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Seeing with the Heart – by Zara Bielkus

Our eyes are powerful tools, which we rely on for almost everything in our day. From dangers to pleasures, they communicate findings at the speed of light. In yoga, drishti helps our focus and in many ways grounds us even without physically touching anything. The age-old debate rages whether it is the eyes seeing objects, which the mind interprets, or the eyes interpreting what they see and sending messages for the brain to process. We may not be able to ever establish the physiological oder, so instead, every now and again, the opportunity should be taken to see with the heart instead. The heart can lead us up the path, but oh the treasures that abound in this secret garden!  So often the mind overrides what beats in our chest… your skinny jeans will not fit if you eat that gateau, you’re going to be late if you pop into that shop to ask the price of the display dress, your boyfriend is not the type to go to that Rom-Com.  Allowing the heart to see allows the soul to explore; but be warned…exploration is only for the brave as setting out to discover the inner self is a voyage treaded by no one else.

Travelling on a city tram, an owner and his dog were preparing to alight.  Typically, there was considerable traffic, and the whole bus stopped indefinitely.  People started to look at their watches, peering past the others to see what was causing the obstruction and pulled phones out of their pockets.  Then a little Dachshund in his red sweater also started acting up, he turned his face to the owner, then raised his eyes toward the driver, then blinked at the door numerous times before raising his eyes every few moments to the driver; he started to display the impatience everyone was projecting, for he really could not see anything but ankles (poor little guy!).  Looking at the owner he said to me “he is terribly excited for the park, it is the next stop, he doesn’t want to miss a minute.”  His heart was sending him the only signal he needed.

Heart. Mind. Always they wrestle inside you. Always they will.[1]


[1] Slightly modified from Terrence Malick’s “Tree of Life” 2011.