Getting to The Heart of It

Photograph by Jasmine Waheed

Taking the notion of following our hearts to a new level — the science to back up the woo woo we already feel

February. WOW. That happened quickly, didn’t it? 

Well, we’re in the thick of winter’s embrace here in the Catskills with snow, frigid temps and Valentine’s Day just around the corner. Speaking of Valentine’s Day…it’s perfectly timed with what I want to share with you this month. Let’s get to the heart of it…

Recently on one of my early morning walks a friend started sharing all of this really cool info and the science supporting the incredible power of our hearts and intuitive selves. The conversation captivated me…OK fine, it kind of became obsessed. 

As soon as I got home, I started researching. Don’t you love when something sparks you and resonates deeply? The more I dug, the juicier the info became and spoke to me. Honestly, it kind of felt like one of those ‘aha’ moments; where things clicked and made sense.

It really got me thinking about how we make decisions, interact with one another and navigate this sometimes crazy life and world. 

As most of you know, I never followed a conventional set of rules when I started my business. I didn’t have a guide book, but I did follow my gut. I’m certainly not trying to reinvent the wheel here, but I’ve always followed my heart with this café and community. It has yet to fail me. And trust me, there have been many times where on ‘paper’ some decisions didn’t make the most sense to others or the way I interacted with and supported my staff was not understood. But my heart has a pretty loud voice and has a lot to say. 

But guess what? There is science to prove why this works and is true. Most people try to solve their problems by thinking their way out of them, finding the solutions with their brains. The big newsflash for me was learning that the heart actually has an electromagnetic field that is 5000x stronger than the brain. It’s true. In other words, the heart is taking a backseat when it should really be the driver! 

This validates what I’ve always felt, but couldn’t articulate. When I think of the times that I got myself in trouble in life — they were always times I denied this voice. Our 6^th sense isn’t our brain, it is our intuition and that is guided by the heart not the head. Einstein knew it. Aristotle knew it. I don’t know what took me so long to figure it out, but I’m kind of geeking out on it now. 

Because here’s the thing: the electromagnetic field of our heart is so powerful that it can pick up on energy anywhere in the body and around it. It’s why you feel the energy of someone who comes into a room. That’s your heart. The heart actually receives the message, sends it to the brain which then sends it to the gut where you feel happy, nervous, have butterflies or fear.

And why is this so exciting? We are all connected and it all matters. What we think and feel matters — not just to us, but to every person we come in contact with, each animal and living soul. 

It’s why the food we eat matters. The way we think matters. The way we interact with each other matters from loved ones to strangers. It’s exactly why when we reached out to the community to help us come up with taglines for the café a while back — this is one that really stood out: Love (in) every plate. 

This big beautiful vast world of ours is actually interconnected and enmeshed far more than we can imagine. We all play a role in protecting our planet, each other and all God’s creatures. Our wellbeing impacts others. 

I’ve naturally allowed my intuition to guide me as a friend, parent, employer and business owner, but now with this new insight, I honestly feel my heart differently. I’m paying attention to its beating within me — a beautiful reminder that I am supported and so are you. It excites me to think that our individual healing affects the collective, especially in this time of divisiveness and fracture. Imagine that every prayer, kind gesture, thought, and intention somehow helped another. Isn’t that an incredible thing to hold onto…especially when we feel powerless? 

A few years ago a Shaman told me that I had barbed wire around my heart and that I should do my healing work to carefully remove it bit by bit. It didn’t scare me. I understood how I had tried to protect it. Sometimes in prayer or meditation I go in and gently snip away at this wire. Just think if we each healed our hearts from its past wounds and pains, imagine the capacity we would have to give. 

Ali and I were recently mulling this all over together at the café one day when we made the connection to how constricted life has felt during Covid. The frenzied energy of fear rippled into all of us unknowingly, in differing ways squashing parts of us. I often caught my own emotions vacillating greatly and wondered why I would have sudden bursts of aggravation and fear even when I was making conscious choices to protect myself. But it makes sense now. 

We feel each other because we are connected whether we realize it or not. And when we allow our hearts to feel, we can pick up on the anger and fear — but we can also pick up on the hope, love and joy. It may seem like a tall order, but we can change all that holds us back, that is broken, that is wrong with the world simply by getting to the heart of it. I really believe this. 

We are not separate.

It doesn’t need to be one way or another, head or heart. There’s no need for opposition. Together is where it’s at. We’ve been falsely told to not let our hearts get in the way, that our heart should never rule the head. I disagree.

I say, like a marriage between the two — God gave us both, so let’s connect them, use all the tools, organs, intuition, gifts, learned knowledge, and emotions to BE our best for one and all. That’s what my heart is telling me…and I trust her my treasured friends. Are you listening to yours?

“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
― Aristotle

 

—Lea Haas, Owner, The Garden Café Woodstock