Monday, December 15, 2008

Where's your heart?


Every day on Twitter I post an OSHO Zen Card of the day. Last week I picked Schizophrenia, which is about following your heart when you're stuck. The ever-inspiring Magpie Girl asked me to write something about how to follow your heart during these schizophrenic moments.

My answer is "move."

When we're faced with making a tough decision, so often what we do is stop and think. But does mulling something over really work? If you come up with something in the first few minutes, awesome! But often, this is what happens. You give it 5 minutes. No answer. You take a break from it and come back. Nope, still don't know what to do. You decide you'll sleep on it. You wake up; nothing's changed. You chat about it with a friend. Three friends. You chat about it with your cat. Still stuck. Does that sound familiar? And kind of painful?

What you need is more information and where to get it is your heart. So, how do you hear what your heart has to say? The quick and easy way is to make a choice and start moving towards it. This will usually evoke an immediate reaction. Maybe you'll start feeling a greater sense of ease or some excitement, and as you move, you find yourself with a stronger and stronger yes. Or you'll start backpedalling and going, what the heck was I thinking? I don't want to do this. Either way, you'll know.

For a risk-free way of making that move, here's a simple technique my mom taught me. Flip a coin. Yep, I said flip a coin. When it comes down heads or tails, your body will have an instinctive reaction: "Yes!" or "Bleh." Your body knows the answer. Go where the "Yes!" is.

And if you have no reaction, a few things could be going on. It may not be time to make a decision. Perhaps you're simply not ready to move on this or your inner guidance system needs some attunement. Give yourself some space. Take some time for self-care and then give it another go. It's also possible that this decision isn't terribly important after all. Pick one and get it done or forget them both and start looking for an option that does make your heart go boom.

You deserve choices that make your heart say "YES!" When you are struggling with a decision, move towards something. It may feel scary but as OSHO says, "Follow your heart, if you can find it. If you can't find it - just jump - your heart will start beating so fast there will be no mistake about where it is!"

14 comments:

Lisa said...

Thanks. Stuck is my middle name, so this is really helpful to me.

Funny, my husband does the same thing as your mom - when I am stuck he says flip a coin and you can tell how you really feel. And if you don't really care when you get your "answer" it didn't matter that much and we just follow the random coin toss.

Jamie you are so darned wise, I love it.

Fiona said...

It seems like a great card for times when you have to make a tough decision that will get you what your heart wants in the long run, but you know you are going to have to break your own heart to get there.

Tori said...

This is great advice! I've been in that pattern of 'just thinking it over'. It gets me no where. Thank you for this!

Unknown said...

Wonderful advise. There is no way you will see any results without some action. So definitely - MOVE.

Love your blog.

Suzie Ridler said...

Awesome Jamie! I love these suggestions and you're so right, when you get stuck just moving towards it to see how you feel says so much. Being stuck is the worst choice because the energy isn't going anywhere and the strain from the pressure of nothing moving one way or the other is monstrous!

My heart always says go for it.

Suzie Ridler said...

Oh and my favourite is, "We don't know Joe, we'll just jump and see what happens." Love Joe vs the Volcano.

Anonymous said...

fabulous advice!!! i was told that once... if you can't decide on something flip a coin and see your first reaction. great reminder jamie!!! thank you!!!

i love osho's deck, this also reminds me that i need to replace mine. it's literally falling to pieces. it was my very first deck ever, i bought it back in high school... yikes!!! time sure does fly!!!

have a very beautiful monday evening!!!

peace and many blessings

jennifer lee said...

Brilliant, Jamie. Great perspective. Thanks!

Genie Sea said...

I have reached my YES! My heart spoke to me in my sleep finally. :) Thank you for the wonderful tips.

It was great having coffee and chatting! I am so happy we met! :)

Her Speak said...

Beautiful insight. When we mull and over-chew ideas or decisions it leaves too much room for second guessing and fear to sneak in.

Trust Your Guts!
Love it.

Many Blissings!~*
Molly

Silvia said...

What a great post!
Thanks for writing this.

I just flipped a coin and it helped make something clearer for me :)

Last Place Finisher said...

I heard a story about someone who's facing a difficult decision. He said that he didn't want to make a choice, that he wanted to "feel" his way through it, and that making a choice meant risking that he would be deluding himself by ignoring his feelings, he wouldn't know if it was real.

Is it ok to hit someone like that over the head?

Pink Heels said...

I LOVE your OSHO cards on Twitter. It is the highlight of my morning. :)

Anonymous said...

Dear Jamie,

I loved your post on making decisions , however,Schizoprenia is by no means just simply following your heart. It is a very very serious mental condition which has far more to do with managing your physical self and mental than simply saying Yes. I am sorry but i must say if the deck of cards says it is as simple as following your heart than i have to question the authenticity of its meaning. However, as i said in the start, your post is wonderful for simple decisions, but nothing to do with Schizophrenia.

Glen