The Three Wholesome Exchanges of the Heart

There are three healthy exchanges that reflect the wisdom of Buddha's teachings. These exchanges are specific ways of interacting with others that can cause a change of transformation in ourselves. You can recognize the exchanges as needs or instincts that you may have felt at different times in your life. Have you ever felt the need to be called by someone or something that would make you move forward and face the challenges that prevent you from integrating your best skills? Have you ever felt the need to be a witness, to feel seen and your struggles, your abilities and your innate courage are translated to another? Have you ever felt the need to share your acquired knowledge and wisdom when trying to find out what really matters? Each of these deep psychic impulses represents an exchange of the heart where its greatest capacity of consciousness is evoked. When we can share our gifts and accept the intrinsic value of others, we can find more depth, meaning and joy in our lives.

How can we use attention and intention to identify and cultivate each healthy exchange in a skillful way?

1. The need to be called The first of the exchanges is our need to be called by someone, something or an event. We do not always respond and automatically update our talents and potentials. If we all did that, the world would be much softer and sweeter. Being called awakens us and is crucial to our fulfillment as human beings. Maybe this call took place when you were a child. You may have been challenged at a young age by a person or by particular circumstances to find your independence and innate worth.

As adults, we are all called to stop being defined by our childhood experiences. We must not allow the conditioned habits that form from the wounds of our childhood or even genetics to control our behavior and our choices. As adults, we are called to find our own voice and make decisions according to our values. It does not happen often in our society. We are called to respond to the inner life in any way: spiritual, psychological or shamanic.

2. The need to attend.

The second healthy exchange is the need to witness, which is essentially our need to listen to our history and to witness to the sincerity and sincerity of our aspirations. We all need someone to listen to our fears, our failures, our triumphs and our dreams. It is an art in itself to serve as a witness. This exchange is essential for our personal and spiritual development because, when we are witnesses, it allows us to truly listen to our own authentic voice. When we are alone, it is often difficult to have a clear idea of ​​how we feel. Some of us are fortunate enough to have a keen sense of self from a very early age, but sometimes it takes us up to 50 or 60 years for that to happen.

3. The need to share what we have learned The third healthy exchange is our need to share our blessings, knowledge and gifts. The need to share permeates all cultures at all levels. This impulse to share is programmed and is part of what makes us human beings. This is due to our enthusiasm for what we have known, our gratitude for what we have achieved and our fear for what we have experienced. This impulse is usually frustrated, distorted and closed for one reason or another, or we do not have the capacity to recognize our need to share. Learning to share skillfully is part of our practice. It is important not to be tied to what we share and how others will use the knowledge we transmit. Remember that when we share our wisdom or knowledge with someone, we have no idea who else will benefit from our participation and how. We do not know what all the interconnections are, but we know that they are vast.

Each one of us has the three needs of the heart. Mindfulness helps us become aware if any of these three exchanges is requested at a given time and helps us determine the situations and appropriate times to participate in the exchange. Without attention or humility, it is easy enough to make difficult decisions about the people we allow to influence. We must be careful to make sure that the person we trust can testify in a healthy way. In the same way, we need to know how,