Out from the Heart
Over the years I’ve come to deeply realise that our words are not simply words, they are evidence.
Each sentence is an outward confession of the inner condition.
Not for long can your inward condition be hidden by your outward expression.
What flows from the mouth, must be an overflow from the heart.
So when you speak, you're not merely expressing ideas. You're revealing the cultivated state of your inner world.
This was so damming for me to realise - for my speech was mostly filled with bitterness, complaint and blame—it's not the world you're indicting, but your own heart.
My words were a reflex of a wounded ego, and a downloaded personality - which was not entirely or intentionally my own, but something formed over time and then reinforced.
But the acknowledgement of this, as painful as it was, was empowering - it means I have control and authority of my speech, it just requires me to face my inner world and get to work.
The heart in ancient texts always refers to the center of your being - not the intellect, not the things you learn from books - but your heart, always always….your thoughts, your desires, your emotions…these things of the inner life that dominate our day to day, the things we harbour in the heart.
"Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it" — Proverbs 4:23 (NIV)
This may be one of the most foundational verses in the Bible when it comes to inner work and transformation.
“Above all else” – Guarding your heart is priority number one.
“Guard your heart” – This means to watch over, to protect, to be intentional & mindful with what enters and what stays here
“For everything you do flows from it” – Your actions, your words, your habits, your relationships—they all originate from the state of your heart.
James Allen - As a Man Thinketh - one of the most powerful books in my process of transformation (free on YouTube) says that what you repeatedly think and dwell on becomes your character, your habits, and eventually your destiny.
Allen writes:
"A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild; but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth."
— James Allen, As a Man Thinketh
Your mind—your inner world—is always producing something. We can’t get away from it - If you plant thoughts of resentment, insecurity, or judgment, that’s what will eventually bloom in your words and actions.
If you plant thoughts of strength, truth, and compassion, your speech will reflect that clarity and power.
No man escapes this law.
You cannot speak of peace if your heart is at war.
You cannot speak with conviction if your mind is clouded by doubt.
You cannot speak truth if you've spent your life avoiding it.
Notice those people around you that speak with power, grace, clarity or authority - it’s not by chance, but by actively cultivating the garden of the inner life.
They’ve uprooted the weeds, resentment, insecurity, or judgment, shame. and planted seeds for the flowers of noble thoughts to grow.
Regardless of what you may have planted in the past, you have the power to plant new seeds, to then nurture the environment with mindfulness and awareness, with consistency and commitment - these seeds have no choice but to eventually bloom.
Arjun.x