Where True Power is Born

http://allysonandjeremy.org/drawings-a#/id/i4946236

Where True Power is Born 
by: Max Strom

We own nothing in this world. Everything we own is contained in our heart center. Everything outside the heart center is not ours. It passes. It’s temporary. Everything in the heart center is real. The love we have for others, the love we feel from others, all resides in the heart center. It is the place where we sometimes experience the greatest pain, but it is also the fountain from which unconditional love flows—where joy, gratitude, forgiveness, and compassion are born. Where true power is born.
The heart center is not a physical organ that beats in our chest; it is the temple of our highest emotions and even our highest Self. It is experienced primarily in the chest region, and this is why the chest is the most difficult area of the body to open, because it is the home of our emotions and our memories. All spiritual healing involves the heart center. It is where we truly live and will return to in the end.
The ancient Egyptians believed that the heart was the center of intelligence and emotion. They also thought so little of the brain that during mummification, they removed the brain from the body and discarded it.
Kindness is one of the expressions of the heart center; it is love in action. It says to others, “You are also important; my concern is not just for my own well-being, but for yours also.” Do not underestimate the power of kindness. It is a symptom of love and compassion. I believe kindness is a preeminent virtue that is born of a love for humanity. One who seeks the spiritual path but has not kindness will not walk far. Even if you have memorized the Bible, or the Koran, Torah, or all of the Vedas, without kindness you have achieved nothing. You have achieved only that which your laptop computer has achieved—memorization without understanding.

Originally published in whole living magazine -2010