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You may have read or seen those stories about odd shifts in people who have heart transplants. The petite, health conscious woman who suddenly has cravings for fried chicken and beer and a never-before-experienced desire to ride a Harley after receiving a 19 year old man’s heart. Or the young man who suddenly loves to shop and visit museums with his girlfriend, and has become a much more sensitive and ‘feminine’ lover, since the transplant that gave him the heart of a gay woman.
There are countless stories of personality changes and unusual connections between people who are heart donors and their recipients. These stories all point to the fact that the heart has a mind of its own – literally! The intelligence of the heart is a concept that has been talked about extensively in spiritual teachings and could be easily downplayed by those with a strong rationalistic bent. But the veracity and magnitude of this power has actually been scientifically proven.
The Brain in Your Heart is Pretty Smart
Neuroscientists, like those connected with the Institute of HeartMath in Boulder Creek, CO (www.heartmath.com), have discovered that the heart actually has its own nervous system. This system works independent of the head-brain and is part of an intricate two-way street of signals sending information back and forth between the head and the heart.
So how does knowing this amazing bit of science affect your daily life? For most of us, life takes place in our heads more than anywhere else. Oh sure, we use our bodies to get around. They come in handy when we want to play, eat, and get the dishes done. But most of us live primarily from the neck up.
Humans think, worry, plan, and pontificate. We prioritize, philosophize, and have to know way more about computers and other technical devices than we ever would have imagined a mere ten years ago! These processes all take place within the thinking, rational mind. And minds are notoriously difficult to slow down and have a hard time shifting gears.
Place Your Hand on Your Heart and Repeat After Me
Many wonderful practices are available to help shift consciousness from the head to the heart. When you choose one and use it regularly, you will be able to give the brain in your head a break, and let the brain in your heart get stronger and easier to rely on. You truly can go to your heart for inspiration and information – but first you have to develop a listening relationship to it.
One of the simplest I know is called The Remembrance. It is a way of literally remembering your connection to Source by calling in your heart using a name from the spiritual tradition of your choice (Jews might use Elohim or Yah, Sufis and Muslims Allah, Christians Lord or Father – other options are The One, God, Source, anything that means the All for you). You may want to literally touch your hand to your upper chest, invoking the name you’ve chosen over and over again for a period of 5 to 15 minutes. Let yourself soak in the Love that is always present and often forgotten in the busy flow of life. Feel how this simple, sacred act shifts your energy and awareness from doing to being.
Or use a simple mantra, such as the ones taught by Buddhist teacher Thich Nhat Hanh. He suggests using your inbreath and outbreath to help you be aware in each and every moment. A simple meditation could be “Breathing in I feel my heartbeat, Breathing out I smile.” Again, bring your body into the practice by touching your hand to your heart and repeating the mantra on each inhale and exhale. Even if you cannot literally feel your heart beating, put your focus there to deepen the quality of your awareness.
Play with these journeys into the intelligence of your heart. It is an infinitely vast territory to explore, and always available for clear guidance when you give it a chance to inform you.
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