The Deep Heart

Book excerpt: An experiential guide for exploring the convergence of psychological healing and spiritual awakening that happens most clearly and powerfully in the depths of the heart “The Deep Heart is what I call a living book, that rare gem of a book that is alive with the presence of its author . . . A book like this should be felt and experienced as much as it should be read.” —Adyashanti The great human quest is to discover who we really are—a discovery that changes our lives and the lives of those around us. With The Deep Heart, spiritual teacher and psychotherapist Dr. John J. Prendergast invites us on a pilgrimage within, using the heart as a portal to our deepest psychological and spiritual nature. The “deep heart” is Prendergast’s term for our heart center—a subtle center of emotional and energetic sensitivity, relational intimacy, profound inner knowing, and unconditional love. “The heart area is where we feel most deeply touched by kindness, gratitude, and appreciation, yet it is also where we feel most emotionally wounded,” writes Prendergast. “Whether we realize it or not, the heart is what we most carefully guard and most want to open.” Throughout The Deep Heart, Prendergast expertly combines the boundaried wisdom of psychotherapy with a spacious, embodied path to liberation, bringing attention to both the joys and pitfalls of each approach with the compassion of a friend who’s walked the path for decades. In this experiential guide, Prendergast invites you to tune into your inherent wisdom, love, and wholeness as you journey into the deep heart. Through precise and potent meditative inquiries, insightful stories, and reflections drawn from Prendergast’s intimate work with students and clients, you’ll begin to open your heart, see through your core limiting beliefs, and discover the true nature of your being.