A Heart Centered Life
healing the world one heart at a time

Now, more than ever, I hear people talking about consciousness shifting, time moving at warp speed, and movement towards enlightenment taking center stage in their lives.  With these shifts taking place, people feel an aliveness stirring within, and urgency to live in perfect alignment with their Highest Self.  And yet, as we scramble to get it ‘right’ and to make sense of the awakening we feel part of, we often lose the meaning of getting The Call in the first place – The call that beckons us to return to a state of Unity, Love, and complete connection with The Source of All That Is.

The pressure of it can feel exhausting.

Do you feel that no matter how much work you do on yourself you will never be worthy of the life you are being called to?  Do you ache for a deeper connection to Truth?  Do you want to know with Certainty that right where you are, is enough – that you are enough??  Do you wish there were greater clarity for you as you took those steps forward?

I know I do.  It is so easy to get caught in the relentless belief that if we do more, we will reach enlightenment more quickly – and so we do, and do and do, until we feel drained and depleted.  The action (whatever it may be) inadvertently keeps us stuck in a cycle of not being present, of not taking time to accept and honor where we are, in this moment.  And no matter how many books we read, or classes we attend, or vision boards we make, it can still feel as if there is a lack of lasting connection with the thing we’re looking for that sustains and nourishes us from the inside out.  We are needy for something more.

Spiritual Neediness

Often, in our culture, we see our neediness as weakness, and yet, it is our need for Love, that keeps us moving towards enlightenment.  The Source of All That Is created us to be needy, for Him, as a way of helping us realign our compasses when we get lost.  When we are out of alignment, our connection is lost and our heart aches.  We say or do things that hurt our selves and the ones we love.  We eat too much, drink too often or work too many hours, as away of avoiding the pain we feel.  And yet, if we could simply stop in those moments when we feel the ache of separation, and turn our hearts back towards the Light, we would be shown His Mercy, and would again, feel His call. “Come Home, my son, my daughter, come Home.”

Reconnection

Intention is a powerful first step. It is stated in spiritual scripture that, “If you take one step towards God, he will take two towards you. If you come to Him walking, He will come to you running.”  I invite you to do what you can each day to take just one step towards Creator, intending to align with His will for your life, both on the inner planes of your heart, and in the outer material world where you are being called to do your work

Heart Centered Renewal

Here is a simple practice, which can be done in as little as 5 minutes, though I invite you to stay with the process as long as you can.  It is a heart opening exercise, and one way to take that step of returning from emptiness and disconnect, to spiritual renewal.

Settle yourself in, and take a deep breath.  Then, place your hand on your heart and bow your chin to your chest as a way of saying you are willing to surrender your mind to the wisdom of your heart.  Wiggle your toes and become aware of your body.  Now, breath, long and slow, until you start to relax and tap into the quiet space within your heart.  Pay attention to what you feel in your body, or what is happening in your mind, but keep bringing your focus back to your heart center.  Be patient with yourself, and keep breathing.  When you feel like you’re connected and from a place of surrender and neediness for Love – call out to Source, to The One who answers your prayers, to God. Ask Him to send you Peace, Safety, Love, or whatever quality it is you feel you need in this moment.  After you have sent up your request, be present with the stillness and open yourself up as deeply as you can to receive what He sends.

If you would like to deepen your connection to The Divine, and the qualities He sends, join me at The House of Light Healing Center, on (enter dates) at (enter times) for a Heart Centered Meditation.  I am also available for private healing sessions and heart centered spiritual consultation.

Thank you for visiting my site.  I am in the process of reworking my platform and will be making many changes over the course of the next few months.  However, you can find updated class information in the Products/Services page and can learn more about me and my approach to healing in the About Jenn section.

Thanks,

Jenn

My husband and I took our son to the Zoo last week.  I’m always mixed about this particular outing, simply because of how I feel about wild animals living in captivity, and the empathy I inevitably feel while I’m there.  It pulls at my heart strings to seem them in their small (smelly) cages, and I always feel slightly saddened by the whole experience.  

This time however, I was more saddened by the behavior of other parents, and their unenlightened approach to child care then I was about the animals.  While walking past the sun bear, I saw a scoop of ice cream sitting in a little boys lap.  He was clearly distressed over the matter and instead of his mom being supportive and helping recover what was left of his delicious sweet treat, she said, “You haven’t done anything right since you woke up this morning!”  Ouch.  Much in the same way I felt sad for the caged monkeys, I felt pangs of sadness for this little boy.  Not only had he lost his ice cream, he was being reprimanded and put down for it.   A double wammy which just covers those precious layers of light in his heart more and more. 

Fast forward a bit and we’re in the sand pit, where out son, clearly the youngest of the group, is excitedly dragging a dump truck around to each group of older children, watching intently and doing his best to be a part of it all.  We were chatting happily with another mother, watching the kids play when two 5 or 6 year old girls started trowing sand at Ahmed, telling him to get away from them.  (He was simply walking past them, too close perhaps, in an effort to be as friendly as he could be, but walking by none the less.)  My husband immediately asked them to stop throwing sand and explained how it wasn’t nice, especially when Ahmed is just a baby.  A few moments later, the same thing.  This time, she was pushing him away from their castle, telling him to go away.  Again, we intervened.  I am not sure if the parents of these particular girls think its acceptable behavior to push and throw sand at small children, or if they were simply disinterested and disengaged enough to not even notice.   Either way, it was simply another of many examples that day of how the stresses of our lives pour forth onto our children, inevitably effecting their behavior.

