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SECTION ONE: The Six Heart Virtues
The energetic heart is composed of six primary forms of expression: Appreciation, Compassion, Forgiveness, Humility, Understanding, and Valor. Braided together, these six behaviors constitute the essence of the energetic heart and, when expressed in our daily lives, enable it to perform its function as a portal to our inmost self or soul. (See diagram)
Regardless of what significance we assign to our intellect or brainpower, it is but one form of intelligence, and while it has an important place within our world, no doubt, it is not the primary intelligence of our Self. Our primary intelligence is empowered through our emotional mastery and our ability to conduct our life from the platform of the six heart virtues, which in turn unite us to the lighted realms of our intuition, which is our coherent connection to the universal field of information, referred to by physicists as the quantum vacuum.
There is a saying within the Lyricus Teaching Order: “What one can express through their heart is gold to the iron of the mind.” The gold, in this case, is the ability to express the six heart virtues in tandem, separately, or as an ensemble team to the various situations that life unveils. It is learning to modify your actions based on these six virtues and observing how they re-calibrate your value system, re-vitalize your energy and creativity, and re-coup your sense of balance and emotional poise.
In doing this, you not only apply your emotional energies for the purpose of creating and maintaining a coherent personal state, but you also create a coherent field around you; a field that touches and intersects with others through the principles of quantum entanglement, resonance, coherence, and non-locality. The energies of our emotional field are real and interconnected in a vast assemblage of intention and information that is near boundless in its embrace.
The denser emotions like jealousy, greed, and anger enter this cosmic field and inform its baser instincts, creating the conditions for strife and instability within our manifest reality. The finer energies that compose the six heart virtues, inform the divine instincts of the cosmic or quantum field that enfolds the multiverse. Thus, we are left with a choice to conduct our personality and emotions so they inform the quantum field in which we all live with the divine frequencies that uplift and support all life. If this is our choice, then mastery of the six heart virtues is an efficient and effective method for its attainment.
It comes down to this: we approach our divinity through the heart and not the head. One’s intellect can encompass vast amounts of information and knowledge. We can study all the words of our prophets and scholars, but if we are not expressing the six heart virtues, we have only filled our heads with words, concepts, and intellectual bravado. Our behaviors remain tethered to the baser instincts, and while we may write or speak profound insights, our emotional energies remain agitated, uncertain of their expression from moment to moment, and unguided by the intelligent voice of our heart.
The Artistry of Expression
There is an implied artistry in the expression of the six heart virtues, but before the artistry can be expressed, the virtues must be anchored in genuineness. The virtues cannot be manufactured from mental constructs or merely given lip service. This quality of genuineness is a result of the heart’s and mind’s sense of connection to the deeper framework that each of these virtues operate within. For most people, this connection takes time to develop and mature. It starts, however, from having an understanding that a framework exists, and then contemplating and feeling what it is, how it works, and why it’s important to apply in one’s life.
This understanding serves as the foundation for the artistry, which relates to how and when one wields the six virtues, or a subset thereof, to life’s diverse situations. You can look at the six virtues (appreciation, compassion, forgiveness, humility, understanding, and valor) as musical notes. If you strike these notes simultaneously there is a chord and this chord is divine love—the highest vibration contained within the quantum field that a human can receive and transmit.
Each of the six virtues can be activated with incredible speed and virtuosity when the person expressing the virtue operates from a platform of high coherence and a sense of neutrality. In this state, one can navigate their life looking for the wisdom in each new challenge, the creative spark in the mundane, the intuitive feeling around each corner, and the deeper rhythms in the apparent calamity of everyday life.
How one can attain and maintain this state of coherence rests largely on their artistry, and, to some degree, vigilance, in applying the six heart virtues. There is an ascending spiral process to this practice. First, one must be grounded in the framework, and this can be done by studying the free e-paper The Art of the Genuine: A Spiritual Imperative and then contemplating its meaning. Second, one can experiment with the six virtues and learn how to deepen their understanding—not at an intellectual level, but rather a practical application level. In other words, how does one apply the virtues of humility, understanding, and forgiveness to the person who just cut you out of a parking place at the mall?
It is at this level—the practical level where we all live—that we must practice the artistry of the six virtues lest we lose our ability to self-empower. It is in this self-empowerment that we rise as spiritual beings to the challenges of the physical world. This form of empowerment is different than speaking truth to power, or imbuing your self-esteem with the elixir of invincibility. It is the empowerment of problem solving the emotionally rooted turmoil of daily life with the incandescence of the heart’s intelligence and knowing how and when to tap into this intelligence.
In the continual ascent to master these virtues and express them in our lives, we refine our understanding. Not the sudden revelations spoken of in the texts of ancient days or hallucinogenic awareness of the modern world, but rather the robust understanding that we are part of a vibratory field that energetically encompasses us, records our ways, generates our holographic reality, and re-invents us anew on the timeline racing to and from eternity.
The Agnostic Path
For those who establish emotional self-mastery as their path, they will need to track, treat and transform their behaviors as they progress on this journey because this is not about instant gratification. This journey is truly focused on connecting with one’s higher guidance (receptivity and listening) and expressing this wisdom into the field in which you live, move, and have your being (transmission and expression).
