The Power of Smile

The Power of Smile

Emotion is an energy and affects our physical body directly. Negative emotions decrease willpower, turn down efficiency at work, and adversely affect health and mind. We smile in physical layer by contracting 15 difference face muscles and in turn moving more than 230 from 630 total face muscles. Based on a research, smiling motivates brain to release endomorphin which slows down infections, relieves pain, inhibits stress hormone, and increases heart beat and blood circulation. Three minutes of smiling has the same effect as upper body exercises. Five minutes of smiling has better results compared to five hours of high intensity exercise. Ten seconds of smiling has the same result as paddling a boat for three minutes. Smiling is a really wonderful exercise.

You are happy because you are smiling…

Smiling is a way to express divine happiness in you heart. Everybody smile when they are happy. So how can we smile without a reason? Does it not feel weird or unnatural? We will change our way of thinking for a while. Aside from smiling because of a happiness, actually we can be happy because we are smiling. SMILE TO INVITE HAPPINESS. A research has shown that just by pulling both ends of our lips to smile will incite positive biological reaction in our body.

Release your emotions by smiling

Our brain is not meant to process two separate information at one time. We cannot be happy and sad at the same time. We are only be able to be happy or sad but not both. This is a protection mechanism by which our brain prevents ambiguities which potentially damage our mind. What to do if you want to smile while experiencing negative emotions? Initially, you might feel tense because of the emotions. However, try to smile and you will experience a miracle. Negative emotion will just go away and disappear.

Smiling is not just simple movements of face muscles. Smiling affects your life positively. It is not easy to smile when we are faced with hard situation, but try to pull you lips. And you will soon realize the negative emotion will disappear by a smile. Try to smile everyday and see the difference on your face. Realize the continuous change to a better way. Don't people say that smiling invites fortune?

Smile even when you are on your own. The Smile of your deepest heart is always there, trying to surface. Happiness and the joy are our divine nature.

STEP TO OPEN OUR HEART

IT’S EASY

The great news is that no special talent is needed to open your heart. Everyone has a heart, and it is your birthright to open your heart and enjoy. Some will be able to feel their hearts right away, while for others it can take a little longer.

If you are having difficulty with feeling your heart, it is because you are not relaxed enough and you are trying to open your heart, rather than feeling your heart open.

Feeling your heart is very different from observing your heart. If you are observing the experience, you are not properly in your heart.

Initially, some people may not be aware of the feeling in their heart because they are only used to “feeling” from their physical senses, such as being pinched or tickled, hot or cold, sweet or salty.

The feeling from the heart is most similar to what you feel when you are happy and joyful. This is not to be confused with emotional expressions.

RECOGNIZING THE DIFFERENCE

Head

1. Take one minute and think about a problem you are having at work, home or elsewhere.
2. Now realize which part of you was active and what happened. Can you notice that your brain or head was dominant?
3. You may have experienced a pressure or heaviness in your head area as you thought about the problem. This is normal and it is how many people experience most of their lives.

Heart

1. Remember a happy or joyful moment you have experienced. Re-experience the feeling of the happy or joyful moment again. Don’t visualize or try to capture the details…. just relax and re-experience the feeling again, as if you were in that moment.
2. Now, realize which part of you became activated and what had happened.
3. Many of you will have experienced a nice feeling in the center of your chest. That is the very beginning stage of feeling your heart.

The above exercise can help you distinguish the difference when you are in your head and when you are in your heart. It is important for us to know the difference. If we are not able to clearly distinguish head from heart, then we will be very limited in our capacity to live a heart centered life.

(source : www.heartsanctuary.org)

TYPICAL CHALLENGE OF USING HEART

Thinking You’re in Your Heart

Many people know that we are supposed to follow our heart, listen to our heart and live from our heart. Indeed, many people think and believe they are in their heart. However, thinking, believing or visualizing will not bring someone into their heart because these are functions of the brain. We cannot follow our heart from our brain nor can we use our head to get into our heart.

Why it has been so hard to get in Your Heart?

