Following The Heart’s True North: a Road Map for the Journey of a Lifetime

Wouldn’t it be nice if following our heart was as simple as reading a compass?

Chasing our hearts desires is supposed to be a journey after all, leading us down our very own adventure of a lifetime. So why wouldn’t the heart come equipped with the tools to help show us the way?

In a sense, our heart is a compass. It possesses the strongest and largest electromagnetic field in our bodies. When we encounter people and situations, we encounter them partly through this field (McCraty, The Energetic Heart). By attuning ourselves to our heart’s energy, we can sense a gentle pull towards our heart’s true north.

This magnetic pull is the needle’s spinning upon our hearts compass. Reading its direction however can get tricky when disruptive frequencies like fear, worry, and doubt (which I discuss in my previous post) make it nearly impossible to hold still long enough to allow the heart’s needle to settle.

Fear based frequencies will always interFEAR with the heart’s compass. But by taking a moment to pause on our trail, we can elevate ourselves to greater internal heights to orient ourselves towards our heart’s path once again.

Here are three ways to find higher ground when the heart’s true north cannot be found.

1. Try not to overcomplicate things.

Our minds are complicated. Our hearts are not. Their messages are always incredibly simple.

Like the needle on a compass, our heart always points to its true north. The directional signals on a compass do not include any questions marks or seconds thoughts; they do not read, “Well, maybe this is north,” or “I think this was north last time I checked but now I’m not so sure.” A compass simply points, and the adventurer simply follows.

The adventure of our lives is already within us. If we are open, receptive, and don’t overcomplicate or overthink the directions, our hearts will lead us every step of the way.

2. Worrying? Stop listening.

It may sound harsh, but we simply cannot listen to ourselves when we are worrying.

The heart’s frequency is soft, subtle, and nonimposing. Frequencies of mind-based fear are not: they are intrusive, aggressive, and all-consuming. They sweep in like a thunderstorm in the valley, and unless we climb to a safe internal vista, we can easily be swept away in the flood.

We cannot fight this storm, for this strategy only keeps us in the valley longer, making us more vulnerable to fear’s destruction. So when the winds of worry pick up, our best bet is to retreat from them and stop listening.

3. Trust there is no wrong turn.

On every journey we will inevitably encounter crossroads, dead-ends, forks, and risky passes. Though we have our heart as our compass, there will also be times we choose a path only to realize we must turn back and find a new way.

In these instances however, ground is not lost. We learn much about how to recognize true north by experiencing what it is not. We put this experience in our pack along with the rest of our gear and can use it to determine our path further down the trail.

The adventure is in the journey, not the destination.

Learning to read the heart like a compass is just as much a part of the journey as the miles marked along the way. Every time we stop to watch the needle spin we learn more about ourselves, where we’ve come from and where we’re headed.

But also, stopping to check in with our heart’s compass gives us an opportunity to pause and appreciate exactly where we are. The adventure of our lives happens on the journey. When we approach our trek from this perspective, we realize that our hearts true north is not some obscure destination to be searched and discovered. It is the very essence of our adventure to be felt, lived, and breathed with every step.