Let me be clear about the framework of track, treat, transform.
• Track means that the individual can self-report their progress on the six heart virtues over time and track their ups and downs, and see their self-mastery growing against the backdrop of time.
• Treat means that the individual while tracking their progress can see when they hit a snag or vexing problem that takes them off course and then treat this issue like a physician treats a wound or illness. The treat, in this case, is not a reward, but rather a solution or remedy to a problem or emotional misstep.
• Transform is the result of tracking and treating along this journey and seeing how you are transformed into a self-empowered, spiritually vibrant person.
Books and self-help programs abound in the world on what one should believe, do, think, and feel. They are translated from the minds and hearts of some of our greatest thinkers and spiritualized beings. We do not require more information on how to behave or believe. We simply require more discipline in our emotional lives and the tools and techniques to attain this. In other words, we need a practical framework.
The energetic heart—the physical heart’s quantum equivalent—is the portal of the soul’s consciousness in intersection with the Designing Force. It resides at the heart chakra site, and it is the knowingness of the soul or higher spirit within the individual. The six heart virtues emanate from this stronghold of the energetic body, and it is this energy center that we must nurture and consciously activate within us.
This path is not owned by anyone or any organization, and those who travel it are essentially faith agnostic, which is to say, they do not look upon this practice as affiliated with a particular religion, spiritual inquiry system, scientific endeavor, New Age belief system, or spiritual master. It is a framework as old as the soul itself, and its chief principle is the ongoing practice of the six heart virtues in one’s daily life. In doing this, the reality that surrounds you will assemble its own path to a higher understanding, suited specifically to you.
Patience pays. Do not look for the shortcuts in matters of the heart or soul because space-time is not the force that operates or controls the heart virtues. It is the soul and higher spirit enfolded within the Designing Force that enables these virtues full expression and empowerment within any domain—subtle, gross, or otherwise. There is no density in which the heart virtues are extinguished or marginalized if the individual regularly exercises them, observes their energies, contemplates their outputs, and nurtures their expression. Even in the darkest densities the heart beats true its pulse of connectivity to the divine nature in us all. It is the connecting force that binds us as human spirits.
Orchestrating the heart virtues leads us to a point where we ultimately observe our energy field or soul signature. Once this occurs, we can discover blockages in our energetic body that filter our deeper awareness. The blockages or densities that reside within our energy field diminish our ability to express the fullness of our energetic heart. This creates the subtle, or in some cases, not so subtle irritations that misalign our physical body, emotions and mind.
Over time, expressing the heart virtues will dissolve these energy blockages and you will find it easier to anchor and sustain your within the lower worlds of matter and space-time. In doing so, the deeper harmonies and rhythms of life more easily manifest, supporting the work we all came to perform at this time.
Three Subtle Desires
Now we come to the three subtle desires that stand behind nearly everything we work to achieve: Instant gratification, control, the next-thing. These three subtle desires also influence our expectations in the field of spiritual development and growth, and it is for this reason that I shine the spotlight on them.
The Desire for Instant Gratification
There is a phrase from William Gibson, “The future has already happened; it’s just not very well distributed.” This sentiment seems appropriate in a world where shortcuts are acclaimed by experts from every field of endeavor. Acceleration is the byword of the day, and the goal of this acceleration is to do everything faster, in less time; to be more productive; to be a better employee; to be a better student; to be a better everything, and to do it or acquire it faster and easier.
What’s missing from this approach is the destination or, said another way, “Where is the acceleration taking you,” to a fancier car, larger home, enlightenment, inexhaustible bank account, more prestigious position in life, better health, or simply a lifestyle of relative ease? Whatever the destination, the notion of instant gratification looms as the catalyst for its achievement. But what if the destination is emotional self-mastery? What are the signposts for acceleration in this case? What are the shortcuts and how do we know we are accelerating, decelerating or treading water and getting nowhere fast?
Instant gratification assumes one fundamental thing: to every human endeavor there is an elevator or staircase, and it is better to choose the elevator. Getting to your destination or achieving your goal quickly is more important than assessing which destination or goal is best. It is precisely this need for acceleration of goal achievement that often causes one to take a miscalculated detour from assessing what destination or goals are most vital to the fulfillment of their purpose.
Now you can ask yourself, if emotional self-mastery is a vital goal of your spiritual purpose, what is the best path to take in order to achieve this? My answer would be to live from your heart by expressing the six heart virtues with authenticity and artistry, but to consider the speed of your journey to mastery of no consequence or importance. Perhaps an odd caution, but the need for speed is a master unto itself, igniting the ego as few things do.
The Desire for Control
The second subtle desire that often pulls us off course is our insatiable desire for control. The desire to control one’s life is placed within us at an early age and cultivated by our socialization process. We are taught to control our emotions, especially boys. And once we transition to adulthood we are taught that control of our environment is tantamount to success as a social contributor in the moneymaking machinery we call the free market economy.
