Tapping Into Your Hearts Intelligence

Your heart knows.  It knows what you need to be healthy, wealthy, and wise.  The trouble is most of us rarely listen to our hearts.  We’re too busy.  We go here.  We run there.  We look everywhere for the answers, but we ignore our real intelligence.

 

Did you know that your heart has an intelligence that is separate from your brain?

 

It’s true.  Research has shown that the human heart has an intelligence does not rely on the brains input.  40.000 nerve cells are found in your heart’s sphere. Some centers in the brain, particularly the sub-cortical areas (the area that is emotionally driven) have less neurons than the heart.  The human heart also has it’s own independent nervous system.  It independently influences the body, and even the brain. 

 

Our hearts intelligence is different from the intelligence of the brain.  Your heart wisdom comes on a more feeling level.  It doesn’t rely on logic, but seems to integrate feelings in making its decisions.   

 

Why am I concerned about the heart’s intelligence? 

 

I’m concerned because the intelligence of our heart may actually be more important than our cerebral intelligence.  In 1996 Daniel Goleman published an exciting new book called:  Emotional Intelligence: http://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Intelligence-Matter-More-Than/dp/0553375067   

 

 What was revolutionary about Goleman’s writing was that he concluded that success in life had more to do with what happens on an emotional/social level than on a thinking level.  So even though thoughts are important,  how we control our emotions plays a bigger part in success in life. 

 

You know what I mean right?  I’m sure you’ve seen this in your business and personal life.  The people who advance, who get the best raises, and positions aren’t always the most capable intellectually.  It’s often the people who excel socially, who have the ability to bond with others who seem to make the most advances.

 

Here’s where your heart intelligence comes into play.  You heart’s wisdom is global.   It’s holistic.  Your heart integrates what is happening on an emotional, psychological, and spiritual level.  If we can gain the ability to tap into our heart’s intelligence it can have a profound impact on our lives.  

 

Indeed researchers at the Heart Math Institute (http://www.heartmath.org/)  have shown that tapping into the hearts wisdom is something that can influence our overall health and well being.  Their research has demonstrated that it can reduce anxiety and eliminate worry.  Both of these negative emotions have been shown to create heart disease.  Tapping into the hearts wisdom is also something that can be done easily and practically.  

 

The HeartMath Institute has invented a technique called Freeze Frame (r)  Freeze Frame is a method for instantly stopping stress. If you’ve never heard of it you might want to get the book:  The HeartMath Solution by Doc Childre (http://www.amazon.com/HeartMath-Solution-HeartMaths-Revolutionary-Intelligence/dp/006251606X)  describes in detail the Freeze Frame method.

 

The Freeze Frame method is similar to other meditation techniques but its a quick method.  It consists of 5 Steps:

 

Step 1: Recognize that you’re feeling stressful and stop to Freeze Frame it.  Take a time out.

 

Whenever a person feels stressed out their body is out of balance emotionally and physically.  But because we’ve adapted to this level of stress we don’t always recognize it.  So the first step of Freeze Frame is to recognize that you’re feeling stressful and stop.

 

Step 2:  Stop what you’re doing and bring your awareness and breath down to the heart region.

 

Shifting our focus away from out outer environment and towards our heart we shift our perception away from the problem and towards the solution. Research has shown that the simple act of shifting the awareness to the heart enhances communication between the heart and brain.  The HeartMath Institute has also shown that this can calm the heart and brain.

 

Step 3: Recall a positive, comforting feeling that you’ve had in life and try to re-experience it.

 

If you have ever had a time where you fell totally connected, happy, and well- bring this memory to mind.  Let yourself feel the memory.  It should be a full re-creation of the memory.  It has been demonstrated that when we feel such feelings it can bring healing to the nervous system.  Its very important to let yourself go with the memory. It isn’t just visualization.  We actually need to a re-experience of the event.  Such a re-experience produces the same biochemical and hormonal effects on the body.  It can bring a real sense of well-being to our bodies.

 

Step 4:  Now using your intuition, common sense, and sincerity, ask your heart, What would be a more efficient response to the situation, one that would minimize further stress?  

 

During this step continue to focus on your heart as you ask the question.  You’ll be surprised with the results.  You won’t get something every time, but if you continue to practice you’ll increase your ability to defuse stress.

 

Step 5:  Listen to what your heart has to say.

 

 

Our hearts do know what we need to be well.  If we take the time to listen to our heart’s intelligence, it will not steer us wrong.

 

Good luck in Tapping into Your Heart’s Intelligence.

 

March 30th, 2008 - Posted in Heart Health, Self Help | | 1 Comments

Can a Broken Heart Kill You?

Have you ever wondered if it was possible to die from a Broken Heart?  If you’ve ever had your heart broken, you may have entertained this idea.  You probably felt so horrible that you thought your life was over.

 

Know what I’m talking about?  Most people do.  Most people have had their hearts trampled on in one way or another.  

 

The pain, the anguish, the heart-ache can be so deep, so shocking that we may feel like giving up on life.  