Experiencing the peace, joy, love and gratitude of our hearts is actually a simple process. However, due to our conditioning, we have learned to be brain dominant and come to believe this to be a normal and complete existence, for our educational training has taught us to use just our intellectual and mental functions. Therefore, most people have never received proper guidance or education on how to be in their heart, the greatest gift that life offers. People ‘try’ to be in their hearts and fail to realize that it is this “effort” that keeps them anchored in their heads. Most commonly, when people think they are in their hearts, they are really in their head. Or a part of them may be scratching the surface of their heart while the biggest part of them is observing the process. This act of observation keeps them separated from their heart, yet they may think they are having a great heart experience. In reality, they are only experiencing a minute fraction of what is available. Joy and love are boundless and can only be experienced in the depths of the heart, when we are able to be in our hearts with our full being.

Hesitancy in Opening Your Heart

Even though we have been told the importance of opening our hearts, we are often hesitant in doing so. The reason is that there is a concern, or perhaps even a fear, that opening our hearts will make us vulnerable or that we may get hurt again like we did in the past. We may equate an open heart with emotional hurts from our past. Paradoxically, opening our heart does not mean that we will be easily exposed to negative emotions. On the contrary, as our heart opens and becomes stronger, positive heart felt feeling will grow and automatically reduces negative emotions. Our heart cannot hurt us. But, completely opening our hearts will heal us on the deepest levels so that we can feel whole, complete, satisfied and fulfilled from moment to moment in our lives.

Emotions versus Feeling from our Heart

There is very big difference between ‘emotions’ and ‘feeling’ from the heart. Anger, fear, worry, resentment, guilt, sadness, jealousy, insecurity and arrogance are examples of the many emotions that people experience. Following emotions is not productive because it’s like putting wood on the fire. By following emotions we end up complicating our relationships usually leading to repetitive and unpleasant experiences. Following emotions also dirties the field of the heart and creates clouds that block the radiance of the light from our hearts. By contrast, ‘feeling’ are the subtle qualities of our heart. Love, joy, compassion, appreciation, and gratitude are feeling from our heart. That is why we say “heart felt love and gratitude”. Being filled with positive heart felt feeling is the key to happiness and true fulfillment.

Our Limiting the Direct Heart Connection

Rather than experiencing the direct connection between one’s heart and the True Source, many of us have typically connected (or been taught to connect) to an intermediary. The nature of an ‘intermediary’ means that something, or someone, is placed between the direct connection of the core of one’s heart and the True Source. Consequently, the fullest expression of love is limited. Similarly, when we offer devotional sentiments to any being in human form, or any being on another dimension, we limit ourselves and our spiritual potential because we create a boundary between the core of our heart and the Source of Light and Love.

(source : www.heartsanctuary.org)

OPENING OUR HEART

Opening our Hearts

Opening our heart as big as possible is the greatest gift that we offer ourselves and to the world. Opening our heart has a profound healing affect on all levels of our being as well as on our families and communities. The more we allow our hearts to open, the more we can share love. For peace, joy, and love radiates from the core of our hearts. If we really listen to and feel our inner calling, we will realize that our hearts want to open and let the light and love to do wonderful things for ourselves, our families and communities.

When we open our hearts, we deepen our spiritual connection to the True Source, and this allows us to live genuinely and authentically in the sacredness of love. Then we can begin to realize that the True Source, as the Ultimate Source of Love and Light, has Loved us completely in every moment of our existence. Indeed, there has never been a moment in our existence, when this was not the truth, because True Source can never stop Loving us and all beings.

(Note: We prefer the term ‘True Source’ because it is a neutral term which does not have a charged history. Feel free to replace the term ‘True Source’, with whatever phrase for you which represents the Ultimate Source of Love and Light).

Where does the Peace, Love and Joy Originate From?

The deepest peace and love that is available to us in our earthly existence is the spark of light and love in the core of our hearts. This spark is the purest aspect of our deepest self and is directly connected to the Source of Love & light. The more we allow the blessings of love and light to purify and open our hearts, the more the love and light from the core of our being becomes free to radiate in all directions to every heart everywhere. Everyone has a spark of love and light in the core of their heart. However, not every spark is radiating freely and sweetly.When we first begin to open our hearts, the nice feeling we experience may only be felt as a peaceful and calm feeling. As the layers of our heart are purified, not only are we able to feel the peace and the calmness, we are able to feel the deep joy, love and light that radiates from the core of our heart. At any time we can then just stop, do nothing and realize and feel that the Love is sweetly pulling us deeper into the Love….toward the core inside of our heart. And this never stops if we allow it to take us there. When the clouds of impurity surrounding our hearts are dissolved, then the love and light can be experienced without obstruction in its purest joy.

