Ruben Montagnoli

<h4>In La Thuile, Italy, the Audi FIS Alpine Ski World Cup was held from 29 February to 1 March 2020. Here, SYLVIE BERTI ROSSI and RUBEN MONTAGNOLI share their experience as Heartfulness trainers at the event.</h4>
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In the heart of the Alps, a few minutes from Mont Blanc’s shining glaciers, the Heartfulness team gathered for three days of snow and joy in La Thuile, a town in the Aosta Valley of northern Italy. We were supporting the athletes, teams, and the general public at the Alpine Ski World Cup, as an official partner, in what turned out to be a special time in the history of international ski events.
We provided special support for the ski teams in their hotels, offering the experience of Heartfulness Relaxation and Meditation practices. We were also able to present Heartfulness activities and values through various press conferences and presentations, social activities, and interactions with the public.
Some of the athletes had been practicing Heartfulness for some time. One of them, Frederica Brignone, the winner of the FIS Alpine Ski World Cup 2020, shared her positive experience in an interview published in the newspaper La Stampa on 12 March. She said that thanks to this meditation she had reached a state of grace that made her more conscious.
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 The shadow of COVID-19 virus threatened to impact the World Cup event one week beforehand, so the organizing committee, along with the regional authorities and the International Ski Federation, opted for a safety protocol imposing a reduction in the number of people in and around the event.
Despite these restrictions, 66 athletes from 24 countries gathered late on Friday afternoon to compete on the most technically challenging ski slope of the circuit of the women’s World Cup. Neither the virus nor fifty centimeters of new snowfall could stop the competition on Saturday morning, when the Austrian rookie Nina Ortlieb won all the races, taking the lead from the local champion, Federica Brignone of Italy. Later, Corinne Suter of Switzerland went on to win the Crystal Globe in the downhill category.
Meanwhile, around 30 volunteers offered Heartfulness practices in the local hotels for both tourists and fans. In the stadium, the Heartfulness Lounge was situated at the finishing line of the course, and VIPs from the corporate world were able to experience what Heartfulness can offer individuals and organizations. Despite the difficult conditions, the adaptability, flexibility, and calm approach of our volunteers exemplified our social media tag for the event, #howwedocalm.
Our volunteer trainers were able to teach Heartfulness practices to athletes, journalists, coaches, physiotherapists, staff, and teams, as well as to members of the organizing committee, thousands of fans, skiers and tourists, and the Heartfulness Corporate Team shared a daily meditation program with VIP guests, including partners and sponsors, helping them to deepen their experience.
As an official partner of the event, we also presented the newly released Italian version of The Heartfulness Way (published by Mondadori) to the media and guests gathered in the Montana Lodge Hotel.
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Alain Desvigne, President of the Heartfulness Institute, France, spoke about the link between sport and meditation: “Although at first view, meditation and sport don’t seem directly connected, as meditation is about ‘not doing’ and sport is about perfect action, today the link between meditation and sport is well established. Sporting teams and athletes are turning increasingly to meditation and Yoga to help improve their performance. Indeed they need to increase their focus and emotional balance amidst the pressures of highly competitive environments. Meditation also helps them to integrate all aspects of their busy, often stressful lives, supporting them before, during, and after the race.
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“Athletes have to prepare their minds in order to reach their peak performance. Heartfulness meditative practices are easy to learn, and help people develop an effortlessly focused mind. In fact, the goal of meditation is to create a permanent meditative state, whatever the circumstances.
“That brings us to the second step, the race. Meditation is basically a technique which helps to create a state where the mind is focused without effort. You are 100% present in the here and now. If you watched the women who were racing today closely on the screen, the level of presence they had when they were racing is exactly that meditative state. When you race down a slope at 130 km/hour, you don’t have time to analyze. It is the inner stillness with full focus that allows you to grasp the situation.
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“And the third step, after the race, we call the recovery period. The body is exhausted. And this is where we find another benefit of meditation: It gives you the ability to reconnect, to recover, to refresh, revitalize and rejuvenate yourself, so as to regain inner strength.
“Heartfulness offers meditation on the heart; and there is a direct link between the inner condition of the heart and our state of mind. As we say, ‘When the heart is at peace, the mind is at rest.’ Heartfulness allows the mind and the heart to be in tune and work together.
“Why are we here, in this context of sport? It’s not only to help athletes reach their peak performance. In fact, the core values of sport are very close to the values of Heartfulness. If you look back at the original spirit of the Olympic Games, it was about creating a peaceful world, a better world, a harmonious world. It was about bringing everyone together. That’s where sport and Heartfulness meet.”
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Article by SYLVIE BERTI ROSSI and RUBEN MONTAGNOLI</h4>
<hr>

The Audi FIS alpine ski world cup

Ruby is a Heartfulness trainer, tutor, mentor, and sometimes writer. She has an M.Ed. in Education and Psychology from the University of Cambridge, and has worked in community and mental health. She is passionate about volunteering, service, meditation, languages, and finding beauty in the world around her.

Ruby-Carmen.jpg

Ruby Carmen

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<h4>
 All around the world, we are in lockdown in a bid to slow down the spread
 of the COVID-19 virus. And we are coming to terms with this collective
 experience. Here, RUBY CARMEN shares
 some insights, inspirations and suggestions for coping well in this
 extraordinary time.
</h4>
<h3 style="text-align: center">
 Tips for coping
</h3>
<h4>DEVELOP STRUCTURE AND ROUTINE</h4>

 In lockdown, many of us have been given the gift of time. In a recent
 article published in the
 <a
 style="color: #b56d6d"
 href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/opinion/scott-kelly-coronavirus-isolation.htmlhttps://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/opinion/scott-kelly-coronavirus-isolation.html"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >New York Times</a
 >, astronaut Scott Kelly offers some excellent advice on putting structure
 and routine into your day, including fixing a time to get up and go to bed.
 Having structure is helpful for well-being and can offer a sense of purpose
 for both adults and children. There is an element of security and safety in
 routine. Where possible, create some boundaries of work space and home
 space, and allow yourself and your children time off.
 

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 <img
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/one_Human_family2_d5818d772f.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T04:15:52.707Z"
 alt="one_Human_family2_d5818d772f"
 />
 

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<h4>JOY AND PLAY</h4>

 Allow time for joy and play. This feature of the human condition has
 manifested in the exponential growth of online kindness groups springing up
 like flowers, and the outpouring of multiform and multimedia creative
 outlets and ways of expression – online singing and music making, art
 classes, ukulele playing classes, and meditation sessions across the globe.
 New possibilities continue to arise, as human beings endeavor to express
 themselves and connect with each other.
 

<h4>
 COMMUNICATE AND CONNECT 
</h4>

 Share stories. This is an opportunity to connect deeply with our loved
 ones. If we are not with them, video calls are indeed a gift. In the absence
 of technology, children can write letters, and send drawings to their
 grandparents, cousins, uncles and aunts. Limit talking about the lockdown
 and the virus. In particular, avoid talking about it in worried, anxious
 ways in the presence of young children, who in turn will model anxious adult
 behavior.
 

<h4>
 ACCEPT AND ACKNOWLEDGE 
</h4>

 Work towards accepting how you truly feel. On the days you feel sad, angry
 or frustrated, sit with those feelings for a little while. Give yourself a
 hug. And when you are ready, let go. Diary writing or journaling is another
 option, in particular on the difficult days where you feel you have had
 enough. Both our physical and mental well-being need to be prioritized,
 especially under our current circumstances.
 

<h4>BE INSPIRED</h4>

 Look for inspiration in each day. Take time to observe the exceptional
 courage, bravery and self-sacrifice of others: Nurses, doctors, paramedics,
 those who deliver food, serve in stores, pharmacists, and those who continue
 to keep communal spaces clean. The heart fills up with gratitude that cannot
 be truly expressed in words. The Italian children who drew pictures of
 rainbows with the caption “Everything will be alright,” the opera singers on
 balconies who are so touching and truly inspirational. Imagine all these
 acts of human kindness that we have witnessed, and those that are hidden. We
 are sharing a collective experience of hope for our human family, realizing
 the innate goodness of the human heart.
 

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<h4>
 <img
 class="w-100 lazyload"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/one_Human_family3_f502e9b140.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T04:17:31.644Z"
 alt="one_Human_family3_f502e9b140"
 />
</h4>
<h4><hr class="vertical-space1" /></h4>
<h4>COMMUNITY</h4>

 Plug into your local and global communities. There are neighborhood
 WhatsApp groups, online coffee meetings, parent support groups etc. The list
 is endless. Forums exist to help and support the needy in our communities.
 Depending on our skills we can offer practical support to others. One
 example, provided by the Heartfulness community, of which I am a part, gives
 me a unique sense of unity and oneness. Daily and weekly, we are sitting in
 our homes meditating together virtually.It is wondrous to witness the human
 ability to adapt and find creative solutions, thriving under difficult and
 restricted circumstances. To instill a sense of meaning, we can look to
 create more structure in our daily lives, allowing time for joyful, playful
 activities. We may also recognize the importance of communication and our
 ability to connect in whatever forms are available to us. Perhaps, above all
 else, we can exercise greater acceptance of how we feel from day to day, and
 allow ourselves time to process it. This could be through diary writing, the
 experience of silence, or the practice of meditation. Find inspiration in
 each day and reach out to local and global communities. We are one human
 family living in extraordinary times.
 

