The Four Fold Heart

This week I invited my group of creative friends to tea in the garden with The Muse. Our afternoon gathering underneath the oaks behind the mangroves along Spring Creek included tea, art and poetry. The experience was a piece of heaven if I do say so myself…I read some poetry from my own collection as well as some of Shiloh Sophia’s poems from her book, Tea With the Midnight Muse.

With Valentine’s Day still very much in our consciousness we created a symbol of a heart divided into four sections called The Open Heart, The Strong Heart, The Clear Heart and the Full Heart. With watercolors and brushes we found some unique symbols that told of our own experiences in those realms.

This exercise was brought to me by a unique circle of women from a class called Cathedral of the Heart from the Red Madonna group at Cosmic Cowgirl University. Those teachers that I am in gratitude of for sharing this exercise are Havi Mandell, Caron McCloud and Shiloh Sophia McCloud Lewis.

The four-fold heart is part of Angeles Arrien's teaching of The Four-Fold Way where she describes the four fold heart as a “healing force”.I came into contact with her teachings over 30 years ago now and I am so grateful for her wisdom! Those teachings lit a fire in me igniting a curiosity and creativity that is still strong.

Link to read about the Four Fold Way

http://www.mettainstitute.org/ProgramResources/MCS-2012/Four-FoldWayArticle.pdf

Link to hear her speak on the Four Fold way

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kDRRBK95no

This is truly a revealing exercise to hidden wisdom that you hold. Just choosing a line, a color and a symbol can trigger a story for you and take you deeper into yourself. As Angeles Arrien says this can be a way to Intimacy…into-me-see.