Most of us would not knowingly ingest a toxic substance or breathe poisonous fumes. It is challenging to maintain the awareness that negative thoughts are just as toxic to our lives. When we think a negative thought, it is like we are inhaling negative energy deep into our psyches, and it will surely poison our bodies, our relationships, and our social environment.

A negative thought may take the form of a judgement, a criticism, labeling someone or generally not seeing the positive in life. When we think negatively, we distance ourselves from other people and from the world. Positive energy is expansive. Negative energy contracts — we feel tightness in our bodies, and interactions with others become strained or constricted. Positive energy opens our hearts, negative energy closes them. An open-hearted person is radiant and a joy to be around. A closed-hearted person tends to pull back from life, and so it is harder to get close.

Naturally, closed-hearted people then find the world to be less warm and accepting than open-hearted souls. I do believe open-heartedness is our natural state — it is associated with higher levels of physical health. I have also taught the principles of open-hearted living to children, and they grasp it readily. They practice it and teach it to others because it feels so right and so good to them.

The more we practice open-heartedness ourselves, the easier it becomes to recognize when our hearts are closing. If we open them right up again, miraculously, the hearts of those around us seem to open as well.

Gwen Randall-Young is an author and award-winning psychotherapist.