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OTHER RESOURCES: 

 <a
 href="https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/coronavirus/helping-parents-and-kids-stay-cool-and-collected-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >https://childdevelopmentinfo.com/coronavirus/helping-parents-and-kids-stay-cool-and-collected-during-the-covid-19-outbreak/</a
 > 
 Guided visualisations and relaxation for children at
 <a
 href="https://www.heartfulness.uk/primaryschools/"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >https://www.heartfulness.uk/primaryschools/</a
 > 
 <a
 href="http://www.heartfulness.org"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >www.heartfulness.org</a
 >
 and
 <a
 href="http://www.heartfulness.org"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >www.heartfulnessinstitute.org</a
 > 
 <a
 href="https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/coronavirus-and-your-wellbeing/</a
 > 
 <a
 href="https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/opinion/scott-kelly-coronavirus-isolation.html"
 target="_blank"
 rel="noopener noreferrer"
 >https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/21/opinion/scott-kelly-coronavirus-isolation.html</a
 >

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&nbsp;

<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Article by RUBY CARMEN 
 Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL 
 
</h4>

<hr />

One human family

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 <h4 id="h-"></h4>

 <h2 class="has-text-align-center">
 How communication changes lives
 </h2>

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 “Compassion is not a relationship between the healer and the wounded.
 It’s a relationship between equals. Only when we know our own
 darkness well can we be present with the darkness of others.
 Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”
 

 —Pema Chödrön

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 Compassion – just one word – seems so relevant in this moment, in particular
 in the grieving, loss-filled times we are living in.
 

 
 It is not always easy to define or capture the true meaning of the word, but
 we can certainly feel it, and sometimes its absence. One more literal
 definition of compassion is “to suffer together,” and although not an exact
 translation, in Hindi and Urdu we have the word hamdardi – our
 (shared) pain.
 

 
 Researchers in the field of positive psychology and emotions describe
 compassion as the feeling that comes when faced with the suffering of
 another, accompanied by the need to relieve that suffering.
 

 
 So, how can we relieve the suffering of others, especially when everything
 seems too much? People often talk of compassion fatigue, but we also know
 that we can clearly be compassionate and empathic, mirror neurons being
 considered the cornerstone of human empathy (V.S. Ramachandran et al, 2007).
 How then? We can listen with our hearts, and listen with our whole being,
 our whole undivided attention and presence.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <hr />

 <h5 class="has-text-align-center">
 Empathic listening can allow the speaker to release and
 let go of
 so much, easing their emotional burdens and feel “met,”
 cherished, human. In doing so, we remember our beautiful and
 sometimes bruised humanity in all its colors of joy and sorrow. Our
 oneness.
 </h5>

 <hr />

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 And what is this “presence”? When we are there completely for that other
 person, friend, family member, lover, sister, brother, or even a stranger.
 No judgment; instead, non-judgment. No covering over the awkward silences
 with our words; instead, embracing the silence and holding that space for
 others, honoring that and allowing whatever needs to be said, even unsaid.
 Offering our pure, unconditional attention, where we hear and feel the
 feelings behind the words, if possible with love, without any underlying
 intention.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div>
 <figure>
 <img width="700" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/our_shared_humanity2_fd1e5a0dab.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T12:47:44.602Z" />
 </figure>
 </div>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 In that moment of compassion and empathic listening, the listener can even
 forget themselves completely. It is an experience akin to the dissolution of
 the ego, of “no self.” Empathic listening can allow the speaker to release
 and let go of so much, easing their emotional burdens and feel “met,”
 cherished, human. In doing so, we remember our beautiful and sometimes
 bruised humanity in all its colors of joy and sorrow. Our oneness.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />
</div>

Our shared humanity

<h4>RUBY CARMEN explores the often repressed emotion of grief, and shares some ways we can accept it, value the meaning behind it, and integrate it into our being as an expression of love.</h4>“Grief, I’ve learned, is really just love. It’s all the love you want to give, but cannot.&nbsp; All that unspent love gathers up in the corners of your eyes, the lump in your throat,&nbsp; and in that hollow part of your chest. Grief is just love with no place to go.”—Jamie AndersonGrief, it seems, is often unsaid, unexpressed, and avoided at all costs, until we are overwhelmed and it looms large and can no longer be denied.&nbsp; Since the pandemic, grief has been an undercurrent, and at times the feeling is palpable. It seems that there is little space for it to be expressed, never mind honored.&nbsp;Grief is understood as a natural human response to loss, and in particular to loved ones. It covers so many situations, not only death or separation; it can be the loss of a dream or a friendship; it can be a divorce, a miscarriage, unemployment, or even retirement.1 Needless to say, the pain of the loss can be overpowering, bringing us to our knees, both literally and metaphorically.&nbsp;From a personal viewpoint, I am able to name a number of life situations that have triggered grief in me that can be felt in the heart and in a way demand to be processed rather than pushed aside until a more convenient moment.&nbsp;Grief can take the form of a cycle, that is to say denial, anger, depression, bargaining, and acceptance. Not necessarily in a set order, one after the next; it can move in circles, leap frogging over one element, even a mix of one or more of these elements. These stages were conceptualized by the Swiss-American psychiatrist Elisabeth Kübler-Ross in her book On Death and Dying (1991). She is considered a pioneer in the West for end-of-life care and near-death studies.&nbsp;What has become apparent to me personally, and also while witnessing friends and dear ones come to terms with loss, is the impact of religion, spirituality, culture, and societal norms on the form in which grief is permissible. What comes to me is that we could do better. Are our coping mechanisms enough?&nbsp;Oftentimes, grief is hidden, buried deep in our hearts. It can be like an old wound that remains inside, nameless, formless, and then something in the present touches on it and we are reminded that it is still there, sitting silently, waiting.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Oftentimes, grief is hidden, buried deep in our hearts. It can be like an old wound that remains inside, nameless, formless,&nbsp; and then something in the present touches on it&nbsp; and we are reminded that it is still there, sitting silently, waiting.</h4><hr><figure class="image image-style-align-center"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/talking_with_grief2_8f75e8b095.jpg"></figure>One approach that came into my field of consciousness was to “talk” to the grief and, in doing so, recognize that it exists rather than pretending it is not there, that it has been dealt with, processed in whatever way we might explain it away to ourselves. In order to “survive,” our emotions, especially big, heavy ones, get stored away under the category of “I will come back to this later,” or “I can’t deal with this right now, I have a job to do,” and other such rationalizations. In the busy modern world, it seems there is no time or appropriate space to deal with grief or loss.&nbsp;Talking to grief goes like this:&nbsp;Me: Oh, it’s you?&nbsp; I thought you had gone.&nbsp; Grief: No, I am still here, I never left you.&nbsp; Me: It hurts and I keep thinking that you might go away, and leave me in peace.&nbsp; Grief: Well, it doesn’t seem to work that way, you know. I am part of you, not separate. In fact, you are holding onto me, not the other way round.&nbsp; Me: (Laughing) You don’t say. So tell me, grief, what do I do? How can I get through this grief that reappears especially when I least expect it.&nbsp; Grief: Get through?&nbsp; Me: Yes.&nbsp; Grief: You know about acceptance?&nbsp; Me: Yes. Sometimes this acceptance business is hard to actually do. It can happen at a mental or intellectual level, and then all of a sudden, it is so overwhelming and difficult. It needs to be at the level of the heart.&nbsp; Grief: Your heart, yes, and also self-compassion. To grieve is a natural thing. It tells you that you are human and capable of loving, of love.&nbsp; Me: So, accepting that I feel grief and that it hurts bad, not to mention giving myself some compassion, can help, right?&nbsp; Grief: That’s right. It can help release the pain of the loss, and it can dissolve in your tears and in the sharing of your grieving pains.&nbsp;This is the conversation thus far. Grief need not be an enemy or “avoided like the plague,” as the English expression goes. Instead, at an individual and collective level, we can embrace it and ask how we can allow ourselves to feel grief and grow from it rather than be overwhelmed by it. And we can consider reaching out to empathic elders, dear ones, therapists, counsellors, and support groups wherever there is a safe space to give voice to grief.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Grief need not be an enemy or “avoided like the plague,” as the English expression goes. Instead, at an individual and collective level, we can embrace it and ask how we can allow ourselves to feel grief and grow from it rather than be overwhelmed by it.</h4><hr><a href="https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm">1 https://www.helpguide.org/articles/grief/coping-with-grief-and-loss.htm</a>&nbsp;

Talking with my grief

Rumi

What is your myth?

What you love

Do things from your soul

Connection

From your soul

Trust that

An award-winning industrial designer and innovator who founded Publicolor, a long-term youth development program, to educate disadvantaged youth and prepare them for jobs: publicolor.org.

Ruth.jpg

Ruth Lande Shuman

<h4 style="text-align: center">
 AN ART ESSAY &amp; INTERVIEW
</h4>

 Volunteers are the lifeblood of Publicolor. In 2000 we won one of our
 country’s highest honors, the President’s Service Award, from
 President Clinton for our work with volunteers in the community.


 Every year over 1000 volunteers join us as painters on Saturdays in
 under-resourced schools and community sites. We transform these sites
 through warm color and thoughtful design. Publicolor paints dignity,
 respect, inspiration and safety in low-income neighborhoods.


 Corporations love to send their employees to paint alongside our
 students as they see this as a great team-building opportunity. It’s
 also a special way for corporate employees to participate in their
 company’s philanthropy. Publicolor students consistently mention
 Saturdays as their favorite part of Publicolor, citing getting to meet
 new people as most special. They cherish learning about new job
 options and what it takes to succeed. Publicolor’s volunteers are
 treasured role models!