 

And our hearts can be Broken from more than just relationship issues.  Hearts can be broken because of grief.  You can lose someone you’re very close to:  a mother, father, sibling, grandparent, or a child- and this can fracture the heart.  Our hearts can also be broken because of loneliness, anxiety, depression, or a host of emotional traumas.  

 

Are you someone who’s had these feelings?

 

Know when I ask if “Can a Broken Heart Kill You?”  understand that I’m not just talking about feeling bad.  I’m actually asking if a Broken Heart can really cause your demise.  If it can damage your physical heart to the point that you actually pass away?

 

Did you know that it’s true?  Any emotional trauma or psychological insult can malign the heart and produce real injury.  Having a broken heart can have real health consequences.  It can lead to actual damage of your heart muscle.  A recently recognized medical condition called, The Broken Heart Syndrome has been identified where a person’s heart muscle weakens due to severe emotional trauma.  

 

CBS recently wrote a news story on this syndrome: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/02/09/health/main672774.shtml

 

Seen frequently in middle-aged women, The Broken Heart Syndrome commonly sends people to the Emergency Room because of symptoms similar to a heart attack.  They experience shortness of breath and chest pain.  They generally have an abnormal EKG, and will be treated initially as if they are having such a heart condition.

 

Only after cardiologists take pictures of the heart arteries do they see that the arteries have no cholesterol deposits.  The muscle injury isn’t from heart blockages.  It isn’t a heart attack.  Overwhelming stress is the culprit.  Massive stress in the form of grief, heart-ache, or physical illness- leads to excessive levels of adrenaline that damage the heart muscle.  

 

Although the Broken Heart Syndrome is rarely permanent, (with the proper medications to block the damaging effects of adrenaline, most people achieve a full recovery) heart injury from emotional trauma isn’t always so innocuous.  Frequently, it leaves a lasting effect.   Stress, anxiety, depression, and other emotional issues have been shown to increase a person’s chances of dying from heart disease.

 

A good book that examines the role that our emotional health plays on heart disease is Love and Survival, by Dean Ornish, M.D.   Dr. Ornish was the first medical researcher to prove that heart disease was reversible.  Look for his book on Amazon at:

http://www.amazon.com/Love-Survival-Scientific-Healing-Intimacy/dp/0060930209 

 

 

So what do we do if we’re suffering from a Broken Heart.  It there hope?

 

Sure, just because you have emotional or psychological difficulty it doesn’t mean you are destined to physically injure your heart.  Choices and options exist when it comes to a broken heart.

 

First and foremost, seek medical help.   If you feel over-stressed and overwhelmed contact your physician.  They can direct you to appropriate services for your condition.  You might need counseling, perhaps medication.  Don’t keep your head in the sand.  Take steps to identify how you could be at risk.

 

Second:  know that you are not alone.  Many people face similar trials and tribulations and have made it through to the other side.  Keep you chin and hope up.  Having a positive attitude will go a long way towards speeding up your recovery.

 

Finally, begin moving towards Whole Heartedness.  We are not just physical bodies.  Besides the physical we also have thoughts and feelings.  We are emotional and also spiritual beings.  What is clear from the work of Dr. Ornish and others in the mind/body/spirit field, is that In order to become truly well we need to embrace and work on every part of who we are as people.  True heart health will only be achieved if we make a commitment to live Whole Hearted lives.

 

Can a Broken Heart Kill You?  Sure, it can, but you don’t have to let it ruin you life.  

 

You can change your health and life today. 

 

 

March 22nd, 2008 - Posted in Heart Health, Emotional/Psychological, Medical | | 0 Comments

Stepping in the Right Direction

Our steps are important.  Where we choose to go does make a difference.  Just look at what happend to Eliot Spitzer the Former Governor of New York these past two weeks:  http://extra.msn.com/news.aspx?GT1=34122

 

Talk about taking the wrong steps.  Have you thought about where you’ve been stepping lately?

 

I have.  As often happens real people, particularly the people I take care of in my cardiology practice, are a mirror for me.  

 

What do I mean a mirror?  I mean that as I go through life and rub up against people, get close enough to them to feel their pain or have them really affect me- I see things in them that are the same issues I have.  Or I notice what annoys me about them is something that I need to work on in my life.

 

They are reflecting back my own issues.  Do you know what I’m talking about?  Quite often it is the people who really challenge me to stay focused or heart centered that are the best mirror.

 

Take the man I saw in the office just the other day.  He was a middle-aged man early 60’s.  Two months earlier, he had suffered a heart attack.  Thankfully, damage to his heart was avoided by giving a drug to dissolve blood clots, and he had a metal stent placed inside the major artery that circles to the back side of his heart.

 

When I saw him in the office he was once again having some chest discomfort.  Chest pain after a stent placement is rather unusual.  I wondered what was going on with him.

 

It quickly became clear that he wasn’t making progress in his life style modification program.  He was a big man.  Not tall, but just big as in quite obese.  He stood five feet, eight inches tall and weighed over 290 pounds.  

 

We wasn’t exercising, and his diet was still way off the mark as far as heart disease prevention was concerned.  

 

“I like red meat,”  he said sheepishly, “I have to admit it.  And me an exercise just don’t mix.”  

