The Heart Way

Screenwriting instructor and author of How to write your movie in 21 days, Viki King, says you need to write the first draft of your script from your heart, and rewrite the second draft with your head. (Incidentally, in the movie Finding Forrester, William, played by Sean Connery, gave Jamul the exact same advice.) When you engage a blank page with your head, all sorts of mental debris obstructs your flow. Self-doubt, judgment and other insecurities inevitably surface when you try to think your way through a story or idea. Work of sheer brilliance in any medium is never conceived of in the head. Inspiration is rooted in the heart, through your Divine dance. The mind helps communicate the message of the heart, which sometimes takes years, even decades, leading many of the world’s greatest artists and mystics to insanity.

How does one harness the power of the heart, something he does not understand? Although we may not be able to explain how to write, speak, listen, act, sing or draw from the heart, intuitively we know when it transpires. When operating from the heart, time dissolves into a sea of nothingness, blockades crumble to dust, and resistance is unrooted. As if joyfully skipping from cloud to cloud in a robe of clarity and eloquence, unknown forces craft the work others call “genius.” And what happens after a work of utter brilliance is formed? The mind, or more specifically, the ego steps in to take credit. “What an amazing job I have done?” “This is my best work!”

If we view the heart as being a direct link to God (or perhaps more accurately, that the heart is God), the source of this extraordinary gift becomes lucid. Interestingly, artistic geniuses throughout time have rarely taken credit for their work, always acknowledging that the piece flowed from a higher source—through them, rather than from them. (See the Impossible Journey titled "Inspired Writing" for further explanation.)

Passionate people operate from the heart when doing their chosen work. Dispassionate people wonder why the world isn’t fair to them and why they aren’t lucky. Operating from the head obstructs the gateway to Divine creation because the ego centers around I, whereas the heart’s focal point is the greater good of eternal love.

But how does one transcend the ego and return to the path of love? Keep reminding yourself: “It’s not about you.” Catch the ego taking credit for what the heart wants to share. There’s no ego in a warm, loving embrace or in a deep gaze with a genuine smile. Dogs seem to be blessed without an ego, which may explain why they can comfortably gaze at you for long periods of time and continually send you unconditional love.

Folks, the heart is THE way. Search each day for ways to let go of your mind and embrace the love planted deep in your soul. Only then will you uncover true peace. Only then will life’s meaning shine forth to illuminate the path of your blissful adventure.

With love and happy journeys to all of you!
Scott Jeffrey