It is only with the heart that one can see rightly, for what is essential is invisible to the eye. Antoine de Saint-Expeury 

In a society where so much emphasis is put on physical appearance, we often forget to look beneath the façade and veneer and deep into the soul of the person standing in front of us. We often forget to look into ourselves, into the mirror of the heart and see who we really are. If we get caught up in imagining that we are our bodies, we limit ourselves and others to one dimension. If we think that we are our minds, then that’s limiting too.

Sathya Sai Baba expressed the quandary of relating to ourselves and others in this way: “You are not one but three. You are the one you think you are. The one others think you are and you really are Atma (the eternal soul).” How, when living with these dynamics, can we relate from the highest and best place? We cycle back and forth between soul and personality, between finite and infinite, between heart and mind.

But by seeing with the eyes of the heart all is revealed as it is, Spirit, Consciousness, Energy, Love or whatever you’d like to call it. Seeing in this way shifts all things into a beautiful, meaningful dance of the divine. A person who may not be dressed well and be physically unattractive may beam with a splendid, radiant soul life.

If we can give this gift of seeing with the eyes of the heart to our partners, friends, family and colleagues, it will transform us and them, for from this perspective there is no longer an other. We merge and become one.

Bio: Debra Moffitt is author of Awake in the World: 108 Practices to Live a Divinely Inspired Life. A visionary, dreamer and teacher, she’s devoted to nurturing the spiritual in everyday life. She leads workshops on spiritual practices at the Sophia Institute and other venues in the U.S. and Europe. Her mind/body/spirit articles, essays and stories appear in publications around the globe and were broadcast by BBC World Services Radio. She has spent over fifteen years practicing meditation, working with dreams and doing spiritual practices. Visit her online at http://www.awakeintheworld.com.