Themes :
Heart

In states of deep spiritual communion, when the agitations of the mind are at rest and the attention is not seeking outward distractions, awareness settles into the heart.

This is not to say that one is not aware of the outside world; rather, all of the world seems somehow gathered into the heart. It is as if the heart has expanded to encompass everything. Looking deeper still, you find that everything has always been held in the heart.

On a subtle physical level, you feel a warmth spreading across your chest and glowing in the palms of your hands. Often, you will feel an accompanying unlocking of tension and warmth in the belly, as well.

And you find that you are seated in supreme rest at the center of the heart, touching everything without the need to reach out to do so. It is an experience of expansiveness without movement, of absolute contentment and interconnection.

This is the seat of the heart praised by poets and mystics throughout the centuries. It is the particular focus of Christian and Sufi mystics.

Poems with the theme of Heart

  A Morning Offering
  For Freedom
  For Presence
  In Praise of the Earth
  Abdal, Muhittin What a Human Is, Now I Know
  Abhishiktananda, Swami (Le Saux, Henri) Arunachala is a symbol
  Abil-Kheir, Abu-Said A pious one with a hundred beads on your rosary
  Abil-Kheir, Abu-Said In my heart Thou dwellest--else with blood I'll drench it
  Abil-Kheir, Abu-Said Nothing but burning sobs and tears tonight
  Abulafia, Rabbi Abraham A Holy Tabernacle in the Heart (from Life of the Future World)
  Abulafia, Rabbi Abraham And YHVH spoke to me when I saw His name
  Abulafia, Rabbi Abraham Circles 3 (from Life of the Future World)
  Abulafia, Rabbi Abraham Their mystery is (from Life of the Future World)
  AE (Russell, George William) Divine Visitation
  AE (Russell, George William) The Hermit
  AE (Russell, George William) The Place of Rest
  AE (Russell, George William) The Unknown God
  Akha Avoid "I," beyond body be
  Akhmatova, Anna Why then do we not despair?
  al-Alawi, Ahmad Layla
  Ammons, A. R. Identity
  Anandamurti (Sarkar, Prabhat Ranjan) On the path of the journey to effulgence,
  Angelou, Maya A Brave and Startling Truth
  Angelou, Maya Alone
  Ansari, Khwaja Abdullah Devotion for Thee
  Ansari, Khwaja Abdullah Give Me
  Ansari, Khwaja Abdullah I Came
  Arabi, Muhyiddin ibn As Night Let its Curtains Down in Folds
  Arabi, Muhyiddin ibn In Memory of Those Who Melt the Soul Forever
  Arabi, Muhyiddin ibn My heart wears all forms
  Arabi, Muhyiddin ibn While the sun's eye rules my sight
  Attar, Farid ud-Din If you are elated by the Divine
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The Dullard Sage
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The pilgrim sees no form but His and knows
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The Valley of the Quest
  Attar, Farid ud-Din You need patience for this quest
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The Simurgh
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The Pupil asks; the Master answers
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The Nightingale
  Attar, Farid ud-Din A dervish in ecstasy
  Attar, Farid ud-Din Look -- I do nothing; He performs all deeds
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The Lover
  Attar, Farid ud-Din The peacock's excuse
  Attar, Farid ud-Din I shall grasp the soul's skirt with my hand
  Aurobindo The Guest
  Avaiyar Vinayagar Agaval
  Ayaz I am beginning to understand
  Ayaz In every moment I am free
  Bahu, Sultan So what if love's idol is hidden? One's heart will never be far away
  Barker, Elsa He Who Knows Love
  ben Kallir, Eleazar Epithalamium
  Beni Raga Ramkali
  Berrigan, Daniel Credentials
  Berrigan, Daniel Prayer for the Big Morning
  Berrigan, Daniel Prayer on the Six P.M. Subway
  Bitkoff, Stewart Desert Tears
  Bitkoff, Stewart The Religions
  Boethius Love is Lord of All
  Boethius The Bent of Nature
  Booth, Philip First Lesson
  Brabazon, Francis The Dawn-Song Of His Mouth (from Stay With God)
  Bulleh Shah If the divine is found through ablutions
  Bulleh Shah One Point Contains All
  Bulleh Shah Seek the spirit, forget the form
  Bulleh Shah Your passion stirs me
  Carpenter, Edward The Lake of Beauty
  Catherine of Siena Consumed in Grace
  Chiyo-ni, Fukuda Airing out kimonos
  Clare of Assisi Happy, indeed, is she whom it is given to share this sacred banquet
  Clare of Assisi Place your mind before the mirror of eternity!
