Gabriel Gonsalves's weekly inspiration, practical advice and spiritual wisdom for living wholeheartedly.
When Logic Fails and the Heart Leads
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Dear Reader, Early this week, someone who had expressed interest in walking one of my pilgrimages next year messaged me to say they had decided not to join us. They had been watching the protests in Barcelona, where a march over housing prices ended with fires in the streets and clashes with the police. I totally empathized with them. Traveling to Europe and going on a pilgrimage is an important decision. But the experience got me thinking about how often in the past I held myself back from making important decisions about the future because I wanted to have it all figured out first. I wanted to know every detail of how a relationship or a new project would work out, and I denied myself the possibility just because I wanted certainty that everything was going to be okay. Can you relate? Have you ever had to make a decision about going on a trip, starting a business, or entering a relationship, and because you wanted certainty that everything was going to be okay, you did not give yourself permission to go into it? If you have, where do you go for the answers when you cannot know how it will turn out? Which part of you do you turn to, and from what place do you make that decision? THIS WEEK'S REFLECTION When Logic Fails and the Heart LeadsOn one of my pilgrimages along the Camino de Santiago, the ancient pilgrim route across Spain, I arrived at my destination late in the afternoon without a reservation, only to find that every room in town was fully booked. The other pilgrims I talked to all recommended that I keep walking to the next town. However, I was exhausted and very hungry. Knowing I was learning to trust the wisdom of my heart, I decided to get coherent and ask my heart what I should do. The message was very clear: rest, eat, and enjoy myself, and the Camino would take care of me. It made no logical sense, since I still needed a place to sleep, but I followed it and sat down to dinner at a restaurant. Over dessert, in casual conversation with the waiter, I mentioned that I had no place to stay. He told me I could stay with him, in his daughter’s room, since she was away at college. I paid him twenty euros, and the next morning he served me a wonderful breakfast and drove me back to the trail. The thinking mind looks to have all the facts about the future before it makes a decision. Your worrying gut is concerned with your safety and well-being. But if you truly listen, the feeling heart will connect you to your inner sense of knowing—your intuition—and will help you make a decision when the mind alone cannot show you the way. THIS WEEK'S PRACTICE GO DEEPER How to Plan, Prepare For, and Embark on a Pilgrimage of the Heart (A Beginner's Guide)I believe going on a pilgrimage is one of the most effective ways to learn to listen to the guidance of your heart. Even when you plan where you will sleep and how far you will walk, every day on the trail brings something you could not have predicted: the weather, a closed café, a blister, a stranger who changes your plans. Day after day, you make decisions without all the facts, and your heart becomes the voice you learn to trust. With this in mind, I invite you to read this week’s article, a beginner’s guide to planning, preparing for, and embarking on a pilgrimage of the heart. It comes from the notes of a book I am writing. In it, I share what a pilgrimage of the heart is, how to design one of your own, whether it lasts an hour or a month, and how to listen to your heart along the way. If you would like to know how to begin, I think you will find it a good place to start.
FINAL THOUGHTS Stop Holding Yourself BackFor a long time, I held myself back from decisions about my future because I wanted to know how everything would turn out first. I wanted to be certain it was all going to be okay. But life does not hand you every answer ahead of time, and waiting for them only kept me from moving. There is an intelligence within your heart that you can access, one that can help you make decisions when you do not have all the facts. Reaching it means traveling the 18 inches between your head and your heart, and that is the journey of heart mastery. A pilgrimage is one way to walk it, and your everyday life is another. In closing, I want to invite you to give yourself permission to move forward without waiting for the perfect moment and all the facts. Be willing to take risks, even if it feels foolish, and begin that journey toward the deepest desires of your heart.
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The Feeling Heart
Gabriel Gonsalves's weekly inspiration, practical advice and spiritual wisdom for living wholeheartedly.
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