Life Inside Out: Living from the Heart

By S. Joy Hart

H-E-A-R-THeart Energy Always Reveals Truth.

Life Inside Out offers examples of how living from our hearts will always guide us to the truth of any situation, whether individually or globally. We all have the wisdom within us, but we have forgotten how to access it.

We are habituated to living in our heads. The mind is a mixed bag of past fictions. When we judge present situations and relationships from these mental stories, we are not seeing clearly or truthfully. To survive and thrive in the world today, we all need to rediscover our heart mind. We open up by going within to listen to the heart. Each moment is unique, and each individual is unique. Only the heart is equipped to interpret the true meaning of our lives. Life Inside Out presents everyday situations that help to tune out the mind chatter and turn up the volume of our heart wisdom.

S. Joy Hart is a student and teacher of metaphysics, world mythologies, philosophy, and spiritual science. Her focus is on finding the common patterns within each, in order to make them relevant to our everyday lives. She lives and writes in northern California.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press
• Release date: Jun 10, 2011
• ISBN: 9781452535081

S. Joy Hart

For many years S. Joy Hart has been studying and writing about the similarities between religious, metaphysical, psychological and personal growth teachings. She draws on the fact that all these disciplines resonate and complement each other creating a beautiful pattern that helps us understand the meaning and purpose of our lives. They all point to love as the primary force in the Universe, and our hearts as being the point of connection to that source of power. Joy has also worked in the corporate world for a few decades and raised three sons for the most part as a single mom. This background has helped to shape her approach to the esoteric into unique type of ‘kitchen table’ wisdom. Her goal is to share her understanding of abstract concepts in a down to earth practical manner that can ease the application to everyday life for balance and fulfillment. Her under graduate degrees are in English, History, Psychology and a Masters of Divinity. She is an ordained inter-faith minister which enables her to teach the truths present in various religious dogmas by exploring the metaphysical symbolism of scriptures. Because she believes that all learning is easier and more effective if it is accompanied by fun, she uses myth and fairy tales to illuminate the meaning of our life lessons. S. Joy currently lives in Northern California. She can be reached at [e-mail]

Book preview

LIFE

INSIDE OUT

Living From the Heart

S. Joy Hart

missing image file

Copyright © 2011 S. Joy Hart

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press books may be ordered through booksellers or by contacting:

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

1663 Liberty Drive

Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com

1-[phone]

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-3508-1 (e)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-3507-4 (sc)

Library of Congress Control Number: 2011907892

Printed in the United States of America

Balboa Press rev. date: 6/7/2011

Contents

Foreword

Introduction

A Soulfull Life

You’ve Got To Have Heart

Life Is But a Dream

Are We There Yet?

Great Expectations

Is It True?

Do You Have Control or Command?

Be Childlike – Not Childish

Stand By Me

The Present is Pre-sent

The Ultimate Costume Party

Gratitude

A Lesson In Everything

F-E-A-R

The Truth About Trust

Floating Down The River De-Nile

John Boy Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Birthing Light

Love or Money

Don’t Worry…Be Happy

The Declaration of Dependence

The Light Part of the Dark Side

Peace Over Power

But(t) Think

Information Overload

Everything Is Relative

Do You Wanna Dance?

Avatar Depression

Love vs. Need

You Are a Symphony

Another Look at Fatherhood

Divide and Conquor

Laughter Orgasms

Spirals of Response vs. Circles of Reaction

You Are Not Your Story

We Are All Addicts

I Spent It All!

A Genesis Perspective On Purpose

I’m Gorgeous Inside

Conscious, Compassionate Community

Living Outside In Can Be Lethal

Life Unplugged

In Everything Give Thanks

I’m Not Who You Think I Am

How To Change the World

Pay Attention

A Puzzle Piece of Peace

Real Men

How Free Are You?

The Circle of Life

Things That Make You Go Hmmm.

Are We In Oz?

