Resonance-Becoming aware of our heart as an organ of perception. Feeling perception is not in the conventional list of senses but is a most valuable one when engaged in this work; sometimes, when we engage our senses working with a plant or examining its medicine, we find that information comes from another sense—the heart perception. We get a sense of emotional tone since the heart is the organ of emotional perception and our emotional memories. The impressions we receive through our heart perception may be more of a gestalt rather than a left-brain style lecture on therapeutics from the plant (although the information does sometimes arrive in that form). As we receive impressions, emotions or memories, or impressions of animals, colours, or whatever arrives, it is good to note these down and see what they signify to you. We can also feel where the plant’s energy, its medicine, enters our body and where it moves to. Heart resonance: Our hearts have a strong electromagnetic resonance which allows us to both perceive other beings and transmits to them. Our hearts can feel and transmit at least 3 metres, trees have much larger heart fields even though their hearts are not physically the same as those of animals. Find a tree to focus on and ask its permission to do this exercise. It can be easier to perceive the heart field of another being if one spreads one's arms out wide and focuses one's gaze (although some people find it easier to work with their eyes closed). Be aware that we are all responsible for setting the tone of our heart field and only allowing out what is beneficial and healthful for the being we are working with. As one becomes more fluent, one can try this exercise with another person but work with a tree initially. Stand 30 metres away from the tree and then slowly move forward and notice when one perceives the tree's energy- this may be felt as warmth, relaxation, or a nice fuzzy feeling. Often one finds oneself sighing (a relieved sigh), smiling, feeling a warm flush to the cheeks or similar. See how close it feels comfortable for yourself and the tree to approach. If the tree is ok with it, you might find yourself able to come close and perhaps hug the tree. Practising heart resonance with another person: Stand about 5-6 meters apart. Agree which of you is going to be the resonator initially and which the perceiver. Allow the resonating person to centre and set their boundary at a comfortable level. They can then spread their arms open to open the heart field. Eye to eye contact builds a feeling of trust. The 'perceiver' then walks slowly towards the resonator carefully noticing any perceptions- a feeling of warmth, a fuzzy feeling or other sensations. take care to notice where the healthy boundary is and not to breech this by continuing forward. It is normally about 45 centimetres apart but if there is a feeling of trust then closer may feel good. It is important to practice good boundaries for both partners and it is an opportunity to learn about these. We can set how open we wish our heart field to be and what we allow to be perceived; if we are nursing some upset then this can be protected by our heart protector. If we are more introverted and prefer our boundaries to be a metre or more we can set this. The heart field has several layers and these can be perceived by the person approaching. Switch roles and have another go. Video will be posted shortly. More material will be posted here shortly…