My favorite story of a moment between a father and a son comes from
The Reflective Life
by Ken Gire. In his book Ken writes about a fond memory that would occur when his father would come home from work, sit on the couch, and read the newspaper. Ken would crawl right up next to his father and lean his head against his father’s chest. Sometimes he would stare at the newsprint. Other times he would simply close his eyes and rest. He remembers many times just sitting there, listening to the beat of his father’s heart. And as he rested, Ken would try to breathe in sync with his father so that when he inhaled, Ken inhaled; and when he exhaled, Ken exhaled. Eventually, when he would breathe in rhythm with his father, their heart beats would beat in sync as well. It was then that Ken truly felt a sense of Oneness with his Father.
There is a Heart Math Institute in California that has been studying the intelligence of the heart. Scientists at Heart Math have described four different ways the heart communicates with the brain.
- Neurological: synapses, nervous impulses
- Biochemical: acetylchoine, norepinephrine, (hormones and neurotransmitters)
- Biophysical: pulses and pressure waves
- Energetically: electromagnetic field reactions
Researchers and doctors note that the pattern and quality of the energy emitted by the heart is transmitted throughout the body via the heart’s electromagnetic field. Just as cell phones and radio stations transmit information via electromagnetic fields, so does the heart.
Heart Math research has found that the heart’s electromagnetic field is far more powerful than the brain’s. Approximately 5,000 times greater. No joke.
Additionally, the heart’s field not only permeates every cell of the body, it also radiates outside of the human form. This field can be measured up to eight feet outside of a person.
One research project that I am particularly fond of documents a heart that was split in two. One section stayed at the Heart Math Institute in California. The other half was sent to New York City. When the scientists would increase the heart beat of the half of a heart in California, the heart tissue in New York would follow suit and remain in synchronicity ALL
ON ITS OWN. They continued to watch, alternate, and chart the heart beat of these two halves. No matter what happened, change in stimulation or change in circumstance, the heart would always beat as one.
Scientists then applied this phenomena to the entire human form. Further research suggests that when a person focus their attention on their heart, the synchronization between the heart and the brain increases. This is known as entrainment. When a person masters entrainment, his/her heart field expands exponentially.
Likewise, when a community masters entrainment with one another, the collective heart field of the entire community expands exponentially.
One of the most powerful examples of a group of people effecting change was a documented experiment during the war between Lebanon and Israel that began in 1982.
A group of people were trained in Transcendental Meditation. At appointed times on specific days of the month, these people were positioned throughout the worn-torn areas of the Middle East.
During the window of time when they were feeling peace and love,
*terrorist activities CEASED
*the rate of crimes against the people went down
*the number of emergency room visits declined
*incidence of traffic accidents dropped
When the participants’ focus changed and the meditations were over, the statistics reversed. This study confirmed their hypothesis:
When a small percentage of the population achieved peace and love within themselves, it was reflected in the world around them.
The data was so consistent that the researchers were able to identify how many people are needed to share the experience of peace and love before it is mirrored in the world. The number is the square root of one percent of the population. Using 1,000 people, that is 3.16 people. Smaller than you would expect. In a small business, a group of friends, a household - it only takes one person.
That calculation is the minimum number of people needed to effect change. The more people involved in the feeling, the faster the effect. This study became known as the International Peace Project in the Middle East. Its results were published in The Journal of Conflict Resolution in 1988.
Powerful. A community that discovers what it believes in and then becomes that belief is powerful.
Powerful. And it all starts with an individual recognizing his or her own heart beat.
Research and facts can be found at:
http://www.heartmath.com/