Heart of the matter!

In Sri Lanka when disciplined motorists get on to any public road they have to take life into their hands! In English it is expressed as, ‘bringing heart into the mouth’, which means one is petrified to such an extent that the heart begins to beat so fast that it practically comes into one’s throat!

Talking of ‘the Heart’ as a subject, patients who suffer from heart ailments are able to live on synthetic hearts now due to advanced technology. The latest news comes from the UK where a 40 year old heart patient leaving Papworth hospital in Cambridgeshire with an artificial heart. The device inserted into the patient’s chest which is slightly larger than the organ it replaced weighs less than six ounces. The only snag is that the patient always has to carry a battery operated pump in a rucksack to activate the artificial heart.

Heart is not only considered as the most magnificent machine that keeps on pumping blood to keep living beings throughout their lifespan. It has long been used as a symbol to refer to the spiritual, emotional, moral and also intellectual core of a human being. It was once believed to be the seat of human mind and the word ‘heart’ continues to be referred to the ‘soul’ while stylised interpretations use it as a symbol of love.

Healing messages

The human heart emits an electromagnetic field that surrounds the entire body and extends at least 15 feet in every direction. This field sends signals to every cell in the body, affecting physical, mental and emotional health and well being.

We have learnt that a ‘mind’ with ‘heart’ is able to deliver powerful healing messages directed by ‘spirit’ in the form of words and images that inspire, empower and open the gateway of the heart; ‘a spiritual heart is a connecting point that brings the spiritual into physical experience’.

Viewing from a religious perspective, one needs to understand and apply supernatural aspects of mind and matter to open this ‘gateway to spirit’ to experience personal guidance, heart intelligence, inner peace and happiness.

How does one do it? During challenged situations in life we are being advised to engage ourselves in spiritual practices such as meditation or prayer and/or yoga to learn the truth about ourselves. During deep meditation and intense prayer we seem to be able to focus our awareness on the heart centre and ask about ourselves, about others and the physical manifestations of our mind. A bit of an arduous task similar to that of one having to learn how to ride a bicycle - fall off many a time before establishing proper balance to stay on two narrow rubber tyres!

Circulatory system

To enhance our metaphysics to a greater extent we are being advised to learn how to listen to the inner voice of our own ‘ soul’ or ‘spirit’ or ‘inner self,’ whatever the term one is familiar with and open the gateway of the spiritual heart. At such a stage one is able to fathom that the heart is indeed much more than a muscle pumping blood through the physical body.

In religious texts the heart was historically attributed much mystical significance, either as metaphor or as an organ genuinely believed to have spiritual or divine attributes. The Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary are traditional Roman Catholic devotional images.

Many classical philosophers and scientists, including Aristotle, considered the heart as the seat of thought, reason or emotion, often rejecting the value of the brain. The Stoics taught that the heart was the seat of the soul. The Roman physician Galen located the seat of the passions in the liver, the seat of reason in the brain and considered the heart to be the seat of the emotions. While Galen’s identification of the heart with emotion were proposed as a part of his theory of the circulatory system, the heart has continued to be used as a symbolic source of human emotions even after the rejection of such beliefs.

Before one could delve into spiritual, emotional, moral, or intellectual core, it is essential that we maintain our heart organ in good shape. Today heart disease is so common that it has no age or sexual barriers for one to become a victim. Although a by-pass heart operation is considered as a simple operation there are several methods of surgery for coronary artery disease, the principal method known as CABG (Coronary artery by-pass graft), which involves bypassing blockages in Coronary arteries with a blood vessel taken from another part of the patient’s body.

Alternative medicine

Minimally Invasive Coronary Artery Bypass is another method believed to be with fewer complications, less pain after surgery and more rapid recovery within approx. 12 -24 hours.

Transmyocardial Laser Revascularisation (TMR) is the latest approach in treating CAD as an alternative to patients with very serious conditions.

As an aside, Dr Mass R Usuf, a well qualified alternative medical practitioner, has treated several patients who suffered from blocked arteries and who were not willing or unable to meet the cost of open heart surgery with a herbal formulation that unblocks clogged arteries within a period of three months.

The main disadvantage in alternative medicine is its clinical proof! However, a Sunday newspaper and an editorial of a daily last week highlighted the effects of dengue cure by homeopathy by ‘Joe de Livera, who has been closely associated with this science for the past 40 years’. Last year Dr Imthias Latif used homeopathic drugs to treat dengue patents at the request of the Colombo Municipal authorities. Dr Usuf followed suit this year.

If the heart and mind work in harmony to perceive the fact that “Man is nature and must by nature be nurtured and work on the principle’ let thyself be thy cure”, the marvel of the heart can then be envisaged.

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