"Through your embrace you speak a thousand words, without ever saying one."
~Source Unknown
"The world would be a better place if we smiled more often and hugged a bit longer."
~Source Unknown
According to author and psychotherapist Virginia Satir, we need four hugs a day for survival, eight hugs a day for maintenance, and twelve hugs a day for growth. Yikes! Most of us are probably severely hug deprived, even if we are in a loving relationship, unless we are parenting a family of twelve.
And then there is Ammachi ~ Amma ~ known as the Hugging Saint, who travels the world offering a loving embrace to all those who come to see her. It is said that Amma has embraced and comforted more than 32 million people. What is the source of her unlimited energy, love and compassion? “Where there is true love, everything is effortless,” Amma will say. I have not personally experienced the embrace of Amma, but I have met several people who have, and each one has recalled the experience with what seems like reverie, as if they can still feel the transmission of pure love radiating through them at that moment.
And then there is Juan Mann. You remember the YouTube video of the man who started a "Free Hug" movement a while back. Check out the video below. It's sure to bring a smile to your heart and make you want to run out and find someone to hug.
Researchers have actually studied the health benefits of hugging. When you hold someone close, the hormone oxytocin is released into the bloodstream, lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety and even potentially improving memory.
Today (and every day) I am grateful for this most wonderful and delicious way to give and receive love, to express our affection and appreciation, to share our joys and ease our sorrows. How easy it is to make someone's whole day by reaching out to offer this gift of pure love in a warm embrace. It's true, the world would be a better place if we smiled more often and hugged a bit longer.
Sending 'virtual hugs' to all through the ethers, and many blessings this day.
~Joanna
And then there is Ammachi ~ Amma ~ known as the Hugging Saint, who travels the world offering a loving embrace to all those who come to see her. It is said that Amma has embraced and comforted more than 32 million people. What is the source of her unlimited energy, love and compassion? “Where there is true love, everything is effortless,” Amma will say. I have not personally experienced the embrace of Amma, but I have met several people who have, and each one has recalled the experience with what seems like reverie, as if they can still feel the transmission of pure love radiating through them at that moment.
And then there is Juan Mann. You remember the YouTube video of the man who started a "Free Hug" movement a while back. Check out the video below. It's sure to bring a smile to your heart and make you want to run out and find someone to hug.
Researchers have actually studied the health benefits of hugging. When you hold someone close, the hormone oxytocin is released into the bloodstream, lowering blood pressure, reducing stress and anxiety and even potentially improving memory.
Today (and every day) I am grateful for this most wonderful and delicious way to give and receive love, to express our affection and appreciation, to share our joys and ease our sorrows. How easy it is to make someone's whole day by reaching out to offer this gift of pure love in a warm embrace. It's true, the world would be a better place if we smiled more often and hugged a bit longer.
Sending 'virtual hugs' to all through the ethers, and many blessings this day.
~Joanna