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor2_a4d5c84881.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:44:56.128Z"
 alt="publicolor2" />


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor3_0f88c82378.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:45:48.000Z"
 alt="publicolor3" />


 Academic tutors also join us as volunteer leaders of our weekly
 career exposure workshops, and as mentors for our high school seniors
 and college freshmen. With the help of our volunteer painters,
 Publicolor has transformed about 500 sites. With the help of our
 tutors, 85% of Publicolor students enter college not needing
 remediation versus 19% of their school peers. Thanks to our mentors,
 98% have stayed in college after their freshman year versus 66% at the
 City University of New York. Since most of Publicolor students are the
 first in their family to go to college, the encouragement and guidance
 they receive from our volunteers is invaluable.


 For all these reasons, Publicolor treasures our volunteers. We
 couldn’t do what we do without them!

<h3 style="text-align: center">
 Interview with Ruth Lande Shuman, founder of Publicolor
</h3>

 
 Q: Please share with us the mission of Publicolor.


 RLS: The mission of Publicolor is to
 creatively engage high risk, low-income students in their education and
 prepare them to be productive in the workplace.


 Q: How did the organization form?


 RLS:&nbsp;I was very concerned back
 in the late ’80s about the rising dropout rate. All I could think of was
 the horrible impact that would be on the future of our economy. In
 another life I had helped develop the Big Apple Circus and was a
 founding board member. I got to see a lot of schools that had our arts
 and education program, and many of them were in east Harlem. All of them
 looked and felt like prisons.


 I thought to myself: It’s no wonder that kids are dropping out; it’s no
 wonder that parents aren’t showing up for parent teacher conferences; I
 wouldn’t go to such a hostile environment. And it’s no wonder teachers
 are burning out. That was the lightbulb moment!


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor4_d26c9bb1c0.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:46:24.411Z"
 alt="publicolor4" />


 At the same time I had just finished a masters in industrial design at
 Pratt with a specialty in the psychological effects of color. Color has
 a huge effect on our attitudes and behaviour. So I thought about putting
 a paintbrush in the hands of disaffected students – the ones who are at
 high risk of dropping out. I wanted to teach them the marketable skill
 of commercial painting, and teach them strong and transferable work
 habits. And along the way, they would develop a sense of pride and
 ownership of their school, and start attending school more regularly.
 Also, if they spend any time with me, they’ll get to understand the
 importance of education and how that’s going to be their path out of
 poverty.


 So I mentioned the idea to the woman who ran the circus’ arts and
 education program. She also ran an educational complex in East Harlem,
 and she said to me, “Come on in. I want you to paint my whole school.”
 It was a city square block school of five storeys. The project was a
 huge success. Estee Lauder had wanted to do something in that school and
 the principal suggested that they meet with me. They loved the idea and
 they volunteered. We did a lot of prepping with the kids during the week
 and on weekends. We primed all the hallways, all the stairwells, and
 then drew thousands of linesm because I had a rather complicated design.
 Literally, within one day, from Estee Lauder, my friends, the teachers
 and the principal, we had 350 volunteers and we painted all the public
 spaces of the school.&nbsp;It was rather extraordinary.


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor5_6302b79294.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:47:00.971Z"
 alt="publicolor5" />


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Then the school’s Chancellor came by and pulled me aside and said, “This
 is a catalyst for change. I want you in my schools. I’ll send out an RFP
 for a school beautification program.” So I filled out the application
 with the Department of Education and we won the contract. I took a
 little time off to set us up as a non profit organization, and then we
 were!


 Then I met with the Deputy Chancellor for Operations who asked me which
 school did I want, and I told him I wanted his lowest performing school.
 In the contract I was very specific that I wanted their lowest
 performing schools. That’s how it got started.


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor6_dbcb775d4d.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:47:39.957Z"
 alt="publicolor6" />


 Q: That’s a beautiful story. What were some of the reactions after
 these drastic changes to the schools?


 RLS:&nbsp;There was one father who
 said that it was as if Santa Claus had come and left this gift. It was
 just so gorgeous. He said something about Santa and his elves, because
 when he arrived on Monday to drop his son, he couldn’t believe what he
 saw. The whole school was completely transformed. The kids love it.


 I have learned – and at first it hurt my feelings – that change is very
 difficult for many people. For some, their initial reaction was not
 fantastic. But what I have understood is to give them two weeks to
 adjust, and almost everybody ends up loving the change. And there are
 always going to be a few who don’t like yellow, or don’t like the blue
 that I chose for the doors. In the end, if we’ve used any color that the
 kids and the principal don’t particularly like, then we change it.


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor7_78af02b117.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:48:27.019Z"
 alt="publicolor7" />


 Q: Is there a student who stood out as being especially enabled by
 the transformation or the mentoring program?


 RLS:&nbsp;Oh, that’s hard, as there
 are so many. One comes to mind. One of my students is a girl called
 Cecile, whose mother was very, very sick when she joined our continuum
 program. She claims it was because of us that she stayed in school and
 didn’t drop out, and she really didn’t want to drop out. She went on to
 college and said that she would have dropped out again after her first
 year because her mother was so sick. But we gave her a lot of support
 and explained why college was so important for her and how it would make
 her mother proud. Her mother passed away after her sophomore year, and
 she had a mentor who encouraged her to stay in school. She went to one
 of the top culinary schools in the country and she now has a job working
 in food services for Google. She also works for us on Saturdays as a
 site staff member.


 <img class="lazyload w-100 h-auto"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/publicolor8_74de447413.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-05T07:49:06.856Z"
 alt="publicolor8" />


 There’s just one more thing: I remember once we replicated in Pittsburgh
 and there was a guy at Carnegie who did a study on volunteerism and
 wrote a piece about Publicolor. What he and I uncovered is just how much
 better an employee feels about their company after they’ve participated
 in a volunteer program. They take great pride in the fact that their
 company is volunteering to help X, Y or Z. What we’ve noticed apart from
 the pride factor is also the magnificent team building opportunity. We
 have a lot of feedback about that from volunteers.


 Q: Thank you so much for your time.


 RLS:&nbsp;Thank you, my pleasure.

<hr />
<h4 style="text-align: center">
 Art Essay by PUBLICOLOR 
 Interview by EMMA IVATURI
</h4>
<hr />

The lifeblood of Publicolor

Akutagawa_Ryunosuke.webp

Ryunosuke Satoro

Drop in the ocean

saint-francis-of-assisi.webp

Saint Francis of Assisi

Become prayer

Sairam is Co-founder and Director of Research at UrbanKisaan, dedicated to environmentally safe and sustainable agricultural technologies. He has published over 30 articles in international journals, and received multiple awards. He was listed in the top 10 leaders in the Agriculture Industry for the year 2021.

Sairam-Reddy-Palicherla.jpg

Sairam Reddy Palicherla

<h4>
 SAIRAM REDDY PALICHERLA
 is one of the founders of UrbanKisaan, creating a sustainable and safe
 future using hydroponics. They are creating local micro farms, with a low
 carbon-footprint, and igniting agri-entrepreneurs to bring positive change
 for humanity and the planet. Here he speaks with
 LEAH RICH
 about the work UrbanKisaan is doing, and Kanha Shanti Vanam as a model for
 feeding a whole community.
</h4>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Q: Good morning Dr. Sairam. Thank you for taking the time
 to speak about
 hydroponics with us. Let’s jump right in. To start, what got you
 interested in hydroponics?



 SR: The
 interest here at Kanha was led by Daaji. He wanted to explore various
 non-conventional and sustainable ways of growing food. He has been doing
 this for the last twenty years, in his backyard in the US. This has been his
 passion – exploring alternative ways of growing food.



 Prior to seventy years ago, food was nutritious and safe, but the quantity
 was not enough to feed the people of the world. There was a desperate need
 to increase the productivity, so fertilizers, pesticides and hybrid crops
 were introduced. This is also when the needs of the trader came into the
 picture – transportability, storability, shelf life, and packing in boxes
 became the focus. This happened at the expense of the nutrient content of
 the food and the needs of the consumer.



 In the last seventy years, there’s been a complete shift in food growing.
 Now we satisfy our hunger but not our nutritional needs. That is where the
 challenges come. It’s time to shift back to local food production – I call
 it micro farming.



 Q: So how does hydroponics fit in? I thought the nutrients
 in our produce
 come through the soil, but in hydroponics there is no soil. Can you
 explain?



 SR: Our
 understanding of the source of a plant’s nutrition is also limited. When
 testing the nutrition content of crops grown in soil and the same crops
 grown hydroponically, is there any difference?



 When we measure vitamins, minerals, macro nutrients, protein, carbohydrate
 and fat, research shows that plants can take up these nutrients equally well
 from soil and the liquid formula used in hydroponics. A large body of
 research shows that there is no difference.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


<img decoding="async" width="700" height="466" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Hydroponics2_db9786ceb2.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T13:14:09.630Z" />


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Q: How do you ensure the required nutrients are in the
 hydroponic
 formula?



 SR: There are
 three groups of minerals that a plant uses to meet its basic needs: macro
 minerals, micro minerals and major minerals. These are all present in the
 hydroponic formula. The rest happens inside the plant. Vitamins are
 manufactured inside the plant. Plants also require light and sufficient
 carbon dioxide to grow.



 Q: So, what about meeting the need for light for plants
 grown
 hydroponically?



 SR: There are
 two systems of hydroponics. One uses natural sunlight, for example, a
 hydroponic tower on a balcony, or a green house. The other type is for
 growing crops indoors, using artificial light. Typically, LED lights are
 used. They are low power consuming light sources and the beauty of LED is
 you can define the spectrum of light that they emit.



 Plants require different spectra of light for different purposes. For
 example, photosynthetic activity requires red light. Hormonal activity
 requires blue and yellow. We can measure how much light a plant needs for a
 particular spectrum and provide it using LED lights.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">
 Now we satisfy our hunger but not our nutritional needs.
 That is
 where the challenges come. It’s time to shift back to local food
 production – I call it micro farming.
</h4>

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Q: Coming to the individual level, why do you feel is it
 important for
 households to grow food hydroponically?



