Heartmanity's Blog

Dr. Charles Raison said in an interview recently with The Sun magazine: “We’ve replaced a fictitious certainty with an honest confusion.” A statement has never felt truer.

Whatever certainty we may have thought we possessed has since blown away like an empty plastic bag in the wind. These past few years have been unprecedented and challenging, with disruption felt to our core. The pandemic has taught us many lessons, and one shouts louder than most: we affect one another—profoundly. In times like these, emotional fitness, resiliency, empathy, and inner peace are priceless treasures.

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What will make this year one to remember…and treasure?

According to Pew Research Center, consistent polls show that spending time with our loved ones creates the most meaning in our lives. Yet if anger, anxiety, and knee-jerk reactions dominate our emotional experience, they can profoundly detract from our ability to make meaningful connections with others—even those we deeply love.

Estimated reading time: 6 minutes

Some people, when designing their home, choose furniture and accessories by asking themselves questions in this order: 1) Is it beautiful?  2) Is it comfortable?  3) Would it help me create a space to improve the quality of my life?

While these questions are all reasonable, we suggest that you ask them in the opposite order. Instead of being caught up in creating a designer home that could grace the cover of Architectural Digest, why not take some time to analyze what type of space you need to live the best life possible?

We have all had others come to us for support. Friends, family, and even colleagues trust each other by the nature of their relationships. Whether the relationship is personal or professional, a part of relationships is developing bonds through a connection that develops trust, closeness, and camaraderie. We lean on people to be there for us for life’s challenges and celebrate our joys and triumphs. What helps to create bonds in relationships is our ability to relate to and genuinely support others in a way that resonates with what they are experiencing.

We are all too familiar with the blame game. When we’re upset or exasperated in life, blaming our spouse, child, friend, or boss is an easy route to relief. You know the drill: “If you wouldn’t procrastinate fixing things around the house, then I wouldn’t nag.” Or if you weren’t so sensitive, we could discuss things calmer.” And sometimes a person moves to name-calling: “You’re so frustrating or selfish or hurtful or ….” In the moment, we feel a release of pent-up energy and uncomfortable emotions. But the thing is, I’ve never heard anyone say they enjoy being blamed or that they liked [...]

Self-care has many definitions. Just as people are unique and have different preferences and desires, defining self-care for ourselves is also unique. Self-nurturance is about being aware of our own needs, paying attention to, and actively choosing to nurture our needs consistently. It's vital to respond to our ever-changing lives, moment-by-moment, by caring for ourselves. Being our best in all aspects of mind, body, and spirit is crucial to our health and well-being.

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, so many of us have been longing to go back to normal. However, what would be more helpful is examining which parts of “normal” are worth going back to.

Now is the perfect time to examine what parts of our lives are no longer serving us—and create a reality that supports our goals, visions, and dreams.

If you’re learning about mindfulness, perhaps you’re curious whether mindful living will improve the quality of your life. So why is mindfulness important, and does it make a difference? There still may be many misconceptions about mindfulness, such as it’s a Buddhist practice, or it requires sitting in a lotus position for hours. Regardless, it is becoming more widely accepted—and for good reason. Find out why it's becoming so popular!

Estimated reading time: 4.5 minutes