The Heart - Mind Connection
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| Brain Neurons Firing |
Part 2
Modern Science & Neuroplasticity
Part 1 briefly explored the false dichotomy between Religion and Science. The great spiritual traditions all emphasise the 'oneness' and the inter-connectedness of all things. Before looking at neuroscience let us recap on what Einmstein has to say about mystery and then the central teachings of two great Traditions, Buddhism and Christianity.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” Albert Einstein
To the part that quotes ' true art and all science' could be added 'in fact everything- all spiritual truths '.
Part 1 shared the following quotes from two traditions :
Buddhism : The Dalai Lama "A change of heart is always a change of mind. " and vice versa ( or is it a chicken and egg dilemma ?) "Every change of mind is first of all a change of heart."
Christianity: Jesus the Christ Some important quotes from Jesus are as follows : ' Change your mind ( repent) for the Kingdom of God is at hand' and the importance of being at peace ( mind & heart) 'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. '
Part 1 shared the following quotes from two traditions :
Buddhism : The Dalai Lama "A change of heart is always a change of mind. " and vice versa ( or is it a chicken and egg dilemma ?) "Every change of mind is first of all a change of heart."
Christianity: Jesus the Christ Some important quotes from Jesus are as follows : ' Change your mind ( repent) for the Kingdom of God is at hand' and the importance of being at peace ( mind & heart) 'Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful. '
The Centrality of Oneness and Inter-Connection
This sense of Oneness and Inter-connection lies at the heart of all the great Spiritual Traditions, from the Aboriginal Peoples , with their sense of the Indwelling Presence of the ' Great Spirit' in all of nature and creation, to the Atman of Hinduism, the Spirit of Christianity etc.. The Spiritual Traditions of Humanity have long recognised and sensed the Mystery at the heart of Creation
This sense of 'mystery' is also part of all human endeavours, disciplines and sciences. Einstein's quote recognises this. Modern Science also regognises that there is an inter-connectedness to all creation. Everything we know of, that we can touch, feel, see, hear etc originates from the great event of creation - which we now call the BIG BANG.
Every atom, every molecule and every breath we all take, originates from that initial great unfolding that occurred 13.7 billion years ago. The oxygen we breath in and its molecules are the same as those our ancestors took in. From the ancient sages of Hinduism, through the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad and Guru Nanak, from Aristotle through Newton, Faraday, Boyle and Einstein, all breath in particles that originated in the Big Bang. This both wonderful, awesome and sheer mystery.
Modern Science reveals and confirms the order and design of both the Macro is mirrored and reflected in the Nano.If ones looks at pictures of the Cosmos and those of our Brain Neurons, they could both have seemed to come from the Hubble spacecraft. See both pictures above and to the right.
TThere is a growing sense of the inter-connectedness of all. The 'model' of the Cosmos mirrors the model of the atom. The Macro mirrors the Micro. In addition, there is a growing realisation that humans are holistic beings. Humanity models its environment and we are Body- Psyche and Spirit.
The last of these does not have to have a Religious connotation. To insist on this is another example of dualistic thinking. Whether it be the Mystics of the Spiritual Traditions ( like Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad or Guru Nanak) or the great Scientists of the past and present ( like Aristotle, Newton, Boyle, Faraday and Einstein ) , most would agree with the contention that ' there is a great mystery at the heart of creation / the cosmos. Whatever this 'mystery' is - whether we name it as Source, Ultimate Reality, God or some great 'unknown'; our journey of human discovery is to be open to its unfolding revelation.
Now to return to neuroscience, the connection between Mind and Heart and how a change in one can impact on the other .
What Does Science Tell Us ?
We are at the frontiers of a greater understanding of the Mind and the Brain. The Mind is more than the Brain but the Brain is a large part of what we call the Mind. In the past 50 years we have learnt more about the brain that in all previous recorded history. Let us briefly ( and simply) outline a few pertinent facts, these are enough for us to realise how we can indeed use the Heart-Mind connection to ' change' not only the neural structure of the brain but also establish or place ' a new heart and a new mind within'
The Brain is a few pounds of 'tofu' like matter, rather small in comparison to our body. Yet it can consume up to 25% of all the oxygen we breathe and the glucose we consume.
It has two, interconnected Hemispheres
It has evolved over millions of years and developed a complex inter-connected structure that has helped us survive and has shaped our long journey as an intelligent species with the gifts of reflective consciousness
It consists on a mind-boggling 100 billion neurons, each capable of connecting to 5 or more thousand other neurons.
Its total combinations of inter-connections is greater than all the known stars in the Cosmos !
Neurons that 'fire' together 'wire' together. ( can form new neural pathways )
Mental states form Neural Traits and vice versa ( the basis of all 'habits )
The heart and the Brain ( like other main organs ) are inter-connected. However, there is a growing understanding that the Heart - Brain inter-connection is very important .