 SR: Six or
 seven years ago, I came across a news article that was published by an
 agriculture university, showing the levels of pesticides and heavy metals in
 the food we consume. They went around the city of Hyderabad and collected
 samples of vegetables from organic stores, supermarkets, roadside shops, and
 farmer’s markets. They analyzed the samples in their laboratory,and to my
 surprise and agony, all the vegetables were heavily contaminated with heavy
 metals. 45% of the produce from organic stores was contaminated with
 pesticides, and 100% was contaminated with heavy metals.



 This is because the areas where food was grown were near polluting
 industries. And the surrounding soil and water body in every city, whether
 it be a reservoir or a canal is being contaminated by the toxic effluents.
 This contaminated soil and water is being used to produce the crops we are
 consuming. So even if produce is grown using an organic methodology, without
 chemical pesticides and fertilizers, the soil and water used to grow them is
 polluted. It’s impossible to avoid heavy metals like arsenic and lead.



 This is where I see a huge need for home growers. And hydroponics is one
 method we can all use. I call our home growers micro farmers.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


<img decoding="async" width="700" height="466" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Hydroponics3_9221eb8abb.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T13:16:04.875Z" />


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Q: What are the advantages of hydroponics? Can you offer
 some tips and
 guidelines for people who are reading this and interested in starting a
 small hydroponics system at home?



 SR: It requires
 very little water, and you can automate it. If you go away on vacation, your
 crops can be watered while you are away. It doesn’t need much space. You can
 easily grow the leafy greens required for your household. All you need is a
 roof top or balcony that receives three to four hours of direct sunlight per
 day. You need four by five feet of space. If outdoor space is not possible,
 you can use an indoor kit with LED lights.



 Now, expanding this to the community level, at Kanha we have enough
 hydroponically grown produce to meet the demands of the community.



 Q: Are you aware of other communities setting up similar
 operations?



 SR: This is a
 growing field. People are overcoming their doubts about hydroponically grown
 vegetables, as they learn about it and taste the produce. In Singapore, for
 example, where they have very little land to grow vegetables, they use
 rooftops to grow their vegetables hydroponically. We call them rooftop
 farms.



 Q: This seems like a replicable model in urban areas
 worldwide.



 SR: Yes,
 definitely. It is being well accepted worldwide.



 On the commercial side, our first farm at Urban Kisaan was a rooftop farm in
 the heart of the city of Hyderabad. This is where we demonstrated that it
 can be part of smart city planning.



 At Kanha, we have built six rooftop greenhouses. Different systems are being
 used to grow different types of food. We’re growing many types of leafy
 greens, tomatoes, eggplants, capsicums, and hot peppers. We can grow
 anything we wish.



 The cost of the setup is an investment, but I’m sure in the near future
 governments will offer incentives and subsidies.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


<img decoding="async" width="700" height="466" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/Hydroponics4_13fbb14f24.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T13:17:24.975Z" />


<hr class="vertical-space1" />


 Q: What about universities and corporations?



 SR: University
 hostels are asking for vertical farms to be installed. And corporates are
 asking them for their employee restaurants. Generally, they prepare fresh
 food, such as salads.



 Supermarkets are also interested. The indoor kits are being installed in the
 supermarkets so that consumers harvest directly from there.



 In terms of environmental impact, these initiatives are doing two very
 important things:


<ol type="1">
 <li>
 They are cutting off the logistics component of food production. This
 reduces the carbon emissions as there is no transportation involved.
 </li>
 <li>
 There is no wastage either. In typical farming operations, up to 40% of
 the food grown is wasted before it reaches the consumer.
 </li>
</ol>

Hydroponics is reducing both carbon emissions and wastage.


 Earlier we had backyard farming. That is becoming more difficult these days
 as we don’t have much time to devote to it, and there is a lack of space in
 our urban areas. If you have the space and the time, there is nothing like
 it. But if you don’t, you can try hydroponics as a micro farming option.



 It’s time to promote micro farming,to decentralize farming. Micro farming
 cuts down wastage, and allows you to grow safe, nutritious food even in
 urban high-rise environments.



 Q: Dr. Sairam, thank you so much for this eye-opening
 conversation.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<h4 class="text-center">Photographs courtesy of URBAN KISAAN</h4>

<hr />

Hydroponics

Saki F. Santorelli, EdD, MA, is an educator, author and clinician. He retired as Executive Director of the UMass Medical School Center for Mindfulness in Medicine, Health Care and Society. A professor of medicine, he was the very first intern at Dr Jon Kabat Zinn's Stress Reduction Clinic, from where Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) originated. His entire career has been dedicated to the integration of mindfulness into public health and well-being, propelled by his recognition of and trust in the innate goodness of human beings.

Saki-Santorelli.jpg

Saki Santorelli

<h4>SAKI SANTORELLI is interviewed by AMIR IMANI as part of a webinar series about mindfulness, love,
 compassion and the way of the heart.</h4>
Q: Today we are very delighted to have my dear friend, mentor and
 teacher, Dr. Saki Santorelli, with us. Saki was the Executive Director of The Center for Mindfulness in Medicine,
 Health and Society at the University of Massachusetts, USA, for 17 years. I have been a witness to his deep
 contribution to bringing mindfulness to the public and the profession, globally.
Saki has been one of the main pulls for me into the mindfulness
 practice, through his loving presence and brotherly support from afar. He will be speaking to us on love, compassion
 and the heart in this way.
Thank you Saki, and welcome to this session with us.
SS: Thank you so much, Amir and Samaneh. It’s
 lovely to be with all of you.
Today I would like to begin by offering you the deepest sense of gratitude and
 appreciation for the work that you are doing in your part of the world, wherever you are. So how about if we begin
 by, each of us in our own way, setting an intention for what we hope for in this next hour together?
You know there are often surface reasons, then there are deeper reasons, and then there
 are deeper than that reasons. For example, you might feel at a professional level, which is a good thing. But if you
 drop down a little further into your heart: What’s really brought you to this, to give yourself over to this for an
 hour of your life, when you could be doing so many other things? And it’s that deeper seed that I’m suggesting you
 attend to.
People come for a whole range of reasons, but then there is some deeper reason for being
 there as well. For example – we never did a formal study about this – all of the 37 years that I was at the Center
 for Mindfulness, we saw people with cancer and heart disease and a huge range of medical and psychological issues.
 And while they came certainly for some relief from the psychological or physical suffering associated with those
 conditions, the single-most frequently stated goal was peace of mind.
So they knew something deep inside themselves, even in the midst of whatever they were
 suffering with, physically or psychologically, that was quite different than the symptoms that they were
 experiencing. So it’s that deeper reason that I am asking, or suggesting, that you invoke or intend and attend to as
 we continue.
<img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/insight_heart2_928a138cd8.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T08:09:41.326Z">

Even right in this moment I feel that we are dear, dear companions, that we are joined
 together by a certain commitment, a certain dedication, and a certain view of human beings: in some very real way,
 the view that human beings are actually filled with a certain kind of genius. They are capable far more than they
 might imagine or certainly far more than most cultures would suggest is possible. It’s as if there’s a treasure that
 they are, that they have forgotten. You know what I mean? You know that in yourself how easy it is to forget?
So you could say that in a very real way the true and real work of any of us, as
 teachers of mindfulness-based programs, is to remember. And that remembering is deeper than the intervention. In
 fact I don’t even like to call MBSR an intervention; we avoided calling it an intervention from the beginning. And
 we avoided calling it a therapy as well. Rather we said it’s an approach or a path. I don’t know what the word is in
 Farsi, but I think in Arabic it is tareeq; it’s a way.
That doesn’t mean all of the competencies that have been described as central to MBSR or
 MBCT teacher development are not important. They are important. I’d read the paper by my dear colleagues, Rebecca
 Crane and Mark Williams, when it came out years ago, about the competencies, and I asked myself, “Are these
 competencies all an aspect of MBSR?” My answer was yes. Then I asked myself another question, “Will these
 competencies be enough to walk into the classroom and teach?” My answer was no.
That doesn’t make them unimportant. It’s just that the central competency in my view, in
 my experience, is the cultivation of the human heart. And that has everything to do with the quality of embodiment.
 And every one of us will embody it in a different way. And it expresses itself probably universally as a kind of
 sympathetic nature, a kind of tenderness and softness – not passivity, but softness – and a kind of mercy.
So maybe for a moment you can just be attentive to that part of yourself. It’s right
 here. You might say it actually shows up as a kind of assertive kindness, warmth and friendliness towards oneself
 and one’s experience. In a very real way we’re asking the people that we work with to come to our courses or
 classes, to cultivate the same quality towards themselves and their experience.
In that, of course, on one hand we’re talking about the quality of tenderness or
 softness of the heart. On the other hand, you probably know well that that the heart is fierce, it can take
 everything, and it can keep giving. I’m not talking about something romantic, but it takes just that kind of an
 organ, if you will, of sensitivity and sensibility, to actually help people meet and in some way be relieved from
 their own suffering and their own pain.
<img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/insight_heart3_2101715356.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T08:10:41.461Z">

So if we look a little more deeply into mindfulness itself, there are two dimensions to
 it. On one hand there is what’s often called the instrumental dimension. It has to do with the development of skills
 and competencies, in a sense of effort and improvement over time. Maybe in our modern vernacular we’d say that has
 to do with acquisitional learning. For example, if I have to learn Farsi, I’d learn from the very beginning. I’d
 have to go very slowly, and I would probably feel like a failure or that I’m not getting it. If learn to play the
 piano, I go slowly. I learn the notes then the scales before I can play any music.
<img decoding="async" alt="" width="223" height="289"
 class="lazyload img-float-left has-img-center-in-mobile"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/insight_heart4_bac96813d3.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T08:12:07.486Z">It’s
 the same with learning to practice mindfulness. It is a practice
 in the sense that it has its own progression, and over time people often report changes. And if you’re a mindfulness
 practitioner, you discover that there are changes that take place over time. And it’s the same with the various
 competencies that have been identified in the development of MBSR teachers: over time people get more skillful at
 those competencies.
Then there is this other dimension of mindfulness practice that is non-instrumental.
 There’s nothing to get. There’s nothing to improve upon. There’s nothing to gain. It’s already complete. And you can
 see that instrumental is nested in the non-instrumental. For example, how could you love another human being if love
 wasn’t already a part of you? How could you appreciate beauty if beauty wasn’t innate? How could you appreciate the
 light of the sun if light wasn’t an innate part of you as a human being? This is what Rumi was talking about,
 several hundred years ago, when he talked about two kinds of intelligence: one acquired, one already complete.
So what’s it like to walk into the classroom knowing that you’re sitting in front of 10
 or 15 geniuses, who are already complete but they don’t know it? You can’t tell them that, you can’t give them a
 lecture about that. You can’t tell them, “Just believe me, because I know.” Our job is to embody that in some way,
 and then help them over time, simply assist them to become familiar with the depth that’s already a part of them.

