Rest In The Heart, Then Perform Action

The most ancient and universal practice for spiritual regeneration is to rest the mind in the heart.

From the ancient Shiva Sutras of India to the Philocalia – writings of Orthodox Christian masters on the 'Prayer of the heart' – meditation guides of East and West have lauded the practice of resting in the heart as a graceful cure for our violent, anxious, and separate mind.

In truth, the state of our mind determines the quality of our behavior. Their teaching is, first restore wholeness in the heart-center. Only then can we project this wholeness into healing action.

“Hridayeh chitta sanghattad drishyas svapa darshanam: One who merges the mind in the Heart perceives this world as it truly is: a projection of consciousness." ~Shiva Sutras

"Sink down in silence into the depths of your heart and call more and more upon the radiant Name of Jesus. Everyone who does this will experience, at last, the Inward Light." ~ 'Way of a Pilgrim'

“Meditation is the heart's silence, free of all thoughts. Here the heart breathes Christ.” ~Hesychius of Jerusalem

"May remembrance of Jesus be united to your breathing: then you shall truly know the use of Silence." ~Heychius of Jerusalem

“So long as the mind remains in the head, where thoughts jostle one another, it has no time to rest on one point. But when attention descends into the heart, it attracts all the powers of the soul and body in one center. This unity of our life in one pure center immediately reflects in the heart as a special sensation, faint at the beginning, then becoming gradually stronger, firmer, deeper… And so in due course our attention to the heart, by its own vigor, gives birth to an effortless Warmth.” ~Theophane the Recluse

"God was meant to be our breath. We were meant to be healthy and full of life by breathing into the heart the loving power of God." ~Fa. George Maloney


LINK: 'Prayer of the Heart'