A Fast Way to Open Your Heart

Dear Reader,

Today I want to share with you a fast way to feel your heart soften, open and fill with appreciation. This short exercise works well even if you are struggling or feeling down. I have actually written about this exercise before on the blog. That’s because it’s one of my favorites.

But today, I’m going to add a twist that will help you learn more about your true nature.

Are you ready?

The exercise

You will benefit most from this exercise if you give your full attention to it. One way to do that is to set aside time when you can be quiet and focused.

Once you are settled, sitting quietly, allow yourself one minute, and fill in this sentence starter, as many times as you can:

“I love _______”

You can speak it out loud or write down your responses, whichever you prefer. Your spoken voice is very powerful, but sometimes writing can be very intimate. Your choice. Either way, allow your thinking mind to take a back seat, and keep going with the sentence starter until your minute is up.

“I love _______”

“I love _______”

“I love _______”

Don’t censor what comes to you. Do your best to open to the exercise, and let it flow freely. Above all, allow yourself to be surprised by what comes to you. You might discover big things, like “my job,” or small things, such as “the way the sun shines through the kitchen curtains in the morning.”

Another way you can give your full attention to this exercise is to do it when your thinking mind is least active. That could be in the shower (my guess is that you won’t be writing it down) or while you are taking a walk.

The benefits

This little exercise can help you in a myriad of ways. It is so powerful that I suggest you do it not just once, but daily for a week, or even a month. I learned this exercise from my teacher Sonia many years ago, and I still do it today.

Here are just a few benefits. You will:

• discover what you love, and what is most important to you
• begin to connect with your soul, and deepen that connection
• open your heart, and fill with love and appreciation
• gain a sense of deeper purpose
• activate and strengthen your intuition
• discover positive patterns in your life that you can build on
• dissolve negativity, and focus more on the positive
• realize how much you have to love in your life, no matter what
• attract others with your open heart

I could go on, but hopefully you get the idea that this exercise can work wonders for you.

An added twist

In the beginning, I promised you an added twist to this exercise, and here it is. Once you have made your list of things that you love, scan the list to see how many of those things you have always loved, even in childhood.

When I did this exercise recently, here are a few things that were on my list:

• movement
• the rushing patter of rain on tree leaves
• the drumming of rain on the roof
• fluffy white clouds in a deep blue sky
• reading a good novel
• a good cup of dark roasted coffee
• singing
• solving puzzles
• listening to stories
• seeing someone break through their fears
• using my imagination

I only realized after I was done that all except one or two of those things, I loved even as a child. And no, I didn’t start drinking coffee until I was in college!

When I made that childhood connection, I gained insight into my unchanging, true nature. I saw more clearly how important movement has always been to me – which partly explains why I became a dancer. I also gained a better understanding of what nature really means to me, and I structure my life accordingly.

You may find some of the same connections to your own childhood, dear reader. If you do, explore them. What you discover will help you make more conscious choices and live a more purposeful life.

Doesn’t that seem like an exercise worth doing?

Additional tips

I hope I have convinced you! Do the exercise, even once, and really give yourself to it.

If you continue to work with the exercise after your first try (and I hope you do), see if you can build on your ability to be spontaneous.

In addition, challenge yourself to be more specific as you gain comfort with the exercise, because specific images will evoke more feeling, and hence more insight from you. Think of the difference between “lemonade” and “a tall, cold glass of lemonade on a hot summer day.”

Finally, have fun with this! If you are like every other human being on the planet, your mind is a little wacky and unique – who knows what will come to you?! And who knows what you will learn about yourself, and your path?

Make sure to come back and leave a comment after you try it – let us know how it goes for you.

I honor your loving heart,

John