That’s why I have written – and I continue to know more than simply believe – that the
 central risk in MBSR or MBCT is that we’ll become blinded to the non-instrumental and the instrumental will take
 over.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">The central competency in my view, in my experience, 
 is the cultivation of the human heart.</h5>
<hr>
So maybe we’ll take a moment and just sit with this question: How is it inside me to
 hear this, to feel it in some way? Not because I’ve said it, but how is it for you?
This really means that our job is to be students. To listen. To serve. To see if we can
 meet every situation, or many situations, in a way that they provide us with a certain kind of learning, a certain
 kind of insight and understanding. We become kind of intoxicated, so we’re a little drunk. You could say in some
 real way that mindfulness, in its most universal form, expresses itself in a deep and powerful way in remembering
 that we’re actually sober. That our senses serve us. That our mind serves us.
<img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/insight_heart5_bd1ba5c6bb.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T08:13:50.961Z">

And then, more centrally, the cultivation and the development of the human heart happen.
 It becomes the central characteristic of mindfulness, because it has everything to do with a slow disillusioning of
 this thing we call ‘myself’. So we move from that position of inhabiting and strengthening the self to recognizing
 that all human beings suffer, all human beings have the capacity to be free and liberated.
So thank you for letting your beauty shine out into the world. We know that there’s a
 lot of uncertainty in the world, a lot of darkness, and a lot of fear. And there’s no value in pretending otherwise.
 But in the middle of all of that, there is the capacity for us to shine forth, to feel this indelible bond between
 us, to touch deeply and know the deep, deep resources that we have within, and that the world has changed through
 very small numbers of people doing very radical things. By radical I mean fundamental. This is fundamental: the
 reality of what mindfulness is in the life of human beings is fundamental.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;"> 
 There is the capacity for us to shine forth, to feel this 
 indelible bond between us, to touch deeply and know 
 the deep, deep resources that we have
 within.</h5>
<hr>
I would like to end with a few lines of Hafiz, as he’s dear to me. The soil of Iran has
 given the world a universal voice through this human being. At the end of one of his poems he says the following
 lines:
Be strong, Hafiz! 
 Work here inside time, 
 where we fail, catch hold 
 again, and climb.

So that’s what we’re all doing here: working inside time, failing, catching hold again,
 and climbing. And I thank you for climbing. We’ll reach out and help one another.
Q: Thank you, Saki, for showing us how to climb, just by sitting still
 and feeling.
To be continued&nbsp;
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Interview by AMIR IMANI</h4>
<hr>

Insight of the heart – part 1

<h4>We continue SAKI SANTORELLI’s interview with AMIR IMANI as part of a webinar series about
 mindfulness, love, compassion and the way of the heart.</h4>
Q: As a student, Saki, what I learnt from
 you is not to be afraid. This is what you taught me in my training – not to be afraid of not knowing and to rest
 in just being. And what you call heart and love, you get the power through that. You get the courage to “not
 know” through loving. I am always amazed to see how science is showing that this is healing. And the clients are
 amazed how they are transformed by just being.
Now, how do the complexities of the mind
 affect your work as a teacher? Say you have a mild depression, for example. Do you need to reach a stage of full
 recovery? Or does this mild depression dissolve through your practice and through your teaching practice?

SS: Well, I would say it depends. If the depression or anxiety is very, very
 strong in the life of the teacher, it could make working with other people more difficult. On the other hand, we all
 have bouts of depression or sadness or anxiety or uncertainty or insecurity. So it seems to me it’s not a question
 that you shouldn’t teach if you feel some depression, but how will you work with that anxiety or depression or
 uncertainty in a way that is real and genuine, and the fact that it’s known to you.
If you develop a relationship with that situation or that condition within yourself, it’s often the way you develop
 what are called the insights of the heart. In some real way your struggles and your sufferings actually have the
 potential to open you and open the people with whom you work with to bring new ways. So it can be a great service to
 you and your teaching, because it makes you so much more sensitive to others, and your work with yourself in those
 situations and conditions will inform you about how to work with other people.
So you don’t have to be completely cured. If that were the case, we wouldn’t do
 anything. We’re all lame!
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">In some real way your struggles and your sufferings 
 actually have the potential to open you 
 and open the people with whom you work 
 to bring new ways.</h5>
<hr>
Q: Would it help to say, “Keep some pain!
 It may help you in your teaching”?
SS: [Laughing] I wouldn’t say, “Keep it.” I would
 say, “If you’ve got it, you’d better work with it.”
Q: You give an example in your book,
 Healing Thyself, of the wounded healer from Greek mythology, Chiron, who is better able to connect with
 his patients because of his suffering.
SS: Yes, exactly. Those wounds actually help us
 meet other human beings. It is exactly what I was saying before: your sympathy is aroused, your tenderness is
 aroused. Your understanding of the other is informed and aroused.
Q: I remember my early days, Saki, in the
 teacher training, in the Mindfulness-based Stress Reduction (MBSR) course. It is a requirement of the teacher
 training program to be a patient first. I found myself listening to these 35 so-called patients, talking their
 hearts out about their pain, their anguish, and I was feeling nothing. I was baffled: Why am I not feeling the
 pain that they are talking about?
Then I spoke to the teacher of our group
 about this. She hinted that it would come when I opened up to myself. So, starting with my own wound first, and
 then opening to the other – it looks like that for me.
SS: Yes, in a very real way we’ve been taught,
 especially as health care professionals, to separate ourselves from the people we work with, because the view is
 that then we’ll serve them better. My experience is quite the opposite. If I am able to discover some semblance of
 what they’re experiencing within myself, I can serve them far better.
I may not have the same content: somebody may have cancer and I may not have cancer, but
 have I suffered from something else? Yes. I may not be addicted to a substance, but do I experience addiction? Yes.
 And what is that like? What does it do to my body, my mind, and my psyche? What do I know about that in myself? What
 does awareness tell me, show me?
And I then can go to that source and maybe at least be in the “not knowing,” as you
 described it, Amir. I may have some sense of, “Where can I put my first foothold? Where can I put my first
 handhold?” This is exactly what Hafiz is saying in that poem. I don’t have to know the second or third or fourth
 step. I simply have to be present and take the risk of taking the first step. The development of our relationship
 will guide the second step.
<img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/insight_heart2_2_1_b13fdab417.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T12:04:23.704Z">

Q: When there are stressful sensitivities
 of life, if mindfulness practices create more sensitivity, should we reduce the length and number of the
 practice sessions? How do we find balance in terms a healthy dosage of practice?
SS: Well, these are all important questions. I
 think in some ways it’s true that mindfulness practice can make us more sensitized, and in some way it is parallel
 to what is happening in the class, in the course for people. For example, sometimes in the early weeks people say,
 “I’m feeling worse than when I started. I thought this was supposed to make me feel better, but I feel worse.”
They’re speaking about the fact that through the development of their attention and
 awareness they are becoming more sensitized to their situation, both externally and internally. And that is a lot to
 comfort in oneself. And they often express frustration because they are more aware of what’s going on, but they
 don’t yet have the capacity to do anything about it. That seems to me to be a normal part of the learning process.
 What begins to happen is turbulence. And their awareness is perturbing their system. It is because there’s the way I
 was, and then there is what I perceive now; and that differential creates a kind of friction or discomfort.
The skill of the teacher becomes really important in that moment, in terms of how do we
 titrate the right dose? Just to keep that, but not too much. Too much is overwhelming; too little, transformation is
 not possible. They’re involved in a kind of alchemy, in the sense that there is a phase of dissolution before
 reintegration.
<img decoding="async" alt="" class="lazyload w-100"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/insight_heart2_4_1_8d9501b901.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-07T12:05:45.509Z">

