Articles by elle

A More Affordable Way

Travel has gotten more and more complicated. Even if your plans are clear you could miss your flight, get into some bad traffic or spend more money than you intended. Even so, summer is the time when many of us dream of taking some time off work and exploring a fun or relaxing vacation destination. Whether you have planned a great trip or your budget this year keeps you close to home there is an exciting journey that is always available for your exploration. This trip can be measured in inches and leaps of faith. I’m talking about the trip from your head to your heart.

Ever Get Stuck in Your Head

Most of us spend a lot of time in our heads. We become immersed in our work, focused on the goal or caught up in figuring how to handle one situation or another. So much so that we begin to ignore our physical and emotional body. Our body may signal, “hunger” but in our pursuit to be productive we don’t acknowledge the signal or maybe grab something fast to get that pesky “hunger” off our back so we can get back to what’s seems more important. When our body says sleep, exhausted we argue our point, “But I got plenty of sleep last night, I shouldn’t have to lay down now”. Our emotions seem to have even less clout. When feelings such as fear or anger come up we ignore them or push them away by numbing out or distracting ourselves somehow. So we stay stubbornly in our heads sometimes until those subtle signals get so loud we can’t ignore them any more. If you feel like you are out of touch with your physical or emotional body there is a way to reconnect with the wealth of information stored there at the same time feel restored to connection and wholeness.

A Travel Voucher

The process is simple but not so easy. You will need to stop what you are doing and bring your attention to your heart. You can use your hands by placing them palm over palm with gentle pressure pressing in to your chest. Notice how you feel. Take two slow deep breaths, concentrate on the heart area, feel each in and out breath pass through your heart, become aware of the warmth and expansion in the chest. As you close your eyes focus on gratitude, love or a lovely scene.

Do the HeartMath

You may be thinking that’s nice but I’m really busy right now. What real difference can this simple practice make? Research shows that our heart has it’s own intelligence (see Institute of HeartMath.org). Think about the qualities of the heart: kindness, love, gratitude, compassion, non-judgment in the present moment, all qualities that bring good feelings and confidence. Connecting with these qualities inside yourself helps you to learn to live in the present moment, more authentically. As you become more authentic you feel more confident and secure and are able to face life with more ease. A more contented, fulfilled life is the result. The fact that the heart is 60% neurons, the same cells that make up your brain, influences the cranial system and organs, and the neural info sent to the brain facilitates cortical functioning- heightened mental clarity, improved decision making and increased creativity. Finding a process that actually adds positive feelings as appreciation, care and compassion is the key to counter and even reverse the effects of stress creating a more coherent environment overall.

Albert Einstein said, “The only real valuable thing is intuition”. Because our heart is the most powerful generator of rhythmic information patterns in the body our intuition comes from our heart. Cutting off this vast source of intelligence just doesn’t make sense. So whatever your travel plans are this summer remember to take a moment to focus your attention on the heart so that your intention and action can come from these wonderful qualities of the heart. Safe travels!

Contact info: Elle Garfield, ACSW 248-961-4081 egarfield10@gmail.com