Tapping into the Wisdom of Our Heart

     We may believe that our brain is our control center and imagine ourselves residing in our head and looking at the world through our eyes. Yet whenever we point to ourselves, we don’t point to our head; we point to our heart. Why is that? Is it possible that our heart is not just an organ that pumps blood through the body as many tend to believe but actually is the seat of our soul as the mystics call it?

      Some traditions believe that it is actually the heart that connects the physical aspect of ourselves to our spiritual essence. For example, in the seven chakra model, the heart chakra, Anahata is considered the bridge between the three lower chakras of our physical manifestation and the three higher chakras of our spiritual dimension, and therefore our source of intuition and our access point to the Universal Intelligence. But this is far from being just a mystical concept.
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      The HeartMath Institute in Northern California has been researching the heart and the heart-mind connection for over twenty-five years. They made some profound discoveries, the most important of which is the state of heart coherence and its incredible benefits.

      Psycho-physiological coherence or simply heart coherence is a state of synchronization of our heart,  mind, emotions, and the nervous system. It is achieved by rhythmic breathing and focusing on positive emotions like gratitude, love, and compassion. It is important to note that the state of heart coherence is not just a state of relaxation. It can include relaxation, but its distinctive feature is the entrainment between the heart and the brain, which creates a level of global organization in the body that the state of relaxation alone does not. This is the optimal state that allows us to tap into the wisdom of our heart to receive answers, guidance, and connect with others in the most profound way.
 
      Doc Childre, the founder of HeartMath Institute, describes it as “the flow of higher awareness, wisdom, and intuition we experience when the mind and emotions are brought into synchronistic alignment with the heart.”

Here are some facts about the heart that will help us better understand its role:

• It starts beating in the fetus before the brain has been formed.
• It can continue beating even when the brain is dead.
• It has its own independent nervous system of approximately 40,000 neurons.
• It can sense, feel, learn, and remember, and is sometimes called the “heart-brain.”
• It is part of the hormonal system and produces the “balance hormone” called atrial peptide (ANP).
• It sends far more messages to the brain than the brain sends to the heart. And these messages affect our mental functions, performance, and the way we perceive the world.
• It produces the strongest magnetic field in the body, 100 times stronger than what the brain produces.
• This magnetic field can be detected several feet from the body and carries information about our emotions. This is one way we can feel others’ “good or bad vibes.”

 
      It is this state that many meditation techniques are trying to achieve, without even knowing it. Being in the state of heart coherence not only creates a resonance between our heart and mind but also between people. The science behind it may explain why mass meditation and group prayer with a specific intention can be so powerful.  

      Negative emotions, such as fear, anxiety, frustration, anger, impatience, etc. cause incoherence in our heart, which over time can lead to mental, emotional and physical health problems. Practicing the state of heart coherence consistently even for 5-10 minutes a day is shown to reverse the effects of mental and emotional problems and increase longevity, resilience, cognitive flexibility, memory, immune function, intuition, happiness; improve problem-solving, job performance and achievement.

Here is a simple technique to create a state of heart coherence:

• Focus your attention on your heart area and imagine breathing in and out through your heart.
• Breathe slower and deeper than usual (inhale for 5 seconds, exhale for 5 seconds, or at whatever speed you find comfortable).
• Generate a sincere feeling of appreciation, love, care, or compassion. It doesn't need to be anything big; the genuineness of the feeling is what matters.
• Continue breathing in this way and feel those feelings for 5 minutes or more.

      Practicing regularly, preferably several times a day, will create a carryover effect. You can practice heart coherence in the morning to set the tone for the day and build resilience against the possible upcoming challenges. At night – to bring the heart, mind, and body into a state of coherence for optimal healing and restoration during sleep. Before and after stressful events – to navigate through them with more ease, make wiser heart-based choices, and to recover from mentally and emotionally draining experiences more quickly. 

      Our heart is much more than just a pump. It has the wisdom to guide us through our every challenge and the power to create a life of love, authenticity and true happiness. So, I invite you to stay coherent and listen to your heart – it knows the way.  
 
References:
Daniel Amen, M.D., Doc Childre, Deborah Rozman, Ph.D., Rollin McCraty, Ph.D. HeartMath Brain Fitness Program: Connecting Heart and Mind for Optimal Performance.
Doc Childre, Howard Martin, Deborah Rozman, Ph.D., Rollin McCraty, Ph.D. Heart Intelligence: Connecting with the Intuitive Guidance of the Heart.