One of the most effective ways to help ourselves and help humanity at the same time is to deepen our heart connections with each other. Neuroscience has found that our brains are wired for positive connections with others. When we’re in heart-based interactions, our brains release feel-good chemicals that have beneficial effects on our entire system.
Social/emotional wellness involves fostering positive connections with family, friends, co-workers, and even people we meet in daily life — at the store checkout counter, the bank, the delivery person, etc. Studies show that people who have strong heart connections and harmonious friendships tend to have a greater sense of security, increased feelings of joy, and more satisfaction with life in general.
People often have only surface-level connections with family or friends, along with some care, but miss a deeper understanding of the other person. This can lead to a sense of isolation and the epidemic of loneliness we are seeing throughout the developed world. Cultivating stronger heart connections starts by extending warm-hearted feelings. As we communicate with compassionate care and kindness, this energetically warms the heart connection in our interactions, which results in more harmony and better outcomes. When we connect with warmth and intentional care, we listen and hear more deeply. This increases our intuitive sensitivity to another person’s feelings and essence, which helps with deeper understanding.
The more care and compassion we have for each other, the more it increases the heart energy or love flowing through our system. This can be effective for restoring our own mental and emotional balance and reducing personal stress. For humanity to dissipate walls of separation between people of different backgrounds, beliefs, and values, we need to connect from the heart to establish rapport and truly understand each other. This requires humility and a heart’s desire to understand. We don’t have to agree with another person’s views. We can share our truth from our heart about what we feel — but holding to a mind stance only perpetuates feelings of separation and disconnection. Connecting from the heart supports the dignity, respect, and deep listening needed for effective communication between people with different beliefs.
Scientific research is showing that, whether we like it or not, we are all energetically interconnected. Acknowledging this interconnectivity is essential for healing separation and finding solutions to our personal and societal problems. Each person’s thoughts, attitudes, and emotions emit energies through their heart’s electromagnetic field that impact their brain and body and impact others as well. Researchers have observed how a heart-connected conversation can synchronize brain patterns. The people in a group who listened and worked to seek consensus were the ones whose brains synchronized with others first, which then drove synchrony in the larger group.
HeartMath Institute is collaborating with scientists and institutions to study the interconnected nature of people as key to healing the separation, which is at the heart of most of humanity’s problems. The potential of this interconnectivity research is to motivate millions of people to take more responsibility for their mental and emotional energies and understand the importance of heart-connected communication. Then, getting along with each other won’t be just an altruistic notion. It will be an intelligent, practical, common sense way of life.
It starts with each of us realizing that heart connection matters in day-to-day life. Here are a few heart connection tips that we can practice, which will also help release some of the stress we energetically accumulate from our own, others, and the world’s challenges.
Heart Connection Tips
- A fast-acting practice for deeper heart connection is to create an attitude of care, kindness, and respect for another person before and during conversations. The practice of intentionally connecting with these heart qualities first sets an energetic tone that makes it easier for heart energy to flow in our interactions. When genuine care precedes communication, then it’s easier for our heart feelings to inform us of the most effective way to communicate that’s best for all concerned. This prevents unnecessary stress and separation, along with increased coherence and harmony in our relationships.
- It’s especially smart to “prep” before conversations that could be sensitive. You can “prep” by radiating heart feelings to the person for a few minutes before a phone call, Zoom meeting, in-person meeting, etc. See yourself staying calm while speaking or listening, without forming opinions, judgments, or conclusions. (This part takes a little more practice, but it’s well worth it.) You’ll find that “prep” can make a big difference in the flow of communication and the outcome.
- Giving compassionate latitude to each other (and to yourself) is another important tip, as we are all affected by today’s increasing challenges, whether extreme weather events, society’s polarizing values, people’s chaotic behaviors, or global unease from uncertainty.
- Another effective heart connection tip is to hold a genuine feeling of appreciation for the person as you communicate. Holding others in appreciation radiates an energy field that increases respect for each other and creates a safe zone for warm-hearted communication.
- A Heart Connection Meditation you can practice:
- Sit in a quiet place and start by breathing in feelings of love and appreciation, as this activates your heart coherence.
- Now, envision your communications and interactions to be warmer, more compassionate, and kinder. This encourages compassionate latitude for others, which can powerfully reduce much of the stress people are experiencing in these times.
- Now send your deepest care and compassion to people you feel separate from.
Realize that as more of us increase our intentional care and compassion in interactions, it raises the vibration of the energetic environment, making it easier for more people to open their hearts to each other. This will facilitate the global heart awakening.
(Originally published in GCI August 1, 2023 – Full Moon Synchronized Care Focus)
