Heart Compass

The Heart Compass

The Heart Compass is a concept that came to me one day, which is designed to help us maintain heart balance by reminding us of all the facets of love and openheartedness. Stay tuned for stickers and other goodies featuring this design.

With the heart compass, we are reminded of the four main ways that we focus love: love for ourselves, love for others, love for the universe (spirit, God, the Source), and love for the planet Earth. If we can maintain a balance, not straying to far in one direction, but staying centered within the heart of this compass, we will find equanimity.

Here's how it works:

Within each facet of love, ask yourself the following questions.

Self: 
  • Do I love myself?
  • Do I work on expanding my awareness of who I am, of discovering my true self in all of its aspects,both joyful and difficult?
  • Do I care for my body, eat well, get enough exercise and sleep?
  • Do I surround myself with supportive people and situations?
  • Do I give myself opportunities to be creative, to let myself play, to let myself dream?
  • Do I forgive myself my flaws and mistakes?
  • Do I see, appreciate, and acknowledge my own inner beauty?

Earth
  • Do I love our planet Earth?
  • Do I strive to live lightly on the planet to the extent that I can?
  • Do I consider the health of the planet when making decisions about what to buy, what to throw away, transportation, the amount of waste I create, and the resources that I consume?
  • if I have kids, do I teach them to think of these things, as well?
  • Do I add to the health of the planet or do I detract from it?
  • Do I do what I can to care for the living Earth community, including the animals, plants, insects, human communities, and all beings who exist on the planet?

Other
  • Do I love others?
  • Do I do as much as I can for my loves ones - caring for them, showing my love, listening to them, supporting them, and helping them grow?
  • Do I do as much as I can for my community - serving those less fortunate than I, helping to keep the community clean, healthy, and vibrant?
  • Do I care for others, even strangers, by volunteering my time and/or money, treating people with respect even if I don't understand them, helping people I see around me who need help, and generally acting in a loving, kind manner to those I meet through the course of my day?
  • Do I strive to remain mindful of all my interactions with others and really acknowledge the people I come across, rather than mindlessly seeing them as mere obstacles in my path?
  • Do I do what I can to foster and strengthen connections between myself and others?

Universe
'Universe' can also be called Spirit, God, Goddess, Higher Power, the Source, etc.
  • Do I love the Universe?
  • Do I have a spiritual or contemplative practice, no  matter what my religious or spiritual beliefs?
  • Do I take time to thank the Universe for the gifts it bestows on me everyday, from the lungs that keep me alive to the beauty around me?
  • Do I do what I can to take the lessons the Universe gives me and use them to learn and to grow?
  • Do I do what I can to help others learn and grow from the lessons the Universe provides to them?
  • Do I take advantage of the opportunities presented to me by the Universe?
All of us do better at some of these than others. This isn't intended to be a test of your goodness as a person, but only as a road map to help maintain balance, equanimity, and to find true peace even with all the struggles that we may experience. If you find that any ones of these facets is less strong than any others, you might consider adding elements to your life that strengthen that particular element of love. If, for instance, you realize that you dote on your kids and one or two friends, but you don't really tend to see or acknowledge the other people around you during your day, you might make a daily practice of remaining mindful in interactions with others. If you find that you spend a lot of time volunteering your time to help others but that you don't ever have time to be creative, you might cut back on volunteer time and spend that time doing whatever creative thing you enjoy, such as writing, gardening, painting, or singing.

Use the compass in whichever way works for you!