Project Vision 21

Every heartbeat is an expression of the heart’s thinking, suggests a new study that revealed that the heart has its own mini-brain, a complex nervous system that is independent of the brain. Suddenly, expressions like “broken heart” or “hardened heart” take on a new dimension.

The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, was coordinated by the Karolinska Institutet (Sweden) and Columbia University (United States). The experts found that the heart performs “advanced functions” thanks to the fact that different types of neurons in the heart perform different functions.

From another perspective, metaphorical expressions have long been used contrasting the heart and its emotions with the logical thinking of the brain. Be that as it may, we repeat, every heartbeat is really a thought. And that is moving to me.

In the 17th century, the French thinker and mathematician Blaise Pascal said “the heart has reasons that reason does not understand” (or ignores), indicating that there are certain “truths” or “deep experiences” that are irreducible to strictly logical, deductive and calculating thought.

Love, faith, the experience of the divine, personal values, intuitions, in any of their many expressions, represent both the multidimensionality and the richness and complexity of human reality. That does not mean discarding reason or declaring those emotions or experiences “irrational.” But we must recognize that not everything valuable, true or authentic can be explained or found in calculating thought.

Closer to home, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry wrote in The Little Prince that “One only sees with the heart. What is essential is invisible to the eyes.” I don't know if Saint-Exupéry knew that the eyes are part of the brain, but, leaving that subject aside, the famous French writer knew that we see with the heart, not with the eyes.

“Seeing with the heart” is a form of knowledge and perception that is not based solely on the physical senses, but on intuition, empathy and affection. It’s remembering (from the Latin recordari, “to pass through the heart again”) that there are certain levels of reality that cannot be bought, measured, quantified or used.

“Seeing with the heart” is a call to live an authentic life, that is, to accept and love others for who they really are, not for what they seem to be or for what we believe them to be. Seeing with the heart implies consciously and constantly overcoming our superficial prejudices and recognizing the unique and valuable essence of each person.

Finally, in our time, Dr. Otto Scharmer speaks, in his Theory U, of an “open heart,” that is, a state of conscious presence that makes us more receptive to the inner and outer world, thus allowing us to access a deeper level of understanding.

With each heartbeat we enter a new future. It is time to live it, not plan it or calculate it. As Rumi said, “When the heart speaks, the mind finds its way.” Another teacher said 2000 years ago, “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”.