  Clare of Assisi When You have loved, You shall be chaste
  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor There is one Mind, one omnipresent Mind (from Religious Musings)
  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor Reflections on Having Left a Place of Retirement
  Coleridge, Samuel Taylor The Presence of Love
  Crashaw, Richard The Flaming Heart or the Life of the Glorious S. Teresa
  Crashaw, Richard To the Name above every Name, the Name of Jesus
  cummings, e. e. i carry your heart with me
  cummings, e. e. may my heart always be open to little
  cummings, e. e. now does our world descend
  Daniel, Arnaut Every day I improve and grow better
  Daniel, Arnaut The firm desire that enters
  Dariya Sahib of Bihar Without love there can be no devotion and wisdom (from Love Chapter)
  Dickinson, Emily Me from Myself -- to banish
  Dickinson, Emily The Pile of Years is not so high
  Efendi, Seyh Ibrahim The Sufi Way
  Emre, Yunus Go and let it be known to all lovers
  Emre, Yunus I am before, I am after
  Emre, Yunus I haven't come here to settle down
  Emre, Yunus Knowledge should mean a full grasp of knowledge:
  Emre, Yunus One Who Is Real Is Humble
  Emre, Yunus That by which our hearts are held
  Farid, Baba Sheikh Do not speak a hurtful word
  Feuerstein, Georg Squaring the Circle
  Feuerstein, Georg The Crone's Blessing
  Fox, John Blown Home
  Francis of Assisi Let the whole of mankind tremble
  Francis of Assisi Let us desire nothing else
  Francis of Assisi Prayer Inspired by the Our Father
  Francis of Assisi The Prayer Before the Crucifix
  Galib, Seyh Love is a lamp of God, I am its moth
  Ganjavi, Mahsati The Pathway Finally Opened
  Gibran, Kahlil Pain
  Gibran, Kahlil Reason and Passion
  Gibran, Kahlil Self-Knowledge
  Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von Ha! What is this dance of bliss (from Faust)
  Govindasvami Holy sixth day
  Granum Sinapis (Anonymous) Granum Sinapis
  ha Nagid, Samuel Gazing Through the Night
  Hadewijch The Queen of Sheba
  Hafiz A New World
  Hafiz Beauty Radiated in Eternity
  Hafiz I feel this yen
  Hafiz If life remains, I shall go back to the tavern
  Hafiz It Is Time to Wake Up!
  Hafiz O Saghi, pass around that cup of wine, then bring it to me
  Hafiz Spring and all its flowers
  Hafiz The Pearl on the Ocean Floor
  Hafiz (Ladinsky, Daniel) A Crystal Rim
  Hafiz (Ladinsky, Daniel) How Could a Lover Fall?
