There are countless sayings recognizing the beauty and importance of our heart:

“The best and most beautiful things in the world cannot be seen or even touched. They must be felt with the heart.”

~ Helen Keller

“The only lasting beauty is the beauty of the heart.”

~ Rumi

“Your visions will become clear only when you look into your heart. Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens.”

~ Carl Jung

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

~Aristotle

“Wherever you go, go with all your heart.”

~ Confucius

“Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts.”

~ Albert Einstein

“It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the eye.”

~Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“One learns through the heart, not the eyes or the intellect.”

~ Mark Twain

“The way is not in the sky. The way is in the heart.”

~ Shakyamuni Buddha

“In prayer, it is better to have a heart without words than words without a heart.”

~ Mahatma Gandhi

“There is a light that shines beyond all things on Earth, beyond us all, beyond the very highest heavens. This is the light that shines in our heart.”

~ Chandogya Upanishad 3.13.7

“Without a rich heart, wealth is an ugly beggar.”

~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

“The worst prison would be a closed heart.”

~ Pope John Paul II

In reading those quotes, we recognize a core essence of truth. There’s a knowing and familiarity, despite perhaps never having studied or followed those figures or their stories. That’s your heart speaking.

The heart, in its depth, is the center of peace and calmness. When we open and use our heart, we experience genuine light-ness and tranquility throughout our whole self.

Shakyamuni Buddha taught: “Calmness is within you; do not look for it outside of you.” Yet you don’t have to be a Buddha to see how those who chase down worldly success in an effort to be happy and peaceful many times end up anything but. A number of wealthy people find it difficult, often impossible, to smile freely or feel any real calmness or peace in their daily life. If we neglect our heart, we may attain success and material goods, but serenity and happiness will always still be in front of us, just out of reach.

When we open our heart and use our heart properly, by contrast, we find that contentment and pleasure come hand-in-hand with the wealth: helping us to enjoy everything better, and with real perspective. We also share our happiness with those around us more freely, and create an environment that encourages and supports this peace and calmness.

As Master Irmansyah Effendi, the founder of Padmacahaya,  said: “There are so many good things about the heart. However, knowing and talking about it are not enough. To gain all of its benefits, we have to use it properly.” By opening and using our heart in our daily lives, moreover, we can feel and enjoy this peace and calmness – so clearly – that our whole heart and our whole self are happy each moment. Your heart, in fact, already knows how. It’s only a matter of opening it up and using it. Through Padmacahaya Yoga Curriculum, you will learn practically how to open your heart and use it in your daily life. More information about using your heart and simple yet effective exercises to open and strengthen your heart can be found in Master Irmansyah Effendi’s best seller book: Smile to Your Heart Meditations.