[ Now, where were we? Oh, yeah…we were lost in Vegas, with Karla (our faithful heart) protesting in the backseat…if you haven’t read Part One yet, check it out here. ]

Stop right there!
I gotta know right now!
Before we go any further–

That’s right, Karla – sing it, sistah! Because when heart is involved, it harnesses our emotions and takes us deeper into what we truly need, what is best for our life’s purpose: qualities that help us enjoy and benefit from all that Good Stuff we just talked about. Qualities like clarity. Wisdom. Compassion. Integrity. Joy. And oh, yeah: Passion.

I’m thinking it’s the heart that is meant to be in the driver’s seat, because it’s the one with a built-in compass. Heart knows how to keep-on-keepin’-on toward your soul’s revolution, even while emotion is busy chasing after endless distractions in life’s peep shows.

“… the fourth chakra (heart) mediates between the body and the spirit…” ~ Caroline Myss says (in a cool interactive flash presentation of the chakras)

Heart is where your higher ideals and abilities of the 5th-12th chakras, combined with the grounding, juicy, creative qualities of 1st-3rd, all come together creating a life here on Earth that is divinely inspired.

Heart is your port.
Heart is your temple.
Heart is stable, certain – unwavering.
Heart is your anchor when emotions are the storm.
Heart = as above, so below.

And hey, we all know that it’s a very fine line, a razors edge (or just the backseat), between the heart compelling you towards understanding, meaning + growth, and out of control emotions looking for a quick fix. When our emotions rule us, we follow them wherever they take us, believing that it’s destiny! or personal truth!, the next Sure Thing!… and usually it isn’t until our ol’ Heart lies broken on the side of the road that we realize how blinded we were. Suddenly dazed and confused, we wake up next to Meatloaf only to look around and wonder: how did I get here?

I gotta know right now!
Do you love me?
Will you love me forever?
Do you need me?
Will you never leave me?
Will you make me so happy for the rest of my life?

It’s the heart’s job to get you where your soul knows it needs to be – due to various karmic calculations, star-alignments + quantum-cosmic mapping that is manifesting as we speak – and it needs your emotions (along with ego, but that’s another post for another day) in that magical-fantastical corporeal form of yours to help it get there in time for Destiny to do Her thang, for Lady Luck to muster the mojo.

Don’t let yourself to run on (emotional) default. Let heart take the wheel, because it has the map of your soul.

That’s all well and good you say. So, how do I do that?

Let me sleep on it
Baby, baby let me sleep on it
Let me sleep on it
And I’ll give you my answer in the morning

Actually, I can give a few answers right now.

But here’s the thing: any truly meaningful, life-changing answers will be different for each of you because it has to do with the specific lessons you came into this life with. Your soul knows exactly what the difference is, but it’s waiting for you to step up and explore, to ask the big questions necessary to lift the veil and start communicating with it. To move beyond what in Buddhism is called the emotional kleshas and dig deeper into your heart.

I couldn’t take it any longer
Lord I was crazed
And when the feeling came upon me
Like a tidal wave…

So I can’t just give you a simple answer (the “quick fix,” which I’m staunchly against), because the difference is going to be distinct for everyone. Much like the work I do with clients, you are each unique and come into this life with your own set of lessons, your own bag of karma in the backseat.

But I can tell you what helps immensely to get things rolling: self-awareness. Which begins by diligently questioning your behavior, your motivation, and your actions. Which takes courage, kindness and discipline. It’s about establishing a higher bar for yourself, by requiring a level of integrity with your Self consistently. (And maybe telling Meatloaf to take a hike.)

Be willing to LISTEN to your heart over the din of your primal emotions that just want to feel good 24/7 with quick fixes. Be willing to FEEL and to hurt, to sit with your emotions as they arise. To not be carried away with them, but bear witness to them and watch where they’re headed (instead of following where they go – subtle, but big difference). Emotions are tricksters – by their very nature they aren’t looking to be understood. Which is why we find ourselves driving in circles to hide + numb them; and it’s when we are stuck in emotions that we take the keys from the real driver.

Feeling your emotions by questioning them with honest reflection + clear observation – this is one Big Way to shift into heart and get you movin’ on down the highway of life in all your Cosmic Goodness Glory.

It never felt so good It never felt so right…

I would love you till the end of time.

How do you take the keys from Heart in your life? Do you have tales to tell that speak of how emotions can take over and push Heart in the backseat? Tell us in the comments! I’d love to hear from you.

And if you find yourself somewhere on the side of the road looking to figure out how to get going, fumbling with handing heart the keys, I can help with that. Let’s work together +  create your world.