Exciting science* shows us that the measurable electromagnetic energy field of the heart - and the electromagnetic impulses traveling from the heart to the brain - INCREASE when we feel good.  And, as might be expected, they decrease when we feel bad.  We also know that the messages the heart sends to the brain influence our well-being on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual levels.  When the heart says "Ahhhh....yes, all is well", it tells the brain so - the brain tells the endocrine system to slow its outpouring of stress hormones, our heart rate and blood pressure are calmed, organ function is enhanced, immune system functions better, we more easily regulate ourselves emotionally, find more equanimity in daily living, our minds are clearer, memory better, problem solving abilities and creativity increase and we may find greater connection to what we hold sacred.

Our hearts are a unique and amazing barometer for that which will - and will not - promote our well-being. Why, then, do we not listen for those "yes" moments our hearts are designed to identify?  Society tends to offer us many, many reasons to override that still, small voice within us.  I want to invite you now, even as you read, to tune in to your heart's fantastic knowing. . . We have all had experiences in which we can quite literally FEEL our hearts expand or diminish as we encounter a situation; this is our heart's way of telling us whether a thing is good for us - or not.

Indeed, learning to hear your innermost knowing - and allowing your heart to guide you toward true well-being is key to a healthy life on all levels. It is also the beginning of a relationship with your heart and inner knowing that can become an ability to answer the bigger life-questions.  But for now, think of your heart's wisdom as gateway to health.

When we are near someone who is listening to their heart, who is honoring those messages and is thus living in a state of "heart coherence", in which their physical body, emotional self, mind and spiritual selves are all functioning in alignment with the heart, we feel their strength and vibrancy.   (Likewise, when someone is not listening and honoring this, we can feel their lack of life-force and personal disharmony.)  One name for this stat is HEART COHERENCE.  When we are in heart-coherence, we can catalyze others to a greater sense of their own well-being, as we all know - being near someone who is full of well-being can be "contagious".
Further, the more we take action based on our heart's knowing, the easier it becomes to maintain our balance and energy, even when the world around us may be in chaos.

Take a moment inside yourself.
Allow your breathing to slow or deepen.
Drop your attention into your heart. . .
Imagine for a moment a time when someone or something or even your self said or did something that did not feel good to you - shame, guilt, blame, hurt of some kind.
Notice the feeling in your heart - most people can actually feel a physical sensation of tension or even  a sense of "closing" or shutting down in the middle of the chest. This is your heart saying "no".  This is the draining or shrinking of your heart's electromagnetic energy field.  This is your heart telling you "this is not good for us".
Breathe again and release this sensation and any images associated with it.
Now breathe again, softly, gently, deeply. . .
Again focus in mid-chest/heart area.
Think this time of something beautiful you have experienced - something that makes you feel good - seen, loved, appreciated, fulfilled, accomplished, peaceful, etc.
Notice, again, the sensation around or in your heart.  People often experience a warmth, an expansion, a fullness or an opening in the heart area; this is your heart saying "YES", and this is the sensory experience of your heart's electromagnetic energy field expanding, growing larger and more vital.

The wonderful thing about becoming more aware of your heart's messages is that you have control of this.  You can regulate your heart (and thus your body, emotions, mind and spirit)'s well-being!  And the more you do this - choose well-being, and re-engage in well-beingness, re-align with a Heart-YES space, if/when you find yourself in a heart-NO space, the healthier you will be on all levels. AND the more you will hold on to that vibrancy and thus affect those around you, catalyzing them toward their own well-being.

I invite you today (and every day, if you like) to pay attention to your heart's small, clear yes's and no's; honor what is for you, release what is not.  See how this is for you. 

I am wishing you Hearty Heart-YES moments today and every day!
With Love Always,
Maya

I want to lift up the fabulous Mark Nepo's
THE BOOK OF AWAKENING.  (Click to purchase on Betterworld Books)

Nepo's writing is deep and dear and comes from the wisdom of his life's experience, particularly as a cancer survivor.  Please consider purchasing this book - it is a lovely companion for both living and dying. 

Recently, in a hospice meeting, I shared from Nepo's piece titled "The Risk to be Touched" ( with the author's permission - you will find a link to Nepo's website in the Resources page). In it Nepo writes on the importance of touch as a universal language.  He shares even in the title alone that he is aware that touching and being touched may take courage... yet he encourages us all - and I second this with all my might - to take that risk.  The healing and heart-resonance that touch can afford us may be affirming like no other human interaction can be.

