The
Heart of the Soul
Emotional
Awareness
by
Gary Zukav, Linda Francis
ISBN
0743234960
302 pages, US$ 11.20
Click
here to order
"THE LONGEST
JOURNEY YOU WILL MAKE IN YOUR LIFE IS FROM YOUR HEAD TO YOUR
HEART."
With the rare combination of profound psychological insight and
deep spirituality that has already drawn millions of readers to
his two great national bestsellers,
The Seat of the Soul
and
Soul
Stories prizewinning author Gary Zukav
now joins with his spiritual partner Linda Francis to help us
develop a new emotional awareness that is central to our spiritual
development.
In The Seat of the Soul, Zukav brilliantly set
forth his fundamental concepts, explaining how the expansion of
human perception beyond the five senses leads to a new
understanding of power as the alignment of the personality with
the soul -- "authentic power." In Soul
Stories,
he showed how such concepts as harmony, cooperation, sharing, and
reverence for Life express themselves in other people's lives.
Now, in The Heart of the Soul, he and Francis take
the next major step forward in showing us the importance of
emotional awareness in applying these concepts to our own daily
lives.
Excerpted from "The Heart of the Soul"
Copyright © 2002 Gary Zukav, Linda Francis. Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved.
Welcome
Our adopted Sioux
uncle once told me, "Nephew, the longest journey that you
will make in your life is from your head to your heart,"
gently touching his forehead and then his chest.
Linda Francis, my
spiritual partner, and I are still on that journey, and so are
you. Everyone is on it. The journey into the heart is our future
and our only way of creating a future. It is movement toward
wholeness, integrity, and compassion. It is the healing each of us
longs for, and the healing that each of us must accomplish if we
are to move forward into our fullest potential.
Learning to
experience emotions is one of the most difficult tasks that can be
undertaken. Many people do not know that they are angry, even when
rage flows through them like a river. Some do not know that they
are grieving, even when sorrow is the only sun that rises for them
in the morning. Most people think of themselves as experiencing
emotions only when powerfully emotional currents erupt through
their lives, disturbing routines devoted to activities,
accomplishments, or survival.
Emotional awareness
- becoming aware of everything that you are feeling at every
moment - is very difficult because we experience so much pain each
moment. Becoming aware of our emotions means becoming aware of
pain. It is challenging, difficult, and unpleasant. It is also
more rewarding than most of us can imagine. That is because most
of us cannot imagine a life free from compulsions, fixations,
obsessions, and addictions, in which we act with an empowered
heart and are free of attachment to the outcome.
The alternative to
becoming aware of your emotions is to continue masking the pain
that you experience. When you do, your pain emerges in unexpected
ways, distorting your behavior, changing your words, shaping your
perceptions, and creating consequences that are as unwanted as
they are difficult.
This alternative no
longer works. Our species is undergoing an unprecedented
transformation. Its consciousness is changing. Its perceptions are
changing. Its values and goals are also changing. Individual by
individual, old aspirations are being replaced by new. Comfort and
influence are no longer goals that inspire, even those who live in
poverty. The new goal is spiritual development. An awareness is
emerging in millions of individuals that we are more than bodies
and minds, more than enzymes and molecules, and that each of us is
more than a temporary presence in the Universe.
This awareness is
transforming the human experience. As it does, the determination
to explore every aspect of consciousness, and to cultivate those
that contribute the most to Life, is replacing the desire to bury
painful emotions. This requires emotional awareness.
I am an author by
choice, inclination, and aptitude. I love language. I love the
rhythm and flow of words and sentences as they clothe ideas and
give them expression. I love the challenge of writing without
ambiguity, even though I know that is impossible. I know the
slipperiness of language, and the delight of it. I know the
limitations of my native language, and I honor the capabilities of
other languages to shape thought and experience differently. I was
born to know and use language. I am a fish and concept is my
water.
Shortly after I met
Linda eight years ago she told me, "Beloved, language is my
second language." Now we have cocreated a book together.
