Journal of Sacred Work

We can never obtain peace in the world if we neglect the inner world and don’t make peace with ourselves.

        – Dalai Lama


   A headache can shake our concentration. We may sometimes think of our stomach as "tied in knots." Our heart can race even though we are sitting still. How do we make peace with ourselves? The question has a strange sound to those who think the enemy is always outside of them. Others see immediately that some of our voices are discordant with each other. Many of our physical headaches arise from an inner battle we call stress. Much of this trouble may resolve is we can better educate our hearts rather than focusing all our energy on trying to solve every issue with our minds. Success requires a special kind of education…

   Discovering inner peace is part of the work of educating
our hearts. I often ask caregivers what they seek from life. Equally
interesting is the reverse question: What does life seek from us?
   Many of us, perhaps influenced by Jefferson’s famous language in the Declaration of Independence, may believe that what we want from life is happiness and that happiness is something that must be
pursued. The language of pursuit even popped up recently in a movie starring Will Smith. But connecting the word "pursuit" with happiness can throw us way off course. How, after all, do we "catch" happiness? And, once caught, how do we hold on?
   Whether happiness is catchable or not, it is certainly not "holdable" like an animal that can be cornered, captured and tamed. Instead, the wiser among us recognize that a goal better than happiness is to cultivate a life rich with passion, not with happiness or money or false security. A rich life is certain to include risk, tragedy and pain as well as joy, accomplishment and service to others.
   We spend so much of our early lives trying to educate our minds. But one of the wises minds in history, Aristotle, wrote, Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.   
   One of the first steps in educating the heart is awareness of our deep need for heart education. We need to accept this need as a major priority in our lives. But the principle call of daily life centers around the practical and heart education doesn’t seem very practical to many.
   Can you imagine trying to get a job by telling a prospective employer that you have an educated heart? Where would you place heart education on your resume?
   Yet, I know of at least one instance where a borderline student was admitted to medical school because one of his references wrote: "He has a servant’s heart." That medical school was smart enough to admit this student who ended up becoming one of their most successful graduates.
   There is no joy in the life of a person whose heart is uneducated.
   What is heart education about? What are some of the ingredients that bring about this education? Does the heart need to be put through drills, as we do with the mind, to train it on how to engage life? Here are some of the elements that touch the educated heart:
1) Courage – The educated heart faces its warring voices, invites them to the peace table, reaches levels of accommodation that enable God’s light to travel through and into the hearts of others.

2) Grace – People with a graceful presence have not necessarily quieted all their demons. Indeed, they may have as many loud, warring voices as the rest of us. The educated heart offers a presence that has transcended the battles raging below. People of grace communicate peace in their eyes – a sense of having been through dark times and learned from them; a sense of joy and a deep caring for others.

3) Compassion: The educated heart knows when and how to offer help. I am always touched by gracious friends of mine who know when to listen quietly to some trouble I share with them instead of barging in with five or ten solutions. This is a spiritual gift beyond measure and it is one each of us may learn as we go about the education of our own hearts.

4) Reflection: Meditation & Prayer – The heart is educated in a process that includes periodic reflection, meditation, and prayer. Reflection means a conscious review of the actions and ideas in our lives. Meditation means a process of quieting that allows our frenetic, "doing" self to rest. Prayer, for me, means a yielding, a surrender to the great power of Love. Prayer helps align us with Love.

5) Presence to Art & Music: For the heart to be educated, it must engage the ugly as well as the beautiful. This is why great art, including prose and poetry; opera and theater; painting and sculpture; always engages both the tragic and the joyful. Great art mirrors not always the best of life, but the richest layers of it.

   The principle value of a list like the one above is that it may help focus our attention on where we need to aim our life energy. I know that if I ignore art, I am passing up the chance to be educated by geniuses. I know that to look at a painting only for what it is supposed to "be" is to miss the deeper messages the artist conveys.
   Educating the heart is, in some ways, even more difficult than educating our minds. Like mind education, heart education requires great persistence and substantial patience. I
   One of the most expensive aspects of heart education is confronting loss. The pain is a spectacular teacher IF we listen to his voice rather than covering our hears and running away.
   Each day provides rich opportunities for us to educate our hearts. Wherever you are in the process, I hope today will raise your consciousness of what your heart needs and how her education is certain to enrich your life journey.

-Erie Chapman