The head dazzles us with cleverness, yet is readily misled - for when without its friend, the head makes a harbour for sharks like anger
and fear... along with compulsive desire, a mate of theirs that sends us on endless quests that only leave us desperate.
The heart is more than a pump in our chest. For thousands of years, it’s been held up as the head’s best calming influence and source of reference. The heart arms us with command, courage
and confidence; and lends us sight for treading fearlessly through the night. Robbed of its light, we forget that life is about being. The joy of giving and sharing, this seems off limits and too daring once fear etc. have steeped the head in too much stress.
The heart rules not through pride and shame, nor by compelling everyone to be the same. Neither does it drain our creativity, or dominate. “Authority” might use fear etc.
to rule us, but real
authority is of us, and found in our heart.
The latest research has revealed the heart to contain a multitude of nerve cells - that sends more instructions back up to the brain than those signals the brain sends down to the heart.
Given its rich neural connections to the prefrontal cortex, the heart is perfectly placed to team up with this region of the brain - so as to help provide us with a few critical "C’s":
- contentment
to weather compulsive desire, possessiveness and pride;
- calm
with which to survive the furnace of anger
and the bite of shame;
- courage
enough to stand up to that bully, fear;
- compassion
for our nearest and dearest, for our own self, and even for those from across the border;
- connectedness
and integrity;
- consciousness
and caring, and commitment
to one another and to truth.