The Zen Diarist

Author website of Andrew Marshall

  • Facebook
  • LinkedIn
  • Twitter

Archives

  • September 2024
  • May 2024
  • March 2024
  • October 2023
  • May 2023
  • December 2022
  • September 2022
  • July 2022
  • April 2022
  • December 2021
  • October 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • April 2021
  • February 2021
  • December 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015

Categories

  • Awakening Heart
  • Happiness
  • Health
  • Meditation
  • News
  • The Art of Not Doing

Powered by Genesis

  • Welcome
    • Blog
  • Books
    • The Great Little Book of Happiness
    • Awakening Heart
    • The Art of Not Doing
  • About
    • Legal stuff
      • Disclaimer
      • Privacy
      • Copyright
      • Terms
  • Subscribe
  • Contact

It’s not all bad news – love heals, both inside and out

March 20, 2020 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

Understandably, there is a great deal of anxiety about the effects of the coronavirus, socially and economically as well as in a health sense. Fear is spread far and wide, and this increased stress tends to weaken the immune system. So, instead of mulling over the negative and fearful stuff, let’s talk about love for a minute.

The miraculous antidote

Love is quite extraordinary. We take it for granted as part of life but we often mess it up, don’t we? Part of the trouble is that we are conditioned to associate love with relationships from quite an early age and that, as we know, is fraught with difficulty. Expectations invariably lead to disappointments and little hurts build up. These restrict the flow of energy through our body. Over time, our vitality suffers and life is less joyful and healthy than it might otherwise be. The antidote to this is love. It is amazingly powerful – we just need to learn to let it out of the box.

Love strengthens the immune system

Just as fear weakens our defences, love can help strengthen them. The immune system is a fairly simple name for a rather complex collection of defence mechanisms within and on the body. Informing and underlying our physical body is an equally sophisticated system through which the energy of vitality, Qi, flows. The better the flow of Qi, the more effective our immune system generally is. This somewhat subtle field of energy not only permeates the whole body but also extends beyond the skin.

Wei Qi

The Qi that runs close to the surface and surrounds our body is sometimes known as Wei Qi – the outer, protective layer of Qi. There are many Qigong exercises and techniques to strengthen Wei Qi. Those are really good to do and very relevant in the current climate. But what is not often appreciated is that Love expands this energy field. So when we love, we build up positive energy in and around us. When we retreat inside ourselves through fear or anger, the Wei Qi retreats, too.

Don’t panic, but for heaven’s sake don’t just sit there

Life and the world are rather upside down at the moment. As a race, we have neglected and abused our beloved planet for far too long. She is giving us a very loud wake-up call because, let’s face it, we have ignored all the warnings so far. Perhaps when the immediate urgency of the current situation has passed, a new world view may emerge. In the meantime, let’s stay positive and remember there is a very effective healing power within all of us.


Energy circulation meditation for vitality

If you like this, please share it:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related posts:

  1. Home: four reasons why love in the home is crucial to your health
  2. Love: why cosmic glue stops us falling apart
  3. Stale energy: how to stop it killing you
  4. Something to smile about

Filed Under: Awakening Heart, Health Tagged With: ageing, body, cause and effect, collective consciousness, earth, energy, fear, healing, health, joy, karma, love, qi, qigong, relationships, subtle bodies, tai chi, wellbeing, wisdom

Heart – and its secret energy

February 14, 2016 by Andrew Marshall Leave a Comment

heart centre

Heart is more than muscle

The heart is essential to our being on this planet but it is more than simply an organ that pumps blood around the body. There is also the inner heart.

Throughout the body there are many energy centres, some small and others more significant. Together with meridians and minor channels, they form part of a vast and complex network. Energy centres cannot be seen with ordinary vision, any more than electricity or the wind can normally be seen with the eye. But their effects can be felt.

Layered like an onion

If we can imagine for a moment our body as having layers like an onion, there are many levels which cannot be seen. These invisible layers are sometimes referred to as our subtle bodies. More subtle than the physical body is the etheric or vital energy system. Every organ and gland in the body has its subtle counterpart. Corresponding to the heart, for instance, is a very special centre. When the heart centre is more active and open, the individual tends to be more generous, kind and compassionate.

Imbalance in the vital or etheric energy can make us feel off-colour. Our vitality is weaker and so are the body’s defences. If prolonged, sickness is more likely to arise. Those who practise healing or the energy arts, such as yoga, qigong and tai chi, know this from experience.

At a deeper level of our being is the emotional or feeling layer, sometimes called the emotional or astral body. More subtle still is the mental body. Throughout all the subtle bodies, energy circulates. The freer this circulation, the better we feel. These have their corresponding energy centres. Throughout all these layers, energy circulates and the heart centre in particular radiates energy throughout them.

Inner and outer health

At the outer or physical level we know the good functioning of the heart is essential for good health but how much attention do we pay to the inner heart that governs the emotions and the way we think?

In the same way that the physical heart is concerned with supply, the emotional and mental heart centres – our feeling and thinking hearts – are also concerned with supply or giving. The more freely we can give of ourselves, the better the heart centre will function at all levels.

The more open our thinking is, the more easily energy will circulate throughout the mental body. Our mind will feel clearer and calmer. As a result, the emotional heart centre will circulate more energy and be freer and lighter. The channels and centres in the etheric or vital body can work more efficiently, increasing our vitality. Yes, the way we think really can have a profound effect on our health and well-being.

Nurturing

The energy of the heart is particularly significant in this because it is rather like the centre of all the centres. But it needs to be nurtured and one of the fastest and most effective ways of doing this is to cultivate generosity. We may think we are generous already. That’s good. But we may find that our generosity is not as universal as we think. We have to have an open heart and that is what we will begin to look at next time.

Adapted from Chapter 3 of The Great Little Book of Happiness

If you would like to receive notifications of new posts, please subscribe to this blog.

If you like this, please share it:

  • Share on X (Opens in new window) X
  • Share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window) LinkedIn
  • Share on Pinterest (Opens in new window) Pinterest
  • Print (Opens in new window) Print

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related posts:

  1. Opening the heart, no surgery
  2. Does how you think affect your health?
  3. Stress? Cut it in 5 minutes or less
  4. Saying sorry can be very healing

Filed Under: Happiness Tagged With: cause and effect, chi, energy, health, heart, mind, subtle bodies

Loading Comments...
%d