I ended last week’s blog by sharing ways to create heart harmony in our lives. This week, I’ll delve deeper, providing methods for leading from the heart and living with conscious intent.
In order to get you more in touch with your heart feelings and to figure out what’s working and what’s not working, ask yourself questions– we spend so much of our lives seeking answers that we often don’t allow for ourselves to ask questions and be patient with the process of living. Two great questions are, “What do I want to bring into my life?” or “What do I want to release?” and they can lead you to think about:
An area in your life that might be calling for you to make a change
An area where the most or least learning is going on
An area in which you feel “stuck”
An area in which you could challenge yourself more
An area that causes the most pain
An area that scares you the most in your life
Also, give some attention to the balance of your body, mind, and spirit. Do you honor your body with movement—whether it’s exercise or yoga or tai chi or walking? Because if you don’t honor your body, it will talk to you—and generally through illness or pain.
If you had to choose one area—body, mind, or spirit—which one would you feel needs the most attention or balance right now? Explore that and attend to that area.
Leading from the heart and maintaining heart harmony may also require that you to live with conscious intention. How do you do that? Here are some helpful suggestions:
Slow down and become more focused. If you are living at warp speed (and I know some days I feel this way), it is very hard not to be living in reactionary patterns.
“Practice the Pause.” Instead of reacting, just stop, take a deep breath, and reflect before doing or saying anything. Instead of reacting, respond to your circumstances.
Adopt a daily ritual. When you get up in the morning take a moment that gets you in touch with conscious intention. Ask yourself, “what is it I wish to accomplish today?” or “what can I do to contribute to a positive outcome today in my world?”
Practice holding a “Bird’s Eye View” as a way of living and being in the world. Lift yourself above the situation you find yourself in, especially difficult ones, and hold a bigger picture. You’ll find yourself less caught in the drama.
Think less about “what’s missing” in your life and focus on what you do have and what you want to create. For example, instead of focusing on thoughts like “I don’t have enough money,” focus with intention on thoughts, such as “I attract unlimited abundance into my life.”
Instead of concentrating on “what has always been”—which usually creates a stuck place– focus on what you want to create. For example, instead of “I can’t change things because they’ve always been that way in this relationship,” why not try thoughts like “I’ll work at being peaceful and complete in myself and contribute positively to this relationship.”
Another tip for bringing coherence to your heart and de-stressing yourself is NOT to take things personally. Remember that someone else’s judgment is simply that. Maybe what’s going on with that person has nothing to do with you, so don’t let your own positive feelings and intentions waver. Some people like to hook you in their negativity, too, so remain detached from the drama.
Pay attention to your self-talk. Become more conscious of your thoughts. Every thought you have impacts you. So shift “weak” or negative thoughts into ones that strengthen or enhance your well-being.
And pay attention to how your family and friends, your workplace, affects you. In an energetic world, we find that the consciousness of your friends, family, and acquaintances will definitely impact you and your consciousness in turn impacts others. Don’t allow others’ behavior and choices to bring you down and vice-versa.
Also realize that the more responsibility you take for what is going on in your life and the more conscious you become of your feelings, you may go into more pain in order to heal. But what’s really important is to know that this is a natural part of the process since you cannot heal what you will not let yourself feel.
Finally, I really believe if you wish to lead from your heart, forgiveness is the ultimate in creating heart harmony.
You know, when you are holding on to negative feelings or hurt about a situation with someone, and haven’t forgiven a person, the person most affected is you because you are still giving energy to them. It’s as though you are plugged into them and leaking your own energy or life force that affects the coherence of your body, mind, and spirit.
But how does a person forgive? You can’t just will it. In next week’s blog I’ll talk about some myths around forgiveness and how forgiving can be a powerful tool for making a difference and improving your heart harmony.
In last week’s blog, I discussed the evolution of our understanding of the heart throughout history, and modern, integrated thoughts about the heart’s role in connecting mind/body/spirit. Today’s blog expounds on contemporary research regarding the heart, well-being, and creating a positive heart rhythm in our lives.
In my exploration about the heart, one author who impressed me perhaps the most was Dean Ornish, a medical doctor, a cardiologist, researcher, and author. One of my favorite books by him is Love and Survival. He suggests that the heart contains energy that affects everything in a person’s life from issues of intimacy, intelligence, and immunity, to love and healing.
