Heart Meditation

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There are many heart-based meditations, and today I would like to share my version with you. I find that it puts a wonderful happy shine on my day and I hope it will for you too. Here it is.

Heart Meditation Instructions

This meditation can be done as a standard sitting meditation, but I find it also works well as an exercise meditation, such as walking, running, biking, etc. And you could also use it as a theme for your day coming back to it throughout your day.

1. Focus on your heart.
2. Imagine warmth, love, and compassion filling the space where your heart resides.
3. Feel the love for yourself as you would for a small child or an infant. The love is unconditional, pure and overflowing. You needn’t do anything to deserve it. In fact there is no judgment at all. Judgment is the polar opposite of love.
4. As your mind wanders, whatever comes up, send it love. Whether it is a friend, an “enemy,” an insect, work problems, the sun, anything, just send it warm compassion and loving-kindness. Be overflowing. If you have trouble getting started, then fake it ’til you make it. It never hurts you to send love and it just might help the recipient. Everyone needs love. Find the tiniest morsel of good and start there. Send love to that nugget of goodness. Eventually, send the love unconditionally, because in the end the love comes back to you!
5. After each thought, gently keep coming back to the focus on your heart sending this area warmth, and love. If this feels too abstract, just roll with it. Make up your own rules about what this meditation means and how to generate those feelings of love and compassion.
6. End your meditation with gratitude for all the good and all the love in your life. Make an intention to notice the good in everything and to give compassion to all you meet that day.

If You Feel Yourself Reject This – Read This First

You may feel that this meditation is very foo-foo, polly-anna-ish, sweet, and just a little “too-much.” That’s because it may be uncomfortable for you to do this. We each have doors that are closed in the name of protecting ourselves. I would encourage you to simply suspend your judgment, allow yourself to feel uncomfortable, allow yourself to feel silly, to feel love, and allow this meditation to open your heart and release your happiness. Tell yourself you can close the doors afterwards…  but you probably won’t want to! 🙂

How Heart Meditation Will Help You

When you actively practice compassion and loving-kindness, you establish new habits and patterns for your brain. You can’t love unconditionally and judge at the same time. When you break the judging habit, you break the self-judging habit. When you allow others to be loved just they way they are, you can open yourself up to be loved just the way you are. The net result is happiness bubbles up to the surface.

And of course, we all know that meditation is good for our health. It lowers our stress, it reduces pain, improves sleep, supports your immune system for less illness, and can alleviate depression. But did you know that it can also change your genes for better cellular metabolism (more energy for you!) and also for a better response to oxidative stress (slower aging process!!)

Here’s to your heart, your health, and your happiness!

Please Share

What do you think? Have you tried a heart meditation? Do you have any visualizations or methods that work well for you? Would love to hear your thoughts!

If you found this helpful, thank you in advance for sharing it with your friends, network and family!