The Power of Living from

your Heart:
and how-to do this    … (-space & Self-Love)

“An authentically empowered person lives in love. Love is the energy of the soul. Love is what heals the
personality. There is nothing that cannot be healed by love. There is nothing but love”
Gary Zukav

The Guest House

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.
A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.
Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they’re a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
Empty of its furniture,
Still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.
The dark thought, the shame, the malice,
Meet them at the door laughing,
and invite them in.
Be grateful for whoever comes,
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond

Rumi

Love is contagious.
When I share love. It comes back to me multiplied.
Love opens every door.

Louise Hay

Listen to the voice of love within you;

It is the voice of your own beautiful becoming.
 Mary Morrissey

Why do we need to live from our heart?

The short answer is we don’t need to …. We can stay trapped in our minds, prisoners to our egos demands
and illusions.  We can remain unaware of the programs running beneath our repetitive thoughts and
conditioned ways of being. Many people do.  They live a life that is familiar. They settle for the ordinary and
mundane, never realizing their full magnificence - never following their heart’s song.
But oh, life is so much sweeter, so much more fulfilling and peaceful when we do.  I have always been
fascinated with love. Not romantic love, but that agape love, love for humanity, compassion for the world.  
Growing up on a mission as the daughter of a preacher, I had service for others running through my veins. I
went on to train as a Social Worker and spent many years working with children, youth and women at risk. I
was dedicated to empowering others, to rescuing the world. I was going to convert everyone to love. I was
on a war against capitalism, patriarchy and greed.

Unfortunately, I was completely ignorant of my own lack of self-love.  In my striving to convert the world to a
more loving place, I had become judgmental and narrow minded.  My rose-colored glasses were tinted with
hopelessness and fear. I thought I was living from my heart space, but I was still living mostly from my ego.
My mind and my personality - my thoughts and ideals informed my way of being in the world. I was
defensive, critical, easily upset and my own harshest critic. I was not happy. I was angry at the current state
of the world. I was mad at myself for not living up to my ideals. I was critical of my body shape, my looks,
my relationships with others, my parenting skills, my inability to be the calm loving mother and partner I
wanted to be.  I was confused about how to create effective real change.

Yet life always provides the learning environment we need, the fertile ground for our growth. Unexpectedly I
found myself packing my suitcases, with a baby and toddler in hand, and following my husband to the
shifting sand and magical lands of the middle east.  Little did I know that this move would become an
important pilgrimage and catapult me into a whole new level of existence.  Little did I know that all my
carefully constructed walls, ways of being, ways of knowing, would be torn down, that I would reach the
depths of despair and isolation only to discover a new sparkling world of many possibilities shimmering on
the horizon.  Little did I know how life changing and liberating this physical, emotional, and spiritual journey
would be.

In short, I learnt to live from my heart. I discovered how to tap into my authentic power and create my own
reality. I unlocked the secret to living a life full of joy and serenity.  As an expat living in the United Arab
Emirates for the past 11 years, I have found the secret to a peaceful and joyful life. My mantra now is “I am
love” and in every moment, every situation I ask myself “are you choosing love?” Let me help you choose
love to.

What does living from your heart look like?  

What does it mean to be residing in your heart space, and living every moment from a place of love? It
means to take practical steps to identify more with your heart, to raise your heart’s vibrations by practicing
genuine appreciation and compassion for yourself and others.
Focusing on our hearts does not mean that we ignore our minds. There are times when we need to use our
heads, for example, when stopping for a pedestrian to cross the road, or suddenly stepping back onto the

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curb to avoid a car. Our brain and our minds are part of our survival mechanism, and an amazing computer
that we all need to get on with our day to day lives.  Our mind gives us the gift of imagination to create and
build and do amazing things. Our mind is not the bad guy. In fact, our mind once aligned with the
intelligence of our hearts is a transformational tool for success.
However, if we believe everything our brain tells us all the time, we tend to live in constant fear. Our ego
which we identify with our brain, likes to take everything into consideration when making a decision, and by
that, I mean everything that has ever happened to us in our lives, every message we have been told from
birth to the present.
Sometimes the voices in our head tell us happy upbeat positive stories.  This is good. But reflect for a
moment on the dominant voice inside your mind.  Is it your best friend and cheerleader or a negative
Nancy? Can you rely on the messages you tell yourself to be calm and open-minded, or do they sometimes
just flip to irrational crazy fearful ones…?
Whatever stories you tell yourself, have been collected throughout the years and are set on repeat in your
head. They have been programmed in and are now hardwired to a certain extent.  If we stay living in our
headspace, we believe that everything our mind thinks is the truth.
Pause for a moment and listen to the “monkey chatter” of your mind.  To do lists, should have lists, what if
lists, I can’t thoughts, maybe even some shadowy dark thoughts. Living from your heart means shining a
light into the shadows and seeing the gifts that they truly are.  Yes, your weaknesses are doorways to your
strengths. You see you cannot experience the Ups without the Downs, or the light filled moments without
the shadow filled ones. Living from you heart space is much quieter, and more focused on all the magic in
life.  All the possibilities. All the potential to create and be your most beautiful you is harnessed in this place
of stillness and calm.

