In many instances than one in our life we find ourselves entangled with the ever recurring crux of whose dictates that we should follow: that of our mind? Or of our heart?
From the less complicated concerns we have – like praying or visualizing for success, thinking on which academic course to pursue, etc. – to the major or crucial decisions we make – like getting married, resigning from a job, migrating to another country, etc. – more often than not we’re seemingly caught in a swaying pendulum between our mind and our heart.
Is it mind or brain over heart? Or is it heart over mind or brain?
A Lofty Relationship
This seemingly archaic, if not clichéd, query sent me pondering anew, prompting me to revisit my past learnings in philosophy, theology, and even basic science about the lofty relationship between the heart and mind or brain.
Aristotle of ancient Greece taught that the heart is the “principle of life, of perception, of the motor processes, the animal heat, the nourishment and the growth” in humans.
Aristotle considered the heart as the center of reason, thought, and emotion, senior to the brain in importance.
The Brain Is Secondary
The ninth century Arabic philoso0pher Abu Nsr al-Farabi posited that, “the ruling organ in the human body is the heart, the brain is a secondary ruling organ subordinated to the heart.”
Auguste Comte, a 9th century philosopher, declared that “the brain should be servant to the heart”. Similarly too, in Vedanta (Hindu philosophy based on the teachings of the Upanishads), it is said that “the mind makes a good servant but a poor master”.
Traditional science taught us of the dualism or dichotomy between the heart and the brain or mind.
In general terms, the heart refers to the part of us that controls the desires, feelings or emotions, hopes, dreams, and other intangible parts of our being. The mind typically refers to the part of us that controls the intellect, reason, and thoughts.
The mind is the artisan of wisdom, logic or reason, and therefore is more superior to the heart, which is rather perceived as unstable or indeterminate in terms of feelings or emotions.
This was the norm that prevailed during my growing up years and even until now.
That’s why, back then, young girls were sternly advised to weigh in with their mind and not so with their heart in deciding for marriage.
Intellect vs Free Will
Back in college when I was in the seminary, we were taught of the two faculties of the human soul – the intellect and the (free) will.
Both are considered intangibles in the sense that they generate such realities as knowledge, idea or concept, truth, goodness, love, etc. – which are beyond the physical properties of bodily senses and mortality.
The Catholic Church’s “angelic doctor”, St. Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274) postulated that the human soul has three powers, which can be described as the intellect (perceptive, apprehensive, cognitive), the will (motive, appetitive, conative) and the passions or feelings (sensitive, emotive).
For St. Thomas, the will is not independent of the intellect.
Its Own Reason
Intellect and will are engaged in a dynamic, complex interaction, with multiple stages between an innitial perception and cognition by the intellect to the final action of the will, with occasional interruptions or overrides by the passions.
All these stages may happen in the “twinkle of an eye” or in a long drawn-out process.
At any stage the will can change the subject and ask the intellect to think about something else. However, the intellect may or may not do so.
On another breadth, Blaise Pascal (French physicist, philosopher, and theologian) once said: “The heart itself has its own reason, which reason itself cannot understand.”
New Scientific Discoveries
In 1991, scientists have discovered the existence of some forty thousand specialized cells in the human heart that function similarly as the brain.
These intelligent cells in the heart were called “sensory neurites” and considered as the “little brain in the heart”.
Scientists further found out that these “brain cells” in the heart emit a signature electrical frequency 0f 100 times stronger and a magnetic frequency of 5,000 times stronger than the brain.
The stunning discovery paved the founding of the scientific research center, the Institute of Heart Math, in Santa Cruz, California.
Its director of research and one of its original founders, Rollin McCraty, Ph.D., exclaimed: “The biggest hidden source of stress on the planet is the disorganization of heart and mind, causing lack of resonance.
“Lack of alignment eats the life force and happiness out of humanity…The most common denominator in all religions is that the heart is the seat of wisdom”
Howard Martin, Institute of Heart Math’s executive vice president, echoed a similar line: “We have this magnificent intelligence that lifts us beyond our problems even in the midst of chaos and confusion. When the heart is put into practical application in daily life, we can experience a new fulfilment, a new life, beyond our greatest expectations.”
On similar stance, Gregg Braden, an American scientist and internationally-acclaimed author and speaker, pointed out: “Our brain receives many of its instructions on what to do from the heart. Studies show that the heart is able to think, feel, and have emotions on its own.”
Guide Us In Our Quest
So now, from the above philosophical and scientific ruminations about the heart and the brain or mind, can we find a better or appropriate way to guide us especially in our quest for a successful, happy and meaningful life?
This will be tackled in my next column piece. And until then, may God always hold us in the palm of His hand.