The Heart Hierarchy

This idea started the way so many of my favorite ones do; in a conversation with my sister, Luana. We were talking about love languages and how hard it is to pick just one.

she said, “It should be a chart like Maslow’s hierarchy of needs; each of our pyramids filled differently, but all rich and varied.”

She laughed that knowing laugh she has, the kind that says, “keep going.” And that’s how the seed for The Heart Hierarchy was planted.

Dr. Gary Chapman’s "Five Love Languages" has helped millions understand how we express and receive love. During that talk with Luana, we realized something deeper: We don’t have just one “language. ”We are made of love in many forms and each expression builds on the other. Love isn’t something to choose or decode. It’s something to align with, from the inside out.

That’s what The Heart Hierarchy represents: a layered model of love that begins in divine connection and self-love, and rises into universal overflow.

The Layers of The Heart Hierarchy are:

Divine Connection + Self-Love

The sacred foundation. Knowing you are love itself. When you’re rooted here, every other form of love becomes a natural expression; not a search for validation, but a reflection of inner wholeness.

Physical Presence & Shared Time

Love embodied through presence, touch, and attention. Being with someone fully is often the truest act of love. No multitasking, no masks. Just presence.

Acts of Care & Service

Love in motion, giving with intention and heart. When it flows from authenticity, not obligation, service becomes sacred. It’s love that moves through your hands.

Words & Communication

Love spoken, written, and heard with clarity and gratitude. Our words are spells and they can heal or harm. Choosing language that uplifts is one of the simplest ways to embody love.

Emotional Intimacy & Understanding

Love revealed through empathy and trust. This is where hearts meet without armor. A space where you can say, “I see you. I understand.” True intimacy isn’t just shared emotion; it’s shared safety.

Universal Love

Love in expansion is the radiant expression of wholeness. It is the love that ripples into community, creativity, and collective healing. It’s overflow; love beyond “mine” or “yours,” born from the knowing that we are one.

That conversation with my sister reminded me that love isn’t a ladder we climb, it’s a current we rise within. Each level supports the next, just as each heartbeat fuels another.

The Heart Hierarchy invites us to honor love as a full system: divine, emotional, practical, and embodied. So the next time someone asks your love language, maybe smile and say:

“All of them. I’m fluent in the hierarchy of the heart.” 💖

Special Thanks

To my sister Luana, whose curiosity and brilliance sparked this reflection. I adore you and the way you love so completely.

The Heart Hierarchy is more than a model it’s a living reminder of how love moves through everything we do. It reflects the rhythm of my own life: from grounding in self-love to expanding into connection, from quiet moments by the creek to the collective joy of community.

Each level echoes one of the L.A.C.E.D. pillars that shape my work and my world: Love as the foundation, Abundance as the overflow, Connection as the bridge, Energy as the fuel, and Divine Design as the harmony that brings it all together

May this Heart Hierarchy remind you that love is not something you find it’s something you remember, build, and share.

With love and alignment,

Lacey