The Power of Intention

The Cost of Shame

A Hidden Halloween

A Higher Calling

Love or Fear – Your Choice

Finding Waldo

Those Inner Demons

The Energy of Money

The Gift of Stress

Truth or Consequences

The U. S. in Wonderland

The Best Gift to Give

Soul Vs. Money

Act, Don’t React.

Summer of Love – Act II

Super Love

Warm Fuzzies Vs Cold Pricklies

What You Resist Persists

Who Are You…Really?

Whose Business Are You In?

Spring’s Resurrection Pattern

Revolution or Evolution

Peace

What’s the Purpose?

Trick or Treat Elections

Christmas Inside Out

I’m Just Sayin’…

Through a Glass Darkly

Love from the Inside Out

Afterward

Bibliography

Resources and

Recommended Reading:

About The Author

Foreword

Growing up in post WW2 England, wildflowers were a natural part of my childhood years. My friends and I spent hours roaming the fields and woods surrounding my home. We crafted daisy chains into necklaces and crowns, harvested berries from prolific blackberry bushes, and gathered large bouquets of bluebells from the woods. I took the presence of these and many other lovely flowers so much for granted, as they were always there.

Years later after living in Spain for a few years, I moved to California where I discovered the digital camera, with its handy zoom feature. My passion for flowers was satisfied by year round blooming flowers in California. I commenced taking close up photographs of any kind of flower that showed its beautiful face. I was constantly in awe of how the essence of each flower manifested itself through the eye of the camera lens, and I saw features hitherto unappreciated by the naked eye.

When I met Joy Hart we were enrolled in a Spiritual Peacemaking Seminary. We became immediate friends. Joy feels like the sister I never had. She is my friend, confidante, and one of my most inspiring spiritual teachers. Her years of spiritual and religious studies have given her a myriad of threads that she is able to weave together into her own personal fabric of clear understanding.

As we visited and studied together, I began to see my photographs from a much deeper perspective. The flowers were Nature’s way of presenting a pattern to follow to become our fully-formed beautiful selves. In other words, we are fulfilled when we allow ourselves to go deeply within ourselves, to open and be turned inside out. This is why I liken the way that Joy writes to my camera’s zoom lens. She takes a concept, zooms in for a close look, then using her broad knowledge makes it manifest for the reader to learn how to open and blossom in radiant beauty like the flower. This is living life inside out. Her spiritual messages are for everyone; for those with prior knowledge and for those without any at all.

I invite you to enjoy a spiritual journey as you travel through the following essays. They indeed are a path to understanding our life when we live it truly through the heart. Zoom yourself in on the concepts that she presents for your contemplation. Oh, and please stay awhile to smell the flowers that are sprinkled here and there, maybe they will have a message for you too!

Carolyn Launchbury, photographer

missing image file

The magnolia blossom was chosen because of its unusual and exquisite center called its fruit, rather than a stamen, which resembles the pineal gland in our brain. Although the pineal gland’s function is still a bit of a mystery, many believe it is a responsible for our imagination and intuition. It is linked with the heart and the energy center for the third eye between our eyes.

The magnolia tree has been found in fossils dating back 20 million years, meaning they have managed to survive through many major cataclysms on earth. As a symbol of Life Inside Out this magnificent flower demonstrates the beauty and elegance that we are inside, which we are meant to display on the outside.

Cover photo by Carolyn Launchbury [e-mail]

Introduction

Look at every path closely and deliberately, then ask ourselves this crucial question: does this path have a heart? If it does, then the path is good. If it doesn’t, then it is of no use.

Carlos Castaneda

Life Inside Out is written to describe various ways of living life from our heart. It is a compilation of articles I have written for a local newspaper for a few years. The overall theme is that a heart-centered life path is a completely different path than one lived from the head, which I would describe as living outside in. Inside out heart-centered living bonds us together at a level of authenticity we cannot have when living outside in, because the outside world is based solely on physical appearance and a belief in separation.

