VISIONARY TEACHINGS
by Gill Schwartz

PRAYER IN THE FOUR REALMS OF THE HEART

The aim of this description is to help you recognize and honor each unique Realm of your Heart and its state at this moment. This might relate to a particular concern, to your life in general, or to God. A Heart Realm might be crying with unrecognized needs or jubilant with fulfillment. As your awareness transitions from level to level, be aware of the emotions you discover, the sense impressions, energies, imagery and associations. Honor the state that you find there and pray accordingly in words, song, movement, laughter, tears or silence.

THE FIRST, outermost Realm of the Heart centers on the personality, the ego-based self. This is where all their emotional aspects are created and are manifested. It is the layer of being that comes into contact with others' outermost Realm. These interactions create the physical and social worlds of needs, fears and projections we live in, and the ever present unknowables. The dualistic focus of ego usually experiences things in terms of, "Me/them.., I desire/fear.., I should/won't... Etc."

In this outermost layer, we are often caught up in our fleeting desires and the welter of happenings around us. Heartfelt and consciously held meditative prayer, images or affirmations can be used to heal and stabilize you awareness. We might pray for or give thanks for clarity, adequate provision, forgiveness and mercy for one's self and others, or to attain an auspicious goal in this Realm.

Your prayer here might be like; "Lord of Mercy, guide and protect my way in the world;" "Praise You, Lord, for Your boundless mercy and compassion;" "Help me awaken, Lord of Wisdom, from my delusions and this state of self-hypnosis, that I may open, release and humbly rest all in Your Hands." "May I be Your witness and Your servant in this Realm." Pray as this outermost level of your Heart calls for.

THE SECOND, next deepest Realm of the Heart is that of the soul, the inner part of you that is the source of your personhood. This is where your lifelong concerns and gifts are sourced. In this soul Realm of your Heart, you might find feelings like, "I love...I long for... I recognize other souls..."

Meditative prayer and affirmations also help release and heal issues that block growth and the manifestation of our deeper being and calling. Prayer at this level might be like, "Bless and guide this soul that seeks You," "Open my heart to know our love," "Help me find other souls who seek You, Lord"; Help me accept the depth of Your fierce blessing, that I may be Your offering, a heartfelt sacrifice to that which alone IS;" or "Thank You for revealing this depth of my truth." Again, listen to this Realm of your Heart for what it experiences and calls to express.

THE THIRD and next deeper Realm of the Heart is the spiritual domain. This is your eternal part, the aspect of your being that is of God's breath and spirit, taken from the very "Shining of His Face." Here is the holiness that is your true Self, encompassing and fulfilling all the rest of you. This is the source of selfless compassion, transpersonal love, of the joy in being. Often found at this level are the essential, spiritual emotions and a strong longing for God, present in others, or totally "Other".

Prayer or devotional affirmation used here would concern one's spiritual needs, issues or realizations, personal or universal. Or they might be an expression of your spirit's devotion to honor the Lord like, "There is no Truth but You, Lord;" "My fulfillment is in the deepest the knowing of Your Truth"; "As Your witness and servant, Your call is my empowerment;" or "Blessed is the Name of Mother-Father God." For fulfillment, let yourself be absorbed in devotion with the wholeness of your being. Who I am now is only for Him.

THE FOURTH Realm, is the Heart within Heart, which the conscious mind can only grasp by metaphor. This is where the Divine "I AM" is Present. It makes Itself unquestionably known as the Core and Source by transforming everything else in the Heart with Its boundless healing compassion. Here is your fullness of Being; infinite thirst and immeasurable quenching. Here is the Heart of the Secret, the Boundless Well where Darkness turns to Revelation. Need and fulfillment merge.

In this profoundest Realm of the Heart you might pray, "I am at Home with Highest Consciousness and Love;" "I am at one with I AM;" "God Is the Splendor;" or simply, "Oh, Holy One." You might be guided to devotionaly repeat the most appealing name(s) or sounds that best hold your Knowing of the Divine, or simply to rest in silence, perhaps holding a sacred image in mind. Guided, as always, by the calling of this Realm of your Heart.

A fuller description of these are in "Four Realms of the Heart and Mind" also on this W.E.B. Sight.

 

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Copyright Nathaniel Schwartz 2003   www.WisdomVisions.com