LOVE A Vital Nutrient 

So here goes, I want to write about a brilliant book I just finished reading 'LOVE 2.0' author Barbara L. Fredrickson, PH.D. This book made so much sense to me, that love is a nutrient, important to our well-being. This supreme emotion affects everything we feel, think, do and become, Dr. Fredrickson has on the book cover. I have been afraid of love most of my life, didn't really understand it, no wonder look who we learn love from. We learn about love from our parents or main caregivers, boyfriends, girlfriends, society, culture, media no wonder there is so much misunderstanding and fear of love. It can be pretty scary to say "I love you" and really feel it, authentically, allow your heart to be open, vulnerable. And love is being researched and the results described in this book in a way that we lay people can understand. The research shows that more than happiness and even optimism, love holds the key to improving our mental and physical  health as well as lengthening our lives and deepening our personal experience. Fredrickson defines love as a momentary state that arises to infuse your mind and body alike. Love is connection. "Love is the momentary upwelling of three tightly interwoven events: first, a sharing of one or morepositive emotions between you and another; second, a synchrony between your and the other person's biochemistry and behaviours; and third, a reflected motive to invest in each other's well-being that brings mutual care." Fredrickson 's shorthand for this is positivity resonance, and is also a skill that can be taught and learned. This skill love, needs to be cultivated in our intimate relationships, communities, schools and workplaces, globally. This book provides exercises, practices to cultivate, build love in ourselves and for ourselves and to expand out to others, even globally. Frederickson says compassion is love. I hope you pick up this book, borrow it from the library like I did, check out the websites for resources, tools to cultivate love, compassion in your life  positivityresonance.com and www.positivityratio.com or just type in Dr.Barbara Fredrickson you will also find youtube videos. Did you eat enough vegetables today, and did you cultivate enough love today...get all your nutrients!!!

IMPROVING YOUR RATIO OF POSITIVE TO NEGATIVE EMOTIONS

I hope you are enjoying the first step in practicing lovingkindness, by practicing lovingkindness to yourself.
Now, let's move on to the next step, sending loving-kindness to family member or friend.When you have completed the first step which I wrote in the last blog, you continue by bringing to your mind, imagination a family memeber, or a friend, when you have that person in your mind, again with your hand or both hands on your heart say to this family member or friend

"May you be happy"
"May you be safe"
"May you be healthy and well"
"May you be free from all fear"
 (Or make up your own phrases )

Repeat two more times.

Take 3 deep breaths to really grow and feel these feelings in your body, and then release your hand and let it move forward as if offering to your friend/family member and then let the picture of your friend/family member go.




 Christine Carter , Ph.D wrote in her blog "Loving-kindness meditation does far more than produce momentary good feelings. Over a nine week period, research showed that this type of meditation increased people's experiences of positive emotions. (If you are working on improving your ratio of positive to negative emotions, start with loving-kindness!) The research shows compellingly that it actually puts people on "trajectories of growth," leaving them better able to ward off depression and "become ever more satisfied with life." This is probably because it increases a wide range of those resources that make for a meaningful and successful life, like having an increased sense of purpose, stronger social support, and less illness. Research even shows that loving-kindness meditation "changes the way people approach life" for the better.
I've blogged before about social connections and how important they are for health and happiness. Doing a simple loving-kindness meditation can make us feel less isolated and more connected to those around us: one study showed that a SINGLE SEVEN MINUTE loving-kindness meditation made people feel more connected to and positive about both loved ones and total strangers, and more accepting of themselves. Imagine what a regular practice could do!"

What a wonderful way to end your day with your child, cultivating more loving-kindness in your lives and sending it to others. Love to all.