Engaging Heart Intelligence
October 27, 2014
Posted By: Shaunescy
quote from Steve Jobs
ARTICLE WRITTEN BY STACEY TOMPKINS, MA, CIC
Follow your heart. The heart knows. She stole my heart. I left my heart in San Francisco. My heart is broken...we are a culture obsessed with the heart, but do we really give it any credence? There is ample research showing that engaging the heart can eliminate the stress that comes from relying solely on our cognitive abilities for navigating life. It turns out the heart holds intelligence, and putting it to use welcomes wisdom, spontaneity and gratitude.
FACTS ABOUT THE HEART:
» The heart is 60-65 percent neurons, and only 35-40 percent muscle. It is primarily intelligence, and secondly a pump.
» The brain and the heart are directly and constantly in uninterrupted communication. Depending on the circumstances, one leads and the other follows.
» Input from the senses of touch, smell, sight, taste and sound is processed first from the heart, and then interpreted by the brain.
» The heart monitors all vital functions of the body by means of neurological, hormonal, electromagnetic and pressure wave signals. It is the primary conductor of the orchestra that is your entire body.
» The heart produces hormones that initiate and direct the brain centers for learning, memory, relationships and making meaning out of life experience.
» The heart itself stores memory. Did you know that people who have received a heart transplant take on behaviors and emotions belonging to the donor?
» The heart generates a consistent 2.5 watts of electricity with each pulse beat, which in turn creates a powerful electromagnetic field that radiates out many meters from your body.
» Like a radio broadcast, the electromagnetic field created by the heart contains signals with encoded information and messages from the host. Also like radio, the heart receives and translates such signals from others into meaningful communication and experiences.
» All living things, including the earth itself, generate such electromagnetic fields for the purpose of sending and receiving messages, and understanding or interpreting the immediate environment.
» Humans process and experience messages from the heart in the form of emotions. Emotions have intelligence and information embedded within. Stuffing, ignoring or otherwise minimizing emotional input cuts a person off from any wisdom that they may contain.
» The heart and brain entrain with each other, that is they work in tandem, in a form of automatic dialogue. When the heart and mind are fully honored they become coherent and the overall function increases in both power and efficiency. Depending on the task at hand, or by conscious choice, one will take the lead, and the other will follow.
» In an analytical situation, or in fight- or-flight, the brain has primary control and the heart follows. When relaxed and connected to your surroundings through beauty, nature, movement, music or an experience of love, the heart will lead and the brain will follow with an interpretation.
» When the heart leads and the brain entrains to it, breathing deepens and slows. The pulse rate and heart rates slow, adrenal hormones lessen, dopamines and endorphins increase, immune functions increase, blood clotting lessens, eye focus softens and peripheral vision becomes more sensitive. Brain waves shift toward states of rest and integration, memory and learning centers are enhanced and emotional intelligence is heightened. Awareness, connection, peaceful states and expansive ways of being increase. This is the ideal state to be in if you are going to be creative, learn something new, or have a meaningful human interaction.
“The heart brings us authentic tidings of invisible things.” - James Hillman
“The heart brings us authentic tidings of invisible things.” - James Hillman
The majority of heart facts in this article came from a workbook called Introduction to Council produced by The Ojai Foundation ( www.ojaifoundation.org ). The accompanying workshop about Council is facilitated by Kate Lipkis and Bonnie Tamblyn. Further exploration for engaging heart wisdom can be found at www.heartmath.com .
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Stacey Tompkins lives in downtown Bozeman with her elderly mutt, two teenage daughters and one energetic husband. She is an irrepressible writer and loves working with individuals and couples as a life coach through her business, Sungate Integral Coaching (406- 570-1304 or tompkins.stacey@gmail.com ).
