Move from your critical, thinking mind, to the feeling state of your heart

In the yogic tradition, the seat of wisdom, and non-thinking awareness is in the heart space. Not the physical or emotional heart. Not the energetic heart, the heart chakra, but the non-judgemental awareness in this space. This space feels like being in the eye of a hurricane. There is peace even though your thoughts may be swirling around you. In this place, you can watch without getting sucked in.

Many new meditators believe that the goal of meditation is stopping their thoughts. This is actually not possible, your thoughts will be there, but you can learn to witness them and not get sucked up. Your brain is hardwired to process incoming sensory information, put a label on it, and judge it as good or bad. Your brain has “stories” around these objects or events. Instead of being present with what is unfolding in the moment, you become lost in the story.

You can shift your attention from your critical chattering mind and into open-hearted awareness. Meditation can help you get beneath the level of thought into a sense of feeling or awareness without thought.

The goal of this practice is to move from “thinker” to “observer,” becoming the witness. In Yoga, the witness lives in the heart space considered the seat of wisdom. Set a timer for two to five minutes, or sit to the guided audio meditation. Take a moment to get settled, either seated or on your back. If you need to move or shift your seat, go ahead and do that. There are no shoulds in this practice. Let your eyes close, or let your gaze drop just in front of you. Bring your full attention to your breath in your chest. Don’t change or force your breath in any way. Just observe the rise and fall of your chest. Let this be your anchor, your object of meditation. Take a few breaths noticing the sensation of your breath in your chest.

Bring your awareness to your heart center, not necessarily your physical heart, but the space at the center of the chest. Imagine your heart center is filled with soft white light. It is spacious and a safe space. Imagine the breath moving through your heart space. Maybe you imagine the light ebbing and flowing with the breath. Imagine a dance between the light and the breath,
If you get lost in thought, you may have the sense of being in your head; move your awareness back to your heart space.

From Your Head to Your Heart Guided Audio

I will lead you from your head to your heart in this short guided meditation. Moving your awareness to the spacious, peaceful place at your heart center allows you to be the witness without the chattering mind, judgments, and stories.

Enjoy!