Your Heart, Your Compass
I’m currently exploring the North of Spain, the Basque Country. I first spent some days in San Sebastián, not only known for its surf culture, the film festival happening every September but also as one of the food Meccas in Europe.
Now, I’ve moved on to Bilbao where the atmosphere is more of an elegant, artsy one with many museums to explore.
And you know what I started to do again? Something that I really love to do when I’ve a little bit more time on my hands and am discovering a new city or area…
I let my heart lead the way ❤️
So, how do I do that?
Well, there’s two ways I practice that and I’m going to share them with you bellow.
Heart Compass Practice 1
While I’m strolling through town and I come to a crossroad, I look or turn in each direction (left, right or straight ahead) and ask my heart which way I should continue to go?
In that moment, I stop walking, I connect to my heart centre in the middle of my chest and as I turn, I feel into the sensation I receive from my heart. An opening sensation stands for: yes, go that way! A closing, tightening sensation stands for: no, don’t go that way!
Sometimes they feel equally open or neutral. In that case, I know that taking both paths are an equally good choice.
It’s best to practice in a place, city or area that you don’t know yet.
This practice is a practice with the intention of pure curiosity to explore, to wonder and to see what comes your way.
Important for it to work - before your start, take a moment to connect to your heart in saying something like: “Hi heart, I trust you to lead the way now”
Breathe the intention into your entire body before you start walking.
And also - no taking out phones / maps.
So, yes, best to practice when you’re not under time pressure or need to be somewhere at a specific time.
You can however also set an intention at the start of your journey. For example: I want to find a coffee place with specialty coffee and a cosy feeling to it. Or: I want to wonder through beautiful streets with majestic old buildings that I can take photos of.
You can be as general or as specific as you want here.
Personal Experience
Yesterday evening, I took a stroll through the city and let my heart guide me. No specific direction. I was listening and feeling closely into every “yes” and “no” and ended up in a part of the city that I hadn’t discovered yet.
At some point, it started to get dark and I wanted to get back to the hotel, walking along the river. So, I started to instruct my heart to slowly bring me to the water and it would be great to come by a supermarket to get some more water.
We were taking some turns and were actually getting away from the riverside a little. I wondered for a moment, almost letting my mind take over and taking out my phone but I decided to keep on trusting.
And guess what, I ended up right in front of a cultural centre with a little shop inside selling products from designers of the Basque Country. In there, I finally found a beautiful small wallet that I had been looking for for a very long time.
Would I have wondered there following my map on my phone? Probably not.
I would have taken the quickest and shortest way back to the river following the blue line on the map.
Trusting my heart to lead the way took a little bit of a longer route but I was “rewarded” greatly in the end.
Trusting in the decisions we make by listening to our hearts, might not always be the straightest or faster paths into the direction we want to go but there always lies great wonders, realisations and insights on the way for us. And it surely always is an adventure. Something all of our hearts are longing for so much!
Besides that - practicing letting the heart lead in that way, by walking through the streets, is also a great practice in building more trust in yourself, your intuition, your feelings and sensations.
And yes, in the end, I arrived at the water, even faster than I thought, passing a supermarket on the way in a centre that I was curious about when I was driving past the other day. So, I got to check that one out as well :)
Heart Compass Practice II
Now, this is one step further and sinking more into trust that your heart will lead the way.
I’ve already done this many times and it truly works but this one takes a little bit more practice and a lot of trust in your heart, your inner compass.
You’ll start like in Practice 1, but this time you’re giving your heart a specific location you want to go to.
Just like you would type it in on the map one your phone.
A café or restaurant you want to go to or back to the hotel or apartment you’re staying at for example.
Believe me, it works and you’ll be blown away by the power and precision of your heart.
But again, you need to fully trust, closely listen to the “yes” and “nos” at every crossroad and not use your phone on the way there.
Have fun trying it out!
Now, I’ve been focusing more on exploring cities here but it works just as well in nature. If you’re in unknown terrain on the mountains, you’ll want to be a bit more aware though when you first start practicing (I really don’t want you to get lost on a mountain 😇)
Here, you could cheat a little bit in asking first and then looking on the map for example. Taking it as confirmations for what you’ve asked your heart before.
I’m also often practicing using my Heart as a compass when I’m exploring an area with my car. Works just as well. If you want to try it out, please be very mindful while driving and other vehicles or people walking around you.
This, I wouldn’t necessarily do in a city for example but somewhere in the countryside.
Why do this practice?
Well first of all - much more fun exploring a new city or area in that way than staring down at your phone and walking through the streets.
Secondly - it helps you to let go of control.
Thirdly and maybe most importantly - it strengthens your connection to your heart. It helps you to trust in the voice of your wild and adventurous heart. Be curious and open where it will take you. And with that - next time you’re standing at a crossroad in your life and you ask your heart if you should keep on going straight ahead, left or right, the answer will come much clearer to you.
Enjoy practicing!
And please, I would really love to hear from you and all the adventures that you’re taking with your heart! ♥️
Of course, any questions, please reach out any time :)
With love,
Caroline