The Healing Power of Our Hearts

Stephen Levine tells a powerful story about living in a large adobe house heated by wood stoves. Occasionally he and his wife Ondrea got burnt as they stoked the fires. After the initial reaction to pull away was noticed and softened around, they discovered that sending love and care to the burns allowed them to heal rapidly. They said often in an hour or two only a red mark remained, rarely a blister. And usually, within a few days, the affected area was completely without injury. 

This was so powerful they decided to do an experiment where, when they burnt themselves, they allowed the mind’s insistent reaction of withdrawal and resistance to remain without touching the burns with kindness and care. They found these burns might last for a week or more after blistering and generating considerable sensations in the area. 

This is just one example out of many that Stephen has shared down through the years about the power of our heart to heal, not just physical pain, but also emotional and mental distress. 

The reason why I can be grateful, most of the time, for the health challenges I’m experiencing is it has become very clear that when I react with my mind to whatever level of pain I’m experiencing, it only keeps me caught in struggle. But when I respond with my heart, meeting all the parts of me that are scared, overwhelmed, frustrated, hurting, and resistant to what is going on, I usually open back into the ease and peace that come from meeting life through the spaciousness of my heart. 

It seems that the more challenging my health becomes, the more my heart opens and for that, I am oh so grateful. I woke up one morning last week with this song singing itself to me:   

“Time after time, I tell myself that I’m, so lucky to be loving you.” 

I felt deep joy for this gentle, loving reminder that touching my challenges with kindness and understanding, whether they are a physical upset, emotional distress, or a struggling mind, makes life so much easier.  

But life was not done in reminding me of the healing power of an open heart. The next morning, a line from James Taylor’s song How Sweet It Is was singing itself inside of me as I was waking up: 

“How sweet it is to be loved by you!” 

I took that as a message from all the parts inside of me that are struggling, reminding me that they are so grateful that most of the time I can meet them with kindness, and care, remembering that the heart has room for everything. 

So the invitation is to notice that you, like all of us, have been trained to withdraw and resist the pains of life and, just like Stephen did with his burns, this only amplifies your pain. Are you willing, just for this day, to notice when you are reacting to the challenges of life and instead, place your hand over your heart? Then, for a moment, meet yourself as if you were the most precious person on this planet, deserving your own kindness and care? For you are that precious! And you are deserving of the healing balm of your own heart! 

My new interactive online course, beginning March 30th, Falling in Love with You will teach you how to incorporate these lessons into your life. Enroll by tomorrow, February 22nd, and receive $200 off tuition with coupon code: filwy4$200off. If you want an overview of the course, please watch Mary’s Masterclass Video for the course. Contact devrah@maryomalley.com for more info.