Dr. Ornish’s research confirmed that people who grew up in families that were allowed to express themselves or self-disclose were more likely to enter into healthy intimate relationships that, in turn, led to healthier outcomes in regard to physical health later in life. He also suggests that the heart’s electromagnetic field far out-powers that of the brain or any other body system– and since calming the heart calms all other body systems, it makes sense to learn to bring coherence to the heart. Because when your heart is in harmony, its rhythm creates a favorable response of hormones and biochemistry that, in turn, benefits the entire body and your health. Dr. Ornish’s research has shown that through various forms of opening your heart (for example, sharing your feelings and issues and practicing forgiveness), a person is affected physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Dr. Ornish believes that a person is composed of a system of energy that is connected to others and that people can open and shut down this energy system that moves through them when they shut down or close off their hearts. How do they do this? Through fear, worry, stress, negativity and so on. In fact, he says we suffer not because we’re in pain, the real suffering is that we feel we are in pain alone. If on the other hand, we open our heart by making a connection with our outer world and with others in it, he believes that the energy that flows in nourishes us at all levels such that love and intimacy play a very powerful role in a person’s health and even in a person’s survival. He says this is documented by hundreds of scientific studies.
What the research also showed is that while a person can’t change particular events that may have happened earlier in their lives (for example, certain traumas), the ongoing pattern of relating to others is the most important factor in their health and well-being. And that people can change the way in which they relate not only to themselves but to others.
How does a person improve or change negative patterns of relatedness—that perhaps have taken place throughout their lifetime? Dr. Ornish, says that there is tremendous scientific evidence about the importance of spending time talking with people and that a person’s well-being improves if the person does what he calls “opens the heart.”
You could say opening the heart would mean being willing to allow yourself to be open and vulnerable to another person. So even though diet and exercise may help reverse heart disease, Dr. Ornish says that love and intimacy might be the most important factors in heart health. So it’s important to look at what brings joy, value, and meaning into your life.
So how do we create heart harmony or positive heart rhythm in our lives?
Disclose what we’re feeling. You can do this by talking with others– either talking with one person or getting involved in a group process that would allow this.
Write about how you feel. You can keep a journal, write letters, and take notes in any way that works for you. You can draw your feelings, too.
Allow yourself to feel. Remember, “What we resist, persists.” By admitting your feelings you are opening your heart.
Love and accept yourself for who you are as you are.
Stay with your current feelings and not your old story. The old story will often take you into your mind and out of the present.
When you can acknowledge your feelings and share them, you take a big step toward healing. And along the way, it is so important to ask yourself questions that get you exploring and releasing your heart feelings more.
In next week’s blog, I’ll give you more techniques and tips on exploring and releasing your heart feelings.
How do you weave your spiritual journey into your daily life? Every choice you make leads you toward or away from balance. Being mindful of what you do that affects your body, mind, and spirit is important, and acting on what you know is your key.
Ask: Does this choice make my heart feel heavy or light? While some things we need to do in life feel like a necessary burden, often we take on activities and commitments or even fear-based thoughts that weigh us down. Allow your heart to be a barometer of how you are feeling. If something feels “heavy” on your heart, be willing to let it go or redirect your energy. What might you need to say “no” to that you might have been doing for some time?
Ask: How committed am I to creating a positive change? While you may know exactly what you need to do—for example, you know you would feel better if you exercised three times each week—your knowledge is not enough unless you act on what you know. What kind of structure have you created? Have you set aside a schedule of committed hours to exercise? How disciplined are you? Did you know that the word “discipline” has at its root “disciple” which simply means “to grasp”? Create a structure, establish an accountability partner, and reward yourself (in a healthy way) for staying with your positive commitments.
Ask: How inspired and grateful am I? Remember EVERY day to hold a moment of conscious intent. When you brush your teeth, take your vitamins, or perform some sort of routine activity, associate holding your daily conscious intent with that moment. Simply ask yourself: What do I wish to learn today or how do I wish to experience my life today? DECIDE to have a more satisfying day and you will. Be the witness to a bigger picture of your life and how this day is a significant and valuable experience in it. Be grateful for the opportunity to be alive and live fully today!
While a healthy diet and adequate rest are beneficial in building your immune system, a number of natural ingredients can help you prevent or heal a cold should you get one. I learned these ideas in trainings I have taken in healing and health. Here are a few tips:
Get plenty of zinc in your diet (most often found in whole grains).
Pack your meals with foods that are rich in Vitamin C & D.
Remember that caffeine is dehydrating, so if you are losing body fluids as a result of a cold, choose herbal, caffeine-free teas.
Drink fresh fruit juices. Grapefruit, orange, and lemon juices are antiseptic and cleansing.
Eat soups, and drink plenty of water to keep hydrated.
Inhaling the smell of eucalyptus can soothe your respiratory system.
Adding garlic to your diet increases antibacterial action and builds your immune system to fight infection.
Honey can relieve sore throats and coughs.
Ginger made into tea is considered both an antiseptic and expectorant.
Echinacea and olive leaf can strengthen the immune system and shorten the bout of flu or cold.
Remember if at all possible to reduce your stress and to get enough sleep since it boosts your immune systems and allows you time to heal.
I ended last week’s blog by sharing ways to create heart harmony in our lives. This week, I’ll delve deeper, providing methods for leading from the heart and living with conscious intent.