Open-hearted awareness is one mode of expression of awake awareness. (See the previous FAQ answer for a definition of awake awareness.) It is an embodied way of knowing and being that feels lovingly connected to everyone and everything.
In different traditions it has been called “heart-mind,” bodhicitta, and the “mystic heart.” It is not the emotional heart or the heart chakra, but more of an embodied unconditional love and innate wisdom which naturally reaches out to connect to others, while feeling safe and supported in the ground of being.
When we live from open-hearted awareness, we are free of our small, mental sense of self that makes us fearful and feel unworthy. We are unconditionally self-accepting and can bear painful emotions that used to feel unbearable. We know on a profound level that all is essentially well.
Open-hearted awareness is not an experience, state, emotion, or belief; it is the essence of who we are. With the practice of Effortless Mindfulness, we can access and live from this essential goodness and compassion at our core.