The Heart – An Agent of Transformation
It is no secret that our world is changing fast. As you face this period of accelerated change, do you feel you have the tools you need to deal with and adjust to all that is happening?
Historically, there is evidence the heart could help us navigate the ever-shifting terrain we experience daily. HeartMath Institute’s research shows the heart possesses a unique intelligence that can help you adjust to accelerating change. When you access this intelligence, you will have more clarity and power to quickly clear away unwanted thoughts and feelings and adjust to rapid change with confidence.
It’s no coincidence that ancient cultures from Greece to China looked at the heart as a primary source of feeling, virtue and intelligence. Many faiths and traditions refer to the heart as the seat of the soul and pathway to spirit, or the higher self.
Western languages refer to the heart as both a physical organ and metaphor for feeling and intuition and the center of personality, or being. People often describe the place where they experience emotions such as joy, love, hurt and sadness as the e heart area. Many languages use variations of these English expressions: take heart, heartfelt and look within your heart for the answer.
Scientists discovered only recently a connection between the physical and feeling heart. For example, research at HeartMath Institute shows, someone feeling positive emotions like compassion or appreciation has smooth, balanced heart rhythms. In contrast, someone feeling negative emotions such as anger and anxiety display more erratic and unbalanced rhythms.
HeartMath and other organizations’ research shows the heart can be a powerful agent for emotional transformation. This research provides hope for people with depression, anxiety, and other stress-related disorders. HeartMath has developed powerful, yet simple techniques people can use to improve how they feel, think and perceive life. These techniques help you connect with your deeper heart, increase mental clarity, regulate brain chemicals and hormones and, according to many people, produce a natural high.
Journaling Change in Your World
You may find keeping a journal can help you deal with a rapidly changing world. Here are some questions and a tool to help you get started. Write your responses and thoughts in a journal.
1. List which world events in the last few months have caused you to feel the most uncertain, insecure or stressed.
2. List which world events caused you to feel discouraged, overloaded, frustrated or anxious?
3. Practice the Quick Coherence Technique™, a type of emotion regulation researchers developed so people could easily create a state of coherence in about 60 seconds. Quick Coherence helps release stress and stop draining emotions such as frustration, irritation, anxiety and anger. Thoughts and emotions become more balanced and you experience greater ease and inner harmony.
4. After practicing Quick Coherence for a while, return to your journal and write how you feel.
Genuinely practicing Quick Coherence while maintaining a journal, may be so rewarding that you’ll want to continue regulating your emotions and sustaining these good feelings, which originate in the heart. Learning the Quick Coherence Technique will help you unleash the transforming power and intelligence of your heart and improve the overall quality of your life.
Explore HeartMath’s Free Resources and downloadable materials for expanding your heart connections, including practical solutions for your personal growth, health and life fulfillment.
I’d love to hear about any new perspectives you may have realized as you began to journal?