The Sanctuary and Heart Coherence

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When I developed The Sanctuary Method, I wanted to create an approach anyone can use to build out boundaries that allow for self-empowerment. As I'm continuing on my own journey, I'm also learning that building out my own Sanctuary has brought me back to my own heart. I've always believed in leading with the heart, but in a world filled with so much division, I can't help but feel like the heart is disappearing. That's why I've begun to focus on bridging this gap through Heart Coherence.

So what is Heart Coherence? There are many scientific studies that have shown that the heart has an electromagnetic field that is 60 times larger than that of the brain. The Heartmath Institute is a non-profit that does a lot of research to measure the alignment between the heart, mind, emotions, and physical systems. Heart coherence, is the combination of heart intelligence and brain intelligence. Their studies show that activating qualities like kindness, care, and compassion, we can reduce stress, strengthen our resilience and make better decisions.

All my life, I was programmed to believe that being intelligent was not only important, but would take me further than anything else. Being kind or being sensitive was considered weak and put one at risk of others taking advantage. I was always curious so that made it easy for me to gather a lot of information. School is engineered for gathering information and sharing it back in a way that gives you good grades, and in turn, a better chance of being successful in a world that prioritizes the mind. The problem with this, is that the mind cannot give meaning to information by itself. It is the heart that converts this information into meaningful emotion and relates it to our moral compass. It is kindness and compassion that allows us to relate to others in a very different way than if we simply use our mind.

So as I'm building out my Sanctuary, I'm really focusing on my heart space. This is where I believe our intuition resides. Our heart is able to "read" the information around us through it's electromagnetic field. And that is how we "know" things about people when we meet them, or how we can tell when someone is not being honest. Leading from the heart, allows me to gather information the brain doesn't seem to have access to, and as a result, I find I'm able to make better decisions. I lost that for awhile when I worked in corporate because heart-centeredness didn't seem to be encouraged. Those who seem to be the most successful leaders were actually cruel in a way that alienated their teams and prioritized data rather than people. I don't think they are bad people, I just think they lost their connection to kindness and empathy.

My practice is to sit in meditation and focus on my heart space. I calm my thoughts and listen to what my heart tells me, what my emotions tell me. I listen to my body to see where it is speaking to me through pain or stiffness. I think about how the energy in moving throughout my body and where I tend to go to my mind instead of my heart. I am slowly learning to read this information to help me speak with kindness, express myself with compassion and take action with empathy for what others might be experiencing. How does this help me build my Sanctuary? Well, it helps me hold space for myself to ensure I have what I need, but it also lets me build flexibility into my perspective of others so when something triggers me, I am able to respond rather than react. I'm able to pause and think about what is best for me, but kind for others.

My ask of you.....think about your heart space. Have you lost connection to your heart? How do you react to all of the negative news and social media that is designed to create moral outrage? Do you notice that is what's happening, or do you simply react with a strong personal opinion? I encourage us all to be not just self aware, but also critical of the messages we get from the world around us. There is far more good happening than others would have us believe. So what do you want to contribute to the world? I want to contribute more love and kindness, and I can do that by continuing to work within, on my Sanctuary rooted in Heart Coherence.