So as a teacher and a practitioner of mindfulness, as you said, we’re all involved in
 the same process of how to ascertain the right dose to have some sense of balance. I think that involves getting to
 know oneself better and better. And also, if it’s possible to work with a teacher, it’s helpful as well because the
 teacher can help with that dosage.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">So as a teacher and a practitioner of mindfulness, 
 we’re all involved in the same process of how to ascertain 
 the right dose to have some sense of balance. 
 I think that involves getting to know oneself better and better.</h5>
<hr>
You have to be careful not to push yourself so hard that you’re doing yourself harm, and
 at the same time you have to really look deeper into your practice and see if it is being motivated by love and
 kindness. And if there is any sense that you’re pushing too hard, you have to back off.
Often we instrumentalize practice so much, because we want to gain something. And while
 it takes effort to practice, there is a kind of skillful effort, which has a degree of resting in the way things are
 versus pushing too hard against them. And if that’s the case, which is not unusual, then you need to ask yourself
 some really good questions like: Who is pushing so hard? Who wants to breakthrough and to what? And what is
 motivating? They are not necessarily comfortable questions, but they are fruitful. They help us to be with life and
 ourselves as we are and as life is.
So maybe we can make this the last question, Amir.
Q: I think this will be a good one for us.
 We have been keeping the best for last. What is falling in love?
SS: Okay, the best for last!
Well, that question has been asked by human beings since human beings were on the Earth.
 And it’s portrayed in a very particular way in our cultures. Usually it is portrayed as romantic and intoxicating,
 and it’s usually about what we want. It has its beauty and its value and its function, and it’s quite wonderful. It
 doesn’t last though. At least that particular expression of it doesn’t last. And not unusually we go looking for it
 somewhere else; it’s a kind of addiction.
I think, for me, love has a lot of pain in it. In some real way, to be able to even come
 closer to saying “I’m in love” means that we’re actually putting someone else in front of us. Our care for them
 becomes more powerful than our care for ourselves. And in some very real way it portrays a kind of death. And that
 death is not just metaphoric, because it always involves a diminishment of the usual idea of the self. The pleasure
 and the pain of the other become more important than the pain and pleasure of the self.
<hr>
<h5 style="text-align: center;">In some very real way we know we are in love, 
 because in some way we’re becoming bigger in 
 what appears to be our diminishment. So it means 
 that we start to give rather than look to receive. </h5>
<hr>
And that means in some very real way our ego is being slowly dissolved. The kind of
 separation between the self and the other is being eroded. So in some very real way we know we are in love, because
 in some way we’re becoming bigger in what appears to be our diminishment. So it means that we start to give rather
 than look to receive.
It seems a fitting way to end.
Q: And it’s also a beautiful way to begin,
 Saki. The sheer fact of touching our wounds, ourselves, for the first time – however it may be, not pleasant,
 it’s painful even – but the touch, the connection, for the first time is like falling in love for us. And that
 moment we are bigger than before.
SS: Yes, because we begin to discover how big we
 already are. The world is always squeezing us down, and of course awareness is fathomless and boundless, and
 touching that boundlessness is … Love simply arises and is known.
Q: How about rephrasing it to “rising in
 love?”
SS: Yes, I was going to say that!
Q: Thank you so much for raising the
 awareness of this small group. And all this started 20 years ago with a simple act of kindness from your side,
 and it’s amazing that we never forget kindness, especially when it’s not asked for, it’s just given to us. Thank
 you.
SS: Thank you so much. May we continue to travel in
 this caravan together.
<hr>
<h4 style="text-align: center;">Interview by AMIR IMANI</h4>
<hr>

Insight of the heart – part 2

Samuel is an experienced medical researcher, triathlete, and surfer. As a neuroscientist, he researches genetic and rare diseases at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Brisbane, Australia. He uses the Heartfulness practices to balance his life and maintain a healthy and peaceful mind.

Samuel-Eiszele.jpg

Samuel Eiszele

<h4>SAMUEL EISZELE explores the depths of happiness,
 reminding us that happiness and suffering coexist, and that true happiness is about intentions, integrity and
 innateness.</h4>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<h2 class="text-center">EMBRACING DIFFERENCE</h2>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
I love the question, “What does happiness mean?” Because, in my opinion, unconditional happiness is the purpose of
 human life, so understanding and evaluating what brings happiness will help us fulfill an enlightened life.
Happiness is very rich, rewarding, and complex. It is not diametrically opposed to grief or suffering, but rather
 something that I can experience when I know that I am being held in the integrity of my family, my community, what I
 stand for, and what I am rooted in.
<hr class="vertical-space1">

 <img decoding="async" width="627" height="800" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/discover_your_true_nature2_7b2f9547be.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T11:15:44.573Z">

<hr class="vertical-space1">
Happiness is about harmony and solidarity. It is knowing that when I arrive in a new environment, even if it is
 inherently challenging, I am arriving with a set of intentions: The intention to embody gratitude, loving-kindness,
 forgiveness and an active interest in others. And when I know that I carry this energy in my heart, my mind, and my
 inner being, then every moment becomes like a sacred offering, an opportunity to really open up to and unfurl to
 greater levels of interconnectedness and understanding. It truly is exceptional how interdependent we all are and
 have to be in this world.
Expanding upon the notion that happiness is the very nature of our being, I believe that other aspects of our inner
 being, like passion, are innately connected to happiness. Passion is defined as an intense driving conviction. It is
 a powerful feeling of enthusiasm toward something or someone, and it brings us the opportunity for new adventures
 and experiences. 
<hr class="vertical-space1">

 <img decoding="async" width="627" height="800" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/discover_your_true_nature3_d127888585.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T11:26:06.503Z">

<hr class="vertical-space1">
For example, I have developed a deep-rooted passion to understand the human body. Most people typically see the body
 as a collection of different parts, like arms, legs, torso, and the head. From this viewpoint, it may be difficult
 to imagine that the human body consists of over 70 trillion cells, all working in perfect harmony within our organs
 and the different organ systems to help us perform under even the most extreme conditions. My passion for the
 medical field has forced me to step out of my comfort zone by moving cities, challenging myself in academic
 research, and assisting in projects that could impact the lives of many. I believe that finding and pursuing our
 deep-rooted passions will help us live a full and happy life. Steve Jobs, the founder of Apple, was an extremely
 passionate person who told us, “The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet,
 keep looking, don’t settle. As with all matters of the heart, you’ll know when you find it.”
When we look outside our innermost feelings and emotions to find happiness, we lose control of our true nature. We
 are habituated to believe that happiness is found outside and through material means – a different partner, a new
 job, more money. We burden ourselves with so many pursuits, and it is difficult to avoid at times – at least I find
 this to be true for myself. When I was younger, I associated happiness with winning, an incredibly joyous feeling of
 coming first in a swimming race or achieving a high grade; however, the feeling was only transient. I have come to
 realize that there is a distinction between the happiness we gain from external factors, and the happiness within
 our being. When our attention is no longer exclusively directed toward material means of happiness, we can more
 deeply experience what’s innate – our very being.
<hr class="vertical-space1">

 <img decoding="async" width="627" height="488" alt="" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/discover_your_true_nature4_adb87c3cae.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-10T11:26:57.701Z">

<hr class="vertical-space1">
<hr>
<h4 class="text-center"
 id="h-by-remaining-open-relaxed-centered-and-able-to-let-go-of-distractions-we-give-ourselves-the-opportunity-to-find-unconditional-happiness">
 By remaining open, relaxed, centered, and able to let go of
 distractions, we give ourselves the opportunity to find unconditional happiness.</h4>
<hr>
<hr class="vertical-space1">
I think it’s safe to say that nobody wants their happiness to be conditional upon the behavior of other people or the
 different circumstances we find ourselves in. However, this is sometimes difficult to achieve, especially when there
 are a multitude of factors that affect our emotions and beliefs, such as the current pandemic. Releasing these
 distractions and turning toward the present moment can allow us to rest in our own being – enhancing our experience
 of happiness, not diminished by circumstances. I am relatively new to contemplative practices, however, I believe
 that they strengthen our capability to tune into our center and enrich our consciousness. By remaining open,
 relaxed, centered, and able to let go of distractions, we give ourselves the opportunity to find unconditional
 happiness.
<hr class="vertical-space1">
<hr>
<h4 class="text-center">Illustrations by ANANYA PATEL</h4>
<hr>

Discover your true nature

Sangeeth is a Product Manager in the energy sector, exploring Nature Based Solutions to achieve zero carbon emissions, both for corporates and countries. He leads the Forests By Heartfulness initiative, helping with strategy, industry outreach, and collaboration with other NGOs.

Sangeeth.jpg

Sangeeth Parvatham

<h4
 id="h-sangeeth-parvatam-is-the-program-manager-at-forests-by-heartfulness-brenda-neth-interviews-him-about-the-development-of-the-programs-and-the-conservation-that-is-developing-at-the-grassroots-level-as-a-result"
 >
 SANGEETH PARVATAM
 is the Program Manager at Forests By Heartfulness.
 BRENDA NETH
 interviews him about the development of the programs, and the
 conservation that is developing at the grassroots level as a
 result.
 </h4>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 Q: What are some of the successes at Kanha Shanti Vanam that led to
 the creation of the Forests By Heartfulness (FBH) initiative? What are
 some of the lessons learned?
 

 
 SP: Kanha
 Shanti Vanam has been transformed during the last 7 years as a result of
 several interventions backed by a combination of science and intuition
 guided by spiritual practice.
 

 
 For example, one initiative is the ex-situ conservation of critically
 endangered species, like Syzygiumtravancoricum, with only 15 trees
 spotted in the wild. Most of the conservation of these rare and
 endangered species was done without erecting steel or concrete
 structures, by providing the right natural conditions using shade-giving
 plants, rain guns, and lots of loving care.
 

 
 Another successful initiative was the translocation of hundreds of adult
 trees identified for felling during various road and housing
 developments in Hyderabad and other parts of the country. The survival
 rate has been astounding, given that tree translocation is fraught with
 many challenges.
 

 
 But these initiatives are resource-intensive activities that can only be
 accomplished by committed teams, funding, and a lot of care.
 