  Hafiz (Ladinsky, Daniel) Love is the Funeral Pyre
  Hafiz (Ladinsky, Daniel) The Thousand-Stringed Instrument
  Hafiz (Ladinsky, Daniel) Today
  Hallaj, Mansur al- If They Only Knew
  Hallaj, Mansur al- You glide between the heart and its casing
  Han-Ch'ing, Kuan Idle Wandering
  Han-shan (Cold Mountain) My heart is like the autumn moon
  Han-shan (Cold Mountain) You have seen the blossoms among the leaves;
  Hanh, Thich Nhat Looking for Each Other
  Hanh, Thich Nhat Please Call Me by My True Names
  Hawkes, Patricia Conversion
  Hawkes, Patricia Prayer of the Heart
  Hayati, Bibi Before there was a hint of civilization
  Hayati, Bibi Is it the night of power
  Hekhalot Hymns (Anonymous) The Face of God
  Herbert, George Prayer (I)
  Herbert, George The Altar
  Herbert, George The Flower
  Heschel, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Intimate Hymn
  Heschel, Rabbi Abraham Joshua The Word Most Precious
  Hildegard von Bingen Ave generosa / Hymn to the Virgin
  Hildegard von Bingen Columba aspexit / Sequence for Saint Maximin
  Hildegard von Bingen Holy Spirit of Fire
  Hildegard von Bingen O Euchari in leta via / Sequence for Saint Eucharius
  Hildegard von Bingen O ignee Spiritus / Hymn to the Holy Spirit
  Himmet, Kul No Ordinary Goods
  Hirshfield, Jane Standing Deer
  Hirshfield, Jane The Lives of the Heart
  Hopkins, Gerard Manley God's Grandeur
  Hui K'o No me: Dharmas all
  Ibn al-Farid, Umar In truth, I led my prayer leader in prayer (from The Poem of the Sufi Way)
  Ibn Ata' Illah How utterly amazing is someone who flees from something he cannot escape
  ibn Gabirol, Solomon I look for you early
  ibn Gabirol, Solomon I Sought Thee Daily
  ibn Gabirol, Solomon Thou art One
  ibn Gabirol, Solomon Where Will I Find You
  Iqbal, Allama Muhammad Bright are Thy tresses, brighten them even more (from Baal-i-Jibreel)
  Iqbal, Allama Muhammad To the Saqi (from Baal-i-Jibreel)
  Iraqi, Fakhruddin Love the phoenix cannot be trapped
  Iraqi, Fakhruddin Sing
  Iraqi, Fakhruddin We Yield Our Hearts
  Islam, Nazrul Come silently like the Moon
  Islam, Nazrul He who has seen my Mother
  Islam, Nazrul Let's Meet Hereafter!
  Jacobsen, Rolf Guardian Angel
  Jacobsen, Rolf When They Sleep
  Jacopone da Todi (Benedetti, Jacopone) Love, where did You enter the heart unseen? (from In Praise of Divine Love)
  Janabai By my life I will not let you go
  Jayadeva My heart values his vulgar ways (from The Gitagovinda)
  Jayadeva When spring came, tender-limbed Radha wandered (from The Gitagovinda)
  Jayadeva You rest on the circle of Sri's breast (from The Gitagovinda)
  John of the Cross Dark Night
  John of the Cross Love's Living Flame
  John of the Cross Not for All the Beauty
  Kabir Hang up the swing of love today!
  Kabir lift the veil
  Kabir Tell me, O Swan, your ancient tale
  Kabir The light of the sun, the moon, and the stars shines bright
  Kabir The Lord is in Me
  Kalidas (Edwards, Lawrence) My Dear One
  Kalidas (Edwards, Lawrence) The mountain stands steady in its grandeur
  Kalidas (Edwards, Lawrence) What mind can possibly approach you
  Kalidasa Waking
  Kamalakanta Is my black Mother Syama really black?
