Kay:
Hey, hey Questers welcome back. It’s the final day of November in 2021. Can you believe it? We only have one month left of this year. You know, honestly Shi, the more distance we can put between us and 2020, the better.
Shi:
Truly. And the more wisdom we’re able to have and reflection we can take, 2021 seemed to be one of those years as well, at least the first three-quarters of it. But feeling better here as we stick the landing on 2021 and we stick the landing on November 2021 with this quote from Lissa Rankin, who tells us, “The longest journey you’ll ever make is the journey from the head to the heart.”
Kay:
Now, Lissa is a mind, body, medicine physician, the author of seven books, and the founder of the Whole Health Medicine Institute. Her TED talks have been viewed over 5 million times and she starred in two national public television specials, “Heal Yourself, Mind over Medicine” and “The Fear Cure.” So, this woman is very highly qualified to talk about that journey from head to heart.
Shi:
A physician and a spiritual healer and a good speaker. It’s an interesting and tough blend to find. And think that what she brings forward here. It’s great imagery. It helps us connect. Anytime we’ve got imagery or metaphors, it helps us connect to the message behind them. But it’s also just plain good, I think, insight on the human condition. Because how often do you know when your heart is right, but your head is arguing hard. I know I’ve been there, even been in there in the last 24 hours, even in the last 24 minutes. This distance and this disagreement between your head and your heart can cause us a lot of strife. A lot of times we’ll choose our head and our hearts and our souls are the ones that suffer.
Kay:
Well, many of us, I think, have heard the kinds of phrases like listen to your heart or your heart speaks the truth always and things like that, and it can feel fluffy. But the reality is that your head and your heart actually share, and your gut does too. They share nerves that are very, very similar and neural pathways that run in your brain. Those kinds of nerve endings also exist inside your heart area, and they also exist inside your belly. Actually, a lot of them are in your belly. You’ve got this whole gut-brain. That’s why many of us when we experience something that’s heartbreaking, you say, it feels like I got punched in the…
Shi:
Gut.
Kay:
…gut because you have that feeling there when something with your heart happens. Back when we’re listening to our heart, it’s usually this chest/belly region combination and the physicality of your brain in that region of your body. They have a lot of similarities in their thinking that comes from that space that can often be a little bit more true because your brain is filled with patterns. Your brain is filled with constructs be it from the institutions that you participated in, be it from your family that you’ve had. But you’ve got all these belief systems inside your brain that can sometimes trigger thoughts that might not necessarily be congruent with what’s highest and best for you or your life.
Shi:
I know those thoughts can construct all kinds of justifications, logic, reasons, facts. It can present a whole case, and your brain’s got the advantage because it’s also where that little narrator voice of yours lives up there in your head. So, it’s often expressing to us those thoughts, those patterns, those behaviors, those learned reactions, and responses. Those aren’t always congruent with how our heart is feeling because our heart is not confined by those belief systems. It is not playing out patterns. It is being a human heart fueled by a soul and feeling emotions and it wants to be compassionate. It wants to be forgiving. It wants to be open. It wants to be shattered when something sad happens. This is the desire of the heart. It does not live within those constructs and confines of what happens logically up in our heads. I think that’s why Lissa is telling us it’s the longest journey between the two.
Kay:
It truly is because it can feel sometimes like we’re so stuck in our heads and that it knows best. If you’ve been a Quester here for a while, you’ve heard us talk about the voice in our heads, and we trust it. We trust that voice with everything that we’ve gotten. We call it logic, and we have feelings, and then we look to justify them with our thoughts or try to stifle them with our thoughts. So, it’s just so interesting that that longest journey can be so long indeed because we grew up with the brain. We are a very cerebral society. Ancient cultures were very much rooted in heart-centered speak.
So, it’s okay that we are now just learning to take that journey because we’ve journeyed up into the mind, and look at what an incredible industrial world it’s created for us now. I think we’re starting to see over time the shift back into this journey from the head to the heart. So, what Lissa Rankin reminds us of is that “The longest journey you will ever make is that journey from the head to the heart.”
Shi:
Now, if you are wondering how to walk that journey then today’s quest is for you. Finding congruency through heart and head is best established while either meditating or focusing on the in and the out part of your breathing. So, today we’re telling you to take just five minutes out of your day to slow down your breathing, focus on it, meditate on it and take that journey from your head down into your heart. Are you ready?
Kay:
Let’s quest!
