The Gift of a Grateful Heart
 AUTHENTIC AWARENESS® by Kathy Mason
Love, care, appreciation, and gratitude are all emotional states that nurture
and support your whole body. When you live in these states, you feel alive and
resilient. Your heart rhythms are smooth and flowing, your nervous system is
balanced and your whole body feels at ease. You feel like you can accomplish
anything and you have abundant energy.
A wareness is the light that is always on inside you-it is
your essence. The truth is that awareness alone, which is alert stillness, can
change you and improve the quality of your life.
If you pay attention, you will witness that thoughts come and go followed by
emotions and physical reactions. You can choose to live in a state of acceptance
of whatever happens and this will minimize tensions in your body as well as
conserve your energy.
When you judge, criticize or condemn others, your whole body feels tighter as
you get ready to fight or run while sinking deeper into a negative emotional
state. The more you do this, the tighter your muscles become followed by pains
in various parts of your body. Your facial expressions also reflect this tension
and others can see and sense this from you.
What does the word peace mean to you? The holiday season is a time when we
speak of, "peace on earth and good will toward men". To many people it means the
end of war on a global scale but there is a war much closer to home-the one that
goes on inside you.
Do you ever have inner conflicts that sometimes result in lashing out at
others-even those closest to you? The holidays can create pressures that mount
until you emotionally explode or it can be a time of celebrating one another and
planning for a happy new year.
When you feel tightness around your heart and feel your breath high in your
chest, your body is telling you that you've moved into a negative state. This is
a good time to stop what you're doing, place one hand over your heart and bring
your attention inside to this area. Just this simple act of awareness will
lessen your tensions and bring you into the clarity of the present moment.
Frequently, smile to your heart and feel appreciation as you observe your
breath softly flowing in and out. You and everyone around you will feel the love
that radiates from a grateful heart and you will celebrate the togetherness and
joy that you share during this holiday season.
Kathy Mason, Licensed HeartMath® Coach, Authentic Awareness® Training,
kathymason@adelphia.net
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