This is the first of a series on Opening the Heart and the Six Pointed Star or Hexagon and...
 I apologize profusely that this first in the series is now following the second - (being born in South Africa every now and again I am back to front.) When I posted it I was pretty sure I checked that it was there which it clearly wasn't. Anyway no problem, I am posting it now as well as the third in the series.

Opening up the Heart

“We are all climbing toward the summit of our hearts’ desire. Should the other climber steal your sack and your purse and wax fat on the one and heavy on the other, you should pity him. The climbing will be harder for his flesh and the burden will make his way longer. And should you in your leanness see his flesh puffing upward, help him in a step; it will add to your swiftness.” ... Unknown

In this new age, a term we often hear is unconditional love. This is a lofty ideal, and few of us will ever reach that level of spiritual development where we can truly love everyone. The San Bushmen shaman must open up the heart to reach the transcendent through the Trance Dance. Bushmen healers say that to be a good healer one must love everyone, no matter what you think of them and that the key to out of body spirit travel in order to heal is to open the heart. Yogis say that of the three blocks or “knots” in the chakra system that prevent the flow of Kundalini energy, the heart block, is the greatest. The symbol of the heart chakra is the hexagon, or the six-pointed star and that is also the symbol for Tiferet, the "heart" of the Tree of Life.

This six-pointed star consists of two overlapping triangles pointing in opposite directions. The apex of the triangle directed downward symbolizes the material descending to earth, and the apex of that pointing upwards, the spiritual ascending to the Field or "heaven." Also if one considers the heart as sitting on the top surface of the diaphragm, one can see how the three lowermost points of the six-pointed star indicate below the diaphragm while the three uppermost point upwards.

Opening The Heart: The Six Pointed Star

The three lower points can be regarded as representing three spiritually inhibiting properties of the lower charkas just below the diaphragm; judgment, attachment to objects of our desire (desirous attachment) and ego. The three upper points indicate three qualities of the upper charkas; truth, awareness and being in the present moment. The hexagon itself embodies LOVE crucial for moving energy upwards. The main impediments to the flow of Kundalini energy are ego, judgment, and desirous attachment. The diaphragm is essential for pranayama, the control of breath, and pranayama is one of the most important techniques used by the Yogi to balance the sun and moon energies and get energy to move into the central channel and up into the higher chakras above the diaphragm. Not only does the diaphragm divide the lower from the higher chakras but it is vital for raising energy into the heart chakra and up.

Self lies beyond ego. Judgment and desirous attachment are facilitators of the ego. When we examine our inner selves in the space of judgment, we may find it truly wanting since there is no judgment in the place of true Self; judgment occurs in the space of ego.

The soul of a person who judges suffers harm. Talmud

Buddha taught that our ego-grasping and self-cherishing behavior are not only the source of all our misery but are the biggest deterrent to reaching nirvana and enlightenment. Only by doing things for their own sake rather than for an ego-based reason can we transform.