  Kamalakanta Mother
  Kerouac, Jack The Scripture of the Golden Eternity
  Khayyam, Omar [14] The Worldly Hope men set their Hearts upon
  Krishnamurti, Jiddu Ah, Come Sit Beside Me
  Krishnamurti, Jiddu Song of the Beloved (from The Immortal Friend)
  Lalan Could I ever forget him
  Lalla I hacked my way through six forests
  Lalla Learning the scriptures is easy
  Lawrence, D. H. Pax
  Lee, Li-Young One Heart
  Levine, Stephen Half life
  Levine, Stephen Hatching dragonflies
  Levine, Stephen Meng's mountain
  Levine, Stephen Millennium Blessing
  Li Bai Parting
  Llull, Ramon January (from The Book of the Lover and Beloved)
  Lu Tung Pin My heart is the clear water in the stony pond
  Lu Tung Pin When the moon is high I'll take my cane for a walk
  Luria, Isaac A Poem for the Small Face
  Machado, Antonio I dreamt you took me
  Machado, Antonio Lord, You Tore from Me
  Machado, Antonio Proverbs and Songs
  Machado, Antonio Songs
  Machado, Antonio The Waterwheel
  Macy, Joanna Ecosattva Vows
  Maghribi, Muhammad Shirin O End of Every Beginning
  Maghribi, Muhammad Shirin The Moon of Your Love
  Maghsoud, Moulana Shah If you long for the face of the Beloved
  Maghsoud, Moulana Shah The sun's radiance in her face is in
  Maghsoud, Moulana Shah Turn the darkness of heart by the elixir of the people of the secret
  Mahadevi, Akka He bartered my heart
  Mahadevi, Akka Like a silkworm weaving
  Mahadevi, Akka Treasure in the Ground
  Maharshi, Ramana The Marital Garland of Letters
  Maharshi, Ramana The Necklet of Nine Gems
  McCombs, Chris Beauty & the Heart
  McCombs, Chris Go Deeper
  McCombs, Chris Is This Your Time?
  McCombs, Chris Roos O Shab
  McCombs, Chris Swan Born
  McCombs, Chris The Friend Is Always There
  McCombs, Chris The Tavern
  Mechthild of Magdeburg The devil also offers his spirit
  Meher Baba How Wonderful is the murderous mercy of God!
  Meher Baba The Beloved's Face
  Meher Baba The Intoxicated
  Merton, Thomas A Psalm
  Merton, Thomas Aubade -- The City
  Merton, Thomas O Sweet Irrational Worship
  Merton, Thomas The Fall
  Merton, Thomas The Sowing of Meanings
  Merwin, W. S. Finding a Teacher
  Milarepa The Profound Definitive Meaning
  Mirabai I am pale with longing for my beloved
  Mirabai O I saw witchcraft tonight
  Mirabai The Beloved Comes Home
  Mirabai The Heat of Midnight Tears
  Mirabai Unbreakable, O Lord
  Misri, Dhun-Nun al- The haunt of the hearts of the gnostics
  Misri, Niyazi Now No Trace Remains
  Mistral, Gabriela The Rose
  Mistral, Gabriela Those Who Do Not Dance
  Mueller, Lisel Monet Refuses the Operation
  Muhaiyaddeen, Bawa The things that change are not our real life
  Muhaiyaddeen, Bawa There is One God
  Muktananda, Swami There is a center of sublime knowledge
  Nachmanides (Nachman, Moses ben) Prayers for the Protection and Opening of the Heart
  Namdev He is the One in many
  Namdev The drum with no drumhead beats
  Nammalvar The earth and the far-flung sky
  Nasimi, Imadeddin At love's most sumptuous feast was I with love made drunk
  Navajo (Anonymous) Navajo Prayer - May it be beautiful
  Nematollah Vali, Shah I beheld my essence
  Neruda, Pablo I do not love you as if you were salt-rose, or topaz
  Neruda, Pablo In the center of the earth I will push aside
  Neruda, Pablo Poetry
  Nizamoglu, Seyyid Seyfullah The Path of Amazement
  Novalis Uplifted is the stone
  Nurbakhsh, Javad Surrender
  Nurbakhsh, Javad The Beloved
  O'Brian, Ellen Grace Anahata
  O'Brian, Ellen Grace In the Heart is a Well
  O'Brian, Ellen Grace Maya
  Oliver, Colin Become Nothing
  Oliver, Mary Starlings in Winter
  Pampattic Cittar One must delve deep
  Plunkett, Joseph Mary I Saw the Sun at Midnight
  Plunkett, Joseph Mary I See His Blood Upon the Rose
  Po Chu-i Autumn's Cold
  Pope, Alexander The Universal Prayer
  Porete, Marguerite O Lover of gentle nature
  Qushayri The Watchers
  Rabia al-Basri (Adawiyya, Rabia al-) My joy
  Rabjampa, Longchen An Adamantine Song on the Ever-Present
  Rahman Baba Soul Train
  Rahman Baba Sow Flowers
  Ramakrishna Is there anyone in the universe
  Ramananda Raga Basant
  Ramprasad (Sen, Ramprasad) Ma, You're inside me
  Ramprasad (Sen, Ramprasad) O Death! Get away; what canst thou do?
  Ramprasad (Sen, Ramprasad) Of what use is my going to Kasi any more?
  Ramprasad (Sen, Ramprasad) This time I shall devour Thee utterly, Mother Kali!
  Ramprasad (Sen, Ramprasad) Why disappear into formless trance?
  Ramsay, Jay Blessed Unrest
  Ramsay, Jay By Loch Arrow
  Ramsay, Jay In the End: The Beginning
  Ramsay, Jay Infinity and Beyond
  Ramsay, Jay Traveller: stop a moment (from Anamnesis)
  Raphael Reed, Sabah Toward the One
  Rasakhan Loving Vow
  Rasakhan Offer Your Heart
  Reninger, Elizabeth Basin
  Reninger, Elizabeth Bird Bath
  Reninger, Elizabeth Vision
  Rilke, Rainer Maria Buddha in Glory
  Rilke, Rainer Maria Duration of Childhood
  Rilke, Rainer Maria Mausoleum
  Rilke, Rainer Maria The Second Elegy (from The Duino Elegies)
  Rilke, Rainer Maria You who let yourselves feel: enter the breathing
  Rosenstock, Gabriel frosty morning
  Rosenstock, Gabriel Spring With a Thousand Clichés
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin Ah, what was there in that light-giving candle that it set fire to the heart, and snatched the heart away?
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin I regard not the outside and the words
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin I smile like a flower not only with my lips
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin If continually you keep your hope
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin Like This
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin look at love
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin No end to the journey
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin Shall I tell you our secret?
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin That moon which the sky never saw
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin The beauty of the heart
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin The glow of the light of daybreak is in your emerald vault, the goblet of the blood of twilight is your blood-measuring bowl
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin The grapes of my body can only become wine
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin The Sun Must Come
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin This love sacrifices all souls, however wise, however "awakened"
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin With Us
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin You have fallen in love my dear heart
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin A World with No Boundaries (Ghazal 363)
  Rumi, Mevlana Jelaluddin You are closer to me than myself (Ghazal 2798)
  Sa'di I know I promised
  Sa'di The world, my brother! will abide with none
  Sanai, Hakim My friend, everything existing
  Sanai, Hakim The way to You
  Sanai, Hakim The Wild Rose of Praise
  Sarmad Companion
  Sarmad My friend, engage your heart in his embrace
  Sarmad My heart searched for your fragrance
  Sarmad The ocean of his generosity has no shore
  Sarmast, Sachal We are, what are we?
  Sarton, May The Work of Happiness
  Saure, Gunter Forever Now
  Saure, Gunter In Time
  Saure, Gunter The Meeting
  Schuon, Frithjof Heart's Wisdom
  Shabistari, Mahmud The Mirror (from The Secret Rose Garden)
  Shabistari, Mahmud The Wine of Rapture (from The Secret Rose Garden)
  Shih Shu as flowing waters disappear into the mist
  Singh, Darshan How should I tell of the feeling that reigns
  Singh, Darshan In what state was I
  Singh, Darshan Wonder of wonders!
