Some Things are Easy to Love!
It is easy to love your pet, except when she barfs on the floor and you step in it before realizing what you stepped into. Real story, folks. This happened to my husband yesterday. But Sophie was a very remorseful dog and of course, we forgave her and love her again.
It is also easy to feel love for your husband to whom you have been married for many years who gets up this morning, makes you breakfast before running off to pick up your son fifty miles up the road on his day off. Real story. That is what my husband did on Valentine’s Day.
It is even easy to feel love for your grown-up children when they remember to call and send pictures of your granddaughter or pictures of them being with their significant other.
It is also easy to feel love for all the clients and students who remember to appreciate you, sending lovely notes, sharing their hopes and dreams together on the yoga mat or in a session.
You get my drift. It is easy to love friends, family, and pets, accomplishments, good memories, and the sunshine on your face.
If I Could Only Stare At Pictures of My Granddaughter All Day!
But very few of us spend all day feeling the love of others and focusing on all the wonderful people or events that make us feel loved. That is not very realistic.
It is human nature particularly during stressful times that we are living in to become fearful, angry, sad, resentful, or anxious. Besides that, the sun is not out every day. Some days it is raining. Yet the research shows maintaining a feeling of love during stressful times can be good for your heart, your health, and the world’s energetic field. The question becomes how to access feelings of love in less-than-ideal circumstances or for people to whom you are neutral or do not like at all.
You could try the following Metta Kindness meditation and see if it helps. Click on the arrow on the picture below.
HeartMath® Tools Can Help Shift Your Energy Toward Love
Check out these three HeartMath® practices that I am doing more and more throughout the day. These skills which can be learned and practiced help us stay in the higher vibrational energy of love, no matter what is going on in our lives or the world. There is a large body of research that shows if you practice daily, it will have benefits for your health through creating a cascade of positive hormones, regulating your cardiovascular system, and improving your ability to think more clearly and perform better on tasks. (see references here)
- The Power of Neutral (I wrote about this in this an earlier article) However in a nutshell, it is a practice of getting yourself in a neutral state through HeartMath® breathing practices before and after you are involved in a contentious situation or are exposed to a triggering event.
- Compassionate Latitude, which HeartMath® Founder Doc Childre defines as “feeling care for someone who has different viewpoints than you by being less critical and more patient and tolerant” with each other even if you do not agree or condone their point of view or actions. “Compassionate latitude increases our care and flexibility with others’ shortcomings or missteps—recognizing that almost all of us are probably experiencing similar challenges, along with highs and lows in our thoughts and feelings,” according to Childre. Read more about Compassionate Latitude here.
To learn more about Compassionate Latitude and other simple HeartMath® practices, click here for their publication 12 HeartMath® Tools for Reducing Stress and Staying Balanced
3) Ask Your Heart for Guidance: Another technique shared by HeartMath® Executive VP Howard Martin in this weekend’s Rise of the Human Spirit Call, is as simple as asking your heart the following question when faced with a situation that pulls you out of love into fear or anger, “Does my reaction feel like love?” This resonated with me, so I posted about it yesterday on Facebook. In response, I got the following sincere question.
“Good morning Andrea. Doesn’t that focus us on the negative? I certainly do appreciate you and your insights.”
Here is a summary of my response to the inquiry, based on my understanding of HeartMath®, Yoga, and other mindfulness practices. Since many of our actions are done without conscious thought, in other words, they are formed in our mammalian part of the brain which is wired to generate ANTs (Automatic Negative Thoughts), then saying this simple statement interrupts this pattern and allows us to ask ourselves whether this thought or reaction may be the only one available. Here are three steps:
• observe your thought without judgment.
• be curious about where our thought comes from; and
• find a replacement thought and feeling that keeps you in the higher energy vibration of love!
When we move from fear, anger, or hate to love, we benefit from this energetic switch, and the energetic field of the world benefits as well.
Are You Willing to Try These Energetic Love Generating Techniques?
All of this may sound esoteric or even “far out” to you if you have not tried it. But I can tell you that through practice, I am noticing the rewiring of my brain and my nervous system, which is making it easier to stay in a space of love. My students and clients who are practicing this are reporting remarkable results as well.
Love to you all this Valentine’s Day,
Andrea
P.S. If you are struggling with healing and have tried everything, you might just need to support your healing by practicing life-changing HeartMath® techniques. I am here to help!
