Wendy De Rosa’s new book Expanding Your Heart: Four Stages of a Spiritual Opening takes readers on a personal journey of enlightenment to find meaning and strength in the painful and chaotic moments of their lives.
The four stages of what Wendy calls a “spiritual opening,” an experience in which we become more open to our own spirituality and our connection to the universe and God, are: the initial opening of the heart, chaos, healing, and contemplative being. Although Wendy defines these stages in detail in the book, I will only say here that they are not rigidly separate stages, but can overlap with each other. An opening of the heart may seem like a breakdown, but it is actually a revelation in which truths are revealed. Chaos can occur in the wake of the Initial Opening of the Heart; It occurs when what used to support you before the Initial Opening of the Heart begins to fade and you find yourself turning inward to tap into your inner strength. Healing occurs when you choose to leave Chaos behind by taking responsibility for your life. Finally, you arrive at the Contemplative Being, a stage where you can live with greater awareness and where you have the tools to manage emotions and life’s challenges. In Contemplative Being, you understand how to separate the Ego from the Soul, you practice going within and reaching a higher level of consciousness, and you contribute to the general global well-being. But once you reach Contemplative Being, it is likely that another crisis will occur in your life that throws you back into Chaos or causes another Initial Heart Opening, but each time these situations arise, you will be able to draw on your experiences in the previous stages. so that eventually you can return to the Contemplative Being.
Because Wendy has gone through all of these stages, she has decided to share what she has learned to help others. When one day, while she was hiking, she had a revelation about how a spiritual opening comes down to these four stages, she knew that she had found the tool to teach others how to overcome them. As a result, she has created workshops and trainings focused on the four stages and spiritual healing. She has had countless participants tell her how helpful it has been for them to see that their lives are not total chaos, but that there is a pattern. As Wendy tells us, “Coming to this point of understanding that one’s spirit has not abandoned him or her, but was fully on board during the journey through difficult times is eye-opening and gives people a sense of relief. Participants also share with me the feelings of hope and gratitude they experience when they can recognize that seemingly traumatic situations are not failures.”
The truth, as Wendy has learned for herself, is that even the worst events in our lives can lead us to learn and become stronger and more spiritually advanced if we are only open to learning. Throughout the book, Wendy shares the stories of participants who have experienced their own journeys through these four stages, and best of all, she shares her own personal story, including how her own heart was first opened. Sometimes in the form of a panic attack. She also talks about another time when she nearly collapsed while trying to make a difficult decision and was contacted and guided by a man she believes to be an angel. As she repeatedly experienced the four stages of her life, she also became more open to following her heart, listening to her intuition, and using her gifts.
Expanding the Heart: Four Stages of a Spiritual Opening is really a call for all of us to listen to our own intuitions, the voices within us that try to point us in the right direction but that we often repress. For people who have difficulty listening to their intuitions, it may be advisable to attend therapy or turn to spiritual teachings; for example, Wendy refers to the Catholic concept of the Sacred Heart, as well as the teachings of Vedic literature, as examples of traditions that people can draw from. to help connect you with your intuitions and Spirit. She also recommends meditation and various other practices. However, the conclusion is not that we should be mystics; we simply need to process the pain we experience instead of repressing it so that we can grow and evolve into better human beings.
Ultimately, we can have a spiritual experience, but in the beginning, as Wendy well knows, it’s about being willing to look at your own pain so that it can be healed. “I know people who adamantly refuse to go to therapy because, in their eyes, therapy is for people who are crazy or have something wrong with them. Such an unwillingness to be introspective, explore one’s past, or accept that there is wounds to heal are all tactics designed to keep the lid off a potential Pandora’s box of unprocessed emotions Some of these people hide their feelings, but keep moving through life… Our external lives are a reflection of our internal state of mind. being, so when we don’t process our emotions, relationships suffer, finances suffer, home life suffers, and anything that would normally feel stabilizing begins to unravel.In this collapse, we are finally forced to feel the feelings we previously denied. .coming to a critical point in our lives for this to finally happen, but when it does happen, the experience finally drives us to the depths of our al ma”. The end result can be amazing and ultimately worth the effort.
No matter what stage you are in, Wendy’s framework provides a way to view your life as a purposeful journey and chart your progress on that journey. At the beginning of the book, he asks the reader, “Are you ready to heal your life? Are you ready to leave behind the history of being stuck and broken, hurt and in pain? Are you ready to find your true Self again?” I think we all want to answer “Yes” to this question, but we are often afraid of healing because feeling pain is what is familiar to us. But nothing in life can get better if we don’t make the effort. There is comfort and meaning on the other side of Chaos. If you are ready to heal your life, I encourage you to follow this path with Wendy.