In a world of increasing separation, divisiveness and stress, the need for kindness has never been greater. Kindness is a heart feeling that transcends distinctions of race, gender, education, religious or political preferences and income. Kindness recognizes the inherent goodness in people and strives to bring it to light. Kindness is love in action – a powerful heart vibration that deepens our connections with each other.

A groundbreaking study involving researchers mainly from USC but also from UCLA, UCI, Rutgers, and Vanderbilt Universities, and supported by NIH funding, has unveiled the potential of daily heart rate variability (HRV) coherence biofeedback to improve neural connectivity and emotional well-being. HRV, a measure of variations in the time intervals between heartbeats, is closely linked to emotional regulation and overall health.

Léon Marchand, four-time gold medalist in swimming at the 2024 Olympics, didn’t achieve success overnight. He has been preparing mentally for competitions for two years.

Among other techniques, his performance coach, Thomas Sammut, taught him Heart Coherence to help him manage his stress and anxiety during competitions. Together, they worked on his well- being with the goal of improving his athletic performance and chances of success.

In our complex and rapidly changing society, it is increasingly important for schools to provide more than just academic support. In order for students to succeed, they need tools to support their emotional and mental well-being. The staff at the all-girls site, Kent Place School in Summit, New Jersey recognizes the importance of supporting their students’ overall health and well-being to ensure their students’ success in school as well as in society. This kind of value is heavily promoted on their website: We know that wellness is a condition necessary for successful learning and leadership — and we seek to cultivate and model it at KPS. This approach has led them to incorporate HeartMath^® into their curriculum and extracurricular activities.

It’s in the heart that people access the qualities of love, such as compassion, care, kindness, forgiveness, appreciation, etc., that lift us above separation, judgments, and blame. Through intentionally demonstrating these heart qualities in our lives, we connect with our heart’s natural intelligence and guidance for a unique opportunity to create a future together in harmony.

It is inspiring to witness the impact that compassionate individuals can have on humanity. HeartMath recently partnered with Reaching Across Borders, a USA-based non-profit organization working in Lebanon and other countries around the world. The goal was to help them develop heart-based psychosocial support programs for children, teens and caregivers. Their mission is to promote the protection, mental health well-being and economic empowerment of vulnerable individuals and communities globally. Through education, support, research, and advocacy, they help promote improved human rights, gender equality, and human dignity.

Co-founded by Raiza Kolia and Ernst Mucke, Reaching Across Borders has developed three separate ten-week group programs to assist Syrian and Palestinian refugees and vulnerable Lebanese in building emotional awareness and resilience to improve their mental health. In 2023, they served over 1,800 beneficiaries from over 1,100 families, with women and girls making up 64% of the total.