There is no more critical time than the present to have a source for truth and wisdom and the clarity to be able to discern them. Our six thousand year old civilization has been living primarily outside in from the left brain. We are continually getting what we have always gotten, because all the reasoning mind can do is to recycle information.

Throughout my life I would try to hear and follow my heart but my left-brain reasoning mind would overrule it. I could not believe I had permission to obey what my heart was telling me because it went against my programming to conform to the rules of contemporary society. I was too afraid to live outside the box and follow the path of my heart. I didn’t know anyone who was living an authentically joyful, creative and prosperous life. T.S. Elliot called this state of mind The Wasteland, where everyone leads a false life.

Finally after many roller coaster years, I came to the end of myself – my false self. I experienced a breakthrough that brought me out of the dark and into the light because of an amazing intervention of grace via my heart. I realized the heart connects us to the source of all truth and wisdom. One could say it is the seat of the Soul, and it is pure love, peace and joy. To know oneself is to know that everything we ever need is within. Our hearts hold the truth that we are all complete and whole inside regardless of how much untruth has been piled on top of it.

At long last I knew I had permission to move out of the Wasteland. I gave myself permission to do what I loved and what gave me joy and peace. The journey to learning how to hear my heart is life-long. Deep drilling is necessary to break through all the hard-hearted fears and beliefs.

Life Inside Out uncovers some nuggets of wisdom I’ve uncovered from my everyday experiences over the years. These nuggets can be sign posts along the path to snap us to attention so we can open the door to our heart. Many of these sign posts were discovered through much pain and suffering by myself and others. I am still learning to understand some of them fully. Admitting we don’t know is an enormous key to living and learning from our heart. It may be humbling but it’s the only way to learn to trust that our lives are a magnificent work in process.

The process is a wisdom path that resembles an ascending spiral. We all re-experience the same lesson again and again, but always on a little higher level than before. Each time around we can get a deeper insight into the truth of a situation. If you keep a journal of your life, you will realize that you re-cycle your life experiences. Ideally we learn something valuable each time around that elevates our understanding so we don’t suffer as much on the subsequent cycle.

If we make a conscious effort to live from our heart centered intelligence rather than our head, we will experience the love connection within ourselves and for others. This reduces the suffering considerably; and sometimes even eradicates it altogether. This, of course, is the whole purpose of living from the inside out. However, when we don’t take the heart path and live in our heads instead, we continue to experience separation from each other and our natural world. Even though feeling separated isn’t reality, it feels very real to our minds. The reality is that we are Spirit beings having a human experience and not the reverse. Our heart or spirit is always connected and we are never alone.

When we don’t experience that love connection it’s because we have been unplugged and disconnected by the programming to live in our head. Our minds are filled with limited thoughts and beliefs about reality. There have been so many astounding scientific breakthroughs regarding the nature of the Universe, the mind and the heart. It has shifted our understanding of reality. It’s almost as if we have been living with a flat earth philosophy with very limited possibilities. As we understand more about the mind, body, spirit connection future possibilities are endless. We can choose to tune out (the limited left brain), tune in (to our hearts), and turn on (the high voltage energy) of Life Inside Out because:

Heart

Energy

Always

Reveals

Truth.

In the pages that follow it is my hope that you will find many examples of what life can be if it is lived from the heart. I want you to be encouraged to let go of the limited left brain beliefs and fears that cause so much suffering. And most of all, I have a deep desire that it will give you the courage and the passion to explore the vast infinite wisdom of your heart.

Welcome to your Life Inside Out.

A Soulfull Life

Life Inside Out means living from one’s heart more than from one’s head. But many people today don’t know that the heart is a brain. It contains over forty thousand neurons which enable it to communicate with the brain; and sometimes even influence and override it. You could say we have heart intelligence, or a ‘soul brain’.

