Agapi Stassinopoulos - Unbinding the Heart: A Dose of Greek Wisdom, Generosity, and Unconditional Love

PRAISE FOR UNBINDING THE HEART

Agapi Stassinopoulos is an authentic, genuine, and inspirational writer and speaker who knows how to connect with and move her audience. She brings out the beauty, power, and independence in all of us.

Deepak Chopra, author of War of the Worldviews

Besides being a loving sister, Agapi has an innate wisdom and a gift for communicating it to her readers. The insight and passion that she brings to Unbinding the Heart, and the lessons it holds for bringing freedom and grace into our lives, make it a must-read book.

Arianna Huffington, president and editor-in-chief of The Huffington Post Media Group

I laughed, I cried, I got a craving for hummus read this book, its smashing.

Tracey Ullman

A joyous, loving, generous romp!

Seth Godin, author of Poke the Box

Agapi shares her heart with us through her personal stories, full of hope and possibilities, and inspires us to open our own hearts to more loving for ourselves and others.

Donna Karan, founder of Urban Zen

Unbinding the Heart is like a sumptuous Greek feast. It is a place filled with family, friends, and lovers, offering sustenance for the mind and spirit. Agapis colorful stories are full of spiritual depth and personal insight, which will nourish the soul of her readers.

Lisa Oz, author of Us

Agapis book is a life changer, one that triggers us to find the richness in our hearts and share it with others.

Blake Mycoskie, founder and chief shoe giver of TOMS

Unbinding the Heart, with its beautiful prose, comes at a perfect time, reminding us, that even if lifes grip becomes cold, we have the resources to heal each other and to heal ourselves. The book is as warm as any hearth in any loving home. It is a call to the remembrance of loves power.

Anna Deavere Smith, actress and playwright

Agapis book is like a warm hug that inspires you to live as authentically and openly as possible.

Marlo Thomas, actress and best-selling author of Growing Up Laughing

ALSO BY AGAPI STASSINOPOULOS

Conversations with the Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses in Love

Copyright 2012 by Agapi Stassinopoulos

Published and distributed in the United States by: Hay House, Inc.: www.hayhouse.com Published and distributed in Australia by: Hay House Australia Pty. Ltd.: www.hayhouse.com.au Published and distributed in the United Kingdom by: Hay House UK, Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.uk Published and distributed in the Republic of South Africa by: Hay House SA (Pty), Ltd.: www.hayhouse.co.za Distributed in Canada by: Raincoast: www.raincoast.com Published in India by: Hay House Publishers India: www.hayhouse.co.in

Cover design: Julie Davison Interior design: Jenny Richards

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any mechanical, photographic, or electronic process, or in the form of a phonographic recording; nor may it be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or otherwise be copied for public or private useother than for fair use as brief quotations embodied in articles and reviewswithout prior written permission of the publisher.

The author of this book does not dispense medical advice or prescribe the use of any technique as a form of treatment for physical, emotional, or medical problems without the advice of a physician, either directly or indirectly. The intent of the author is only to offer information of a general nature to help you in your quest for emotional and spiritual well-being. In the event you use any of the information in this book for yourself, which is your constitutional right, the author and the publisher assume no responsibility for your actions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Stassinopoulos, Agapi

Unbinding the heart : a dose of Greek wisdom, generosity, and unconditional love / Agapi Stassinopoulos. 1st ed.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-4019-3073-8 (hbk. : alk. paper) 1. Stassinopoulos, Agapi. 2. Self-realization. 3. Conduct of life. I. Title.

BJ1470.S73 2012

170'.44dc23

2011034868

Hardcover ISBN: 978-1-4019-3073-8

Digital ISBN: 978-1-4019-3075-2

15 14 13 12 4 3 2 1
1st edition, February 2012

Printed in the United States of America

TO CHRISTINA AND ISABELLA,
WHOM I LOVE WITH ALL MY HEART.

ALL, EVERYTHING THAT I UNDERSTAND,
I UNDERSTAND ONLY BECAUSE I LOVE.

FROM WAR AND PEACE BY LEO TOLSTOY

CONTENTS

As I write this, I am sitting in our garden in the shade of the lemon tree we planted in honor of my mother when she passed, to celebrate her life, which was all about bearing fruit. Sitting here, I feel a profound gratitude for the values she instilled in me and the inner resources she gave me that have shaped the way I live my life now. By giving me my nameAgapi, which in Greek means unconditional loveshe was laying the tracks that were mine to follow, the path of living with a loving, open heart. Her presence is palpable as I share my story with you. I write it out of a deep desire to share how I came to know the truth of my own heart and realize the fullness and freedom that were available beyond the barriers I placed around it.

I was brought up in Athens, in a culture where an open heart is celebrated and exuberance is encouraged. We eat, dance, make love, nap, tell people how we really feel, argue, make up, give, and then give some more. We open our homes to friends and strangers, share what we have, and bond very deeply with the people we love. Life is to be lived to the fullest. I was raised by a mother filled with the spirit of courage and generosity and an unshakable trust in lifea spirit that, in the face of adversity, soared even higher. And I had a father whose motto was Ride life like a horsegrab it by the mane and hang on.

My mother and fathers relationship was both passionate and turbulent, with a current of love that ran very deep but couldnt carry them through daily life. My parents lives, so intricately intertwined with mine, would ultimately help me understand what causes our hearts to close and how we can learn to open them again. And they would teach me that love doesnt come with a fairy-tale ending of happily ever after.

I grew up thinking I would become a dancer. In the free, nonlinear expression of the art form, I found an outlet for all the things I felt but couldnt say. There on the stage, I would find a place to express my hearts tenderness, and to go beyond the hurt and find my joy. When I was 14, I was chosen to dance the part of the narrator in a recital on the theme of The Cosmos; the other students were the planets, and my role was to tell their stories. That performance was the first time I felt the magic of captivating an audience. As the storyteller, I found that I could connect with them in a place where time was suspended, and for a moment, it was as if all of us were one.

Storytelling, of course, was part of my Greek heritage. The Greeksthe ultimate storytellerscreated their myths out of thin air. They saw the elements and primal forces at work in the world, and the emotions within us, and they made gods of them all. For centuries, the Greeks told those stories to make sense of the world. And after my first experience as a storyteller, I was hooked. My dance teacher even encouraged me to pursue acting.