How did the rose<\/p>\n
Ever open its heart<\/p>\n
And give to this world<\/p>\n
All its beauty?<\/p>\n
It felt the encouragement of light<\/p>\n
Against its Being<\/p>\n
Otherwise,<\/p>\n
We all remain<\/p>\n
Too Frightened.<\/p>\n
– Hafiz<\/p>\n
c.1320 \u2013 1389<\/p>\n
In recent years increasing attention has been given to the concept of mindfulness, both in clinical and non-clinical settings, so much so that usage of the term has now been become mainstream.[1]<\/a> But what does mindfulness actually mean? Does it include feeling? How different is a state of \u2018mindfulness\u2019 from a state of \u2018heartfulness\u2019?[2]<\/a> What role do such ideas play in the different spheres of our lives, material, moral, spiritual or otherwise?<\/p>\n How do we define or capture \u2018heartfulness\u2019? One possible definition is that heartfulness is a state of being where the centre or locus of control is the heart; not the physical heart as a pumping station of blood, but the \u2018spiritual\u2019 heart as the guiding principle in one\u2019s life. [3]<\/a> So often, the intellect is less of the determining force in our personal interactions and decision-making. We \u2018refer to the heart\u2019 when deciding matters of a more personal nature \u2013 including matters that are moral or spiritual \u2013 rather than the mind.<\/p>\n One definition of heartfulness is the concept of \u2018transcendence\u2019 coming from the Hindu tradition. Another from Sanskrit that refers to heartfulness as the cosmic sound of the Truth. A further definition, is that of \u2018compassionate mindfulness\u2019. In various different contexts, another significant dimension of this concept of heartfulness has implied being more connected to the self, or the Higher Self and with everything and everyone.[4]<\/a><\/p>\n For Professor Jon Kabat-Zinn the distinction between mindfulness and heartfulness \u2013 between heart and mind \u2013 is not so disparate as would often be presumed.[5]<\/a>. Furthermore, it has been asserted that in many Eastern languages (including Sanskrit, Tibetan and Chinese), the words for heart and mind are in fact synonymous.<\/p>\n In the West, there is a predominant concept of heart and mind being separate and sometimes conflicting entities. The duality of heart and mind may be traced back to the work of the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384 BC \u2013 322 BC), who identified the heart and mind as distinct forces. Mind or more specifically reason was ultimately deemed superior to emotion or feeling (the heart). Aristotle\u2019s emphasis on reason, the mind and rationalism, in many ways departed from the teachings of his mentor and master Plato, who had retained a degree of mysticism, with his belief in the pre-existence and immortality of the soul. This philosophy of rationalism influenced philosophers as disparate as Aquinas and Nietzsche, and has shaped Western thinking to the extent the concept of mind now occupies a dominant and ultimately superior role in discourse.<\/p>\n Given this seeming dominance of the mind and intellect, what does it mean to be guided by one\u2019s heart? Being in a state of heartfulness has also been understood as \u2018listening to one\u2019s own conscience\u2019 or inner voice. This idea of the \u2018conscience\u2019 brings to mind the story of Pinocchio, originally published in Italian by Carlo Collodi in 1883[6]<\/a>, where the \u2018conscience\u2019 was in the form of a cricket. Most are probably more familiar with the Disney version of a puppet, a wooden boy, who if he tells lies, his nose grows and grows until \u2018the lie is as plain as the nose on his face\u2019; the same wooden boy is led \u2018astray\u2019 on many occasions and metamorphoses into a donkey. To become a \u2018real boy\u2019 (or human), he must show himself to be brave, have courage, show love and sacrifice \u2013 in the end, Pinocchio saves his Father from drowning and indeed demonstrates his love through sacrifice, selflessness and forgetting the self. The story of Pinocchio can be taken as allegory of heartfulness: that one listens to the heart, to one\u2019s inner voice and, forgets the self, one becomes selfless and essentially becomes human.<\/p>\n Many disciplines, including philosophy and psychology, share the interest in the question of what makes us human: Is the capacity to think that make us human?[7]<\/a> Is it our ability to love, to have hope and faith? Is it the possibility that we can feel compassion for other beings? Or the apparent inner need to strive to grow and aspire for something beyond? The answers to these questions have been the subject of reflection by researchers, philosophers, and seekers from time immemorial.<\/p>\n To me, this is what heartfulness means, not the Pinocchio story, but through the means of meditation, cultivating the heart through inner stillness and silence, becoming more human, being more truthful with one\u2019s self, opening the heart, becoming more loving, compassionate, and kind, to one\u2019s own self and to all other human beings. So as the Hafiz poem suggests heartfulness could mean that we open our hearts, to that possibility. What will your heart tell you today? Maybe listen and see what is possible.<\/p>\n [1]<\/a> The following two definitions of \u2018mindfulness\u2019 are provided by Oxford Dictionaries:<\/p>\n Available at: [2]<\/a> For discussion of these concepts and their relationship to one another see: Alane Daugherty, From Mindfulness to Heartfulness<\/em> (Balboa Press, 2014).<\/p>\n [3]<\/a> An energetic or vibrational field. For example, see some of the research by http:\/\/www.heartmath.org\/<\/p>\n [4]<\/a> Source: Meditation, Mindfulness, Psyche and Soma: Eastern, Western Perspectives – R Singla, D Jordanov, M Autrup – 26th EFPSA Congress – forskningsbasen.deff.dk<\/p>\n [5]<\/a> Jon Kabat-Zinn, Mindfulness for beginners: Reclaiming the present moment–and your life (2011); see also: Thich Nhat Hanh \u2018The Miracle of Mindfulness, (2008 Ed.)<\/p>\n [6]<\/a> The original story \u2018The Adventures of Pinocchio\u2019 in Italian is a darker tale of morality, almost brutal to contemporary eyes. However, in the original tale the fairy transforms him into a \u2018real boy\u2019 \u201cTo reward you for your good heart \u2026 Boys who minister tenderly to their parents, and assist them in their misery and infirmities, are deserving of great praise and affection, even if they cannot be cited as examples of obedience and good behavior. Try and do better in the future and you will be happy.\u201d<\/em> There is a delightful article on Pinocchio and lying in the New Yorker. http:\/\/www.newyorker.com\/books\/page-turner\/original-pinocchio-really-says-lying<\/a><\/p>\n [7]<\/a> Ren\u00e9 Descartes, (1596 \u2013 1650) a French Philosopher who is most well known for the statement \u2013 \u2018Je pense, donc je suis\u2019 trans<\/em>. \u2018I think, therefore I am\u2019. He laid the foundation for continental rationalism in the 17th<\/sup> century and also famous for his philosophy of dualism and his influence on the discipline of psychology.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" How did the rose Ever open its heart And give to this world All its beauty? It felt the encouragement of light Against its Being Otherwise, We all remain Too Frightened. – Hafiz c.1320 \u2013 1389 In recent years increasing attention has been given to the concept of mindfulness, both in clinical and non-clinical settings, so much so that usage…… Read More<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":7943,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[4,5,6,7],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=279"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":9330,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/279\/revisions\/9330"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7943"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=279"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=279"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writenode.heartfulness.org\/ke\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=279"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n\n
\nhttp:\/\/www.oxforddictionaries.com\/definition\/english\/mindfulness<\/a> (last visited 10 February 2015).<\/p>\n