Linda's language is relationship. She excels at empathic
communication -- she is sensitive to others and she often knows
what they feel. She swims confidently in a sea of emotion. Her
challenge is articulate expression. Mine is consciousness of
emotion. Both of us strive to create authentic power in our own
lives -- the alignment of the personality with the soul.
This is the context
in which we cocreated this book. In her moments of clarity,
Linda's expression is powerful. Her words are appropriate. Her
meaning is unmistakable. Her expression is flawless. In my moments
of sensitivity, emotions fill my awareness. I cherish people. I
feel what they feel as well as what I feel. I love Life.
Linda and I have
the same combination of qualities within us that you do, some that
are strong and well-developed, and some that are yet to be
developed. We have each drawn on our strengths in the cocreation
of this book. I wrote the text, and Linda added dimensions to the
text that I did not consider.
All of my books in
the past have been solely (and souly) text -- words, sentences,
paragraphs, and chapters. This book is much more. It includes
illustrations, diagrams, empowering thoughts, and, most important,
authentic power practices. Authentic power is the alignment of
your personality with your soul. You must become aware of what you
are feeling in order to create authentic power. These practices
are designed to help you do that.
A central practice
in this book is a scan of what you are experiencing in your body.
It is easy to understand how to do this and why it is important.
However, to actually observe your emotions moment by moment will
take commitment and effort on your part, no matter how experienced
you are with practices.
Some people easily
make new practices part of their routine. If you are one of those
people, you can immediately incorporate the practices that you
feel are most productive for you. Others have not yet developed
the discipline to use a new practice, even if they know it is
essential for their well-being. If you are in this group, would
you consider asking a friend to do an experiment with you? This
experiment is a way to support you in remembering to practice what
you feel is important. Ask a friend, whom you can think of as a
spiritual buddy, to remind you daily of your intention regarding
your practices. This is especially helpful with practices that you
find yourself resisting.
Go at your own
pace. You can select one practice and do it for a day, and then
another for the next day, and so on. You can also choose one
practice and do that one for a week, or a month, or until you are
ready to move on. Utilize the practices in any way that is useful
for you. Have your spiritual buddy check in with you every other
day. Remember that it is your responsibility to keep your
commitment. Your spiritual buddy's commitment is to check in with
you, not to take responsibility for you.
Some people will
read this book, understand it, and never stop to do the practices,
even if they think the practices are good. It will be hard for
them to slow down enough to see their great value. Their
experiences will be entirely intellectual, and disconnected from
their bodies. You cannot become emotionally aware just by thinking
about it. Therefore, you will not gain as much from this book if
you do not take the time to do the practices, especially if that
is difficult for you.
Becoming
emotionally aware is a process. Creating authentic power is a
lifelong endeavor. The authentic power practices that we have
included in this book work for us. When you do them, allow
yourself to think about other authentic power practices that might
work for you, and create your own. You will discover many.
Eventually, your life will become an authentic power
practice.
The information in
each chapter of this book is part of a whole that is necessary to
understanding the heart of emotional awareness. You may think some
of the chapters do not apply to you, but, upon reflection, you may
be surprised. At the least, they will increase your ability to
appreciate other people and their challenges. When you can see the
challenges of others with detachment, you are better able to see
your own.
Emotional awareness
is more than applying techniques to this circumstance or that
circumstance. It is a natural expression of an orientation that
turns your attention toward the most noble, fulfilling, joyful,
and empowering part of yourself that you can reach for. That is
your soul.
Cocreation is more than collaboration. Cocreation occurs when
individuals bring all that each can offer to a joint effort and,
at the same time, open themselves to a larger, or higher, idea
that may not have previously occurred to any of them. They do not
seek to impose their opinions, but to find a way together to a
solution that satisfies all of them completely. They are not
content with compromise. They seek the satisfaction of cocreation.
They will not cease until each of them says, "Yes. This feels
just right to me. This is perfect."
The Heart of the
Soul feels that way to both of us. It has been a gift for us
to cocreate, and it is a gift for us to share.
With love,
Gary Zukav and Linda Francis
End
of Excerpt
