on preserving the physical body from harm and so does not necessarily assist us in making wise choices.

For instance, I may be in a situation where someone is yelling and my brain associates “yelling” with something in my past that caused me physical harm. The brain will tell me to run, shut down, and avoid conflict at all costs. The heart however may recognize that this situation is not the same as the one in my past. This person is “yelling” to get my attention – perhaps to keep me from stepping in front of a moving car that I did not see – or perhaps because the point they need to share with me is vital and they are afraid I will not hear them. Now, this is not to say that we should accept inappropriate behavior from others, it simply means that situations in the present moment are often clouded by past experience or the sense consciousness striving to survive over the spiritual or true self.

The longest journey we ever take is from the head to the heart and yet – we need only turn in that direction to quickly experience the power and wisdom within. In the story of the woman who touched the hem of Jesus’ garment, we learn that just touching his hem brought her close enough to Jesus to experience healing. When we look to the metaphysical meaning of the story, Jesus represents our Christ consciousness or indwelling divine power. The woman who has been hemorrhaging or bleeding for many years simply touches the hem or the outer edges of the Christ consciousness and she is healed. So it is for us too, that we need only turn inward briefly and just touch on that inner power to experience healing, wisdom and peace.

In the HeartMath™ workshop our first exercise was called Quick Coherence. This tool which brings the heart rate and brain waves into “coherence” translates as a way to quickly touch that inner peace and allow it to change our energy, to change the focus of our thoughts and feelings. The steps to Quick Coherence were simple and I came up with an acronym that I felt would help me remember the steps; “Step BAC”.

1. STEP or stop and take a step in the journey toward the heart
2. Breathe – Focus attention on the heart and imagine yourself to “breathe” through the heart
3. Appreciate – Think of something that brings you joy or a sense of appreciation (energy vibrations – appreciation vs. fear/anger)
4. Continue – Continue to hold the feelings (rather than thoughts) of appreciation

Ultimately, there are two ways to handle every challenging situation in our lives. We can go into fear and anger, fight or flight mode, allowing the brain to direct the outcome, OR we can go to the heart, direct our attention inward to our Christ consciousness and overcome the negative energy or situation with love.

How often in life do we find ourselves in a situation that causes us to lose our positive energy, to hemorrhage like the woman in the story? And how different is the outcome when we reach for the hem – or go within for the power to effectively manage the situation?

And we can go deeper. Remember, Jesus told us to “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of Heaven” and where is the kingdom of heaven? It is within! If the heart is truly more intelligent than the brain, why not ask it what to do?

Often we have difficult choices to make in life and we seek all kinds of outside counsel to help is in making those decisions. We may seek the advice of friend, a counselor, our horoscope … whatever. And while this may or may not be helpful for certain circumstances, how much more effectively could we make choices if we were to seek our own inner guidance?

The HeartMath™ workshop I attended provided another step that took us from experiencing the peace in our hearts to acquiring the guidance of our hearts. We started with the “Step BAC” process, take a step, breathe, appreciate, continue, and then we added another step. We asked our hearts “How can I more effectively handle this situation?” And then in the silence, continuing to hold feelings of appreciation, we waited for the answer.

We often talk about surrendering choices to God – but that is sometimes difficult. Why? Because we tend to think of God as being outside of ourselves. When we focus on God as outside of ourselves we tend to feel alone and God’s guidance may seem to be elusive. When we remember that God is within us – that the power is hidden in our hearts we have only to make that short journey from the head to the heart to access our own power of wisdom.

The heart IS more intelligent than the brain. AND, it is more powerful! The energy center of the heart, the love chakra is our direct connection to the flow of Spirit. When we open that center of energy and allow that love to flow through us we are “in the flow” and we are truly a powerful presence.

Our energy or spiritual substance extends far beyond our physical bodies. When we come into close proximity of another person, there is an automatic energy exchange. We all experience this. We have sayings for it and have even written songs about it … we say “Don’t bring me down”. But we can only be brought down by allowing ourselves to do so.By practicing the law of non-resistance and projecting those feelings of love and appreciation you increase the flow of positive energy to the person seeking your energy AND you increase the flow to yourself as well.

What person or situation in your life would benefit from your projecting love and appreciation to it? The Kingdom of God, the Power of God is within you! You have only to turn the corner and touch the hem of the garment, the outer edges of your heart, the outer edges of your Christ consciousness to experience the kingdom. At every disturbance to your peace, every conflict, go immediately to that heart space, breathe through the heart and bring your attention to feelings of joy and appreciation. Ask your heart, your Christ consciousness for guidance, project that feeling of love, joy and appreiciation to others. From this heart space, from this hem of the garment, the power to make wise choices … the power to express of love and peace over fear and chaos … the power to change negative energy to positive energy … the power to TRULY Live From Your Heart is only a breath away.

This is an excerpt from our Sunday message. To read the entire message, download the pdf file
For more details about HeartMath™ , vist the website at: www.HeartMath.org