Why we are here?

The ultimate purpose of our life is to love the True Source completely with all of our heart. To the head/brain this statement might seem debatable. However, the core of our heart, which is calling to take us ‘back home’ to the Source of Love and Light, knows this to be true. But the direct path home to the cherished goals of our existence can only happen by embracing and surrendering completely to the purest love - the most subtle, most sublime form of love – that of the Ultimate Source of all. It is only through this purest love that our essence of being can return home.

We are being invited to open our hearts and be instruments of Love and Light by sharing the blessings of this love with the hearts of every being. When we share this love as an instrument, we are also loving the True Source and getting closer to the home of our True Self. This means we are getting closer to the Ultimate Destination available to us. So now is the time for our deepest awakening – loving The Source of Love and Light completely with our heart and whole being and becoming the instrument of light and love that we are intended to be.

Our life on earth is a great gift. To live our life without opening our heart and loving the True Source completely is to miss out on the real meaning and purpose of why we are here. Equally, being mindful, or using intellect or logic, cannot take us home.

(source : www.heartsanctuary.org)

LEARNING ABOUT HEART

Since Using our Heart is very important, Why We have Not Done this Before?

Our education has focused on the “education of the brain”.

Head/brain Intelligence is what society typically calls “normal”. It is the way our whole educational system and families have taught us to function. It is how we learned to think, reason, rationalize, categorize, judge and problem solve – all qualities valued, and therefore reinforced, in later working life. Yet, head/brain intelligence is frequently self-centered and motivated for personal gain, for the bottom line is invariably “What’s in it for me”. “Butting heads” is an expression that represents why there is so much friction and conflict in people’s lives and in the world. While heads have a tendency to collide, the nature of the heart is to share.

We have been distracted in following the impulse of the brain rather than the heart

We have come to believe being brain dominant to be a normal existence. As a result, we have not fully realized how this colors our perceptions, determines what we think is reality, or how this keeps us disconnected from true joy and our deepest purpose here on earth. For example, ‘Desire’ is often one of the ways that our heads/brains distract us from realizing that contentment and fulfillment can only be experienced in our heart, because our heart is the center of peace, love and joy. Following desires help us to remain in illusion because they keep us thinking that they will lead to fulfillment, when in reality, all they do is lead to more desires. Seeking desires is a means of attempting to fill the vacuum that is created by a life not lived in Heartfullness. But, chasing desires is similar to running on a treadmill. No matter how long you run, you don’t get very far, and you end up where you started. By contrast, when you follow your heart, you are truly getting somewhere. You are tuned to the deeper pulse of life, and you are expanding into light and love.

The difference between emotions and feeling from the heart, were never clarified before.

Many of us did not realize that there is a difference between emotions and the subtle feeling of our heart. The subtle feeling of our heart are the natural by-product of love, whereas emotions are created from our reactive responses to the environment.

We were not taught how to enjoy and be in our hearts.

We learned in almost every moment to be brain dominant, and very seldom did we truly get to experience our hearts. There was not a proper understanding or experience that our heart is the center of feeling and the key to happiness and joy. Many of us were actually taught not to feel, because all priority was given to the rational thinking mind.

Our hearts have not been sufficiently open due to accumulation of stuck energies polluting the layers of our hearts

Our hearts have become more closed because our hearts have been filled with negative emotions from past experiences, interactions, and misunderstandings. An important part of opening our hearts is the process of allowing the blessings from the True Source to help us forgive others and ourselves completely. Where we have held onto emotions of judgment, anger, fear, sadness, resentments, disappointments, arrogance, self-righteous positioning, or other emotional expressions, then the negative energies from these have muddied the field of our heart. As a result of these stuck energies, our hearts have not been able to open completely. But no one, except ourselves, can dirty the field of our heart and only the Love and Light of the True Source can properly cleanse and take us into the inner depths of our heart.

We have not yet learned to follow our heart from within our heart.

We have learned to achieve and accomplish through focus, effort and trying. These ways fail us when we try to get into our hearts, for we can only experience our heart by letting go of all concepts, thoughts, focus and effort. Instead we can relax and enjoy the gentle feeling of our heart.

What Our Heart is Not

Our heart is not a place where we get hurt; it is a place where we heal.

