Here is a quick exercise: Close your eyes and point to yourself. Do it now, before you read any further.
OK, open your eyes. Where did you point? To your head? Your knee? Your toes? Or did you point to your heart, which is where almost everybody points?
From ancient times until as recently as the 17th century, the mind was assumed to reside in the heart. When the priests in ancient Egypt were preparing a body for the afterlife, they would pull the brain out through the nose in pieces, but were careful to leave the heart intact.
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There was a taboo in ancient Greece against dissecting cadavers, so for many years no one knew what the brain was for. Aristotle, noticing it was somewhat cool, decided it must refrigerate the blood. He argued that because of our unusual intelligence our hearts must produce more heat, and so required a large cooling system.
Today we may laugh at such an idea, but in a way the ancients were right. Research at the HeartMath Institute (www.heartmath.org), based in Boulder Creek, Calif., suggests our heart is a mini brain. There are more nerve cells in the heart than muscle cells.
Although the whole thing is a bit complicated, essentially much of our emotional thinking literally occurs in the heart, according to HeartMath.
When we speak of having a heart to heart conversation, or being moved by someone speaking from the heart, we are speaking the truth.
And here’s another interesting fact: the heart can overrule the brain, but the brain can’t overrule the heart. In an emotional situation such as falling in love, falling out of love or having an argument with the fertilizer dealer, we sometimes act irrationally. Which is why it is a good idea to take time to cool down when emotions run high.
Our heart also has a wisdom our brain doesn’t have. It thinks holistically, and can see the big picture, whereas our brain can only see things in a linear, logical way. The HeartMath Institute has developed a quick stress-reducing exercise called Freeze-Frame that works.
Here are the five steps to using it:
- Recognize you are having a stressful feeling and freeze-frame it. Start by taking a short time-out in order to do the exercise that follows.
- Shift your focus away from the racing mind or disturbed emotions to the area around your heart. Pretend you are breathing through your heart to help focus energy. Close your eyes and for 10 seconds picture the breath coming in and out through your heart.
- Recall a positive, fun time you have had and try to re-experience it.
- Now, using your intuition, common sense and sincerity, ask your heart, “what would be a more efficient response to this stressful situation, one that would minimize future stress?”
- Listen to what your heart says in answer to your question. It’s an effective way to put your reactive mind and emotions in check. It’s also an in-house source of common sense solutions.
I often use the freeze-frame exercise and have always been pleasantly surprised by the answers I have received. It is true. My heart does have a mind of its own. So does yours. And its answers are often wiser than anything our brains can come up with. Less stressful too.
Edmonton-based Noel McNaughton is a sponsored speaker with the Canadian Farm Business Management Council. He can be reached at 780-432-5492, e-mail:farm@midlife-men.com or visit www.midlife-men.com.
