Today I want to share with you some of the memorable messages my own teachers have offered over the years. These are heart-felt perspectives—anchors, really—that guide me as I walk my path.
These teachers have wisdom beyond our own, and help us see the world differently.
The cure for exhaustion is not rest, but wholeheartedness.~ Brother David Stendl-Rast
You cannot fight when you are in your heart. You cannot argue. ~ Peruvian Americo Yabar
Worry causes heavy energy. Avoid it. ~ Andean Q’ero paco Don Humberto
You are perfect just as you are…and, too, you could use a little improvement.
~ Zen priest
When Unangan Elders speak of the ‘heart,’ they do not mean mere feelings, even positive and compassionate ones. ‘Heart’ refers to a deeper portal of profound interconnectedness and awareness that exists between humans and all living things. Centering oneself there results in humble, wise, connected ways of
seeing and being in the world…To access it, you must drop out of the relentless thinking that typically occupies the Western mind. ~ Aleut elder Ilarion Merculieff
Finally, when we visited the Sápara people in the Ecuadorian Amazon, leader Manari Ushigua spoke at length about dreaming the world we want to inhabit:
“You can choose to emphasize the harrowing parts of your dream—the buffalos massacred on the plains, the oil spills polluting water in the Amazon basin—or the beautiful images of all the birds and insects singing, all the humans dancing. Remembering the beauty gives you power.”
“Our indigenous way is not to curse or confront, but to create reality in creative way. We want to bring our message without causing harm.”
In the Sápara communities, he explained, “we create the present as we want. This is dreaming.”
“If you have too many thoughts, you don’t have a content heart.
“If you have too many thoughts, you cannot align body and spirit.
“If you have too many thoughts, you will be dispersed,”
All of these gems have brought me to Leading with Heart as a seminal way to be in the world. I hope they inspire you on your own path!
