Rev Charli Tupper

It is common in spiritual circles to hear about how powerful it is to live from an open heart.  I know for many years I have interpreted this to mean that I am to open my heart to everyone else.  The Truth is, we cannot open our heart to someone else until we are willing to open our heart to our self.

Each of us, through our daily experiences, is invited to investigate those aspects of our self that we have ignored or disowned because they don’t line up with who we think we are supposed to be.  I call it an investigation for a couple of reasons.  When you think of investigating something, it is because it has been brought to your attention.  You didn’t go looking for something to investigate, yet as it comes to your attention, you don’t block it out either and ignore it.

A personal example I might share is: I was talking with a friend and she said something to me that hurt my feelings.  My reaction to her comment was the desire to close my heart down.  Instead, I decided to investigate what I was thinking and feeling.  I asked for the help of Spirit to reveal what I was believing about myself that would trigger me to close my heart.  My discovery, as I continued to be present in the moment was the button being pushed had to do with how I was treated as a child.  This allowed me to ask for Grace.  The power of Divine Love in action to heal me at depth.

Through the power of grace-filled investigation  we are stating that we are willing to have Spirit reveal to our conscious mind those beliefs and patterns of thinking that are getting in the way of opening our hearts fully not only to ourselves, but to all others as well.   It is out of this willingness that Grace comes in and reveals only that which we are ready to know in the moment.  This is a very important part of the process.  I call it the ‘no digging’ clause.  This process is not about trying to figure out why we did something, or dredging up every mistake, or analyzing the meeting we had with someone to figure out ‘what’s wrong with me or them’.  It is allowing Grace, the activity of Spirit, Divine Love, to move through and release and forgive old beliefs and mistakes that are not serving us at this time.   The beauty of this process is we may not even have to know what is being released.  I love that we are on an “as need to know” basis with Spirit.  If it is not in our best interest to know and remember something that needs to be healed, Spirit not only can do it without our help, but does it without our even knowing about it.

It is out of the process of healing through the power of Grace that we are able to open our hearts more deeply to our self with loving compassion.  We are then set free to be present with others with an open heart.  To be fully present with them in the moment without analyzing what they are saying, thinking, or feeling.  This is one of the greatest gifts we can give to everyone.  And it is truly a gift of Grace.