Practicing genuine appreciation and compassion raises our heart’s vibrations…
“When our vibrations are up … we respond to stressful situations with soundness, resilience and clearer discernment. We are less vulnerable to frustration, impatience, anger, anxiety, and we feel more self-secure and less critical of others and of ourselves. We are drawn to notice nature, flowers and trees that we usually sleep-walk past, as our preoccupations rob us of this gift of conscious connection.”
When we examine past generations, there was a lot that people felt anger over, fretted over, agonized over. It is no different today. So much in the news – international relations, the global climate, suffering among countless millions because of violence and corruption, famine, poverty and more – can leave us feeling numb and drained daily, frustrated over what we can do.
Perhaps you’ve been feeling this way yourself. Whether it is the nature of the times we live in, or your own personal difficulties or disenchantment with the life you are living, there is something you can do to uplift your life. You can learn or expand your capacity to express sincere appreciation/gratitude and compassion. Those two simple antidotes can raise your heart’s vibration for more inner security and have been scientifically validated by researchers at HeartMath Institute. (Look for a simple tool and exercises at the end of this article for learning to intentionally express appreciation and compassion and raise your vibrational level.)
Coherence and Qualities of the Heart
When you sincerely feel and express your appreciation/gratitude for family, friends, people you encounter, or the world around you, an interesting and profound change occurs in your heart rhythms. They become more coherent. Numerous studies by HeartMath scientists and others have demonstrated this in a wide range of groups. In fact, by experiencing what HeartMath calls qualities of the heart, such as appreciation, compassion, deep love, kindness and care, you can reset your overall mental, emotional and physiological coherence – all of the body’s systems and lift your vibration.
Coherence is explained in HeartMath’s seminal work, Science of the Heart, which you can review in HeartMath’s Research Library.
“The coherent state has been correlated with a general sense of well-being and improvements in cognitive, social and physical performance. We have observed this association between emotions and heart-rhythm patterns in studies conducted in both laboratory and natural settings and for both spontaneous and intentionally generated emotions.”
You read that correctly, intentionally generated emotions. We all know saying, “Good morning” when you pass by someone comes across entirely different than passing by wordlessly with your head down. Likewise, telling someone sincerely, “It’s nice to see you” – in effect, I appreciate seeing you, can brighten and set the day’s tone for both of you. Besides making both of you feel good, the hidden bonus is resetting your coherence and raising your vibrational level.
Like someone who walks into a room full of people cheerfully or cheerlessly, that person can be contributing, one way or the other, to the room’s good vibes or bad vibes. Or, as HeartMath researchers explain it, “some type of heart-to-heart bio-communication or energetic transfer is occurring.”
A Supportive Energy of Love
Compassion is a supportive energy of love; it is not for fixing others. You can support others with your love and compassion, but people have to do their own mending from within. Compassion is not sympathy, empathy, pity or excessive worry. It does take practice to feel love and care for people in extreme stress without becoming over-identified with their challenges. The effectiveness of our compassion increases as we mature in core heart qualities of unconditional love, allowance, acceptance and an unattached desire for the highest outcome for all concerned.
Compassionate latitude nurtures and heals without the energy drain that can come from unbalanced empathetic care. Empathy has strong feelings of care but is often accompanied by projections from over-attachment or worry. Compassionate latitude gives you, the sender, a space to pause and shift to a heart-felt understanding and allowance of the person’s difficult circumstances. For example, you delivered undesirable news to someone you care about and instead of projecting into their negative reactions and getting into excessive worry, you give them allowance, time to process the news. It is normal for them to have an emotional reaction and down spiral with worried thoughts and feelings. Give them latitude – a breathing space to process the information with understanding and compassion, instead of trying to fix them.
True compassion benefits both sender and receiver. There’s a lot to be gained by both. When you show compassion to people, appreciate them and express gratitude for who they are and what they do, you feel lifted and they feel loved, respected and cared for.
Now, recall a time when the beauty of a tree stopped you, a majestic rock formation or even a building caught your attention that you just had to gaze at. That is appreciation, and it counts. Have you ever coaxed a frightened dog or other animal out of a busy thoroughfare? That is compassion, and it counts. Think of the countless times when you’ve told people how truly grateful you were for a kindness they showed you or the assistance they gave another – all of that is gratitude, and it counts on the coherence meter.
Sure, all of those things count, because naturally, they are wonderful to experience, but there is more that is unseen by your eyes. Your heart, brain, nervous and immune systems and your emotional balance, among other processes, become more coherent. When you make an intentional effort to express these heart qualities, the benefits are immediate and you raise your vibration. With practice over time, the qualities of the heart become a way of life and a state of being that defines who you truly are. You are love at the core.
HeartMath® Appreciation Tool™ and Exercises
A powerful way to raise your vibration and coherence level to improve your mental, emotional, physical and spiritual well-being is by invoking and sustaining sincere appreciation. Appreciating yourself, a loved one, friend, pet, even a cherished place or memory quickly establishes a connection to your heart. The greater your capacity for sincere appreciation, the deeper the connection to your heart – this is where intuition and unlimited inspiration and possibilities reside. Give the HeartMath® Appreciation Tool™ and exercises a try!
Exercises to Raise Your Vibration
Replace lower vibrational feelings, such as sadness, anger, insecurity, anxiety, self-judgment, rejection, etc. with the following exercises.
- Find a quiet place where, for a few minutes, you can breathe easily, imagining with each breath that your mind, emotions and body are becoming still inside. In this stillness, desire the uplifting feeling you would like to have, and as you breathe, imagine breathing this new feeling into your being for a while. Imagine you are creating it with your breath.
- When feeling low, just sit quietly and imagine radiating love, compassion and stillness into your mental and emotional nature. (This exercise is further explained in the article noted above, Raising Our Vibration Through Compassion and Unconditional Love.)
We would love to hear your experiences when using appreciation and compassion.
