"The consciousness of loving and being loved brings a warmth and richness to life that nothing else can bring."
- Oscar Wilde


"We now know that along with all its muscular and connective tissue, somewhere between 60 and 65 percent of all the cells in your heart are actually neurons exactly like those in your brain. Furthermore, there exist unmediated neural connections between the emotional limbic region of the brain and the heart , such that "tremendous interaction occurs between the heart and the emotional brain." Furthermore, the neural cells in the heart communicate with each other through the same neural transmitters, the same type of dendrites and axons, as they do in the brain. Likewise the heart's neural ganglia produce the same hormones as produced in the brain.

The heart is beginning to be perceived as 'a fifth brain' along with the four brains
( reptilian, mammalian, forebrain, and prefrontal lobes ) we find working together in the cranium. In fact at least half the neurons of the heart have been found to be connected to, and influence, the major organs of the body."

Working directly (through heart centered meditations ) and indirectly through healing meditations that allow us to let go of the past hurts and be present in our hearts in this moment make so much sense especially now we know how influential our heart is.
So here is a little heart centered exercise . . . . . .


After reading this paragraph, close your eyes, tune into your breathing . . .the feelings (if any right now ) in your heart . . . . your whole-body presence here in the present moment . . . and without effort, allow the face of someone you love, to come to mind . . . . open your heart to this person by saying 'I love you' and notice what actual physical changes happen inside your own heart and body . . .


I've been reading some very interesting and uplifting heart research in John Selby's book 'Quiet Your Mind'. I'll share more of it over the next few posts.