#54 Finding Happy Ground & Heart Meditation with Ivan Zwart

Heart Meditation. We don’t really talk about things like this in our western culture. More and more of us are accepting the notion of meditation and mindfulness. However, in these practices, we are using the mind to calm the mind. That’s really hard. Ivan Zwart is the founder and facilitator of Happy Ground Wellbeing and author of ‘Finding Happy Ground’. I read Ivan’s book and knew I needed it in Find Your Feet and have him on the Podcast. If you are seeking fulfilment and have never dropped out of your mind and into your heart, this podcast will simply offer the personal differences that practices have made in Ivan’s life and the lives of those he teaches. Prior to creating Happy Ground Wellbeing in 2013, Ivan started out as a social scientist and gained over twenty years’ experience as a trainer, facilitator, researcher. While Ivan’s professional career had been very successful, since 1998 he continually battled with his mental health due to personal circumstances in his life. In order to improve his wellbeing and make better decisions in life, Ivan visited counsellors and psychologists, read a large number of self-help and psychology books, and learnt to meditate. But one of the most profound changes to his life happened in 2010, when he first learnt about heart meditation. Practicing heart meditation changed his life and now he passionately shares his knowledge and understanding through speaking, programs and his book. ​Thank you so much Ivan for sharing your story and journey with us. I hope our conversation is just as valuable to you, the listener, as I found it to be. “Our brain and our heart are connected essentially. When our heart is open and feeling peaceful and light, then our mind naturally becomes more still”