The Warrior Heart

The warrior heart practice, founded by Heatherash Amara, is a simple process to transform confusion to clarity and pain to peace. In this guided meditation, I will walk you through the four chambers: Feeling, Story, Truth, and Intent. We will close by walking back through each of the chambers ending in the First Chamber where we began.

Transcript

Welcome to this guided meditation using the Warrior Heart practice.

I invite you now to find a safe and quiet place where you can spend the next while allowing yourself to dig deep and heal.

You're welcomed to grab a pen or paper,

A journal,

Anything that may help you on your journey.

There is no time frame for this practice,

So if at any point you feel the need to pause and spend more time in one of the chambers,

Please do so.

In addition,

As you move through each of the chambers,

Remember that there are times when you will not be able to see the truth,

Or you will get stuck in your story,

Or you will be too frightened to sit with your emotions.

Keep asking questions.

Open up space for insights and understanding.

Don't demand the answers.

Invite them.

Sometimes it may take hours or even days for the truth to present itself or for you to be able to witness rather than believe your story.

Don't give up.

Stay with the pace of your process.

Once you have found a safe and sacred place to spend the next several minutes,

I welcome you in by beginning with a deep breath in through the nose,

Exhaling out through the mouth.

Again,

In through the nose,

And out through the mouth.

One more in through the nose,

The biggest breath you've taken all day,

And exhaling out through the mouth.

As human beings,

We have a strong tendency to live in our mind and tell ourselves stories as a way to avoid the emotions that are actually going on within us.

Often when we sense an uncomfortable situation or emotion,

We immediately distract ourselves or pop up into our heads.

Instead of being curious about our emotions,

We analyze,

Criticize,

Demonize the emotions to avoid actually feeling them.

I invite you now to feel.

Bring into your mind a situation or experience that is challenging or upsetting you.

In the feeling chamber,

You are asked to sit quietly,

Breathe into your heart,

And open yourself up to the question,

What am I feeling in this moment?

It can be helpful to visualize an actual room or area representative of the feeling chamber.

You might imagine a space filled with soft pillows and soothing lights,

Or as a safe and sacred place deep in the forest.

Maybe it's a space in your home,

Somewhere real,

Or something you've imagined.

Whether you're using your imagination or physically going to a place that feels safe and secure,

The feeling chamber is a place where you do your best to simply feel your emotions without judging,

Without trying to figure them out,

Or trying to determine who is to blame.

Simply observe.

Explore where you feel these emotions in your body.

Breathing into those spaces.

The goal is not to fix,

To understand,

Or to explain,

But to simply be with them consciously.

Realizing yourself,

How you can support yourself in staying open during this time of discomfort.

What is this emotion trying to tell me?

Allowing of this space to simply exist.

Gifting yourself permission to feel.

Go slow in this space.

You are inviting your emotions,

Not forcing them to attend.

Once you have named,

Recognized,

And sat with the emotions that have been arising for you,

In relation to this situation or challenging experience,

We will move into the story chamber.

Remember again there is no time frame.

You are welcome to pause this guided meditation at any moment and return when you feel completed.

The second chamber,

The story chamber,

Is all about learning to be with and witness our stories.

The things that we tell ourselves about our emotions and about the experience.

Here in this space your role is again to simply observe.

Without trying to make the story better or worse.

Without labeling it as good or bad,

Right or wrong.

Let it be messy.

Let go of trying to do it right.

Allow all of the layers of the story to present themselves.

Asking what am I telling myself about this situation?

What is actually going on in my mind?

Sometimes when we are in that story chamber,

Our first inclination is to try and clean it up.

Resist.

Let it be messy.

When we allow the fullness of the mess to unfold and witness it in all of its glory,

Only then we can get to the roots,

The issue.

Be honest.

No filters.

No editing.

In this space there are no shoulds.

Your awareness,

Your ability to consciously witness what you are thinking is your greatest ally.

