admin_website Article published in The Asian Leader Newspaper Nov 2018
What is it about the heart which attracts so much study and interest? From the traditions of the old to the science of the modern day, the heart has been the topic upon which many have spoken, written and researched about.
Medically, the heart is known as a multi-chambered muscular organ pumping blood at high speed throughout the body. This definition is a far contrast from the emotional or spiritual context in which we use it in everyday life. When we feel in love our heart begins to skip a beat or leaps for joy; if we are rejected or hurt by others we are “heartbroken.” We are called “heartless” or “coldhearted” when we show little care or concern for others. We are known as “bighearted” when we show generosity or compassion towards another. We “take things to heart” when an experience or situation affects us on an emotional level and we “talk heart to heart” about deeply personal issues. We love someone “from the bottom of our heart,” but are only “half-hearted” about something when we are not fully emotionally attached.
A notion that is not entirely accepted by the medical profession, the spiritual or the energetic heart comes from the age-old understanding and wisdom that a human being is made up of mind, body, spirit and emotion. What is the spiritual heart? Does it have any value or significance in today’s modern day era and how can a greater understanding of it improve or benefit our lives, personally, socially and globally?
The spiritual heart is the term used for the energetic system within us which cannot be seen or touched by the senses but which is made up of our thoughts and emotions and has a great impact on the way in which we govern our everyday lives. Research conducted by the HeartMath® Institute in America for over the last twenty-five years has been able to present scientifically sound evidence on the impact the energetic or spiritual heart has in our lives. It has shown that the spiritual heart plays a much greater role in our lives than we think; It is a source that allows us access to a higher intuitive intelligence, also known as the inner voice which can elevate our communication, decisions, and choices to a much higher level of effectiveness. It can also pave the way towards social and global coherence and harmony within others as well as act as a healing energy to the Earth.
Personal Coherence:
In the seventeenth century, Christian Huygens, a European inventor of the pendulum clock experienced a phenomenon in his studio, which housed a collection of his finest clocks. To his surprise, he noticed that all the pendulums were swinging in unison. Knowing that they had not started off like this, he broke the synchronicity of the clocks several times, only to find that not long after they fell back into alignment and synchronicity again. It was many years later that scientists were able to shed light on this mystery. The largest pendulum which had the strongest rhythm was able to pull all the smaller clocks into alignment with it. This is known as entrainment and is prevalent within nature.
In a similar way, in its most coherent state, the organ of the heart, like the strongest pendulum, is able to pull the brain and subsequently all the other organs and biological systems in the body into alignment and synergy. If we can create coherence within the heart, we can create coherence in our entire body and thus use the energy within our body most efficiently creating health and wellness.
What is interesting to note here is that the coherency of the physical heart is based upon our ability to tap into and feel elevated emotions of the spiritual heart such as deep love, joy and appreciation in the moment. The spiritual heart also referred to as the energetic heart, is an extremely powerful tool which allows us access to an intelligence which opens up the higher perception centres of the brain allowing us to think and make better decisions. When one practices heart-focused breathing as taught by the HeartMath Institute the rhythms of the heart become highly coherent which in turn brings the brain and thus the entire body into coherence. Our bodies were designed to function at an optimum level when both the head and heart are attuned and working together like one strong team.
Our spiritual heart is constantly sending us a stream of intuitive information to the mind and brain but unfortunately, due to our modern day living which is fast-paced and frenzied, we shut off this communication. Our lives which are governed entirely by ‘time or the lack of it’, knock our body out of its natural rhythm and flow which is vital for healthy personal functioning. As we learn to slow down our mind and attune to our deeper heart feelings, our natural intuitive connection can occur. Being able to refine our ability to access the intelligence of the heart opens a wealth of information that our ‘ego’ mind can often override.
Social Coherence
We may think that what we think and feel has no influence to those around us, yet we may have all picked up on an intuitive level the way another person is feeling simply by being in their presence alone. Studies conducted by the HeartMath Institute research centre have been able to demonstrate that when an individual is in heart coherence their heart radiates a more coherent electromagnetic energy field which can be picked up by others and influence positively or negatively the people animals and the environment around us. Through our personal coherence and our mere presence, the way in which we are thinking and feeling can benefit, influence and support our families, co-workers, friends and pets. This research forces us to consider the contribution we are making to ourselves and the world around us.
Global Coherence:
Many organisations and initiatives around the world who support the evidence that a global field environment connects all living systems in consciousness and a connection exists between the human beings energetic system and that of the Earth’s energetic system. Our collective thoughts, emotions, intentions and behaviours are interconnected with the Earth’s magnetic field. This research gives weight to the understanding that we must become more responsible as individuals for the energy that we are contributing to the global field as each person’s thoughts, emotions and intentions affect this field. It is said in the Holy Quran ‘“Verily, God will not change the condition of a people as long as they do not change their state [Chapter Ar-Ra’d 13:11]. Therefore, by becoming more conscious of the thoughts feelings and attitudes we are feeding the field each day, we can change our own condition and the condition of others and the world around us.
Humanity is at a critical juncture. We are at a new stage of social, spiritual and cultural evolution. We cannot solve our current day challenges from the same level of understanding which created them. We must access a higher level of understanding, awareness and consciousness; one which allows us to connect to and open our hearts and listen to its messages with respect and trust. Alexander in his book, Bioenergetics beautifully uses the analogy of the heart as being like that of a king while the mind is a like an advisor. The advisor goes out into the world, sees what is happening and reports back to the King on the state of his kingdom. It is ultimately the King who makes his own decisions on which action to take. The actions may appear illogical or irrational to the mind but they make perfect sense coming from the heart. It is critical that humanity shifts into this new paradigm and more cultures and nations become harmoniously aligned with this new understanding so that we can function effectively as a humanity from the heart-based living state. It is only then that we can hope to achieve, experience and live in a world which has increased global coherence, harmony and sustainable peace.
As part of my own personal development and to gain greater insight into the power of heart coherence, I did a personal 40-day heart coherence challenge and journaled my findings. For further information on this, check out my blog post here.
As an approved Add Heart Facilitator with Heart Math Institute and a Coach, she is able to educate her clients about how to add-heart into their lives using the scientifically proven techniques shown by Heart Math. To work 1:1 with Sayyida book an Exploration Call today!
To track your heart coherence you can use the Inner Balance Sensor from HeartMath which I use to get the most out of my daily spiritual practice and to help me to manage my emotional state better.
Read up on this research at www.HeartMath.org
Technology for coherence building www.heartmath.com
As an affiliate with the Heart Math Institute she believes that their work and products are doing an amazing job in helping to bring coherence in the world around us. Sayyida only promotes products that she has benefitted from personally.