You have the power to change the stories that you tell yourself and to change your world.  You can shift
your vibration from fear to love, from doubt to can-do. You do not have to keep on believing the stories you
have collected about yourself which may be holding you back from living a joyful life.  You can quantum
leap yourself into a frequency of love, just by learning some practical tips and life hacks.

When the heart and brain are in synergy and synchronized, we create magic.
We enter a state of harmonious flow, where our nervous system is calm and our ability to cooperate,
imagine, create and accomplish tasks while feeling joy is increased tremendously. Not only do we feel
great, our body produces hormones that provide the optimal environment for healing, growth and
restoration. We are healthier physically as well as mentally, emotionally and socially.
The key to developing this heart brain coherence is to frequently travel down to your heart, reside for a few
moments in this sacred stillness and use this intelligence to change your life.

It is to learn how to tune in to and listen to your intuition.

It is to believe that you are in essence so much more than your physical body and mind. You are also a
magnificent soul - a divine being.
It is to become the witness to your thoughts and emotions rather than being pushed around by them like a
boat on a stormy sea.
It is to learn techniques that you can use every day, in every moment, to travel down to your heart and
respond from a place of love rather than fear.
Sound good? Believe me it will revolutionize your life and even change the whole trajectory of your future.
Yes, it is that powerful to live an authentic life in alignment with your heart.

Where is this heart space?

The human heart emits the strongest electromagnetic field in our body.  This field envelops the entire body
extending out in all directions, and it can be measured up to several feet outside the body. The

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electromagnetic field of the heart is 5000 times stronger than the brain. Our heart begins to beat for the first
time omitting this field of energy when we are just 4 weeks old in utero. This is way before our brain even
begins to develop. Scientists at the HeartMath Institute (HMI) have conducted extensive research on the
power of the heart, the heart brain connection, heart intelligence and practical intuition.  
If you want to explore the Science behind the heart’s electromagnetic field and its impact on EVERYTHING
- This video by HeartMath is a good introduction.

https://youtu.be/QdneZ4fIIHE  The Heart's Intuitive Intelligence: A path to personal, social and

global coherence

Research from the Institute of HeartMath shows that emotional information is encoded in this
energetic field. As we consciously focus on feeling a positive emotion, such as care, gratitude, or
love, this electromagnetic field is affected, having a beneficial impact on our own health and well-
being, as well as those around us.

“When our vibrations are up … we respond to stressful situations with soundness, resilience and

clearer discernment. We are less vulnerable to frustration, impatience, anger, anxiety, and we feel

more self-secure and less critical of others and of ourselves. We are drawn to notice nature,

flowers and trees that we usually sleep-walk past, as our preoccupations rob us of this gift of

conscious connection.”

Doc Childre, HeartMath founder

When you choose to respond with the intelligence of your heart in every given moment, you develop heart-
brain coherence. This refers to the two-way communication between your heart and your brain. It is
commonly known that the heart is constantly responding to “orders” sent by the brain in the form of neural
signals.  For example, if we have to run away from a sabre toothed tiger – the brain tells the heart to pump
faster and our heart rate increases, pumping more oxygen to our large muscles groups so that we can run
away. However, what is not as well known is that the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the
brain sends to the heart.

HeartMath Institute Scientists have discovered that these heart signals have a significant effect on brain
function – influencing our attention, perception, memory and problem solving.  In other words, not only does
the heart respond to the brain, but the brain continuously responds to the heart.

The energetic heart is the core of our self, our essence. The heart being our link to God, to Spirit, to our
Source is the common theme of all great religions.

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The heart is like a garden. It can grow compassion or fear; resentment or love. What seeds will you plant
there? Buddha

Understand that you own nothing. Everything that surrounds you is temporary, only the love in your heart
will last forever. Buddha

An Open Heart is an Open Mind. Dalai Lama

A Merry Heart doeth good like a medicine. Prov 17:22

How to begin this journey of living from your heart?

“The greatest journey a man will take, is the eighteen inches from his head to his heart”
Andrew Bennett

How to begin living from a place of self-love, stillness and intuition, instead of fear, worry and doubt.  An
easy way is by doing the simple exercises outlined in the workbook. The first one which is taught by the
HeartMath Institute is a quick coherence technique - a breathing and visualization exercise to synchronize
your heart and mind. Try it now.

The second way to start this transformational journey into your heart, is to begin noticing every time you
have an emotion.  Become the witness to the emotion instead of being swept up by it. When you experience
anger, instead of reacting the way you normally would.  You learn to be curious and observant, to notice
where in your body you can feel it. There is another exercise in the workbook to help you explore your
emotions. The purpose of this is to help you gain emotional freedom.  Once you shift from experiencing the
emotion unconsciously to witnessing yourself experiencing the emotion, it is a major light bulb moment. You
become authentically empowered to choose how you react. Suddenly you develop this super power of
choice.  More than that you can develop the extraordinary capacity to send your pain, disappointment, hurt,
anger, need to please, need to control, perfectionism… whatever it is you are feeling…. Down in to you
heart space and set it FREE! You tap into a river of calm and joy that is flowing beneath the surface of every
moment every second.  You develop the sonar equipment needed to look beneath the ocean, beneath the
tip of the iceberg, to the source. And when you do this you discover unconditional love for yourself and your
self-worth. You realize that you are worthy and that these emotions are all just signposts to help you along
the path to accepting your worthiness.