If you feel called to look deeper,

If you are noticing old agreements,

Rules,

Ancestral traumas bubbling to the surface,

Continue to be curious.

How old is this story?

How long have I been telling it to myself?

Are there any parts of this story that I have picked up from other people that are not even mine?

Remembering to breathe into this space and when you are ready,

Moving into the truth.

The truth is simple,

But getting to the truth can be challenging.

In this space you are invited to ask the question,

What is true?

Being as precise and concise as possible,

One sentence.

What is true?

If you are finding this to be particularly difficult,

I invite you to begin with something absolute.

I am breathing.

In this chamber you will need abundant willingness.

Willingness to step out of the story chamber and into the truth.

Willingness to be wrong.

Willingness to seek truth.

When you are exploring the truth chamber,

Be mindful not to squash your emotions or ignore your story.

Simply set them aside for the time being.

It may help in this space to visualize the truth chamber as an expansive light filled space with beautiful large windows welcoming in warm light and providing you with a space where you can see the story chamber from a place of witnessing.

What is true?

As we continue to explore this,

The truth will begin to diminish the strength and intensity of your story.

Opening the door for you to step into the intent chamber.

A tent is our focus,

Our will,

Our warrior commitment to follow the pathway we choose.

It is not something we are wishing or hoping for.

It is something that we are willing to put our entire being behind and say a full body yes to and take action to move toward.

To get clear on your intent,

It is important to tell yourself the truth about what you want for the specific situation you are bringing through this practice.

Being mindful that your intent is not you focusing on what the other person should act or be like or how you wish the situation were different.

Your intent will serve as your North Star,

As your clear focus about where you are going.

So take your time.

Your intent chamber is where your highest self lives,

Where you are connected to the divine,

To earth,

To universal life forces greater than yourself.

Breathe and imagine that you can empty yourself entirely.

A vessel waiting to be filled,

Letting everything else go.

Breathe in presence without distraction.

Breathe in peace without worry.

Breathe in emptiness,

Breathe out busyness.

Rest into the stillness within yourself without expectation or striving.

Your intent will be one word.

Creativity,

Confidence,

Clarity,

Wisdom,

Freedom,

Compassion,

Love,

Peace,

And love.

Peace,

Healing,

Grounded,

Present,

Happy,

Steady,

Patient.

Your intent is your sacred bond to yourself to practice responding in a new way.

Ask yourself,

What do I actually want in this situation?

Where do I want to put my focus?

If I could experience any one thing in this situation,

What would it be?

Once you have connected with your intent,

You'll begin the process of walking back through each chamber to gain new insights and awareness.

Grounding into that intent before leaving this space.

Getting to where you feel it in your body.

Breathing in your intent,

Exhaling all that is keeping you from feeling it.

When you feel ready,

Taking your intent by the hand,

Stepping back into the truth chamber.

Is there anything new here?

Any other truths arising for you in this space?

Spend time exploring this chamber.

And when you are ready,

Grasping the hand of truth in the hand of intent,

With new willingness and spaciousness,

Stepping back into the story chamber.

How can you perceive your story differently?

Now that you have intent and truth as allies,

Is there anything that can shift?

You're invited now to transform your experience with story.

Even if the story itself remains a difficult one,

Welcoming in the relationship with the story through a different lens.

Getting away from victimization,

Judgment,

To power and curiosity.

When you feel completed,

Ready,

Stepping back again into the place where we first began our journey,

The feeling chamber.

How do you feel?

Take a deep breath in and exhale as you bring awareness to what is happening within your body now.

Knowing that the goal of this practice is not to delete whatever we were feeling prior to,

But simply to experience these emotions through a different lens.

Using our intent as a guide to help us navigate through each feeling as it arises.

Breathing into this space.

Maybe giving yourself a little hug for the deep work that you've done today.

When you're ready,

Rejoining the world,

Allowing yourself the ability to come back to this practice wherever you feel need.

It is just that,

A practice.

Thank you for joining me today.

I hope you have a beautiful day.