The Space Between
The space between the head and the heart can seem like a world apart, and it is the topic of discussion today. The path leading from one to the other is like Atlantis, sunken and lost. It seems I live in one or the other, rarely the two intertwine. The thoughts inside my head carry me through the aether, to the ends of the astral and back. Tattered pieces of inspiration and innovation frolic before they fall.
My heart, lonely and deep, is starving to be fed. When I dare walk back from the edge of oblivion, I catch site of that dark and desperate place rarely visited for long. The terror of settling into the depths of emotions buried in the backyard of my being keep me at bay. Screams from the dead reach me in the stillness I try so hard to avoid. But, alas, I’m called back. There I sit in screaming silence longing to escape the pain I so unapologetically left aeons ago. “Must I?,” I ask.
I must. If I am to live a life of pleasure and dreams fulfilled there is work to be done. “In the shadow,” they say. “Over there, you see it?,” they ask. I pretend not to hear. Until the tower falls and the glass shatters. “Oh, I see it now.” In pieces, memories lie on the floor waiting to be tended to. Again, I’m tempted to sweep them under the rug. But the day has come where my brave heart will attempt to heal. All the people who left me and claimed me dead. The harsh words spoken that pierced the flesh. All that I’ve loved, gone, naked to my eye. In spirit they live and torment my soul. Too sensitive for my own good, yet so strong I go silent. Just try to reach me, just try.
Though I exaggerate slightly, as I have actually done a fair amount of excavating, it’s apparent that there is more digging to do. How do I know this? Because I still reside in a somewhat tumultuous and turbulent landscape. Thankfully, there are no more blizzards and boulders being hurled at me at quantum speed. The last ten years of my life have left me battered and bruised and nearly broken. When we begin to recognize the Universe communicating with us, it’s best we interpret the signs accurately and take appropriate and immediate action.
Speaking of talking, I would be amiss if I didn’t mention the throat chakra. It occupies the very important space between the heart. and the third eye and crown chakras. This is a significant energy center for me, as part of my divine path is to communicate truth. The Universe obviously has a sense of humor since I distinctly remembered asking God why we had to talk at all. Most of what comes out of our mouths is trivial at best and harmful at worse. We forget how our words create worlds.
In my search for ways to help myself heal and grow, I’ve done a considerable amount of research and study over the years. It’s the application of this knowledge that leads to wisdom, and as you can surely gather from above, this has been an ongoing challenge of mine. I thoroughly enjoy learning and fitting together the puzzle pieces and creating systems in my head. But, when it comes to actually practicing and applying them I fall short. I’ve been guilty of desiring instant gratification over tried, true, and tested. As humans, I think most of us would prefer the quickest, simplest, and most direct route to transformation possible. There are countless modalities that exist to aide us on our healing journey, and we can all too easily get lost in the mire.
I’ve gathered that one of the primary solutions to my dilemma is meditation, which helps integrate heart and head and close the gap between. Instead of choosing one or the other, go for both! Chopra.com tells how “meditation can increase GABA, which mediates the fight and flight response caused by stress and allows the body to return to restful awareness. When we are debating whether a decision should be made with our heart or our mind, we are causing stress, and we may be cutting off access to the wisdom center,” referred to as the basal ganglia in the brain.
When we practice Chopra’s Primordial Sound Meditation, “we invite ourselves to ask the questions, ‘Who am I? What do I want? How can I serve? What is my life’s purpose?’ These simple, yet profound questions asked just in the moment that we invite restful awareness into ourselves may be exactly how we are beginning to integrate the intellectual self with the emotional self.”
Other highly suggested methods to assist us on our journey to a brighter life and enlightenment are shadow work, chakra healing, and tapping just to name a few. Sometimes the solution lies in the holistic rather than the singular. Hopefully, this knowledge will assist others in creating sacred space within themselves and without, allowing them to do the work we came here to do.
