Through our heart – the heart center – flow the most elevated feelings we can experience in this human body and human life.
The heart center unites the upper and lower energy centers – spirit and matter – into a single whole, and balances them through its unique intelligence.
It allows us to dive deep within ourselves – into spaces and dimensions beyond this plane of existence. Through the heart, we can come to know ourselves on levels not limited by depth, height, or the linear passage of time.
Given the way this world is structured, we often neglect our own heart – and with that, may never seize the chance to discover its full potential in our lifetime.
We don’t ignore the heart intentionally – it’s just that its decisions are often at odds with the logic of everyday functioning, in conflict with the basic impulse to preserve material safety and survival.
The logic and calculations of the mind are simple: in a world that places little value on the heart, those who follow it often get hurt.
Finding balance among the energy centers of decision-making – the pelvis, the heart, and the head – is a great skill.
It requires self-knowledge, energetic awareness, inner alignment, honesty, and the ability to enter stillness and peace.
These centers of decision-making reside in the pelvis, the heart, and the center of the head.
The pelvis decides through desire, the heart through feeling, and the head through thought.
When all three are activated and engaged in their own way, confusion and inner conflict can arise – but the heart is the only center that can truly bring the others into balance.
BLOCKAGES OF THE HEART CENTER
Every blockage we encounter can also be seen as a lesson.
When the soul overcomes a lesson, it grows stronger and wiser.
As we live this life, it’s good to remember that the soul seeks growth – and without challenges along the way, growth is not possible.
This is especially important to keep in mind when speaking of heart blockages, as the heart is a very delicate and deeply personal energetic space.
SEPARATION
Duality – light and shadow, spirit and matter, love and its apparent absence – is part of the human experience.
But the heart reminds us that all of these contrasts are aspects of one greater whole.
Instead of seeing ourselves as broken into fragments, in the heart we rediscover unity.
The heart, as an energy center, can help us stop seeing ourselves as a collection of internal contradictions and start perceiving the connection and oneness in all things.
By realizing ourselves as unity, we can understand our current life as one experience within a broader spectrum.
Life contains many experiences, expressed as vibrations that move within the full spectrum of what is possible in existence.
When we see through what initially appears as separation, we begin to perceive our current state in a new way – with deeper empathy toward other souls sharing the journey and a fuller love for the entirety of existence.
Once this specific blockage of separation is released, we become softer toward ourselves and others.
Examples of heart-separation blockages in daily life include:
– the feeling of “I don’t belong anywhere”
– the belief that “no one can help me”
– excessive identification with roles (such as victim, loner, savior…)
– resistance to teamwork or emotional intimacy
– jealousy and resentment toward the happiness or success of others
– spiritual perfectionism
LACK OF SELF-LOVE
Our relationship with ourselves is often disrupted early in life through criticism, shaming, or emotional neglect. The heart chakra is the space that retains the wound of inner non-acceptance, which may originate from past lives or this one, and most deeply through close (especially romantic) relationships.
It’s important to distinguish between the block of separation, which stems from a feeling of being disconnected from the world and others, and lack of self-love, which comes from a deeply rooted belief that we are not worthy of love.
Even when we are surrounded by people who love us, if we do not love ourselves – we will not be able to receive that love. This is not a matter of our relationship with others, but with ourselves.
It helps to remember that we cannot truly express love for others if we do not have love for ourselves. It’s unwise to push ourselves or overextend for others if we haven’t first tended to ourselves.
No one can pour from an empty cup. A spiritual practice that involves devoting time to working on and with oneself – nurturing your inner being – is essential in awakening self-love.
When we learn to love ourselves, we no longer form attachments that cling to others – we become freer.
Examples of lack of self-love include:
– an excessive need to prove oneself to others
– constant self-criticism in everyday speech
– attracting relationships in which we are hurt
– dependence on external validation
– rejecting care and self-nurturing
– fear of making mistakes due to perfectionism
– difficulty setting boundaries out of fear of losing love
DISRESPECT OF PERSONAL BOUNDARIES
Everything we’ve experienced that involved a violation of our personal boundaries can leave deep internal traces.
These wounds often later manifest as jealousy, resentment, fear of intimacy, repressed anger, anxiety, feelings of being unloved, or even emotional instability – with emotions swinging between deep sadness and euphoric joy.
Violations of personal boundaries injure both the heart and sacral centers, because they strike at the very core of our intimacy and capacity to connect.
At the root of this issue, we find two main extremes – two types of integrity violation:
- When we cross someone else’s boundaries, consciously or unconsciously, thus violating their integrity.
- When others cross our boundaries, disregarding or wounding our personal space and worth.
