Eric Berne, the founder of Transactional Analysis, wrote about hungers at the core of every human being.

You can think of these ‘hungers’ as needs - essential biological and physiological needs to enable each person to grow and thrive.

Meeting these needs in healthy ways helps each person feel authentic and empowered in how they interact with the world.

We live in heart-breaking times. Many of the qualities of the balanced masculine are those of the heart and fire - the warmth, courage, joy and infinite strength of the spirit.

We need these heart-based qualities to find ways to create a better world.

Let’s celebrate some of them here!

Knowing who we are involves knowing our roots, knowing our ancestors.

The stories of our ancestors have a powerful influence on us, even when we may not be aware of it.

Optimal functioning of the Heart meridian includes feeling deep love and warmth for yourself and life, and being able to offer and receive this from others.

However, we will all have experienced some form of hurt where our protective instinct is to close off the heart to guard against future hurt.

Our sense of safety occurs outside of our conscious awareness. This sense - known as neuroception - is spoken by the body.

The body instinctively knows the answer to the question “Am I safe?”

You may have come across the chakra system, which describes the subtle energy fields present in our bodies.

The seven main chakras on the body are usually located from the base of your pelvis to the top of your head. Other smaller chakras are also thought to be present. While still others are thought to continue beneath you as your energetic connection to the Earth and above you as your energetic connection to Source.

Let’s focus on those located on/within the physical body, and in particular those located within the main torso of the body: root, sacral, solar plexus and heart.

This blog post and the following exercise is for you if you could do with setting healthier boundaries for yourself. Equally, you can do this exercise if you want to set your intentions or gain more clarity about what experiences you are willing to invite into your life.

It's a cliché that just happens to be true.

When you are a good friend to yourself then you can ride the waves of life's ups and downs while maintaining an anchor to the core essence of yourself. Committing to yourself, your path and your life with loyalty, kindness and engagement.

Your body is smart and vastly intelligent.

Your body holds the knowing of every experience you have ever had. Your body holds all of the records of your birth, growing up and adulthood.

Your body holds the stress, the trauma, the tension. Your body remembers the warmth, the holding, the goodness.

Anyone who has ventured into the root of any physical difficulty to the realms of the mental, emotional and spiritual will undoubtedly have encountered the work of Louise Hay.