Taking the train home was the most painful.  There was a young family with two small children who were clearly exhausted from a day at the zoo and were fighting over who got the last bites of cotton candy.  I can only imagine how the sugar they were consuming was adding discord to the process, but the way in which it was dealt with was, again, heartbreaking.  These two kids were slapped, yelled at, and left to ‘cry it out’ for several minutes before, finally, the youngest (and the parents) fell asleep, leaving what I estimated to be a three year old boy, sitting silently in the stroller.  While I felt relief that the conflict had come to an end, I was still distressed by the interaction.  

I couldn’t help but wonder:  Where do stressed out, overwhelmed parents go for support and healing?  Where do we go to get that support so that we can live in a world where children are thriving and feeling good about who they are, even when they are tired, or loose their ice cream?

This trip to the zoo made me realize how we humans are also trapped in small cages.  And if we don’t take those important first steps to align ourselves with God, and heal the wound of our pasts, we are teaching our children how to live in them as well.  

In an effort to free you from your frustrations and  return you to a state of inner peace, I am offering a complimentary consultation on how to renew and recharge your batteries, so there is more left over for your little ones!  Feel free to email with any questions.  JennTasnim@gmail.com

Of course you do, especially if you’re trying to do it on your own, because changing is difficult.  It doesn’t matter what approach you take, or which spiritual path you are traveling down, they all present challenges.  Making changes in our lives require us to be strong and vulnerable, to have the courage to open up those parts of ourselves we’d rather not look at, all the while having total faith in the unknowable, unseen thing we’re moving towards.   It requires that we trust when trust has often been violated or broken.   It means letting go of parts of ourselves we’ve come to rely upon, even when those parts of ourselves are guarded and are no longer serving our highest good. 

Taking these emotional risks can be especially hard when you don’t have a roadmap.  You move through your days habitually, recreating your pain filled past which often leads you astray and keep you in separation.  

Here is a simple, yet profound illustration of the process we go through when attempting to make changes in our lives:

AUTOBIOGRAPHY IN FIVE SHORT CHAPTERS

by Portia Nelson

I.  I walk down the street. 
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 
I fall in. 
I am lost … I am helpless. 
It isn’t my fault. 
It takes me forever to find a way out.

II.  I walk down the same street. 
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 
I pretend I don’t see it. 
I fall in again. 
I can’t believe I am in the same place but, it isn’t my fault. 
It still takes a long time to get out.

III.  I walk down the same street. 
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 
I see it is there. 
I still fall in … it’s a habit. 
My eyes are open. 
I know where I am. 
It is my fault. 
I get out immediately.

IV.  I walk down the same street. 
There is a deep hole in the sidewalk. 
I walk around it.

V.  I walk down another street.

So, what do you do when you realize you’ve taken a wrong turn and have fallen down a deep hole?

We often make our choices unconsciously, based on learned patterns or out dated models that we’ve inherited from our families, our life experiences, and the social mores of our times.  So, most of us stay stuck, feel helpless and turn towards a distraction or addictions of some sort to soothe our discomfort.  Eventually however, we want to get out.  How can we do this?  The first step in getting out of our holes is to stop, even if feels dark and scary, and acknowledge that we are actually stuck. 

Now that you’ve begun to accept you’re stuck and start to identify the story that got you there, its almost certain that the beliefs and voices you hear will be more distracting than ever, and will lead you, despite your best intentions, right back down that street and into the same hole.  What do you do now?

At this point in your healing process, we start getting familiar with the deeper layers of the story, and begin discerning between the voices of the darkness (negative voices that lead you astray and generally make you feel bad), your ‘ego’ self (the desires of your self and personality), and The Divine (the sacred inner knowing that always speaks of goodness and love).  Once you become familiar with each of these voices and how they impact your life, you can begin bringing more awareness into your choices.  You will still be moving from habit and an unconscious investment in the story, and will certainly fall into the hole again, yet you will, with some effort, be able to get out. 

You are still walking down the same street, and even though you recognize the hole, and want with everything inside you to avoid falling in the hole, it is likely you will again, fall.  Luckily, you’ve gotten some perspective and will get out more easily.

Chances are, even though you’ve identified the story and the voices that lead you astray, you are still, out of habit, going to take a wrong turn, and end up going into the hole again.  However, you have gained some momentum, put some distance between you and your old habits, and are replacing the old story with Divine Love and a renewed sense of self. 

You’re still on the same street, but now you go around the hole. 

Once you have worked for a period of time with the story and learned to turn away from voices of darkness and your ego self, you will be able to hear the voice of The Divine more clearly.  The Divine qualities (peace, love, mercy, strength, etc.) will begin to fill in the hole and will give you enough inner strength to not only leave the hole you have been falling in, but will help you to sincerely heal and leave the story behind. 