Both situations damage our sense of inner stability and self-connection – but in different ways.
Healing begins when we recognize where integrity was compromised and choose to stand for ourselves again.
Personal boundaries are often broken in early childhood – when we instinctively knew what we needed, but external authorities taught us to ignore that. Healing our boundaries means learning to once again listen to our own inner wisdom.
When we try to heal our personal boundaries, we can often feel lost – because these boundaries were breached from a very young age, and healing them can sometimes be even more difficult than healing the separation block. That’s because boundaries relate not only to emotions, but to life habits – and anyone who has ever tried to change a habit knows how hard that can be.
THE HEART – OUR STRENGTH
The feminine principle of creation cannot exist without the energy of the heart and the energy of unconditional love flowing through it.
It is the power of unconditional love that teaches us how to forgive, gives us faith and hope, and pushes us forward – because it carries the inner knowing that love alone can set things right. For ourselves, for others, for our relationships, and for this world.
The feminine principle of creation shows us that great strength can arise from the gentleness and openness of the heart.
OPENING THE HEART
Throughout our lives, many experiences can cause our heart center to close – and this is completely understandable.
To walk through life with a wide-open heart is like walking around exposed, vulnerable to all sorts of wounds.
An open heart can see through the wounds it carries – not just our own, but also those others carry in their heart centers and act through – and recognize them for what they are: something that has buried or hidden our heart, but is not truly who we are.
Our true nature is only masked and buried by those wounds.
Heart openness doesn’t mean being unprotected at all times.
The heart possesses inner wisdom – it knows when to open, and when to protect itself.
It’s not about keeping the heart open all the time – even though spiritual teachings often emphasize heart opening – but rather about allowing the free flow of energy through the heart, which enables the expression of emotions without blockages and without forcing.
The heart has the intelligence to maintain balance in the energy flow that passes through it, as the central point between the upper and lower energy centers.
Just like our energy field expands and contracts depending on the environment, the situation, and the people around us – so does the heart.
It’s unreasonable to expect the heart to open in every situation – especially in those that feel threatening.
The heart’s energy field adapts – without us needing to interfere.
THE HEART DOES NOT PUSH
If we truly get to know the energy of the heart, we learn that it is not a force that pushes, rushes, or demands.
The heart is what accepts, what waits for the right moment, what allows ripening.
This is one of the heart’s greatest wisdoms: the understanding that the compassion we have for ourselves applies equally to others.
That everything in life has its own rhythm and timing – and that our personal rhythms are not the same.
A PLACE OF CONNECTION WITH OUR SPIRITUAL FAMILY
The heart center is a place where we can ask the questions we carry inside – and connect with our spiritual family and guidance.
It is a sacred space where we find the silence that speaks – in a language the mind cannot grasp, but the heart and our being understand completely.
PRACTICES THAT CAN HELP STRENGTHEN THE ENERGY OF THE HEART:
Everything we do energetically should serve us – meaning it must be aligned with who we are and how we feel about a particular practice. The assessment of whether something is right for us or not should always come from within.
So, don’t force yourself to do something just because someone else said it’s amazing – if it doesn’t feel right for you, it’s not for you!
Practices don’t have to be complicated or complex. Energies are gentle, subtle – they don’t require forceful activation.
CONTACT WITH THE HEART
Place one palm over the other on the center of your chest, close your eyes, and breathe.
Simply feel yourself in that space and allow whatever needs to reveal itself to you in this moment to arise through it.
CONNECTING HEAVEN AND EARTH THROUGH THE HEART
This is easiest to do with your body in a vertical posture, upright and grounded.
First, become aware of – and then connect – with the energy of the sky above your head and the energy of the earth beneath your body.
Breathe both energies into your heart.
Allow them to harmonize through your body.
BREATHING INTO THE HEART AND IGNITING THE SPARK
Bring your attention to the center of your chest and visualize a small spark of your awareness being lit within it.
Let your breath nourish that spark – allow it to grow stronger, until it becomes a glowing orb of light resting at the center of your chest.
THE ROSE
Visualize your heart center as a rosebud, still closed.
As you breathe and gently infuse the rose with life, allow its petals to slowly and gently open.
Be mindful that the petals only open when you are ready – when you are ready to release whatever is holding back the full blooming of your heart center.
THE HEART AS A GUIDE
The experience of the human heart transcends logic.
It is not only the center of emotion, but the doorway to a deeper understanding of ourselves, of others, and of all existence.
When we learn to listen to the heart – not only through emotional impulses, but through the quiet wisdom it carries – we begin to heal the past, open to the present, and shape a future rooted in authentic connection.
The heart does not push.
The heart waits.
It is up to us to turn toward it – and allow it to guide us.