{"id":7406,"date":"2015-02-16T19:08:46","date_gmt":"2015-02-17T00:08:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?p=7406"},"modified":"2015-02-16T19:08:46","modified_gmt":"2015-02-17T00:08:46","slug":"hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html","title":{"rendered":"Hugs From the Heart – For the Heart"},"content":{"rendered":"

On one of the coldest Valentines’ Days in recent history on the East Coast, a group of intrepid folks donned coats, hats, boots and gloves and took to the streets of Doylestown, PA which is a suburb of Philadelphia. The method to our madness, and some would say that it was a bit touched with insanity when we could have been inside in front of fireplaces, sipping hot beverages, was to celebrate love in the form of a FREE HUGS stroll. A year earlier, I had organized a FREE\u00a0HUGS flash mob at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia, where people from all over the world come in via Amtrak and SEPTA. I had begun calling us Hug Mobsters armed with love.<\/p>\n

The purpose of this event was to offer nurturing hugs to those who wished to receive them. Some of us had made signs, that announced our intentions, others gave out paper hearts, stickers or kiddie Valentine cards. In about a 90 minute span,\u00a0 I estimate that between us, we had hugged hundreds. Some included Girl Scouts selling cookies, store owners and employees in our local food co-op, book store, record shop, day spa, two coffee shops and a boutique. Passersby also welcomed the warmth of embrace. Some walked past, looking down as if not to feel like they needed to utter the words “No thank you.”. Some crossed the street to avoid hugging, while others crossed the street intentionally to wrap their arms around us. A few jumped out of cars to grab a cuddle. Laughter and smiles almost melted the snow.<\/p>\n

This pizza shop owner ran out in a t-shirt since he didn’t want to miss his daily dose of lovin’ out of the oven.<\/p>\n

\"Hugmobsterspizzaguy\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hugs are like music to the soul, as evidenced by the record store clerk who looked blissed out.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"Hugmobsterssirenrecords\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even superheroes need hugs.<\/p>\n

\"Hugmobstersbatman\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Brother and sister baristas\u00a0share hugs too.<\/p>\n

\"hugmobsterzenden\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Hugging hello to a songbird.<\/p>\n

\"hugmobsterszendentwo\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hugs are as delicious as chocolate and are calorie free, cholesterol free and fat free.<\/p>\n

\"hugmobstersdidicoop\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Hugs are all natural.<\/p>\n

\"Hugmobstersedenorganics\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Even sweeter than the Girl Scout cookies they were selling.<\/p>\n

\"hugmobstersgirlscoutsdoylestownbookshop\"<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Another reason that I chose this particular day is that February is American Heart Month <\/a>and I wanted to bring awareness to the importance of\u00a0good heart\u00a0care, both biological and emotional. According to psychologist Virginia Satir and many other experts: \u201cWe need four hugs<\/b> a day for survival. We need eight hugs<\/b> a day for maintenance. We need twelve hugs<\/b> a day for growth.\u201d Nurturing touch produces oxytocin which is a brain chemical that makes people feel warm and fuzzy and bonds them to each other.\u00a0\u00a0Hugging is quite simply good for the heart and our other assorted body parts. <\/span><\/p>\n

Every day, offer hugs from the heart for the heart.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

http:\/\/youtu.be\/MYkbvjIXdv0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

On one of the coldest Valentines’ Days in recent history on the East Coast, a group of intrepid folks donned coats, hats, boots and gloves and took to the streets of Doylestown, PA which is a suburb of Philadelphia. The method to our madness, and some would say that it was a bit touched with…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":233,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,13,70,3532,19,49,3,22,1176,14,25,4,15,30,51,16,32,23],"tags":[4250,3848,3069,2276,2550,327,3987,1316,4253],"class_list":["post-7406","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-attracting-what-you-desire","category-blissfull-thinking","category-community","category-edie-weinstein","category-empowerment","category-friendship","category-gratitude","category-healing","category-holidays","category-how-to-invite-bliss","category-hugging","category-inspiration","category-living-their-bliss","category-love","category-mental-health","category-my-personal-bliss","category-sharing-their-bliss","category-the-importance-of-healthy-touch","tag-american-heart-month","tag-cardiac-care","tag-doylestown-pa","tag-girl-scouts","tag-holiday","tag-hugs","tag-philadelphia-pa","tag-valentines-day","tag-virginia-satir"],"yoast_head":"\nHugs From the Heart - For the Heart - The Bliss Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Hugs From the Heart - For the Heart - The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"On one of the coldest Valentines’ Days in recent history on the East Coast, a group of intrepid folks donned coats, hats, boots and gloves and took to the streets of Doylestown, PA which is a suburb of Philadelphia. The method to our madness, and some would say that it was a bit touched with…\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Bliss Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-02-17T00:08:46+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2015\/02\/Hugmobsterspizzaguy-169x300.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EdieWeinstein1\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Hugs From the Heart - For the Heart - The Bliss Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Hugs From the Heart - For the Heart - The Bliss Blog","og_description":"On one of the coldest Valentines’ Days in recent history on the East Coast, a group of intrepid folks donned coats, hats, boots and gloves and took to the streets of Doylestown, PA which is a suburb of Philadelphia. The method to our madness, and some would say that it was a bit touched with…","og_url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html","og_site_name":"The Bliss Blog","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","article_published_time":"2015-02-17T00:08:46+00:00","og_image":[{"url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2015\/02\/Hugmobsterspizzaguy-169x300.jpg"}],"author":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@EdieWeinstein1","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html","name":"Hugs From the Heart - For the Heart - The Bliss Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2015\/02\/Hugmobsterspizzaguy-169x300.jpg","datePublished":"2015-02-17T00:08:46+00:00","dateModified":"2015-02-17T00:08:46+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2015\/02\/Hugmobsterspizzaguy-169x300.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/files\/2015\/02\/Hugmobsterspizzaguy-169x300.jpg"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/2015\/02\/hugs-from-the-heart-for-the-heart.html#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Hugs From the Heart – For the Heart"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/","name":"The Bliss Blog","description":"Beliefnet Voices - Edie Weinstein","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/edcd643a643a9ca91adb1e8f9e177386","name":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/0d6\/0d6cd7619da51a9a40cc705280e88f9cx96.jpg","caption":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW"},"description":"Edie Weinstein, MSW, LSW is a colorfully creative journalist, inspiring transformational speaker, licensed social worker, interfaith minister, editor, radio host, BLISS coach, event producer, Cosmic Concierge, the author of The Bliss Mistress Guide To Transforming The Ordinary Into The Extraordinary and co-author of Embraced By the Divine: The Emerging Woman\u2019s Gateway to Power, Passion and Purpose. She has also contributed to several anthologies and personal growth books. Edie has interviewed such notables as Ram Dass, Wayne Dyer, Debbie Ford, don Miguel Ruiz, don Miguel Ruiz, Jr. Marianne Williamson, Grover Washington, Jr. Noah Levine, Shirley MacLaine, Dennis Weaver, Ben and Jerry and His Holiness the Dalai Lama. She calls herself an Opti-mystic who sees the world through the eyes of possibility. Edie is the founder of Hug Mobsters Armed With Love, which offers FREE HUGS events on a planned and spontaneous basis. www.opti-mystical.com.","sameAs":["http:\/\/www.opti-mystical.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/snuggleyoga","https:\/\/x.com\/EdieWeinstein1"],"url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/author\/eweinstein"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7406","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7406"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7406\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7861,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7406\/revisions\/7861"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7406"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7406"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/blissblog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7406"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}