Our heart is not a place where we are taken advantage of; it is a center for making clear, insightful and wise choices.

Our heart is not a place where we can be manipulated; it is the center of clarity where we can experience truth.

Our heart is not a place of weakness, but the place of our greatest strength.

Our heart is not a place that can be contaminated by others, because we are the only ones that can pollute the field of our heart

(source : www.heartsanctuary.org)

HEART, center of Joy

What and Where is Our Heart?

Our heart is our center of ‘feeling’. By contrast, our head is the center of thinking and the center of ego. A happy fulfilled life is lived immersed in Love, joy, and gratitude. These are feeling, not thoughts, so this is why knowing your heart is crucial. By learning to follow our heart we learn to utilize our heart intelligence which guides us to make loving wise choices, thereby supporting us to be successful on all levels of life. The heart we are referring to here is not our physical heart. It is our non-physical heart that resides in the center of our chest, at the level of our armpits.

When we first learn to become centered in the heart, we usually need to help our heart become more active. So, it is very helpful to touch the heart at the exact point at the center of the chest at the level of the armpits using one or several fingers without applying pressure. Touching it will make your heart become more active. At the core of our heart is our True Self, the spark of Light and Love. It is our true identity and who we really are at the deepest level of being, beyond all boundaries of space and time. This spark is the purest aspect of our deepest self and is directly connected to the Ultimate Source of Light and Love, The True Source.

(Note: We prefer the term ‘True Source’ because it is a neutral term which does not have a charged history. Feel free to replace the term True Source, with whatever phrase for you represents the Ultimate Source of Love and Light).

Our heart, is therefore, the:

• Key to our connection to True Source
• Center of peace
• Center of calmness
• Center of true happiness/joy
• Center of love
• Key to our physical, mental and emotional health
• Key to our spiritual growth
• The center for heart intelligence

Why Heart?

• Our heart is special because it is at the core of our heart that we have the direct connection with the Ultimate Source.
• Our heart is, therefore, the door to our True Home, and our ultimate destination. This is why it is so important for our hearts to realize and remember that the True Source is the Source of Love and Light, and the Source of our existence.
• Our heart is the center for receiving the blessings of Love and Light from this Source.
• Our heart is the center of feeling the peace, calmness, love, gratitude and joy because the blessings of Love and Light are radiating every moment of every day.
• Our heart is calling us, and inviting us to relax, smile, and enjoy all of the gifts that Love and Light offers. Moreover, our heart wants to be free to be an instrument of this Light and Love.

Why Follow Our Heart?

When our hearts become dominant we begin to utilize our heart intelligence, which is the innate loving wisdom of our heart. This is our deepest level of intelligence that supersedes intellectual or emotional intelligence. Heart intelligence guides us to make choices which allow us to fulfill our deeper purpose and to learn life lessons that we may have been failing to integrate. While it takes our needs into consideration, it is not self-centered, for it accesses the bigger picture that is often beyond the perceptions of the brain and guides us to make loving wise choices. Heart intelligence helps us to have greater clarity about situations. It gives new insights, perspectives and attitudes about efficiently managing whatever challenges that come up in daily life.

While our heads/brains often just react to situations, our hearts respond in a way that can turn stressors or obstacles into learning opportunities. However, becoming heart centered does not mean that we stop using the brain. We still need to utilize the brain to help us function in the world - instead, it comes under the influence and guidance of the wisdom of our heart:

Typically, though, we allow the brain to dominate. This results in our actions, behavior and responses being influenced by our mind/brain and ego:

When this happens the heart closes, and life is experienced more superficially. When the brain is dominant, one of its tendencies is to judge people or size them up into categories that often fall into ‘good enough’ or ‘not good enough’, ‘like’ or ‘dislike’, ‘approve’ or ‘disapprove’, ‘worthy’ or ‘unworthy’, or other dualistic concepts. As a result, relationships lack substance, quality and authenticity.When our hearts are open, we are not bothered by idiosyncrasies or differences in people. Relationships bring great joy, we are more accepting of others short comings, we easily forgive, and sharing love becomes our treasure. Open hearts live authentically and genuinely with love, humbleness and gratitude. And the more that we are able to open our hearts, the more we are able to experience peace, joy and connection with The Source of All.

(source : www.heartsanctuary.org)