 

“Well,” I replied, “Your body is telling you that what you’re doing right now isn’t working.  Your likes and dislikes are taking you in the wrong direction.

 

We had a long talk together (as long as the usual 15 minute office visit would allow)  about the journey to what I call a “Healthy Heart Zone.”  I outlined what living in this zone would look like- the activity level he would need, the foods he should be avoiding and eating, the relaxation exercises he should be engaging in daily, and a number of other activities that would help him create the health he wanted to have.

 

“You need to be stepping in the right direction if you’re going to be healthy and avoid another heart attack.  He agreed with me and promised to begin working on changing his life style choices so that they would direct him where he really wanted to go.

 

Somewhat later that day, I began thinking about his predicament and our interaction together.  When I had talked to him I hoped that I wasn’t too judgmental.  I realized that he was a mirror for me.  Although I don’t have heart disease, I know just how difficult it is to lose weight.  I’d lost about 20 pounds over an 18 month period but it was quite the challenge

 

As I thought about this man three things came to mind that I though he could do to begin moving towards his heart healthy zone.

 

1.  Start with small steps.

 

All too often I see people try to do too much in the beginning.  They set their sights so high that when they don’t achieve their lofty goals they become discouraged.  I know this is true of myself.  Life doesn’t happen in big jumps.  We don gain 50 pounds in a few days, and we rarely can lose it that quickly as well.  It’s important to set goals that allow us to succeed.  Once we feel good about “making progress”  we can move forward to the next goal.

 

2.  Learn to take a breath and pause for 10 seconds.

 

Often we let our impulses get the best of us.  When it comes to our eating this is particularly the case.  A very simple way to overcome impulsive actions is to slow down our lives.  If the impulse to do what we know isn’t best for us comes up, if we can just slow down….take a breath…and really think about what we’re doing, we can often overcome such actions.   A pause of ten seconds is often just what the doctor orders.  Research has shown that our emotions work faster than our thoughts.  Circuits in the brain connect emotionally before rational thought has time to kick in.  Have you ever found yourself eating something unconsciously, without even thinking about it?  It’s like you see something and before you even know it you’ve popped it into your mouth?  If you have then you’ve seen first hand how our emotions can easily propel us.  Learning to take a breath and pause for 10 seconds is a skill that can give the rational mind time to catch up with our emotional overdrive.  

 

3.  Be open to new ideas.

 

If we’re going to change ourselves, change our lives, to begin to live the way we know we can live- then we have to be open to new ideas.   Without the openness to move in a new direction we can’t get where we need to go.  For people who have heart disease, it’s important to recognize that their old lifestyle habits have helped to create their illness.  They need a paradigm shift, to being willing to consider new ways of being. In the patient case of my patient, he needed to be recognize that the food choices he was making were harmful to his health.  If he wanted to move into his heart healthy zone he would have to re-think what he was eating on a consistent basis.  

 

Perhaps your life needs a shift.  Maybe you need to change the direction you’re heading.  Your steps matter.  

 

It’s been said, “The journey of a lifetime begins with the first step.”  

 

The choice is up to you.

 

 

March 15th, 2008 - Posted in Heart Health | | 0 Comments

Coming From the Heart- Impactful Living

I just got back this past week from a seminar called, The Language of Impact given by Joel Roberts.  Joel previously hosted a talk show program with KABC Radio Los Angeles for ten years. He has worked with Stephen Covey, author of the Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, as well as the Chicken Soup for the Soul book series authors.

 

Joel’s seminar was fabulous.  It was upbeat, funny, informative, and very, very practical.  Like no-one I’ve ever met Joel has the ability to find the core message of a topic and really make it shine.  I would highly recommend his course to anyone who is planning on speaking publicly or wants to have a media presence.  

 

Have you been to a great seminar lately?  If you have leave a comment about it. 

 

One of the key points of Mr. Robert’s message is that in order for speakers and language to be impactful, it has to move us.  We need to feel pushed or pulled inside at our deepest level.  It’s almost as if the words have to act like a catalyst that wakes up some part of the listener that has been dormant.  So that a reaction, a chemical, emotional awakening begins to to take hold inside our beings.

 

Another way of saying this is that for communication to be most effective, our hearts have to be engaged.  Meaning if we want to be heard we need to learn how to come from the heart on a more consistent basis.

 

Joel’s message resonates with me.  It resonates with what I’m all about!

 

All us us want to be heard.  Don’t you want to be heard?

 

I bet like me you do.  We all want to know that we matter, that we’re special.

 

What I saw by attending this workshop, reinforced my belief that what happens at the heart level matters most in life.  Finding meaning in life is all about finding the heart, getting to the heart of something.  Amazingly, it doesn’t really matter what that something is.  Your something could be cooking, biking, lecturing- anything.  It doesn’t matter what your thing is all about.  All that really matters is that your heart gets moved.  

 

Life is all about coming from the heart.  If you want to feel jazzed by life.  You need to get to the heart of whatever it is you are doing.  Find your passion.

 

If you do this you’ll be having the impact you want.

 

You’ll know real impactful living.

 

 

March 4th, 2008 - Posted in Self Help | | 2 Comments