Getting to the Heart of Stress: with the Heartnicity Method

It was a simple experiment. I asked clients and friends how they felt about getting up in the morning. People’s orientation toward their lives seems to be related to how they respond to stress. Disempowering stress generally preceded an aversion to the day, while well managed or an absence of stress paved the way to a much more enthusiastic greeting to the morning sun.

This book is about creating a positive response to the question and living with an understanding that enables you to get out of bed each day with a sense of meaning, purpose and profound joy. Secure in the knowledge that whatever happens - good or bad, you’ll feel good about yourself and be confident in your ability to create your life.

It’s about how to make sense of the demands of everyday living and how to alleviate the often associated and distressing states of mind that can overwhelm and undermine your efforts to find meaning, joy and peace.

Getting to the Heart of Stress with The Heartnicity Method has been written to help you to transform the stress in your life so it can give you renewed energy for living.
It’s about understanding stress and using a tried and tested method to not only alleviate its negative consequences but also to transform your experience and perception of stress as the means to bring great meaning and purpose to your life.

In Getting to the Heart of Stress I have called on all latest scientific research into neuroplasticity, the physiological and psychological theory and understanding of the human autonomic, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
In addition to presenting the latest concepts, I have also drawn inspiration from the experiences of the many clients and course participants I have met and served along the way as a therapist / counsellor and as a facilitator in personal growth and life skills education. Ordinary people who have transformed their lives using the practices outlined in this book. Their names and identifying details have been changed, where appropriate, to maintain privacy.

So what is Heartnicity? When I was looking for a word to describe my work, I couldn’t find one that meant bringing love and meaning together, so I made a word up that combined heart (love, emotion, strength) with synchronicity (making meaning from coincidences). Heartnicity is about making meaning through the intelligence of the heart.

The Heartnicity Method provides a practical guide using everyday stories from my own life experiences as a woman, wife, mother, public speaker, personal development teacher and psychotherapist. The Heartnicity Method introduces AWARENESS, ACCEPTANCE and ACTION as foundation skills that underpin a conscious and joyful way of living life to the full.

The practices in this book are aimed at assisting you to understand, recognise, reduce and manage the symptoms of harmful stress while mobilising the energy available from dynamic tension to act in line with what lights you up and gives you energy and meaning in your life.
I recognise that we can often be faced with a loss of meaning and overwhelming stress and I believe passionately that we can learn how to create meaning, manage harmful stress, enjoy the benefits of good stress and learn to lead more peaceful and fulfilling lives. These words are offered with love and compassion for all of humanity as we head down the path toward global consciousness and personal inner peace.

Before you start on this journey with me, take a moment and ask yourself this question. "What gets me out of bed in the mornings? “What is the first thought that arises in my awareness each day?”