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JOEL CROSS, aka A Soul Called Joel, is a Grammy-nominated singersongwriter. He grew up singing gospel songs with his seven siblings. In 2022, he released his new album called Love and Liberation. The well of his creativity and passion is deeply spiritual. In addition to his musical career, Joel is a certified meditation teacher, a life coach, poet and author of the R.I.S.E. journal. He is interviewed

- Illustrations by JASMEE MUDGAL

How’s your heart feeling today?

Q. It's wonderful to finally speak with you. Someone sent me a link. to your Instagram feed with the instruction, "Check this guy out!" I did and immediately knew what inspired her to share. Shall I tell you my 30-second experience on Instagram as I recorded it in my journal?

Yes, please do.

Q: A lovely man with a widebrimmed hat, bright smile, peaceful presence, surrounded by mountains, trees, azure sky, and birdsong greets me, and thousands of his followers.

"Hello, beautiful souls. How's your-heart?" My soul, surprised at being directly addressed, cooperates. move my attention inward to assess. He does the same. With eyes closed, he takes a deep breath, places hand on heart, and he waits, waits, waits. feel an inner impulse, a wave of energy, lightness. A slow, contagious smile spreads across his face, and mine. At that moment, I'm reminded of something my mentor and Guide often said, The heart speaks!" And on cue, hear a rich, baritone voice:

“May you be open so that you may heal. And may the fruits of love, compassion, and peace grace your lips always. Much love and light."

Can you describe what's happening when you pause and tune into your heart? You seemed to be having a nice chat with it.

I get that question a lot, but I haven't really answered it publicly yet. What I’ve discovered in my own meta-meditation, connecting with my heart center, is that the heart is always speaking. But we are rarely listening.