This post was originally published April 19, 2015 on and updated on October 19, 2020.
Beauty takes time for us to see fully. It always takes longer to hear with the heart, but the song heard there is lasting and precious.
~ Mark Nepo
“It broke my heart!”
“That went straight to the heart of the matter.”
“It really touched my heart.”
“I’m heartbroken!”
“I heart you”
Sound familiar? Ever said or written such yourself? We all have, I bet. Up until several years ago, I thought these just colorful expressions; that there was nothing really going on with one’s heart muscle, aorta, and such. Then two things happened that radically changed my mind.
The first occurred years ago while doing research for my Master’s thesis. It led me to one of my still-favorite resources, the Institute of HeartMath. It turns out there’s actually quite a bit of science to support the existence of ways of knowing and understanding that we have habitually discounted. And heart-related matters are, er, at the heart of it. We do perceive, feel and think using our hearts. The organs of the body have their own electromagnetic fields (EMF) and:
The heart is the most powerful generator of electromagnetic energy in the human body… . The heart’s electrical field is about 60 times greater in amplitude than the electrical activity generated by the brain. … Furthermore, the magnetic field produced by the heart is more than 5,000 times greater in strength than the field generated by the brain, and can be detected a number of feet away from the body, in all directions. ~www.heartmath.org/research
Further, the neural network that most of us were educated to believe was the purview of the brain alone is in fact a web throughout our entire body. Folk wisdom in many cultures has always referred to the heart as a center of knowing, wisdom, and feeling. Now our God of Science has validated that knowingness with the astounding data that the heart has a greater electromagnetic field than the brain; and an abundance of neural networks. We do, indeed, think and feel with our hearts. And what we have deemed “intuition” is probably information coming to us via these fields and networks.
The second thing that happened was a personal experience. A non-physical traumatic event occurred in my life, and it had, among others, this very physical effect: my chest hurt. Badly. It lasted for several months. I had no idea what this constant physical pain was. Doctors sent me to the ER more than once, sure I was having a heart attack. Then I realized that those “colorful expressions” were not merely metaphors but accurate statements of a real physical response to emotional pain. My heart was broken.
The heart feels, emotes…we are not brain-centric thinkers or feelers. I believe that what we call “intuition” is, in fact, information/knowingness coming to us before being processed by the brain. It is coming to us via the EMFs of our organs, most predominately our heart. We need only heed it.
To practice thinking with your heart:
1) Listen for and to your “inner voice.”
2) As you notice those “thoughts” and impulses you’ve previously labeled intuition, speak them aloud and/or write them down. This is a form of acknowledgment, honoring, and validating such knowing/gnowing.
3) Try acting on your intuition when possible. Notice the outcomes.
4) Choose to be around what I call “higher companions,” those people who tickle your laugh muscle, lighten your spirit, and encourage spontaneity. Who, at the same time, do not back away from helping you shine a light on your demons. Who tend not to scoff at your intuitions and will encourage you in your endeavors and your challenges. Whose only criticism, when it comes, is insightful, delivered with compassion, and always constructive in nature. You’ve heard yourself think or say about them, “I just LOVE being with (insert name here). You strive to be the same for and to them. Such friends nurture our hearts and our heart-thinking.
So, in summary, it is time to stop dismissing that which we label “intuition.” It is knowing from a different source. It is “gnowing.” If something is calling to us, moving or inspiring us, that seemingly has no “logical” source — so what? Get over it! Release that criteria. Practice thinking with your Heart. And acting on those thoughts/feelings. Allow yourself. To do so creates greater inner harmony, a requisite state in turn for creating True Beauty outside oneself.
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift. ~ Albert Einstein