With a deeper connection to your Inner Truth and a deeper sense of Divine Trust and Love, you will naturally choose a different street!

Once you reach this state and have a deeper connection with the Divine realities you are naturally inclined to make better choices for yourself.  You will find its safer to open your heart to love, easier to live in alignment with your goals and passions, and will discover that your days are filled with a greater sense of peace and contentment as you learn to live with the Love flowing more easily through you. 

Are you ready to find and implement tools that immediately open the doors to more self and Divine Love, and make lasting change? 

If so, take my hand and let me help you create a new roadmap.  Through the practice of Remembrance and working with the 99 Divine Qualities, which bring us into conscious connection with the Divine, identifying the different voices and turning away from the story that leads you down those dark holes, you will experience more peace, love, mercy, justice, and freedom in your every day life.

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I was at my women’s group last night and one of the exercise we did was gently whisper, “I Love You” to ourselves.  It was as profound for each of us as it was different.  

I  noticed, much to my surprise, that this task was difficult for me at first.  I became aware that there are still places in my heart that are afraid to open fully to love, that don’t feel worthy of it.   It was a great way for me to get in touch, not only with the part of myself that needs more love and is afraid to say “Yes!” to it, but also the greater part of myself that is able to give it.  After continuing the practice at home later in the evening, I was able to reach a state of  awareness that opened to the Divine, who was saying, “I Love You” to all of me.  

When you sit quietly with the intention of giving love to yourself, what is your reaction?  Do you open immediately and feel the warmth of the love moving through you or do you find that you aren’t able to receive the love so easily?  What do you notice in your body as you take those words deeper into your heart?  What inner chatter do you begin to hear?  

Whatever your experience, honor it.  Be honest with yourself and if find you are having a hard time opening to the love you are offering yourself (or the love others give), reach out and share it with someone you trust.  The simple act of acknowledging the difficulty of opening to love will allow it to move, change and heal.  

If you aren’t in a position to ask for help from a trusted friend or partner, say a sincere prayer, asking God to give love to your heart and the places inside you that are unable to receive the love you are giving yourself.  Be gentle with yourself and do something kind for yourself or another, to remember there is love available and you and that you do have access to it, even if there are places that resist receiving it.

If you happen to be in a state where the love is flowing freely, open yourself to it, allowing it to fill you with warmth and peace.  Be grateful and once you are full, share it with someone you know who needs it, as this will keep the love flowing freely in you and will open the same flow in others.  The more you give, the more you will have.  

If you haven’t yet opened from self love and the love you feel for and from others, to Divine Love, try opening more deeply to this.  Ask God to show you His love for you and then learn to swim in that river.

No matter what state you are in this moment, try not to judge it, and know that whatever you are feeling in this moment is the perfect place for you to be.  Honor it, face it and walk with it, whatever that may be.

My prayer for you:

Dear God I pray that you are able to open our hearts to the love you have intended for our lives.  I ask you to help us to feel completely safe, in giving and receiving Your love and the love that comes from our families, friends and self.  Help us to be gentle with ourselves and one another and to be at peace with whatever you make for our lives.  Amin.

As a new mom, who works part-time (and desperately misses the shining sun), I am often exhausted.  I move through my days, feeling the pull of my clients, my husband, that still small voice inside of myself urging me not to forget who I am as a woman, and the constant needs of my ten month old son. 

Usually and with a stroke of luck, I am able to find a nice balance, which continues to nourish myself, and my family. Yet, there are other times when I simply can’t, and last night was one such night.  My son is on his second round of the virus that has recently hit the Pacific Northwest and I’ve lost track of how many nights we’ve gone with interrupted sleep.  I am in the red – my own personal danger zone, with a temper shorter than usual and a less than desirable and nearly depleted reserve of patience.

When I heard Ahmed cry for the third time in 3 hours, I felt the frustration rising inside of me, but I had to go to him, doing my best to sooth him and help him feel secure and cared for.  While reaching down into his crib to reassure him, a wave of desperation flooded me.  I didn’t feel like I had it in me to give what he needed, and yet, it is my job, as his mother, to care for him, to give to him, especially when he isn’t feeling well.  After scooping him up and feeling the fire inside of myself, I took a deep breath, and held him tightly to my chest as he nursed himself back to sleep. 

As he did so, I realized that I too am needy, and in that moment my 10 month old son became my teacher. He was the perfect mirror –  that very same thread of neediness resides inside of me.  A thread that needs, constantly and deeply, for reassurance that things are going to be ok; that in spite of these long days and sleepless nights, the stress of the economy and the pressure I feel to make enough money to care for my family’s needs (did I mention my husband has been out of work for most of this year?), that we will not only survive, but somehow thrive. 

It was in that moment, over the labored breathing of my son, that I had an inspired ah-ha moment, and I was then able to shift my awareness from the depletion and frustration to one of silent prayer.  I turned my heart from the dark of the night, to the light that burns deep inside of me and instantly I felt relief.  It was a great reminder to me that there is a force far greater than myself that does indeed care for my every need, and I was in that moment, able to open up and receive it.