![]() |
Alternative Information |
|
|
Save This Page Love, Appreciation, and the Heart |
As I started to write this article a few words from a song kept running through my head "all you need is love..." This month we will be bombarded with ads for cards and gifts and urgings to show others that we love them. Many religions and traditions exhort us to "love one another," to care about others and to appreciate the gifts of life. In both advertising and tradition the heart is the symbol of love.
Recent scientific discoveries have found that the heart is actually involved in emotional processing. Messages are sent both ways between brain and heart. The new science of called Neurocardiology has shown that the heart is actually a sensory organ and a sophisticated encoding and processing center. The heart can learn, remember and even make decisions independent of the brain.
The emotional processing of the heart operates much more quickly than the linear reasoning process of the mind. This emotional processing can bias or color the cognitive processes. Stress caused by unmanaged emotions can affect the entire body.
The research conducted at the Institute of HeartMath has consistently demonstrated that positive emotions such as love and appreciation are the key to optimal functioning. The use of heart rate variability (HRV) measurement equipment provides information on the beat-to-beat changes in heart rate. HRV is very sensitive to changes in emotional state. When people think angry, frustrated, or anxious thoughts an erratic and disordered pattern is shown.
When people experience positive emotions like appreciation, love or compassion a much more ordered or coherent pattern is displayed. Obviously it is much healthier for the heart and body to have a coherent heart rate. Fortunately there are easy to learn techniques that can be put into use during stressful times that can help change our habitual responses to stress.
Simply remembering to feel appreciation for short periods of time every day can be a first step. The holidays shouldn't be the only time we remember to express our love for others. Tapping into that "loving feeling" can be good for our hearts as well as for our relationships.
Lorna Minewiser, Ph.D has been helping people reduce their stress for more than 15 years. She offers individual and group coaching, workshops, CDs, e-books and Stress Reduction and Relaxation kits. She is available for presentations on the power of beliefs and on Stress Reduction. For more information you can reach her at http://www.thestressreductioncoach.com
CURE Auto Insurance Announces the Launch of a Revolutionary ... MarketWatch - PHILADELPHIA, Dec 02, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Representatives of CURE Auto Insurance announced the availability of a revolutionary new alternative in auto ... |
Integrated Asset Management Corp. Announces Results for Fiscal ... MarketWatch - However, Retail Alternative Investments was significantly affected by the crisis in the global equity markets and AUM declined approximately $180 million in ... |
Time For A Holiday Alternative Tampa Tribune, FL - By JAMIE PILARCZYK A three-year tradition at Hyde Park United Methodist Church, the Alternative Christmas Market is a way for people to find gifts that ... |
Chicago Tribune | Faltering economy creates slowdown in alternative energy development Powell Tribune, WY - Along with the plunge in oil and gas prices — more than 50 percent since July — the push for development of alternative, renewable energy sources has also ... Haste Could Make Waste on Stimulus, States Say Governors To Meet, Ask Obama For Financial Help Democrats in House Plan a Package of Up to $500 Billion to Help States |
![]() Bleacher Report | TAKE 2: An alternative look at the day in sports Columbia Daily Tribune, MO - By MATT NESTOR Sounds to me like Plaxico Burress was looking for a fight. The New York Giants receiver shot himself in the thigh Friday night when the gun ... William Del Pilar's Locker Room Buzz - Tuesday Edition |
![]() Computerworld | Image gallery: 6 alternative browsers Computerworld, MA - Camino, an open-source browser based on Mozilla's Gecko rendering engine, is clearly designed to be a simple, easy-to-use, yet fully functional browser. ... Too Good To Ignore — 6 Alternative Browsers Too good to ignore: 6 alternative browsers |
EIN News Launches Alternative Energy News Site 'Solar Energy ... MarketWatch - While environmental problems pile up around us, the world's politicians and business leaders alike realize that switching to alternative energy presents not ... |
![]() Earthtimes (press release) | First CNG Alternative-Fuel Trucks Arrive at Southern California ... MarketWatch - LOS ANGELES, CA, Dec 02, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) -- To help reduce air pollution at the busiest container seaports in the United States, ... First CNG Alternative-Fuel Trucks Arrive at Southern California ... On the Waterfront: Port cargo fee to be cut amid slump |
Alternative energy firms to get aid MLive.com, MI - by Tina Reed | The Ann Arbor News Two local companies working on alternative energy for vehicles are getting an extra boost from the state. ... |
Alternative Construction Technologies, Inc., Files Suit Against ... MarketWatch - Alternative Construction Technologies, Inc. (ACT) possesses a unique and patented construction technology called the ACTech(R) Panel System that is used in ... |