The Map to Illumination (Part 2 of 3)

After the first three steps on the path of the heart [Stage 1 - The Mind], a person begins to become restless after a period. Harmony does not satisfy a deeper longing for greatness and so from the dissatisfaction emerges a new ideal and a new vision of who or what one can become. This process begins Stage 2 - The Heart and the journey continues until expertise develops. Things people can accomplish while in this expertise step become most remarkable, and the intentional focus and concentration one has required to perform a certain goal become as second nature; the heart leads the way! In one's career or in one's relationship, expertise can feel like one has reached the zenith and it certainly can be appealing to remain on this step because control, creativity, power, and intelligence are coordinated; one becomes the wielder of their own destiny. When one dares to peer from the peak of personal accomplishment into the abyss of personal abandonment, one finds there is no bottom. Some might call this "the Dark Night of the Soul." In the path of the heart, the step is called "Unlearning."