  Snyder, Gary For All
  Snyder, Gary Once Only
  Solovyov, Vladimir All in azure today
  Solovyov, Vladimir Near, far off, not here, not there
  Stafford, William Cutting Loose
  Stagnaro, Janaka Going Home
  Stein, Edith I Will Remain With You...
  Stein, Edith Novena Of The Holy Spirit
  Sun Buer Refining the Spirit
  Swir, Anna I Talk To My Body
  Symeon the New Theologian In the midst of that night, in my darkness
  Symeon the New Theologian The fire rises in me
  Symeon the New Theologian The Light of Your Way
  Symeon the New Theologian We awaken in Christ's body
  T'ao Ch'ien I built my hut within where others live
  Tagore, Rabindranath Listen, can you hear it? (from The Lover of God)
  Tagore, Rabindranath On many an idle day have I grieved over lost time (from Gitanjali)
  Tagore, Rabindranath Who are You, who keeps my heart awake? (from The Lover of God)
  Tagore, Rabindranath Your flute plays the exact notes of my pain. (from The Lover of God)
  Tagore, Rabindranath (1) Thou hast made me endless (from Gitanjali)
  Tagore, Rabindranath (38) I want thee, only thee (from Gitanjali)
  Tagore, Rabindranath (63) Thou hast made me known to friends whom I knew not (from Gitanjali)
  Teasdale, Sara It Is Not a Word
  Teasdale, Sara Oh You Are Coming
  Teasdale, Sara The Fountain
  Teasdale, Sara Two Songs for Solitude
  Teresa of Avila I Live Without Living In Me
  Thayumanavar Prayer to Being - Let Us Contemplate
  Thayumanavar To have reached the state of impassivity that holds (from Bliss that is Perfect Full)
  Theophan the Recluse Descend from your head into your heart
  Theophan the Recluse Images, however sacred
  Therese of Lisieux My Song for Today
  Thompson, Francis The Hound of Heaven
  Tolkien, J. R. R. Eärendil the Mariner
  Traherne, Thomas My Spirit
  Trungpa, Chogyam A Heart Lost and Discovered
  Tsoknyi Rinpoche (Tsoknyi Gyatso, Ngawang) Sometime go outside and sit
  Tsvetaeva, Marina The gold that was my hair has turned
  Tukaram All men to me are god-like Gods!
  Tukaram Know him to be a true man who takes to his bosom
  Tukaram This heart of mine is determined that for me now
  Tulsi Sahib Sound Celestial
  Tulsi Sahib The Rainy Season
  Tulsi Sahib Within This Body
  Tung-Shan (Tozan) Verses on the Five Ranks
  Tustari, Sahl al- The gnostics' hearts with eyes are blest
  Underhill, Evelyn Corpus Christi
  Underhill, Evelyn Dynamic Love
  Ungar, Lynn The Way It Is
  Vidyapati All my inhibition left me in a flash
  Vidyapati As the mirror to my hand
  Vidyapati My friend, I cannot answer when you ask me to explain
  Waghray, Raj Love Dawns
  Waghray, Raj The One in White
  Waghray, Raj When the heart speaks...
  Walcott, Derek Love After Love
  Walters, Dorothy Preparing to Greet the Goddess
  Walters, Dorothy Taken
  Whitman, Walt Pioneers! O Pioneers!
  Whitman, Walt [8] The little one sleeps in its cradle (from Song of Myself)
  Whitman, Walt [24] Walt Whitman, a cosmos, of Manhattan the son (from Song of Myself)
  Whyte, David All the True Vows
  Wordsworth, William Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802
  Wordsworth, William Imagination--here the Power so called (from The Prelude, Book 6)
  Wordsworth, William The Daffodils
  Yeats, William Butler Sailing to Byzantium
  Yeats, William Butler The Blessed
  Yeats, William Butler The Everlasting Voices
  Yogananda, Paramahansa What bliss at the sight of Thy light!
  Yun-k'an Tzu by willow's shade
  Yun, Hsu Heart of the Buddha
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