Our Hearts Know

The difficulty with modern life is that we often don’t have down time. We are constantly in motion. Whether we’re scurrying about trying to find the best sale at the grocers, zig zagging through traffic because we’re late for work or just hopping inside because of that double latte – our minds never seem to rest.

Even if we decide to “chill out” at the movies, the action pictures that make up the bulk of movie going offerings don’t make us any calmer. Often we’re more keyed up after exiting the film than before we went inside.

All this continual activity can play havoc with our mental state. It can leave us jittery and on edge.

Recently I had a patient who came in suffering with palpitations. Her heart was racing and she was anxious and worried. “I can’t ever seem to rest,” she said. “My mind is always going here and there, a hundred miles an hour. For the last three months I’ve been feeling exhausted. I’ve got some important decisions I need to make and I can’t make them.”

Animated, she detailed all the things she was trying to do in her life: take care of her mother, run her two kids to soccer and softball three to four times a week and of course, work a demanding, full time job.

Just listening to her story made me tired! What was clear from talking with her is that her mind was indeed too busy. It was filled with too many activities and duties, no wonder she couldn’t make the decisions she desperately to make. Her mind was working overtime, all the time.

Our minds are wonderful things. They help us do the things we need to get done in the world. They allow us to create and to be creative. Of course we can’t live without using our mental faculties.

Yet, sometimes our minds can overdo it. As we get caught up in too many activities our minds can be over burdened. They can become so caught up in rushing here and there while trying to do four or five things at once, that it can create actual health problems. Sometimes we need to say, “slow down” to the mental frenzy that preoccupies our heads.

We’ve all heard of “centering.” Centering is the act of getting in touch with who we really are as human beings. It’s the act of taking time to slow down and discover the peace that lives inside our hearts.

As we turn off the mind’s chatter and let our awareness move down into our heart, amazing things happen to us. Calmness begins to fill our being. The more we move into this “heart space” the more clarity we find. We realize that an intelligence that can only be called heart intelligence emerges. Slowly, the disruptive babbling from our hectic lives begins to recede and as we begin pondering the questions that truly concern us, we find the answers emerging like a ship materializing out of the fog.

A light bulb goes off inside of us and we realize that “our hearts know.” Our hearts have a wisdom that defies logic. And all we have to do is let go of the outer world and its preoccupations and get in touch with our hearts to uncover this knowledge.

Try this meditation that I often teach to my heart patients. Find yourself a comfortable chair and set aside 15-20 minutes where you won’t be disturbed. If you have some meditative music without words, put it on. Now, take a three deep breaths in through the nose and out through the mouth. Place your right hand over your heart and bring your awareness to the heart area. See if you can feel your heart beating? What does the beating feel like, is it fast, slow, jitttery? Take a few more breaths and feel inside your heart, down into your feelings and emotions. What do you perceive? What do you feel is happening inside your heart?

Allow yourself some time to let your heart begin speaking to you. Try doing this meditation every day for a few weeks. I’m sure that with time you’ll begin to get more in touch with your heart and feelings. If you are seeking answers to a question, often they’ll come.

How do we combat the challenges of hectic modern day life? One simple way is to begin becoming more centered. Spend the time that it takes to connect with our hearts. As we make the effort to listen within, our hearts will guide us to what we need to know.

Kirk Laman, DO is a practicing cardiologist and Assistant Professor of Medicine at Michigan State University and the author of “Heal Your Broken Heart” He offers a free monthly newsletter on his website called “Mending Hearts.” Visit www.drlaman.com.