HEART TO HEART

Q. Why do you emphasize the heart so much in children's learning? Shouldn't this aspect of childhood be focused more on their brains?

A. We are accustomed to the heart’s power being referred to metaphorically in poetry and song.  On the other hand, science has designated the heart as merely a mechanical pump. Yet, recent research led by the Institute of HeartMath has revealed the astounding power of the heart to impact physical and emotional health as well as intuitive and rational intelligence.

In his book Biology of Transcendence Joseph Chilton Pearce describes an experiment with live rodent heart cells in biology lab. After some time on a slide, the pulsing cells would fibrillate until death. Pearce recalls the next stage of the experiment:

“We could take two live heart cells, keep them separated on the slide, and, when fibrillation began, bring them closer together. At some magical point of spatial proximity they would stop fibrillating and resume their regular pulsing in synchrony with each other—a microscopic heart … The two cells didn’t have to touch for this magical bonding to occur, and could in fact be separated by a tiny barrier.”

But the question was, how did those cells communicate across a spatial and even physical barrier?

 Science has confirmed that all living cells produce an electrical field, but a heart cell’s output is exceptionally strong. In the words of Pearce, “ That congregation within us, billions of little generators working in unison, produces two and a half watts of electrical energy with each heartbeat at an amplitude forty to sixty times greater than that of brain waves—enough to light a small electric bulb.”

There’s more to the story. This electromagnetic heart field radiates some 12 to 15 feet from the body.

This and a series of blogs to follow concerning the role of the heart suggest deep reflection on such a powerful organism. Consider this question: If two heart cells can save each other’s lives, what are the implications for two hearts beating in close proximity?

Can it be coincidental that the same entrainment that occurs between heart cells on a slide occurs between mother and infant as the baby nurses? The brilliant Architect of Love has placed the mother’s breasts at the level of the heart. Heart to heart, as the infant nurses, the mother’s heart strengthens her baby’s. As the hormones of bonding secrete, and the hearts pulse with synchronous beats, the two become as one unified field of love. Logic is not sufficient to capture the beauty of such attention to design. Only the sense of awe and wonder that arises from the heart can capture such magnificence.

The deeper we peer into the powerful energetics of the heart, the more wonderful the discoveries. That is why even a thousand blogs would barely lift the veil on this organ, this conduit of the soul for empowered love and intelligence in each human being.

But let us touch the hem of truth’s garment as we continue to discuss the centrality of the heart, for this has profound implications, not only for our relationships with children, but the learning institutions where we place them several hours a day.

We are at a crossroads in history, in which nothing could be more important than expanded realization of the power and intelligence of the heart to bring healing, peace, and Whole Being Intelligence to our children and the world.