Your heart – muscle and interior life

Years ago there would be articles in the Reader's Digest with titles like, "I am Joe's kidney," told in the first person to acquaint readers with the structure and function of a particular organ. Thinking about parallels between one's heart as muscle (my heart is all aflutter) and as figurative center of being or mind (what I know is true in my heart of hearts), the following starter list comes to mind.*

1)      The muscles you use will grow stronger; the ones you don't use diminish. Thinking now of the meaning of this observation for one's spiritual strength, it makes sense to exercise one's heart by actively seeking God's will, listening for opportunities to do God's work, and then to follow one's heart where it leads, including to places and words and deeds outside of one's normal.

2)      Muscle memory is the idea that overlearning, or over practicing, something will lead to a level of fluency and automaticity that one can perform instinctively when the need arises or when pressure increases. When your conscious mind knows not what to do, your muscle memory can perform flawlessly. Thinking now of the meaning of this observation for one's spiritual expression, it makes sense to rehearse and exercise regularly so that the patterns and relationships built by religious discipline can function smoothly in good times as well as bad. For instance, memorizing verses, passages, Lord's Prayer, and so on means that these are available even when one is stuck or trapped in a corner.

3)      Relax when trying too hard so that the result is fluid and masterful. Many people will have the experience of racking their brains to remember a name or a certain word only to find that it comes to them sometime later, after they have stopped trying so hard. Thinking now of the meaning of this observation for one's spiritual depth & knowing, it makes sense to exert oneself but not to expect the needed result until sometime later, when no longer applying deliberate force and effort to the matter. For example, pray hard and pray often, but expect the best chance of hearing a reply only later, after relaxing from the strain of trying so hard.

4)      "Flow" or "in the zone" refer to a level of fluidity, gracefulness, and seeming effortlessness in one's athletic expression or in creative endeavors. Everything just seems to click into place at the right time, in the right sequence, and in the right way. Thinking now of the meaning of this observation for one's spiritual flow, it makes sense to repeat one's training, exercise, efforts so often that magical moments when all elements suddenly work together in harmonious result.

=-= *photo credit, creative commons, J. Trbovich