Understanding Heart Coherence ~ Tuesday August 13 2024

When we stop and think about our Hearts, we often realize how Blessed we are.  Because of our amazing Hearts, we can function in this world and do all kinds of amazing things.  The 2024 Olympics are a great example of what our hearts, bodies, and spirit can do.    Even if our Heart isn’t working perfectly, we are still able to participate in life.  Maybe not at the same speed, but we can still be present and be a Blessing.

In general, our Heart beats 60 to 100 times per minute, moving blood through arteries, veins, and capillaries to keep us going.  The beating of our Heart moves blood through approximately 60,000 miles of blood vessels every day!  Our blood carries red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets in plasma which is mostly water.  

Red blood cells carry Oxygen (O2) to all the cells in our body through the arteries.  White “blood cells” are part of our amazing Immune system.  And platelets are small cellular pieces that heal cuts, or abrasions by coagulating and forming a barrier to prevent germs from getting into our system and giving the tissue time to heal.  Whenever we are impatient with the speed of healing, it helps to remember that all healing begins within and moves outward.

Our Heart has its own very specialized nervous system that even has a short-term and a long-term memory.  When we have an ECG (electrocardiogram), we can see the graph showing the electrical activity of our heart.  The more peaceful and calm and centered we are, we will usually see a more regular and rhythmic pattern.  If we are frustrated or angry, we may see an irregular rhythm.

Our Heart has 4 chambers and 4 valves that usually work in a steady rhythm, pumping 1.2 - 1.5 gallons (5 liters) of blood through our body!  When we are calm and centered, our Heart maintains a steady rhythm.  But, if we are too stressed or stressed for too long, our Heart rhythms may not be as steady and rhythmic.  This would be like a car engine that needs a tune-up to function effectively.  Fortunately for us, we can learn how to slow our breathing, relax our muscles, rest with our Heart, and return to a peaceful and centered state.  When we do this, we are moving from stress to Heart Coherence and our whole system begins to calm down!

Our Heart also sends signals to our Brain.  Our Heart actually sends more signals to our Brain than the Brain sends to our Heart!  For many years, people thought their brain was managing all our systems.  Now we know, based on scientific studies, that our Heart is the main focal point.  This is the reason we can calm ourselves by slowing our breathing and bringing our awareness to our Heart.

Our Heart also has an electromagnetic field that is 5000 times stronger than the electromagnetic field of the Brain!  This is another reason we can shift out of high stress or emotional distress by slowing our breathing and resting our awareness with our Heart.  Amazing how simple this is.  We just need to be mindful enough to recognize when we are “stressed out”!

Also, if we realize that we are worried or anxious or “too tired and wired”, we can shift into gratitude or appreciation as we rest with our Heart.  Gratitude and appreciation or Being out in Nature are simple ways to restore inner peace and harmony.  This is especially important to remember when the world seems to be “going bananas”!

If you are feeling anxious or depressed after paying attention to the “news of latest disasters”, just pause, take a few slow, deep breaths, and remember all the wonderful blessings you have in your life.  Then check your feelings … you may find you are beginning to feel much better and possibly much calmer.

This is the reason that most religions and so many spiritual practices include appreciation, compassion, gratitude, or loving-kindness.  Because these practices can work quickly and efficiently to restore our Inner Peace and Balance!  This also can shift our perspective from dismal to hopeful.  There is always time for us to remember the Blessings in our lives.  Those Blessings didn’t go away, we just forgot.

Have a very Blessed and Beautiful week, remembering to be compassionate and kind to yourself.  This is the simplest way to grow your capacity for compassion and understanding.