MAX Mindfulness: Find it in your Heart

by Dave Wine, President & CEO

Did you know that your heart’s energy is at least 5,000 times stronger than your brain’s?   Some studies show it may even be much stronger than that!   We hear a lot about the power of our minds but our hearts are even stronger.   It is no coincidence that we talk about the heart when it comes to love, the most powerful emotion we can have.  And the opposite comment to indicate cruelty,  “they are heartless”.

Why do I share this when I’m writing about mindfulness?  Because we have to use our mind to focus and pay attention, but if we are not involving our heart in the process, it is not going to be that helpful for us.  The goal of mindfulness is not just to watch our minds at work – it’s to help us get to a ‘better place’ through watching our minds and becoming more aware and seeking positive and peace-giving energy – that comes from the heart.   For example, if I take a ‘time out’ and close my eyes and take a few deep breaths before I get in the car to drive, it can help me remember I am now driving and to pay attention.   But if that same thought doesn’t touch the heart, I will likely get upset at the first driver that does something that is wrong like cutting me off in traffic, missing a turn signal, etc.  Mindfulness really gets powerful when we can connect our brain’s energy (thoughts) to our heart’s energy (feelings).  So if I can get in my car, direct my thoughts to “I’m driving now…” and also direct those thoughts to my heart, “I care about others and I want to drive with that care in my heart”, my ability to drive relaxed, safe, and at peace just went up several-fold.

So the greatest gift of mindfulness is when we allow our thoughts to slow down and intercept the energy of the heart.  Because the heart is where our positive emotions and energy reside.  It is no accident that the heart and Valentine’s Day love and appreciation are connected.  This is really the secret of prayer, meditation and worship.  When our thoughts focus and we allow the energy of our hearts to come into place, we become gifts to others and to our world.  It is not just mindfulness – it is mindfulness to help us get in touch with our hearts – that positive, hopeful, loving part of our self, others, and life.  And that is wholeness.  And, of course, that is MAX!

Dave WineDavid Wine

David is the President and CEO of the MAX enterprise, having served in that capacity since its formation in 2001.   He has forty plus years of  leadership experience in the business and faith-based worlds, being an ordained minister, having been elected to the highest position in his denomination,  and receiving numerous awards and recognition for his leadership in the insurance industry. He currently serves on numerous boards in the church and insurance sectors.  His hobbies include hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing as well as being an avid reader.  David and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren.

MAX Mindfulness: Personality is Not Heart

by Dave Wine, President & CEO

Instead of a mindful practice today, let me share something you might want to be ‘more mindful of’ in your life with others.  Here it is:  Personality is not Heart!  Or you could, instead of heart, insert the words soul, inner being, spirit and get the same sense of what I’m writing about today.

Each of us has a very distinct and unique personality.  Some of us are warm and others cool. Some outgoing, others reserved.  Some smiling and outwardly happy, others more reflective.   And our personality, being what it is, is attracted (and sometimes repelled) by other personalities.  Without mindful attention, it can be pretty easy at times to dismiss or judge others based on their personalities (which again our own personality aligns with or not) and not on who they really are as persons.  If we are naturally upbeat, happy, enthusiastic, etc. we will likely be attracted to personalities that feed those aspects of ourselves.  And when other personalities don’t match or feed our own personality, we can judge them harshly as persons without even taking the time to understand what it is that is causing us to react the way we are. “That person is too flippant.”  “That person is not a deep thinker.”  “That person should be happier.”  “That person needs to loosen up.” “I don’t like that person because…”.  And on and on it goes.

Personality is only one aspect of us.  More important than personality is who we are authentically as persons.  That is a heart or inner issue.  We might be all happy, bubbly and a person people like to be around, but our heart condition may not match our outward condition.  Or we might be quiet, reserved and even come across to others as ‘a bit cool’ but our heart might be warm, affectionate, and supportive.  Again, the key is to be mindful enough, and take the time, to appreciate each personality for who it is and its uniqueness, and remind ourselves that personality is not necessarily reflective of a person’s heart and soul.  Heart and soul are discovered in getting to know a person, not in quick judgments.  Yet far too many relationships are formed with those quick judgments in our world and in our workplaces today.

From one unique personality,

Dave

Dave WineDavid Wine

David is the President and CEO of the MAX enterprise, having served in that capacity since its formation in 2001.   He has forty plus years of  leadership experience in the business and faith-based worlds, being an ordained minister, having been elected to the highest position in his denomination,  and receiving numerous awards and recognition for his leadership in the insurance industry. He currently serves on numerous boards in the church and insurance sectors.  His hobbies include hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing as well as being an avid reader.  David and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren.