See with Your Heart
by Matthew Levy
Before you read on, set down this article and look around the room for a few moments. Go ahead just do it for ten or fifteen seconds...
Great. Now do it again, but this time -- see with your heart. That's right, see with your heart. You'll know what I mean as soon as you try it. Go ahead. See what happens. See with your heart.
Different wasn't it? How was it different? Was the second time faster or slower? Did you notice more or less details. How did you feel the first time compared to the second? Which time did your little voice chatter and which time was you mind quiet? Which was more peaceful? Which did you like better?
People commonly tell me that when they see with their heart, they are more calm and peaceful. They notice more detail and often focus on people instead of things. Others discover increased creativity. Some people tell me they feel more, and that those feelings are compassion, love, a sense caring, interest in the things around them, and sometimes people feel a sense of contentment and joy.
After sharing the exercise with a woman in New York, named Karen, she told me," the first time I just looked around, not really paying attention to anything in particular. Actually my mind was on other things like work and errands I need to do. But, the second time I was more quiet and focused. I looked at the people and particularly their faces. They all looked like such nice people. I wondered what their lives were like and I started to make up stories about them. I really wanted to go up and talk to them. They were all so friendly. Actually, I liked the second time better."
Karen's experience was common, in many aspects. She was not only more peaceful, loving and focused, but she was also creative.
Another woman had her one year old grand daughter on her lap when I shared the exercise with her. While seeing the toddler with her heart, she told me, "I feel an incredible connection to her. I feel so grandmother. Wow. This is almost scary it is so powerful. I never felt so grandmother before. This child is a gift."
Here is another. Look at your hand. Go ahead, try it. Notice the lines, the curves and the way the lines connect like rivers running north. Notice the color, the texture, the smell, the taste. Feels like seeing with your heart, doesn't it? It is amazing how you forget about everything else.
Ever been with your significant other, staring into each other's eyes feeling a deep sense of caring and love. You are thinking, "I love you so much." Maybe you even say it. You see the same in the eyes of the other. Yup. Same thing. You are simply being present and in the moment. Seeing with your heart.
Actually, I recommend that the next time you are talking to someone, listen with your heart and see what happens. It can be truly amazing.
When I listen to people with my heart the most wonderful things happen. It is great. I hear what they are saying with so much more detail and it means so much more to me. I can feel what they are feeling. They feel loved because I am listening so intently and more than a few times near strangers have hugged me out of pure gratitude for having been listened to.
I shared this with a group of 25 people at a conference on creativity last week and one woman came up to me the next day with tears in her eyes. She was so excited because she had never been so aware of the world around her as when she consciously decided to see with her heart. I sat and listened with my heart to her experience and when she finished, I thanked her for sharing and continued to see her with my heart as we both sat in silence. After a moment she asked, "Can I hug you?" People are beautiful, aren't they.
It also works for touch, hearing, and taste. Last week, I wanted to see what would happen if I tasted with my heart. So, I stabbed a piece of cauliflower and put it in my mouth. I never realized how crunchy cauliflower is. You know, it shattered in my mouth when I bit into it. All the little pieces felt rough on my tongue. It is a very dry vegetable, I now realize. And what a strange sensation when the little pieces fall between the teeth/gums and the side of the mouth and then the tongue instinctively swipes them over to the other side for another chomp. I didn't get a hug, but I never enjoyed cauliflower so much before in my life.
Seeing, touching, listening, tasting with your heart is really just about being present, fully focused, noticing the details, and allowing our ideas and feelings to flow freely without judgment.
Often, we find it extremely difficult to be present, other times we choose not to be. We get bored, or we have a lot on our minds, or we would rather be somewhere else. All good reasons, but who likes to be bored, distracted, or wishing we were somewhere else? The truth is we have a choice. The choice to be where you are or not, and to like it or not. If you are going to be here, you might as well enjoy it, because the alternative, not enjoying it, is painful and a waste of time.
Now, when I get bored I tell myself, "Hey get present, do it with your heart." And instantly I'm in the moment and seeing, hearing, and feeling things I didn't notice before. There is always more to see, hear, and touch.
So, next time you are with someone, see with your heart. Listen to their words, touch, them, see them, absorb their body movements, dive into their eyes. Feel what happens. Be ready, you might get hugged.
©2000, Matthew Levy. Printed in the August-September 2000 Issue of the Conscious Creation Journal. http://www.consciouscreation.com (Feel free to duplicate this article for personal use - please include this copyright notice.) The author is an international marketer, strategist and consultant who is researching creativity in business and in life. He can be reached at his home, or work, or his brothers house, or the cyber cafe at matthewlevy@mail.com. All rights reserved. (c)2000.
