Angeles Arrien

The Heart as a Universal Symbol

by Angeles Arrien

"The Heart is a sanctuary at the center of which is a little space wherein the Great Spirit abides."
  --Black Elk, Lakota Elder

David Richo, a Jungian analyst, teacher, and author of The Sacred Heart of the World demonstrates and tracks the universality of the heart and its profound meaning and significance for the human spirit. For example, he states that "there are more than one thousand instances of the word heart in the Bible. The symbol of the Sufi Order and tradition is a heart with wings. The heart is considered to be both earthly and heavenly. In Islam, the heart (qualb) stands for contemplation, spiritual life, and the connection between spirit and matter. To the Chinese, the heart in the human body mirrors the position of the sun in relation to the rest of the universe. The human heart in Hindu tradition is called Bramapara, the abode of Brahma, the creator. The heart has perennially represented centricity since it is the center of the body.

Universally in the world of symbol, the heart is also recognized as a container. In Egyptian lore, a vase represented the heart. There is also a symbolic connection between a containing cave and the heart. The Sanskrit word guha means cave and also heart. A cave is an incubating place, the birthplace of light and gods;  for example, Hermes, the god of alchemy was born in a cave. The Upanishads speak of an inner shrine within us called the cave of the heart. Babua ben Asher, a rabbi of the 18th century said that the heart was the first part of us to be created and will be the last to die; so to love with our whole heart is to promise to go on loving 'till out last breath."

    --adapted and synthesized from The Sacred Heart of the World, p. 11-13

 

Practices:

1. What has heart and meaning for you at this time? How are you expressing the promise to love with your whole heart? What are you currently learning about love? How do you demonstrate or express love?
    
2. Who have been or are currently your "teachers of the heart"? Or, who has taught you the most about love? Notice each day where love is present. Take a daily action in the month of February to express your love; and give gratitude for the love that is present in your heart and in your life.

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