For millennia prior to the inception of the Age of Reason in the 17th century, every culture and religion believed that everything in nature was alive with a soul. It was referred to as the anima mundi, or soul of the world. The soul was the governing formative principle. It contained the goal, and it held the end of something in itself. The acorn, for example, holds the oak tree within itself. We are like the acorn in that our soul holds the unique plan to grow itself to its highest potential.

However, something dreadful happened 350 years ago. The soul was downgraded, and consciousness was delegated exclusively to the mind and nature was reduced to being a machine. They claimed the heart was nothing more than a pump. Science mechanized everything having to do with nature and the cosmos. Anything slightly spiritual, soulful, emotional, mysterious, intuitive, or improvable in a laboratory was considered frivolous; and therefore, assigned to the religious realm under the organized church. Only reason and measurable physical power was valued.

We are beginning to understand how barren a civilization can become without the soul. When everything of value is considered to be nothing more than a part of a machine that can be manipulated and controlled, there is little room for joy, love, compassion or even mystery. We see this all around us, so I don’t need to belabor the point. However, all is not lost. We can resurrect the anima mundi. It’s only been a few hundred years that we have had such a dehumanizing, profane belief system running the show. Surely, thousands of years outweigh a couple hundred.

Our souls, fueled by Spirit, using our heart brains can turn this ship around. We just have to recognize the ditch in which we’re stuck. That should be fairly easy since just about everything we used to have confidence in is crumbling around our feet. Our first task is to realize that our life force, soul or ‘energy field’ extends out from our bodies several feet and influences others around us; even as other’s fields overlap and influence ours. For example, we innately know or sense when someone is staring at us from behind or in the next car at a stop light. Understanding that our thoughts and feelings extend out and are not privately confined to our little heads can drastically change our behavior. We can consciously choose loving, productive, grace-filled thoughts instead of angry, resentful thoughts.

When you and those around you are feeling joy, peace, and gratitude, then creativity is heightened, grace flows and everyone benefits. If a solution is needed, it is much more likely to arise out of a positive atmosphere. It also makes sense to remove those who insist on promoting negative attitudes, as that can bring down the creativity of the group. Whole organizations have fallen apart because they didn’t believe that a few ‘bad apples’ can contaminate the whole barrel. The old thinking mistakenly believed that the negative thoughts didn’t matter because they weren’t measurable. It was believed that thoughts in one’s head don’t influence anything unless spoken or written. We now know that is bologna.

If we continue in the old limited, paralyzing paradigm of black and white fundamentalism, our civilization is surely doomed to continue circling the drain. We must be able to see the big picture, to recognize our interconnectedness with each other all over the globe, and to reach for lofty ideals in solving humanity’s challenges. Fundamentalists’ world view prevents them from being able to see another’s perspective or to feel another’s pain. Empathy and compassion are not available to that limited belief system.

However, if enough souls grow and expand from acorns to oak trees, the enormous grace that will be generated will surely break open the shells of limitation so the heart can flourish. It is then that the light inside can and will shine on the outside. This is Life Inside Out.

You’ve Got To Have Heart

"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.

Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens." -Carl Jung

There is nothing wrong with dreaming, except that you must be asleep to do it. Sometimes you get marvelous dreams in which you soar over monstrous obstacles, but you can also get the proverbial nightmare. If we go through life asleep we get the same random experiences – some heavenly and some hellish.

Carl Jung, the famous Swiss psychologist, believed the key to living our vision of a vibrant, contented, fulfilling life is within us. However, looking for answers outside ourselves is like dreaming through life. Why do that when we have a buried treasure inside? All we need is the treasure map.

We’ve had it all along, but didn’t know it. The map is in our hearts! However, our Western culture has downplayed the value of the heart and favored the illustrious logical mind exclusively, which has been only too happy to take the throne. The poor heart was feminized to the point that if someone has heart they’re considered soft and weak. Since our country and world is always at war with something, the citizens are encouraged to be