“We bring about change when we circle into the deepest place within and circle out again.” Byron Ballard
How deep do you go? What do you learn there? What do you bring out from your depths to help with daily life?
First, I have to say that the quote I’m using is a paraphrase of Ballard’s words. I recently heard her speak and was moved by the way she connects our lives with nature’s cycles. She is a ritualist and teacher for Mother Grove Temple and lives in Asheville.
Much of what I’ve said in my blog posts is about how much we need to go within to meditate or calm ourselves, but we need to do more. It’s so easy to go to that deeper, calm place and let it simply be a break from the bluster outside and on the news, but that deep calmer place is also where many answers lie.
We all need guidance in these challenging times. We may find it within, talking with friends or family, reading a spiritual book, participating in online gatherings, or just sitting on the deck listening to the birds sing. But when we have these experiences, it is important to notice not just what we feel when we are there, but what new thoughts and feelings come to us afterwards.
The Heart of the Universe
This awareness may suggest ways to change areas of our lives. Last night I listened to an online talk by Dr. Rollin McCraty on “The Heart and the Field of Collective Consciousness.” It was part of the program “Attuning to the Voice of Mother Nature.” What he described was how the energy of the universe and our energy interact. While the universal energies affect our heart, our heart’s energy affects so much around us.
When we are acting from the heart, others will feel our love and compassion. When we do good for others, but are acting from the head, not the heart, other people will feel the difference. When our leaders are acting from political gain only, we can sense that it is not genuine caring that motivates them despite what they say.
The Most Powerful Energy Is Group Energy
Group energy can be powerful. For example, science states that when a group meditates together, their energies connect and expand beyond the individual energies. So if we want to create change, it is clear that group energy is more powerful than individual energy, especially when the group intention comes from the heart.
This energetic experience comes from a deep place within. To complete the circle, we must circle out again. When we do that, where does the energy take us?
Living From the Heart Brings Us Closer
Living from the heart, not the head, will help us choose to act from compassion, empathy, love, and concern for the other as well as ourselves. When we are connected from the heart, we are able to connect with others in a deeper and more meaningful way.
I met one of my dearest friends when I broke an elbow and cracked my pelvis several years ago. We attended the same spiritual community and she was in a group that helped people like me. I wasn’t married at that time and lived alone, so I needed a ride to the doctor’s office because I couldn’t drive.
I immediately liked her. We both were teachers, loved nature, and she was clearly someone who lived from the heart. Years later, we are still close friends who care about each other and can share deeply, truly a gift from the heart.
During two of my teaching experiences, in inner city New Orleans and in New Mexico, I taught high school students who lived in dysfunctional and precarious situations. Some were gifted, others very talented, but their abilities to achieve in school were limited by difficult home situations and sometimes by the limitations at the school.
I didn’t always act from my head in those situations. I had small classes and got to know students more than when I had taught a large group. When I acted from the heart to help the students solve their problems and stay in school, my compassionate approach created difficulty for me and in two situations led to my forced resignation. I learned that acting in the student’s best interest often went against the administration’s determination to pretend there were no problems.
Acting From the Heart Helps Ourselves and Others
But I’ve never been sorry that I did all I could to help my students. My heart would not allow me to make other choices. Today, we have many people acting from the heart taking care of coronavirus patients in precarious situations. We also have some leaders who are making the difficult decisions to keep state populations safe despite political fallout.
Surely, when we circle to the deepest part of ourselves during this pandemic, we understand that we need to pay attention to the scientific facts and act wisely as we circle out again. Isolating ourselves may seem extreme, but in this case, acting from the heart includes doing what is safe to protect ourselves and others. Stay safe and well!
© 2020 Georganne Spruce
Awakening to the Dance 