Sometimes the best thing we can do for our mental health is take a break from our thinking mind. Although our ability to think is an amazing tool and source of pleasure, we do not give it a rest often enough. We can let our overheated minds cool down by focusing for a while on our hearts and their capacity for love, courage, appreciation, wisdom and connection.

One very powerful coping method for stress is to sit quietly and allow our mind or attention to be cradled at the heart level. This is helpful because, as poet Rainer Maria Rilke says, “our heart always transcends us.” ~Jacqueline Marshall

“Your heart’s voice is your true voice. It is easy to ignore it, for sometimes it says what we’d rather it did not – and it is so hard to risk the things we have. But what life are we living, if we don’t live by our hearts? Not a true one. And the person living it is not the true you.” ~ Susan Fletcher