There are only two states of being. We are either in Love or Fear. When we experience an
emotion that is based in fear, we feel disconnected from others, we feel closed off and our heart
feels small, tight and cold. We build a wall around our hearts and keep people away. We draw
lines in the sand between us and them. We feel different, misunderstood, alone. When we
experience an emotion based in Love, we feel connected to others, we feel open and our heart
feels big, expansive and warm. We want to cooperate, share and encourage others. We
experience a sense of connectedness and one with all. Living from your heart space means
always returning to a place of love, a place of connection and expansion.

Once we learn how to keep returning to an open heart instead of a closed off one, our relationships
with our partner, our children, our colleagues and even our clients begins to change. Our heart’s
electromagnetic field begins to affect the way people feel around us. When I began living from my

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heart it became glaringly obvious when I wasn’t. When I was there, my life flowed, the people
around me were happier and more agreeable, the sun even seemed to shine brighter. When I
wasn’t, even the dog barked more, the cats were on edge and the cars on the road seemed more
aggressive. It might sound far-fetched and a little crazy, but how we approach each moment and
each day makes a big difference. If we can continue to keep our hearts open, and emotions
flowing through us with awareness, rather than reacting to everything and becoming bogged down
with old patterns and programs of reacting, we start to achieve so much more. Projects begin to
manifest, relationships start to heal, and the world becomes a more loving, joyful peaceful place to
be in. Even if the actual world around us remains the same, our reaction to it and experience of
reality has changed. We no longer become so tossed around by the things happening to us. We
understand that everything is for our expansion. We welcome all of our emotions with curiosity
and learn from them.

Workbook

1. Heart coherence tool

https://www.heartmath.org/resources/heartmath-tools/quick-coherence-technique-for-adults/ (note to self -

they have slides explaining this technique on this page)

To begin find a moment to physically touch this heart space.  Sitting or lying down comfortably, place one
hand, or both on to your chest, and start to feel your beating heart.  Take your attention down into this area
of your body. Now witness your breath, watching it move in and out. Up and down.  Feel your breath
opening and expanding your chest. Feel the rise with the inhale, and gentle return to center with the exhale.
Notice how you feel.  Perhaps your heart beat slows a little, and your breath deepens or lengthens. No need
to make anything happen, just watch … and wait. All you need to do is be the one watching.  It’s that
simple. If any thoughts come, let them …. And then allow them to move on by like clouds drifting through
the screen of your mind across a blue sky.

“You are the sky. Everything else - it’s just the weather.” Pema Chodron

Now begin to smile at your heart.  Allow a gentle smile to tip the corners of your mouth up.  Feel a warmth
spreading across your chest. Allow your throat area to soften.  Send yourself love and gratitude …. Just for
being you. No judgments, no expectations, just love and acceptance for whatever you are feeling, whatever
you are thinking…. for simply being you. You are love. You are beautiful. You are enough.  You are more
than enough. You are amazing!

Practice this simple exercise daily. It only takes a few minutes.  I use it whenever I feel myself becoming
stuck in my head, or in an endless spiral of anxious negative thoughts.  Stop, pause, breathe, connect with
your heart.

2. Witnessing your emotions.

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Remember a time and situation when you experienced the following emotions. Write down where
you felt the emotion in your body. Did your throat tighten, or stomach do flips? Did your heart beat
faster or your back begin to ache? Maybe you felt a tightening across your forehead or a sensation
of pain in your chest? What did you think? What did you say? How did you act? How long did the
emotion remain with you? How did it impact the people around you? Was your heart open or
closed? Did you feel connected to others or disconnected from others?

Anger

Joy

Disgust

Excitement

Compassion

Anxiety

Sadness

3. Start your morning routine with love.

This exercise is based on Louise Haye’s Mirror Work.

This is an example of a morning routine, but you can do it any time of the day. When you
look at yourself in the mirror, look deep in to your eyes, as if you are staring beyond the
physical appearance of your body in to your depths, perhaps your soul. Now say “I LOVE
YOU ……. (your name). It might sound silly at first, even fake. But the idea is to keep trying
it every day.

What we tell ourselves, starts to be the voice we hear inside our head. We need to change the programming
from negative critical thinking, to positive affirming thoughts. Telling ourselves that we love ourselves is
one of the most powerful ways to begin living from our heart space. It is only when we love ourselves that
we can truly love others.

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 4. Start a Gratitude Journal

The more thankful I became, the more my bounty increased. That’s because -for sure – what you
focus on expands. When you focus on the goodness in life, you create more of it.

Oprah Winfrey

If the only prayer you said was thankyou. That would be enough.

Eckhart Tolle

Take a quiet moment every day to reflect on at least three things you are grateful for. What are you thankful
for having, experiencing, doing or being right here right now? There is always something to be grateful for.