“Where do we begin? Begin with the heart.”
This quote is by Julian of Norwich, who was an English anchoress who lived in the 1300s. An anchoress is a woman who led a prayerful, ascetic life and who withdrew from secular society to do so. The word anchorite refers to a man who chose that way of life. Julian is best known for her writings Revelations of Divine Love.
When I contemplate Julian’s words “begin with the heart,” I think of feelings that emanate instinctively from within. I think of agape love, which is a love that desires the welfare of others and has no expectation of return. And I think of the more personal love we have for people we know and are emotionally close to. Her words also bring to mind spontaneous reactions as compared to planned responses. When we begin with the heart, we come from a place of genuine caring as a basis for decisions we make and for the way we respond to various life situations.
Most of our day-to-day activities involve using our thinking functions—figuring things out, planning, analyzing, using logic. These abilities are essential for doing many things, from something as simple as preparing a grocery list to working on complex undertakings such as those that are required by certain professions. Because thinking functions are necessary for many daily tasks and for many occupations, and because they are emphasized by western cultures, there is often a tendency to minimize the importance of our feelings and intuition. And yet our feelings and intuitive promptings are also ways to experience aspects of life and are essential in helping us discern choices we make and responses to life happenings.
When we listen to our heart, we are more in touch with the guidance of our inner voice, and therefore more on our spiritual path. That is what matters most.