Once your mind is calm and full of love, there is no room for hatred or fear. Others will trust you because of your open heart.

Once your mind is calm and full of love, there is no room for hatred or fear. Others will trust you because of your open heart. – Dalai Lama

What does that mean?
This quote has two parts. The first part talks about how to achieve an open heart, the second part talks about what will happen once you have achieved some level of skill at opening your heart.

The quote states that if your heart is full of love and your mind is calm, you have blocked the biggest problems to having an open heart, hatred an fear. Your heart will be full of something, and by choosing love, you crowd out the other emotions that would occupy it, absent the presence of love.

Once you are known to have an open heart, the quote finishes, you will be trusted by others. This is interesting, as (on thinking about it) I find that I do trust the people whom I know have hearts filled with love. Mostly it’s family, but I do know a few others who have hearts filled with love, and they are also truly and deeply trusted.

Why is a heart full of love important?  
To me, love in your heart is like gas in the tank of your car. When it’s full, you can go the distance. When it’s empty, you’re stuck. To me, a full tank of love is the reserve I need to face the daily difficulties that await all of us.

As an example, you wake up and the kids are already fighting. Do you respond with a heart full of love or with something else? Which is the better way to respond? Which do you think will do a better job of gaining their trust, a heart full of love, or a heart full of something else? I know which one has worked the best for me.

When your boss (or a friend) is grumpy and taking it out on you, is it easier to be pleasant with them with a heart full of love or with one that is almost out of love? I have found that having some love in reserve can help me deal with those situations. Obviously you don’t tell your boss that you love them despite their crankiness, but you can say something kind under your breath instead of the usual mutterings, right?

Where can I apply this in my life?
It starts, as the quote states, with a calm mind. I have a post about that, if you would like to take a look. Have you ever felt love from a frantic person? While I imagine it’s possible, it’s easier for me to fill my heart with love when my mind is calm. How about you?

So, with a calm mind, how does one fill a heart with love? For me, the easiest way is to refill the tank with love is to think of all the good things in my life, and all the things for which I am thankful or grateful. Sometimes that can be a little tough, but I can be thankful for the good amidst the bad. Can you?

Decades ago, when I was going through my divorce, I tried to remember the good times (there were some). I was also thankful for the people who I was lucky enough to know, even if they were no longer around. It’s like the exercise where you are told to look for all the blue in a room, then asked to tell what you saw that was red. Except here, we’re looking really hard for the good things, in a room full of bad times.

This kind of optimism in spite of overwhelming bad times reminds me of a story.

There was a child who was an optimist. One day the child was put in a room full of manure. Instead of being sad, the child was excited and happy. When asked why, the child replied “With all this manure, there’s gotta be a pony around here somewhere! Would you please help me look for it?”

Yeah, it’s a silly story, but it makes a point, doesn’t it? Hopefully, as we fill the tank with love, we will help push out the hatred and fear that might be lurking in a dark corner of our heart.

Think about how you have acted in the past week, and see if you can identify times when you might have behaved differently if you had a heart that was full of love, an open heart. I can identify several just today! And that reminds me that there is always room for improvement!

Can you imagine how those situations might have ended if you had been able to tap into some love and respond with less hate, fear, anger or whatever was in your heart due to a deficit of love? I can, and for me, that’s pretty powerful motivation to keep my tank full of love.

Now all that is left is to make the filling of the love gas tank part of your daily ritual. Perhaps while you’re brushing your teeth, you can think of all the things that give you a warm feeling inside, things for which you are grateful or thankful, the people who love you, and the things you love.

Once you can keep your heart topped off with love, how do you think your behavior will change? Will people notice? They have in my life. How will your open heart (with a full tank of love) change their view of you? Do you think they will trust you a little more than before? It’s worked that way for me, and hopefully it will work for you as well.

From: Twitter, @DalaiLama
confirmed at : it’s his own feed…
Photo by Reckless Dream Photography