"Change is based upon the depth of contact you have with your total environment. When I use the term “opening the heart,” this is simply a way of talking about the degree to which you participate in this total environment. It is also a way of talking about the amount of energy you’re absorbing, as well as the amount of change you’re facilitating within yourself and, consequently, within the environment itself. It is a reciprocal event. What is outside of you comes in, and what is inside of you comes out.
This is a dynamic process. The more you’re aware of it and the less you resist it, the more you grow. The degree to which you resist it is the degree to which you are certain to have emotional and, ultimately, serious physical impediments. It’s not necessary, in the long term, to identify the source or the cause of your resistance.
On the one hand, there can be any number of causes that will look like a hundred thousand different things, and you can call them anything you want. On the other hand, you don’t have to name them at all. In fact, the minute you name them, you limit your ability to respond to them. It’s only important to note that resistance exists, and to begin to deal with it directly."
~ from "The Breath of God" by Swami Chetanananda
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"After over 50 years on the spiritual path in this lifetime and working closely with 7 different gurus of various traditions (Hindu, Tibetan Buddhist, Taoist and Sufi), I feel that having an open heart is what defines a truly accomplished spiritual aspirant. It doesn't matter how many books you've read, how many mantras you know or how many scriptures you can quote if your heart is closed. Recently Tara and I connected with Swami Chetanananda who has an open heart and who wrote the following about opening the heart."
~ Romarishi
