http://www.care2.com/greenliving/the-attentive-heart.html
The Attentive Heart
Adapted from Moments in Between, by David Kundtz (Conari Press, 2006).
“When your heart is attentive, your entire being enters your prayer without your having to force it,” writes Rebbe Nachman. You notice the quick, wan smile of a friend as she says that everything is fine. You notice that your colleague is absent from a meeting he always looks forward to.
Learn more about the attentive heart, the heart that notices:
When your heart is attentive you notice the presence of the divine everywhere and all the time, in a handshake, or a smile.
The attentive heart is in love with life and all its expressions and, for the most part, doesn’t miss those expressions, no matter how subtle or indirect.
Having an attentive heart is just another name for prayer.
Your heart is attentive, but yearns to be more so. The moments and hours you spend in peaceful quietude are to the heart like moisture and sun to a tree. They transform your heart from the dryness of distraction to the vibrant life of seeing what’s truly there, that is, to attention.
It happens on its own, “without your having to force it.”
Go to the Source
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3 comments
add your comment »I second the emotion (and the logic) of Juliet D.'s comments. But, even with the benefit of current scientific knowledge, knowing that the seat of the emotions is in the brain, I still seem to feel them most strongly in my chest. So it is not such a wonder that ancient (and not-so-ancient) writers, being human, took what is ultimately a dualistic view of human reason and emotion. One of the tragedies of this separation is that people's emotions can then lead them to "believe" almost anything, no matter what the consequences for themselves, or others - even to the extent of justifying terrible actions in the name of "Love". Unfortunately, we humans seem to take an unreasonably long time to let go of our superstitions, even while claiming to be such rational beings, and so superior to the "lower animals". Some of them could teach us a huge lesson about love. For instance, I've noticed that most dogs have a far greater capacity for unconditional love than the vast majority of humans - even most of those who claim to believe in a "God of Love". Fortunately, modern psychology has come to recognize the vital importance of "attachment" to the mental health of humans, as well as to that of other social animals. What these "lower animals" have known instinctively, we humans have insisted on learning the hard way - the really long, bloody, and hard way. This is why I too have more "faith" in a better future due to the influence of psychology, rather than due to any religion.
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I have always wondered why the writers of the Bible used the Egyptian notion that the heart was the organ responsible for human emotions. Then again, the Judeo-Christian God didn't tell his people to wash their hands, either, and he didn't say "hey, this is poetry and metaphor," resulting in suffering for those who take every word literally. While psychology and psychiatry are dynamic disciplines that must continually correct themselves, they offer a lot more hope for humanity than superstition.
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Knowing ourselves can only come from a relationship with Jesus christ. When we compare ourselves to him and not the world we see how deeply we fall short of who we ought to be. He who has seen me has seen the Father. No one comes to the Father but by me- Jesus.
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