There may also be healing needed in your life from touch that was UN-welcome. Unhealed wounding offers us -  when ready - all the more reason to open to HEALTHY, LOVING, HEALING touch.

Think for a moment of a time when touch had positive meaning for you.
Let yourself have a small, private breath INTO the goodness that was or is there for you.
What might life be like if you had this breath - and offered it to others - as needed?

I invite you to go forth in your day today – perhaps even every day - with an intention for two things:

1. To find a moment in which you might offer touch as a simple communication with someone who could find comfort or healing in it.
2. To find a moment in which you yourself take the “risk to be touched” and ask someone you feel loved by to touch you – a hug, a pat on the shoulder, a holding of hands.

May we all remember the universal language of touch and it’s power to bypass our differences, heal hearts and build simple, tender bridges.  And to my hospice team members, as well as any of my readers who use touch in daily work or living: This is, of course, the essence and brightest gift of what you do; thank you for being all that you are – to your patients, friends, family and to each other.
 
Much Love,
Rev. Maya

The reference for this post is from Dr. Ira Byock's book "The Four Things That Matter Most".  You can find this book HERE:BETTERWORLDBOOKS if you would like to purchase it.

While it is true at end of life that we want to make sure our affairs are in order, and it is important to most of us that our pain is well managed, according to Dr. Byock (and agreed to by this Spiritual Advisor), what actually floats to the surface as mattering most deeply is the saying of these four things:

I forgive you
Please forgive me
Thank you
I love you
 
Today, I am lifting up the first of these: I FORGIVE YOU

Working in hospice, when leaving is long and difficult, I am sometimes asked by family members "but WHEN will our beloved GO?" and "I don't understand WHY she is STILL HERE..."
This may be when I suggest that families and loved ones consider FORGIVING.
I do not subscribe to the idea that one must forgive for forgiveness' sake; rather my stance is that forgiving cannot be done until forgiveness is ripe – but how, when time is ticking, to ripen it?

First, I offer this: Consider differentiating between FORGIVING and FORGETTING.
You may wish to note also that – while forgiving certainly benefits the other person – forgiving is most richly for YOURSELF.

When a family member forgives a dying person, they release that person, but also themselves, and their/our freer heart is palpable on so many levels, many of which we are not even aware we can sense.

Here is what I invite you to consider:
 
FORGIVING is AN UNTANGLING; it is a disentangling of your psyche from that past event and trauma you hold between yourself and another - so you may breathe – and  live -  more freely in this moment.
 
TRY THIS:
Think of someone, living or dead, with whom you may still have unfinished business.
Consider  the idea of breathing out - of exhaling into a sense of letting go of – what has been hurtful between yourself and other.  This simple (or not so simple) act is the act of forgiving.
 
DOING THIS DOES NOT MEAN YOU MUST FORGET.
You may still feel the pain of a hurt – large or small. 
You may still need or choose to continue to work on healing this hurt, possibly for some time to come.  You are entitled to your memories and healing process.

But FORGIVING means you release entwinement with the person who hurt you; you set them free to be as they are, and more importantly you set yourself free.
 
You might imagine a beautiful Golden sword cutting through the ropes of attachment you have had to this person or event.
See or feel the cords falling away. 
Notice your breath.
Your memories are still yours.
Your process is still yours.
But no longer are you bonded by pain to another.
 
Take a few breaths.
 
This is a short version of what may require a longer process for you, but it is an invitation to explore that process.
 
I share it of course, because the more we are able to clear our own dramas and wounds and move toward a sense of freedom and well-being, the more gracefully we are able to offer this to our patients and families, and one another.
 
Blessings upon your day, dear ones.
May forgiveness lighten you (when, and if, you are ready).

Much Love,
Rev. Maya

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0 Comments 7/13/2022

Butterfly Somatic Heart Presence Meditation With Maya is a short (9.35 minutes to learn it, 1-3 minutes once you know the process) and simple meditation you can use in many circumstances. Try it yourself or share with others when feeling overwhelmed in the midst of acute trauma - such as during or surviving natural disaster, injury or loss, or  recollection of traumatic memory, anxiety attacks or hyper-sensitivity. This easy-to-learn process can also be used simply to relax, reconnect with self, hear one's own deepest inner wisdom or re-center in the midst of a tough day.

You can find this meditation (and soon to be others) if you

CLICK HERE.