Hot Springs BodyTalk

09/20/2025

When the mind is festering with trouble or the heart torn, we can find healing among the silence of mountains or fields, or listen to the simple, steadying rhythm of waves. The slowness and stillness gradually takes us over. Our breathing deepens and our hearts calm and our hungers relent. When serenity is restored, new perspectives open to us and difficulty can begin to seem like an invitation to new growth.

This invitation to friendship with nature does of course entail a willingness to be alone out there. Yet this aloneness is anything but lonely. Solitude gradually clarifies the heart until a true tranquility is reached. The irony is that at the heart of that aloneness you feel intimately connected with the world. Indeed, the beauty of nature is often the wisest balm for it gently relieves and releases the caged mind.

JOHN O'DONOHUE

Excerpt from his books, Divine Beauty (Europe) / Beauty: The Invisible Embrace (US)
Ordering Info: https://johnodonohue.com/store

Lough Inagh, County Galway, Ireland
Photo: © Ann Cahill

09/15/2025

Thanks to our friend Caramaya for this post.

Most people think the brain is the sole command center of the body, but science reveals a deeper truth: your heart is not just a pump, it is an intelligent organ that actively influences how you think and feel. In fact, the heart sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends to the heart, shaping emotions, decision-making, and even perception.

This connection is made possible through the vagus nerve and the body’s intricate nervous system. The heart generates powerful rhythmic signals that travel upward, directly impacting brain regions linked to emotion and cognition. When your heartbeat is steady and coherent, it promotes calmness, clarity, and focus. When it becomes irregular or stressed, it can trigger anxiety, confusion, or irritability.

Researchers have also found that the heart produces its own neurotransmitters, including dopamine and oxytocin, chemicals usually associated with the brain. This means your heart is part of the conversation that regulates bonding, trust, and joy. It is not only reacting to your emotional state—it is helping create it.

This relationship explains why stress, anger, or grief can affect physical heart rhythms, and why practices like deep breathing, meditation, and gratitude can quickly shift both mood and heart health. When you calm your heart, you calm your brain. When you care for your heart, you strengthen your mind.

The traditional view that the brain is in charge and the heart simply follows is incomplete. The reality is more of a partnership, with the heart playing a central role in the flow of information that shapes who you are.

Your heart is more than a muscle keeping you alive—it is a guiding force influencing how you feel, think, and connect with the world around you. Learning to listen to it may be one of the most powerful ways to nurture both your emotional and mental health.

09/07/2025

08/07/2025

What a powerful tool in our journey to know ourselves! Please read and check this out for yourselves.

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07/27/2025

Healing from within.