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| The Big Bang |
Every atom, every molecule and every breath we all take, originates from that initial great unfolding that occurred 13.7 billion years ago. The oxygen we breath in and its molecules are the same as those our ancestors took in. From the ancient sages of Hinduism, through the Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad and Guru Nanak, from Aristotle through Newton, Faraday, Boyle and Einstein, all breath in particles that originated in the Big Bang. This both wonderful, awesome and sheer mystery.
 |
| Firing Neurons |
TThere is a growing sense of the inter-connectedness of all. The 'model' of the Cosmos mirrors the model of the atom. The Macro mirrors the Micro. In addition, there is a growing realisation that humans are holistic beings. Humanity models its environment and we are Body- Psyche and Spirit.
The last of these does not have to have a Religious connotation. To insist on this is another example of dualistic thinking. Whether it be the Mystics of the Spiritual Traditions ( like Buddha, Jesus, Mohammad or Guru Nanak) or the great Scientists of the past and present ( like Aristotle, Newton, Boyle, Faraday and Einstein ) , most would agree with the contention that ' there is a great mystery at the heart of creation / the cosmos. Whatever this 'mystery' is - whether we name it as Source, Ultimate Reality, God or some great 'unknown'; our journey of human discovery is to be open to its unfolding revelation.
Now to return to neuroscience, the connection between Mind and Heart and how a change in one can impact on the other .
What Does Science Tell Us ?
We are at the frontiers of a greater understanding of the Mind and the Brain. The Mind is more than the Brain but the Brain is a large part of what we call the Mind. In the past 50 years we have learnt more about the brain that in all previous recorded history. Let us briefly ( and simply) outline a few pertinent facts, these are enough for us to realise how we can indeed use the Heart-Mind connection to ' change' not only the neural structure of the brain but also establish or place ' a new heart and a new mind within'
It has two, interconnected Hemispheres
It has evolved over millions of years and developed a complex inter-connected structure that has helped us survive and has shaped our long journey as an intelligent species with the gifts of reflective consciousness
It consists on a mind-boggling 100 billion neurons, each capable of connecting to 5 or more thousand other neurons.
Its total combinations of inter-connections is greater than all the known stars in the Cosmos !
Neurons that 'fire' together 'wire' together. ( can form new neural pathways )
Mental states form Neural Traits and vice versa ( the basis of all 'habits )
The heart and the Brain ( like other main organs ) are inter-connected. However, there is a growing understanding that the Heart - Brain inter-connection is very important .
T he heart and brain maintain a continuous two-way dialogue, each influencing the other’s functioning.
The signals the heart sends to the brain can influence perception, emotional processing and higher cognitive functions. ( Taoism and Hinduism have a variety of 'practices' that influence the Heart Chakra and thus the mind)
The signals that the brain sends, particularly from the Limbic System and the Nervous System can 'control' the heart rate as well as other main organs.
( Much of Yoga Pranayama Practices work on damping down the Sympathetic Nervous System ( our Fight:Flight Responses ) and ' ramping' up the Para Sympathetic Nervous System - ( our Rest: Digest) Responses )
So modern neuroscience has revised and contradicted some old ideas about our Brain and Mind. It was once thought that the brain developed into early teen years and thereafter it was 'downhill' all the way. We now know that, providing we try new things, new neural pathways can be , and are being, constructed or developed all the time. The opposite is true. The brain also works on a 'redundancy principle'. If we fail to exercise or do certain things, then those neural pathways decay. A general term for this is Neuroplasticity. It is the basis of all mental change. It allows us to change , lose or develop habits or traits . So that Jesus' call for a change of mind is not only possible but prophetic and the Dalai Lamas contention that every change of mind proceeds from a change of heart and vice versa is also grounded in modern science.
To change our minds we merely need to develop a new set of 'practices' and this begins to re-shape our neural structure. There is also an inter-connection between the Body and the Heart and Mind. Changing one for the better causes changes in the other. The Spiritual Traditions have developed a wide variety of Practices over thousands of years. These have stood the test of time. So the challenge for us all is this. When , where and how will we accept personal responsibility for the re-shaping of both our Hearts and our Minds. Whether we do this , guided by Religious beliefs, or guided by Science is immaterial. Our world needs change and as the great Hindu Sage Gandhiji so clearly said :
Gandhi, is pointing a way of genuine and personal transformation - a mental revolution which changes both Heart and Mind. If our world is to change for the better, if a 'new kingdom' is to come - a society where we live in harmony, growing mutual respect , more compassionately and more loving - all antidotes to violence, oppression and inequality - then each of us needs to take responsibility for our own change.
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