, then relax into yourself even deeper and keep doing what you are doing. Love is the only thing, the every thing.

When we vibrate at Unconditional Love, we are resonating at our true, unique energy signatures.

15. Unconditional Love

Unconditional Love comes from a place of honor and respect.

Loving people (or ourselves) unconditionally doesn’t mean the other can do no wrong. It is rooted in that timeless space of honour and respect, where we show up for the person and hold space for them no matter what they are going through. And most of all, we show up for ourselves.

When we place condition after condition on our love for people, this is the farthest thing from love.

For example, “If you do this, then I will love you. If you act this way, then I will give you my love, then I will show you I love you through reward.” Or similarly, “If you don’t do this, then I will punish you, I will not give you my love.”

Placing condition after condition on our love for people, is not love. This is control.

The next time you find yourself in any given situation that doesn’t seem to be going well, ask yourself, are you loving unconditionally? Or are you giving your love conditionally, on a “reward/punishment” basis?

So, too, the next time you are in that situation, ask yourself: Am I being loved unconditionally? Meaning, am I being shown love with honour and respect? Or, am I being loved conditionally, where I am only receiving love from the other person on a reward/punishment basis?

If you answered yes to the latter, it’s time to go back to your toolkit and set some healthy boundaries. You teach people how to treat you by how you treat yourself.

And then turn the focus inward. What lesson is presenting itself here? What mirror is this person holding up for us? Because at the end of the day, it has nothing to do with the other person, it has to do with ourselves.

And most likely—(not always but most likely)—if someone is not treating you with love and respect, it may be because you yourself are not loving and honouring your Self.

How can someone love and respect us if we are not loving and respecting ourselves?

Bringing it All Together: A Heart-Opening Truth

Sometimes I am asked, but how do we love ourselves? And the answer is, by loving others. Other times I am asked, but how do we love others? And the answer is, by loving ourselves.

How are we compassionate for ourselves? By being compassionate for others. And how are we compassionate for others? By being compassionate for ourselves.

Try these practices, and let me know how they work for you. I love hearing your feedback about your Journeys and the way things are going for you. As always please reach out and share your processes, at olivia@onelovemedicine.com. Even if you just need someone to be your sacred witness, to hold space for you, I am here for you. I believe in you!

In munay, in unconditional love,

Olivia

About the author: Olivia Weil plays the roles of a NY lawyer turned shamanic energy medicine practitioner, soul alchemy coach, plant-based nutritionist, and writer. She holds post-graduate certification from Cornell University in plant-based nutrition and was trained traditionally by the Four Winds Society and shamans of the old–the indigenous medicine peoples of the high Andes. She has an international healing practice which combines ancient wisdom with modern science. To connect with her, she can be reached at Olivia@onelovemedicine.com.

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