 
 I have personally learned the importance of involving the local
 community. Any project that is designed to benefit the community, can
 eventually become the community’s, with FBH acting as a conduit or
 facilitator.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img
 alt="forests-by-heartfulness2"
 class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/forests_by_heartfulness2_700x467_9cc995cd97.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:01:38.729Z"
 />
 </figure>
 </div>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 Q: Does FBH use the principles of permaculture, which was one of the
 key reasons for your involvement in the first place?
 

 
 SP: Yes, we
 have applied some of the core values of permaculture, like Earth Care,
 People Care, and Fair Share, but our work also includes other aspects
 like species conservation, landscaping, creating meditative spaces, etc.
 I am a lover of permaculture principles for supporting ecosystems, food
 supply, and soil regeneration, but the main objective of FBH is
 conservation.
 

 
 Q: You have shared a list of 231 species, the majority of which are
 trees that are currently being grown in 18 FBH nurseries across India.
 How do you determine which trees to grow in which nurseries, and where
 to plant them?
 

 
 SP: Thanks
 to its latitudinal and longitudinal spread, India is one of the 12
 mega-biodiversity countries in the world. The Indian subcontinent can be
 broadly classified into 8 distinct floristic zones: the Western
 Himalayas, the Eastern Himalayas, Assam, the Indus plain, the Gangetic
 plain, the Deccan, Malabar, and the Andamans. The species in these zones
 are not mutually exclusive, there are overlaps. When setting up the
 nurseries, species are carefully selected with the guidance of
 conservation experts from forestry, botany, and climate science, to
 match the zones of the nurseries, and efforts are taken to grow the
 saplings native to the zone.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img
 
 alt="forests-by-heartfulness3"
 class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/forests_by_heartfulness3_99685a66a9.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:02:16.846Z"
 />
 </figure>
 </div>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 Q: How is the land acquired for the plantation efforts? I understand
 there are three types of plantations. Will you tell us about
 them?
 

 
 SP: FBH
 looks for public spaces for plantation efforts to benefit the local
 communities. These include educational institutions, village common
 lands, industrial zones for greening, temple lands, etc. Plantation is
 only done after written approvals are obtained from the landholding
 authorities. The land rights, the plantations, and the produce always
 belong to the communities, not to FBH. We only create spaces of
 conservation by planting trees and eventually handing them over to the
 communities.
 

 
 The type of plantation depends on the end-goal of the project. Is it to
 provide fruit and medicinal plants for the local community? Is it to
 enhance biodiversity and wildlife? Is it to create a microclimate and
 raise the local water table? Is it to sequester carbon from the
 atmosphere? None of these goals are mutually exclusive, as you can
 imagine.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img
 alt="forests-by-heartfulness4"
 class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/forests_by_heartfulness4_700x394_dd8d8542cf.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:02:51.326Z"
 />
 </figure>
 </div>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 We primarily do block plantation, avenue plantation, and Hearty culture
 Dense Forest (HDF) creation. HDF is our proprietary methodology to
 create thriving mini forests within a short period of time. HDF is
 characterized by the choice of species selected, the placement of
 species based on their eventual canopy and height, and extensive use of
 activated biochar for soil remediation.
 

 
 Q: What is biochar?
 

 
 SP: Biochar
 is made by burning twigs, branches, leaves, paddy husk, crop residue,
 etc. in the absence of oxygen. The process is called pyrolysis. It can
 be done in small-scale boilers or by burning in mud pits. The resultant
 product is a dark pellet of super light material that can crumble in
 your hands. Pellets are activated by soaking them in fluids with high
 microbial content, such as nutrient-rich liquids, and the resultant
 product is activated biochar. This is then put in the holes before
 planting saplings. One unique feature of biochar is it surface area. Per
 unit weight, it has more surface area than any other substance on the
 planet. It can absorb, retain, and release nutrients to plants for
 several months.&nbsp;
 

 
 We have experimented with biocharat Kanha Shanti Vanam and can vouch for
 its effectiveness. Now we use it in all our plantations.
 

 
 Q: In 2019, FBH did a mass plantation of 64,000 saplings in 64
 cities, each site receiving 1,000 saplings. How are the saplings doing
 now?
 

 
 SP: The
 mass plantation in 2019 was a reality check for whether we could pull
 off a pan-India plantation drive and sustain it. It was a grand success
 and gave us the necessary confidence to create FBH as a pan-India
 initiative. The saplings are doing well, although survival rates vary
 according to location. Survival depends on several factors, including
 soil preparation prior to planting, health of the saplings, handling
 during plantation, administration of nutrients during and after
 plantation, and most importantly the first year of care and regular
 watering.
 

 
 The costs are kept very low – to around $1.92 for a one-year-old
 sapling– when the sites have a good water source, fencing to keep out
 intruders, locally-sourced materials, and lots of local community
 support.
 

 
 Q: Why are trees so important in halting climate change? Why should
 farmers be interested in having their “bunds” (dirt borders for farms)
 planted with trees?
 

 
 SP: Planting trees is the cheapest and most sustainable way of combating
 climate change. The World Economic Forum has done a scientific study
 using satellite imaging, and determined that there is enough place on
 Earth to plant 1 trillion additional trees. They can sequester enough
 carbon dioxide to keep climate change under control.
 

 
 Tree-based agriculture, known as agroforestry, is a potent solution,
 especially in countries like India with huge tracts of agricultural
 land. Trees on farm land provide an alternate source of income for the
 farmers and insure them against crop failures. They also prevent soil
 erosion, raise the water table, and improve soil quality.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img
 alt="forests-by-heartfulness5"
 class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/forests_by_heartfulness5_700x314_30273f9e75.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:03:47.529Z"
 />
 </figure>
 </div>

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 
 Q: In FBH, you make a sankalpa, a prayerful intention, when
 planting a sapling. What is that experience like for you, and how do
 you feel it impacts the trees and the planters?
 

 
 SP: Trees
 are vibratory beings with life in them, just like us. They respond to
 love, care, and benevolence. A prayerful intention at the time of
 delivering the sapling to Mother Earth goes a long way in its growth.
 Although I don’t live in Kanha, I visit there often, and I see
 phenomenal growth, even after a gap of two months. It can only be
 attributed to the elevated vibratory levels of Kanha, to which trees
 respond more than humans. This is not a matter of speculation but of
 observation.
 

 
 Q: What are some of the challenges facing FBH as you move forward
 with your goals of 30 million saplings planted by 2025, involving
 10,000 farmers and microentrepreneurs, and the preservation of 80
 endangered medicinal plants?
 

 
 SP: The
 challenges are many, but none that can’t be overcome. What works in one
 region may not work in others. Ready availability of saplings for
 plantation, suitable land with clear title, the support of local
 communities, and providing care during the initial months are just some
 challenges I can think of. This is where collaboration helps. Tree
 plantation is not an exact science and there are many things we can
 learn from others who travel this path. Collaborations allow us to play
 to our strengths and address the gaps in end-to-end project
 implementation.
 

 
 Q: Do you foresee collaborations with other Heartfulness
 organizations outside of India?
 

 
 SP: Yes,
 it’s only a matter of time before this will become a global movement
 spreading to all corners of the world. The barriers are disappearing,
 and technology is playing a big role. For example, a simple YouTube
 video on how to produce and use activated biochar for crop management
 can go viral, and the principle be applied everywhere.
 

 <hr class="vertical-space1" />

 <div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img
 alt="forests-by-heartfulness6"
 class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/forests_by_heartfulness6_700x467_22d3d553c3.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-12T07:04:46.360Z"
 />
 </figure>
 </div>

Forests by Heartfulness

Sanjana is a medical student and photographer based in Houston, Texas. Being people-oriented, she is always listening to people. Her focus is to take care of people, not cases; capture memories, not click photos. She also enjoys spending time with friends and family, traveling, and listening to music.

Sanjana-Ayyagari.jpg

Sanjana Ayyagari

<h4
 id="h-sanjana-ayyagari-shares-some-everyday-images-of-ways-to-be-more-aware-take-care-and-responsibility-for-self-and-others-and-build-community-all-this-leads-to-a-better-sense-of-well-being">
 SANJANA AYYAGARI
 shares some everyday images of ways to be more aware, take care and
 responsibility for self and others, and build community. All this
 leads to a better sense of well-being.
</h4>

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img alt="better-leader3-700x511" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/better_leader3_700x511_33997710d2.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:01:02.602Z" />
 </figure>
</div>

<h4>
 Education
</h4>


 Today, young people are revolutionizing the world by educating
 themselves on issues pertaining to society as a whole. They are
 conversing with each other, whether over email, social media, or in
 person. While they do not always find all the answers to their
 questions, they are enriching their minds and preparing themselves to
 face the challenges ahead.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img alt="better-leader2-700x511" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/better_leader2_700x511_de3b7238f8.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:02:27.721Z" />
 </figure>
</div>


 Environmental
 Consciousness



 Young people are striving to limit the negative impact of their
 existence on the planet. Everything from metal straws, reusable grocery
 bags, and recyclable materials have become staples in their households
 and their mindset is governed by the goal of leaving the planet in a
 better state than it was when they arrived.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img alt="better-leader4-700x486" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/better_leader4_700x486_ce1fcd9245.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:03:52.209Z" />
 </figure>
</div>

<h4>
 Health and
 Well-being
</h4>


 Health and well-being are no longer a series of quick schemes to get fit
 and be ready for the next Instagram post, but rather a lifestyle adopted
 by young people to feel their best from within. Whether it be yoga,
 meditation, lifting weights, or simply staying hydrated, this generation
 is prioritizing feeling good physically, mentally, and emotionally.


