How can I stay open to love when I have been hurt repeatedly before?
This is the central question of Mirabai's life. She loved Krishna knowing he was unavailable, knowing the love would stretch and wound her. Yet she never closed her heart. How? Not by convincing herself it wouldn't hurt again. She went the other direction entirely. Neuroscience shows us that after repeated hurt, your amygdala gets hypervigilant—it's trying to protect you by scanning for threats. Your nervous system learns: love = danger. So it tightens. This is survival logic, and it makes sense. But here's what Mirabai understood: closing your heart to avoid pain means you're already hurt. You're just hurting alone instead of risking connection. The examined heart doesn't deny the danger; it chooses anyway, with eyes open. What helps practically: Start with small vulnerabilities. Let your nervous system learn that some risks are safe. Notice when you're in genuine present-moment connection versus when you're protecting against a future hurt that hasn't happened. Build a support system—your brain heals better in community. And consider this: maybe the goal isn't to never hurt again. Maybe it's to hurt, heal, and love again anyway. That takes more courage than staying closed, but it's where freedom lives.