HearthMath: Activate the heart of humanity
/By Greta Seitz
In our most recent Essential Conversation with Deborah Rozman, President and Co-CEO of HeartMath we talked about what’s at the heart of the matter… the heart! The intellectual and spiritual organ is often overlooked but let us not forget the power within such a vessel for deep love and gratitude. While unable to join us in person, our session began with a video interview between Patricia Neal and Deborah Rozman to discuss a bit about HeartMath and the power of heart science which I highly recommend you watch.
During our time together as a community of practice, we explored the question of, “How do we follow through with our hearts intuitive guidance and commitment?” Following Deborah’s video message, we heard from two community members on their own experience with HeartMath or the matters of the heart. We first heard from Cheryl Alexander Sterns who spoke of coherence and the physical body response she experienced when she turned to breath work and gratitude. Unfortunately Cheryl had to leave early to be with her husband in a time of need but the response of the community was filled with overwhelming love and understanding as Cheryl demonstrated firsthand the learnings she has gained from Heartmath. Two comments in the chat I found worth sharing are as follows:
“Cheryl, Thanks for sharing your care and compassion with us at the time you are also holding the space for your husband. I have also been a Heartmath practitioner since 1992. It is special to see you practicing one of the messages of Heartmath and demonstrating for us how to be cool under the pressure, one of their practices.”
“Cheryl - my heart goes out to you and your husband - thank you for demonstrating in real time - how the heart can be there for us in the middle of a personal crisis.“
Following Cheryl, we heard from recent conversation starter, Tatiana Riabokin who began by noting, “Matter is the material world; heart is the unseen world. We cannot separate heart from matter.” While we may try or even feel that we can in our own heads, our hearts are much more than abstract and intangible but powerful and a real force for good. From this, a community member and longtime convener, Terry Chapman offered a beautiful poem in response.
“When the heart is purified (i.e. freed of its captivity to the rational mind and personal emotional drama), it can assume its true function as an organ of spiritual perception, directly aligning itself with a greater clairvoyance that is in fact objective because it corresponds to an order of reality far higher and more coherent than the dichotomized mental projections we mistake for ‘objective’ in our own upside-down world. I have come to think of this, only half-jokingly, as the ‘icloud of unknowing’, from which mystical truth, seamless and whole, can be holographically downloaded by every attuned human heart, no matter how widely separated in physical time and space.”
Bourgeault, Cynthia. The Corner of Fourth and Nondual (p. 12).
Another powerful observation from Tatiana was when she noted that if we, as conveners, could spread our impact and convene with groups in other communities/ groups/ regions across the globe, we could enact real, powerful, and purposeful change in the world. Can you imagine! This is one of the reasons we love the ripple as a metaphor for change because even the smallest droplet of personal coherence can create vast waves of social impact. This is the reason we have these truly Essential Conversations, not to feel good in our participation or to check it off the list of things to do, but to cultivate purposeful dialogue surrounding issues to promote awareness and action. With this in mind, before moving into small group discussions we took a meaningful pause to center ourselves before we transitioned into new conversations. As a community, we all took 3 deep breaths, breathing in love and breathing out fear. With the intention of holding the people of Ukraine in our hearts, we were able to send our coherence outwards. I encourage you in times of distress, calamity, and uncertainty, to this practice exercise to center and soothe not only the mind but the heart as well.
Inspired by the meaningful words of our two responders, we moved into our small group discussions to give the opportunity for all voices to be heard and put convening at the center of our practice. The questions at the core of the Wisdom Circles included,
What is a positive response in times of extreme disruption?
In times of ongoing disruption, what practices do you use to return to resonance, return to your center?
How does this support your leadership?
In coming back to the large group and reflecting on the conversations in the Wisdom Circles, many were inspired to share reflections on their conversations. Someone offered up a question that I loved because it really got you thinking, “Where in your body is your brain?” Often times we forget just how intelligent our hearts are in addition to the spiritual power they posses. Furthermore, lots of reflections on gratitude emerged. Take a moment and recall a time when you experienced appreciation / gratitude for someone or something. Did you feel that sensation in your heart, whether it be a warmth or a swell. Even just a moment of gratitude can ignite the heart and enact powerful change not only for you but those around you. That is powerful! As your go forward, I urge you to pause and take moments, you deserve it! Take moments to pause, breath in love and breath out fear. Take moments to hold intentions for those you care for, those you worry about, or those who need a little something extra. Take moments to sit with gratitude. Feel those moments and allow your heart to grow and be strengthened. Feel the effects and share that love and gratitude with those around you, watching as a singular droplet can grow and spread to create much larger waves.
