Do you follow your heart or your head? Generations of instruction have told us to ignore our hearts and listen to our brains. It’s simply logic over emotion every time. Except, it’s not that simple.
People were conditioned to listen to logic and stifle their emotions in order to conform to societal standards and fit the industrialized blueprint for employment. Over the centuries, we have effectively numbed our instincts and replaced them with societal expectations. We have silenced our heart voice and embraced conformity.
We have the ability to choose how we respond to any given situation and our decisions have their consequences. How many times have you chosen the safe way in a situation rather than taking a risk? We have been conditioned to make decisions based on the responsible, loyal, worker model created a long time ago. Our logical decisions kept us safely in our comfort zone but also continually controlled by societal expectations. What would people think of us if we didn’t conform?
This mindset has traveled down through generations and still keeps some of us stuck. While thinking logically does have its merits, your heart voice is what really guides you. We also call this intuition. It can show up in small ways, like a gut feeling to take a different route to work in the morning only to find out later that a fender bender would have made you late, or in big ways like ignoring a doctor’s advice and saving a life. No matter how it shows up for you, do you honestly take time to listen to it?
Sometimes you might feel silly acting on your heart voice because you cannot logically explain your reasoning behind a decision. You just know. It just is. However, that’s not always acceptable in the eyes of a society that has forced its inhabitants to conform and ignore intuition. If we all followed our intuition this world would be a very different place, and a happier one in my opinion. There’s no need to feel discouraged, it’s quite simple to get back in touch with your heart voice and all you need to do is meditate. 
Meditation helps us tune in to our heart voice so we know what the best decision is in a situation, or which path we should take. You’re reading this article now and your heart voice probably had a say in it. Really listening to your heart voice means going within, silencing your mind, and allowing. There is no better way to do this than through daily meditation. This is the one aspect of your spiritual practice that you should always make time for. It is your oxygen. If you are not meditating on a regular, daily basis, I challenge you to set aside 20 minutes a day to sit with your heart voice and really listen.
You don’t need anywhere special to meditate so just throw that excuse out right now. Meditation can happen anywhere you feel comfortable enough to tune out the external world and focus inward. You don’t need a guide to take you through a meditation (although guided meditations are a favorite of mine) you simply need to go within.
This can be done as easily as focusing on your breathing. Turn your attention on each breath that you draw in and let out. Inhale and feel the air filling up your nostrils and inflating your lungs. Notice how it feels blowing over your lips as you exhale and your chest sinks. That’s it. Just be aware of your breathing and soon you will find yourself in a relaxed, meditative state where you will clear your mind and allow your heart voice to speak. You will be amazed at what it has to say.
P.S. Photo Credits to Bart LaRue on James Garcia on Unsplash
