A few years ago, I received Meggan Watterson’s book, Mary Magdalene Revealed as a holiday gift and devoured it. If you happened to glance at my copy, you’d see countless paragraphs underlined, asterisked, multiple pages dog eared. That’s how much I loved it.
Recently, I picked it up again.
Full disclosure- I’m really a fiction girl. There are few non-fiction books I’ve completely read cover to cover, so to return to one and read it AGAIN is quite unusual.
But Watterson’s book is all about connecting to the heart, to the divine love at the center of us. And it feels achingly timely to deepen into her teachings and practices.
One of the concepts she explores in this book, is the Greek word, nous. If you speak French or ever studied it, you know that word translates as we. Watterson explains that the word is difficult to define but in Greek, it means, “the eye of the heart.” In other words, “it’s the vision, or perception of the soul.”
Sound interesting?
She goes on to explain, “the concept of mind in Greek includes the heart; it was never separated from it…the heart according to the Near Eastern wisdom traditions, is an organ of spiritual perception. Merging with the nous, becoming conscious of it within the heart, and seeing with its vision, this is the goal of the process of inner transformation…” (p.93-94)
Later on page 94, she actually shares how we can do this.
She prefaces it by writing:
“I think this is how we pray, how we meditate like Mary Magdalene. We return to love within us, within the heart, quietly, discreetly, and we don’t ask for any reward or external affirmation in exchange for doing the work. The return to love is the treasure itself… Instead of reacting with the ego, we take a moment and respond differently.”
She offers this quick breathing exercise. I have paraphrased it below.
3 Breath Practice:
Take a deep breath and invite your awareness to descend into the heart space, the space at the center of your chest.
Your second breath is to connect to this space – the nous- the gateway to your soul.
With your third breath, you return to the moment and to whatever is happening, bringing that love with you. Ask love to show you the way and lead you as your guide.
The invitation with this is to do it at any time, in any situation. It is that simple and quick. Think about it as a reset, or a way to get out of reaction, fear, or thinking, and anchor back into the heart. Not from a nice, touchy/feely way, but from the insight, intelligence and depth that is your inner wisdom.
Watterson also shares in this book what she calls the seven powers of the ego. These are seven aspects that keep us from connecting to that deep love at the center of us. Not next week -because I have a special Valentine treat for you- but beginning the week after that, I’m going to outline and explain them all in detail.
Stay tuned!
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Image courtesy of Jarin Dominguez on Unsplash