It just makes sense that loving and being loved is vital to our happiness. Pioneering integrative medical doctors are now recognizing that it is also critical to our health, particularly the physical health of our heart. Dr. Dean Ornish’s 35 years of research shows that symptoms of coronary heart disease can be reduced by not only following proper nutrition and fitness, but also stress management, which must include love and support.

This month’s theme, Rethinking Heart Health, is particularly personal to me, because my father, Allen, suffered a stroke in November, two days before his 80th birthday. During his stay at a rehab center, he shared a room with a young pastor, also recovering from a stroke. On the day the pastor was discharged, he turned to my father and said, “Just remember, Allen, you are blessed.”

The pastor’s words deeply touched my father, who had been experiencing some depression over his condition. He suddenly realized how truly blessed he was to have all his loving family members around him. It was a good reminder of the important things in life, giving him the motivation to work hard to get better. Three weeks later, with the help of a walker, he was able to walk through his own front door.

I recently experienced my own mental and emotional transformation, after completing Katherine Woodward Thomas’ seven-week online course, Calling in “The One”. It demands the hard work of looking inward and taking 100 percent responsibility for our own life, including our toxic relationships. Resolving them involves taking ownership of the role we continue to play in enabling each dynamic, dimming our light and failing to speak our truth.

Rather than blaming past love interests for mistreating and hurting us, for instance, Woodward Thomas forces us to identify how we give our power away in relationships and ignore our needs by allowing false core beliefs to define our choices and behaviors. Common examples of such beliefs include, “I’m not good enough” or I’m not lovable.” Rather than digging into the reasons behind our old, sad stories, she teaches us to recognize how we have let limiting beliefs determine the course of our lives, and how to rewrite our story going forward. Debra Melani interviewed Woodward Thomas for this month’s Wise Words department.

Thank you for joining us this month as we all explore fresh ways to better love ourselves, each other and the planet.

In love and gratitude,

Gabriella Buchnik, Publisher