Surya means sun, and Hinduism holds that the seat of the sun within the body is in the heart.
The seat of the moon is in the brain/head.
The sun is constant, but the moon is fickle.
When you practice, lead with the heart, get the head to follow along, and let the body take care of itself.
If you're like me, you know it's all too easy to let the brain take the lead, and that can create a lot of problems with confusion, self-contradiction, and - worst of all - a real lack of kindness toward the self. Most often, I would say, the reason I'm blaming or berating myself is because I determined some ideal outcome with my head and wasn't able to bring it about, and I start to feel like nothing I do is good enough, when instead I could have chosen to act from the heart without expectation and be content or even happy with whatever outcome came my way, because I could know my motivations were the best I could make them.
So here's my little challenge for practicing kindness this week - what about leading with the heart and really letting the true essence or purpose of yourself be the way you approach the world around you? What about choosing from a place of authenticity and emotion instead of calculation and caution?
I'd love it if you'd share your thoughts or plans in the comments.
2 comments:
One of the things I love about your blog, Allison, is that you so often speak to the very things I'm contemplating and working on, and your practicing kindness thread is particularly special to me. Someone once told me that I am not my thoughts; while they may run amok, tugging me back to the past or tempting me to script future moments, they are not me.
When I began to realize that this is indeed true, it became a little easier to see them for what they are - distractions from the moment, attachments to past moments or moments that haven't even happened yet. But what I have also been learning is that if I try to fight them, they become stronger. When I realized this, it became a little easier to let them happen and let them go. It's still work, still takes practice. But I have been finding lately that sometimes I have these moments when I am truly 'in the moment,' and not attaching all this stuff to it, just being in it, being who I am in it. This wouldn't have been the case for me a few years ago. Practice doesn't make perfect, but it makes it better!
Must give heart thoughts more credit ALlison> I try to act less with my heart ...more with caution. Seems my heart overwhelms my actions..Im literally afraid of acting too much with my heart....
I am one of those: Oversensitives...
I'll think on this and get back to it. My heart is heavy with my dad's illness right now...and Radar's...
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