<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<hr />

<hr class="vertical-space1" />

<div class="block-image">
 <figure>
 <img alt="better-leader5" class="lazyload has-img-center"
 src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/better_leader5_9b37c56479.jpg?updated_at=2023-04-11T07:05:08.008Z" />
 </figure>
</div>


 Community and
 Camaraderie



 At times it can be isolating to be part of a generation that is going
 through a lot of self-doubt and creating their own path to living a
 fulfilling life. But young people have realized that it is always better
 to collaborate and not compete. By coming together as a community, this
 generation is not only better equipped to navigate the obstacles of
 their individual lives, but also to redirect their collective journey
 and create lasting positive change.

Everyday ways you can be a better leader

Dr. Sanjay is Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine and Biomedical Engineering at University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Ohio, USA, and a Heartfulness Practitioner.

sanjay-rajagopalan.webp

Sanjay Rajagopalan

<h4 style="text-align:justify;">SANJAY RAJAGOPALAN and KYLE RAJAGOPALAN of the Harrington Heart and Vascular Institute, University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve School of Medicine, Cleveland OH, USA, have been exploring the interface between cardiology and the spiritual understanding of the heart’s role in our lives. They bridge the ancient and the modern scientific in a way that can revolutionize the lives and work of medical professionals.</h4>&nbsp;For a long time, scientists thought emotions and feelings came only from the brain. But they now know that the heart plays a big role, too. This new understanding could change the way we think about emotions and consciousness, seeing the heart not just as a symbol, but as an organ that directly influences how we feel. This idea places the heart at the center of empathy, compassion, and love, which can be viewed as our deeper awareness of feelings.An ancient Sanskrit hymn called the Narayana Suktam, which dates back over 7,000 years, describes the heart as the gateway to awareness. In one verse, the heart’s location is described as “below the Adam’s apple, a hand’s width above the navel, shining brightly like a great home, surrounded by garlands of flames.”1 The next verse speaks of the heart’s connection to the nervous system, describing it as “encircled by nerves, with a lotus-shaped bud pointing downward, holding a subtle space inside where the foundation of everything exists.” This hymn offers a unique view of the heart, blending both its physical location and its spiritual significance with the nervous system.The connection between the heart and the brain has evolved significantly since the ideas of French physician Claude Bernard, who highlighted their relationship in 1865.2 While he acknowledged the heart's role in emotions, he believed it was secondary to the brain’s influence. Bernard suggested that when our brain perceives external stimuli, it triggers physiological changes in the heart—like an increased heart rate—through neural connections. This change in heart function, in turn, helps us become aware of our emotions, such as anxiety or fear. For instance, imagine walking alone at night and hearing a sudden noise. You are startled and your heart might race in response to rapid reflexive neural connections between the brain and heart, often before you even consciously register fear. This demonstrates how the heart’s physiological pumping response, while secondary to “fast” responses to stimuli from the brain, may precede and influence our emotional awareness of a physiological state.<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">This demonstrates how the heart’s physiological pumping response, while secondary to “fast” responses&nbsp; to stimuli from the brain, may precede and influence our emotional awareness of a physiological state.</h4><hr>Today, the medical understanding of the heart is far more sophisticated. We now see it as more than just a pump; it’s a complex, well-connected organ with its own nervous system. A bi-directional communication between the heart and brain creates a seamless integration of emotions and physiological responses.3 In many cases, signals emanating from the heart precede that of the brain and also override them. For example, proteins and other molecules released by the heart secondarily influence brain activity.4Think about the feeling of warmth and openness you experience when you see a loved one. This sensation, often felt in the chest area, might be the heart’s way of communicating feelings of love and connection to the brain. This sensation may be more than just a psychological response; it could be rooted and originate in the heart itself. While the brain processes and interprets these feelings, the heart plays a vital role in generating them. This shift in understanding highlights the heart’s importance in our emotional lives, suggesting that our feelings may be more heart-centered than we previously thought.Heartfulness offers a fascinating perspective on the connection between our thoughts and feelings, blending ancient wisdom with modern understanding.5 In spiritual terms, chakras are energy centers in our body that influence our spiritual energy. In the Heartfulness tradition, there are 16 chakras—3 lower chakras, 5 chakras in the Heart Region, 7 chakras associated with the Mind Region, and 1 chakra beyond the heart and mind, known as the Central Region.The relationship between the heart and mind helps explain how our thoughts can affect our feelings. It’s believed that our thoughts start from a deep inner space (sometimes called the “chit lake or consciousness lake”), located near the forehead, and then travel down to connect with the chakras in the Heart.6<hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">Many spiritual traditions suggest that&nbsp; we should pause, feel with our heart,&nbsp; then think before reacting.&nbsp; This heart-centered approach allows us to bypass&nbsp; quick judgments and automatic responses shaped by our past. Instead of reacting from a place of fear or pain,&nbsp; we can respond with greater empathy and understanding.</h4><hr>This flow of thoughts from the mind can sometimes counter-intuitively disrupt our ability to truly feel, as the judgment or analysis of a situation may sometimes precede feeling. Consider a time when you reacted impulsively to a stressful situation, perhaps saying something you later regretted. By pausing to connect with your heart, you might have responded with more empathy and understanding.These insights can help us cultivate heart-based feelings like compassion and empathy in our interactions with others. When we face stressful situations—especially those that trigger painful memories or strong emotions—it’s common to react automatically, based on past experiences. However, by first connecting with our heart in the moment, we can change how we respond.Many spiritual traditions suggest that we should pause, feel with our heart, then think before reacting. This heart-centered approach allows us to bypass quick judgments and automatic responses shaped by our past. Instead of reacting from a place of fear or pain, we can respond with greater empathy and understanding.By entering this “subtle space” of the heart, we tap into a deeper awareness that connects us to others and to universal consciousness. This practice enhances relationships and promotes personal growth and healing. Ultimately, it teaches us that, even in challenging moments, we have the power to choose compassion over reactivity.&nbsp;<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/beyond_the_beat2_318c05cb3a.webp" alt="beyond-the-beat2.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_beyond_the_beat2_318c05cb3a.webp 117w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_beyond_the_beat2_318c05cb3a.webp 375w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_beyond_the_beat2_318c05cb3a.webp 562w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">By entering this “subtle space” of the heart,&nbsp; we tap into a deeper awareness that connects us to others and to universal consciousness.</h4><hr>For many <a href="https://heartfulness.org/in-en/wellness-retreats" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">healthcare</a> providers, especially those facing life-and-death situations, showing empathy and compassion is essential. However, the prevailing tendency to view patients primarily as clinical cases can create a disconnect between the heart and the mind. Relying solely on analytical thinking often limits the compassion and empathy that patients truly seek.Incorporating heart-centered skills into every physician’s toolkit can bridge the gap between clinical analysis and <a href="https://heartfulness.org/magazine/silence-and-compassion" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">compassionate care</a>. This approach not only improves patient experience but also promotes a more holistic understanding of health, ultimately enriching both the caregiver’s and the patient’s experience.For clinicians, integrating heart-centered attention into their practice may require effort and practice, but the benefits are significant. When we engage our hearts, it can provoke the right thoughts. By allowing our feelings to guide our thoughts, we can produce more compassionate and relevant responses.<figure class="image"><img src="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/beyond_the_beat3_105099d14a.webp" alt="beyond-the-beat3.webp" srcset="https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/thumbnail_beyond_the_beat3_105099d14a.webp 208w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/small_beyond_the_beat3_105099d14a.webp 500w,https://cdn-prod-static.heartfulness.org/medium_beyond_the_beat3_105099d14a.webp 750w," sizes="100vw"></figure><hr><h4 style="text-align:center;">When we engage our hearts,&nbsp; it can provoke the right thoughts.&nbsp; By allowing our feelings to guide our thoughts,&nbsp; we can produce more compassionate&nbsp; and relevant responses.</h4><hr>Taking a moment to pause and approach patient interactions with a heart-centered mindset can transform the encounter into a deeply healing experience. Patients often pick up on these heart-centered vibes, as they are particularly attuned to the emotional frequencies emanating from their caregivers. This connection fosters trust and strengthens the doctor-patient relationship.Over time, for caregivers, a heart-centered approach can become a form of practice or “sadhana,” leading to higher levels of conscious action. Just as a skilled musician harmonizes different notes to create beautiful music, a heart-centered approach harmonizes our thoughts and feelings, leading to a more fulfilling and compassionate life.<h4 style="text-align:justify;">References</h4><ol style="list-style-type:decimal;"><li>Narayana sukta [Internet]. Wikipedia 2024 [cited 2024 Jun 26]; available from <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Narayana_sukta&amp;oldid=1217270843">https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Narayana_sukta&amp;oldid=1217270843</a></li><li>Bernard C. Lecture on the physiology of the heart and its connections with the brain, delivered at the Sorbonne, the 27th March, 1865. Tr. by J. S. Morel. [Internet]. Savannah, Purse; 1867 [cited 2024 Jun 26]. Available from: <a href="http://archive.org/details/39002086349314.med.yale.edu.">http://archive.org/details/39002086349314.med.yale.edu.</a></li><li>Giannino G. et al., 2024. The Intrinsic Cardiac Nervous System: From Pathophysiology to Therapeutic Implications. Biology 13:105.</li><li>Daniele G. et al., 2020. Heart and Brain: Complex Relationships for Left Ventricular Dysfunction. Curr Cardiol Rep. 22:72.</li><li>Patel K.D., 2023. Spiritual Anatomy: Meditation, Chakras, and the Journey to the Center. Grand Central Publishing.</li><li>Patel K.D., 2023. The Eighth Chakra: Surrender, Spiritual Anatomy: Meditation, Chakras, and the Journey to the Center. Grand Central Publishing.</li></ol>

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