Many people see that control is the ultimate tool for success in any of life’s dimensions—including the spiritual realm of enlightenment. However, control is not ultimately satisfying because you are always tethered to a struggle with opponents who also want control. It is an endless competition. It is an outgrowth of the three-dimensional construct that there are winners and losers, and it’s better to be a winner.
Well, yes, in the world of the dollar it is hard to argue with that logic. However, the ambition of control is a tireless master who requires that you work hard, keep focused on your duties of the social order, and make certain that the world in which you operate does not spin out of control. Control will become increasingly more fleeting in the next seven years because the dimensional shift that is underway will make the rigid institutions of our social order change, and in some instances, crumble.
This means that those who seek to control and micro-manage their lives will find it more difficult to keep their emotional balance. When their emotional balance shifts to and fro in disorder, they will feel the pulse of the world quicken and stress will pour over them as if they were directly beneath its waterfall.
The antidote of willful control is the demonstration to yourself that you know how to shift into self-security when you feel insecure; how to shift into expression of the heart virtues when you bump up against a life challenge; and how to shift into surrender to your when you feel your ego looming large.
All easier said than done—to be certain, but then emotional self-mastery is a goal not a destination. Remember this. No one is looking down on you from some impenetrable height and judging your imperfect expression of the six heart virtues. When you judge yourself, there is often a sense of appropriateness in the judgment. This is actually a control response. If only you could control your emotions better. If only you could shift to the six heart virtues quicker. If only you could forgive easier and not hold a grudge against a friend or family member.
You can stand firmly on the idea that when you embark on this journey there will be times when you misstep, fall short and make “mistakes.” There may even be times when you will feel the rug has been pulled out from under you and you are helpless, without solution, and mired in self-loathing. It is in these times that you will need to apply the wisdom of your journey into emotional self-mastery, and though it may be imperfect or otherwise untested, it will serve you better than any other alternative advice, because, just as the ancients observed—the heart is the seat of the soul.
Call on this wisdom, not the abstraction of God or the “higher powers.” Call on your own wisdom of the six heart virtues and learn how to shift into their expression when life’s challenges knock upon your door. In doing this, you will teach others around you through this expression and intent. In doing this, you will change the electromagnetic field that surrounds you, the light ratio of your energetic field. Further, it will attract the likeness of conditions, as well as provide you with improved emotional health, mental clarity and physical well-being.
The Desire for the Next-Thing
The third of the subtle desires is the need for the next-thing. The next-thing is usually considered to have more potency than the now-thing. Individuals often want to move on to the next idea, spiritual path, or healing modality before they have achieved a basic understanding of their inner state. They are experimenting at the surface levels without deference to the deeper values and meanings that exist within themselves.
Take for example the topic at hand: emotional self-mastery. Few people would argue that this is an important skill to possess independent of how it is defined in terms of its psychological or spiritual components. However, it is not an easy thing to master one’s emotions or to even gain a reasonable understanding of their subtle natures. Emotions are very multidimensional and operate from the subtle energetic levels to the down-to-earth levels of relationships, job performance, and personal well being. Because of this, emotions are a complex web of energy exchange with those we cross paths with, whether in person or virtually through the mail, phone, text messaging, chat, or email, and this requires a perseverance and vigilance in our practice. It is not enough to dabble in it periodically.
The need for the next-thing is a desire to hit the “refresh button” in one’s belief system. Sometimes this is a good instinct to refresh your views and beliefs, but sometimes it scatters your attention at the surface of life’s purpose because you are always moving to the next-thing—the new modality, the new teaching, the new way to live. The inner state of your emotional life, the heart-centered values and the intuitive wisdom of your energetic heart, is an infinite resource of intelligence. When you move on to the next-thing, if the next-thing does not include living from the heart as its core principle, you may not evolve your access to this infinite source of intelligence that awaits inside of you—not in books, the Internet, an ashram, school, seminar or master teacher, but inside you.
While the next-thing may be marketed as the most potent truth ever to find its way to humanity, it most likely will pale in comparison to your own heart’s wisdom—if you know how to activate, access and express it. There are thousands of systems that promise enlightenment, and many of them have value, but the need for the next-thing often has the unintentional side effect of leading you away from the very instructor you most need to interface with: your heart’s intelligence and the emotional, energetic potency therein.
The rise and acceleration of complexity in life has also given rise to complexity in one’s spiritual life. There are many so-called spiritual practices that require you to breathe in very specific manners and rhythms. Others require you to eat certain combinations of food and drink. Others prescribe very detailed meditations and postures. Still others define certain colors and sound frequencies that are activating to your soul.
Living from the heart is not centered on a precision of technique or complex practices of body, mind or emotional control. It is the simple moment-to-moment practice of the heart virtues in your daily affairs. Over time, this practice culminates in a virtuosity of precision and control, but this is the natural outcome of simple practices, not the rigid programs of training at the outset, and this is an important distinction.
The three subtle desires are each components of a general social dysfunction built upon an expired system of belief in the ambition of ego over the wisdom of heart expression. This is what the coming shift in consciousness, long predicted, is truly about. The wisdom of the heart will prevail and it will become the standard bearer of humanity, ushering in a new order of coherence and alignment to the higher frequencies of our divine nature and source.