In one of the Star Trek movie series, the very logical Spock character was rapidly answering computer test questions. He was having no difficulty with even the most complex questions, until the computer asked, “How do you feel?” Suddenly he was unable to answer. A sub theme of the entire original Star Trek series was exploring the nature of Spock as a person who had rejected all emotion as useless distractions and instead focused only on thought and logic. Yet he never succeeded in evading emotions completely, as they kept popping up despite his determination to excise them. Spock learned it was impossible for him to be complete without emotions.
As the series progressed into the Star Trek movies, we saw that Spock was coming to grips with his emotional side. Spock had a “heart” that was caring and tender, but he was embarrassed to let show. Even though he was only half human, his character was a study in what it means to be human.
We ask ourselves the question: what are we?
These days we go to science for answers. Like Spock, science attempts to reject all emotion and just focus on facts, reason, and logic. When science attempts to determine what we are, it looks at mechanical interactions and physical phenomena, because that is all that it can observe. It is the least qualified to look at the spiritual aspect of humanity. When it looks at the human heart, it sees a physical structure that is operating on totally natural, although extremely complex principles, providing key services to the body. Yet science provides us clues beyond the physical realm which many researchers seem embarrassed to admit.
The heart of the matter
Although science continually attempts to compartmentalize our bodies, looking at individual organs, metabolic pathways, and nerve functions as individual things, it recognizes that our bodies are only functional with a complex interaction of all its individual parts. Nothing in our bodies works in isolation. But the heart is extremely interconnected: not only is it pumping the life-giving blood throughout the whole body, it is also communicating with the body, especially the brain. It is constantly talking to the brain, and the brain is constantly talking to the heart.
Heart Brain Body
Science can show that communication. Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS), researchers from the University of North Carolina examined organ communication with specific portions of the brain. By tagging along with micro-electrode data received from patients undergoing surgical brain procedures, the researchers were able to isolate signals coming from the heart and lungs to the brain. They found signals going largely to portions of the thalamus, which is the brain’s relay station for processing sensory signals before passing the processed signals to the cerebral cortex. They were able to examine signals to individual neurons, and observed “the activity of a large portion of the recorded neurons (about 70%) was modulated by either the heartbeat, the cardiac inter-beat interval, or the respiration.”
How is this useful? The researchers verified that heart-related signaling is controlling a majority of the brain cells in the thalamus. The thalamus then processes those signals along with all the senses (except smell), makes sense out of all the signals, then sends the results to the cerebral cortex, which is the thought center of the brain. Simply put, your thoughts are being influenced by your heart signals along with almost your entire sensory communication from your world. Your heart is therefore a major input to your thoughts.
The researchers also found that the heart signals were “much reduced in the cortical control regions” compared with the thalamus. So your thinking center is less aware of your heart signals directly, but is quite aware of those signals that have been processed with sensory/environmental input. What you sense around you is combined with what your heart signals, so in a way you see the world around you with your heart.
Taking this to the extreme, what happens with heart transplant patients? The organ controlling up to 70% of neurons in the thalamus has just been replaced. Researchers have examined even this question. Published in Quality of Life Research, researchers performed a retrospective study of individuals who had received a heart transplant to see how their personality might have changed. Only 6% directly reported distinct change in personality after the transplant, but 79% were very defensive and dismissive of the question, indicating difficulty coming to grips with their reactions. While this was a small study, it did suggest that the new heart signaling was having some impact on their personality and way of thinking. Given how much the heart signals the brain, and how these signals get processed by the brain, it makes sense that there would be some changes after transplantation.
Follow your heart
We consider the heart as a physical symbol of a way of thinking and seeing the world that is more intuitive and less factual. Although this way of thinking seems very emotional, emotions are only a part of the process; besides, the cerebral cortex is also involved in the formation of emotions. Heart-thought, if we can call it that, has a physical aspect as we receive heart signals processed through the thalamus.
What we see here are two ways that our cerebral cortex can think. One is through direct interpretation of facts — the logic of Spock. The second is through heart signaling which is operating via a different channel. We can sense the difference: we talk about head knowledge and logic as being different than knowing by heart.
When we employ logic to solve mathematic problems or do unbiased scientific research, we appropriately use non-heart logical thinking. But when we decide what we should be doing with our very lives, we employ this other type of thought, the heart thought, because our lives aren’t mere mathematics. These days, artificial intelligence (AI) makes computers much smarter than we are, but they can only employ the mathematical, logical thought. That’s why computers can never really be like us, because they lack heart thought.
We are still massively over-simplifying here. We are made of components which are physical, but also which tie in with spiritual elements that we have no way of measuring through physical means — these elements give us minds which then feed our physical brains. Without this aspect we would only be walking computers. But we also have to consider the heart along with the mind, which also is contributing to what we are in much the same way our physical brains are being fed by physical heart signals. We know that our brains form thoughts that have physical manifestation in our brain neurons, but we are not walking computers. We have spiritual hearts and minds that cannot be measured physically at their source, only in what they produce in us physically as our bodies respond to them.
What steers us
The second wisest man in the world said this: “Guard your heart more than anything else, because the source of your life flows from it. It is the wellspring fountain of life.”
Heart thought, if not blocked by the mind or by the mind-skewed emotions, is spirit thought. And it can only be led by truth and formed by truth. Yes, follow your heart, but that heart must be filled and guided by Truth. The wisest man who ever walked the Earth said this: “but whoever drinks the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again because the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water, springing up to continuous life.”
You receive signals from your physical heart that are shaped by environmental signals before reaching your thought center. Those environmental signals could be True or false. In this world you want to be receiving True signals. Your subconscious thoughts also send signals which may be based on truth or falsehoods. But the only life worth living comes through Truth. When you know that you are unconditionally loved by the One who created you, then your heart is receiving Truth, and following your heart will be the source of your life.
Signals don’t just come from the heart to the brain, they go from the heart to the entire body. If you have a Truth-guided heart, it will also send peace signals to your whole body. This is key to both mental and physical health.
Dr. Nemec’s Review
The PNAS study showed that the messages from the heart localize into one area in the brain called the thalamus. The thalamus is predominantly a relay station relaying information from the body to the brain. So 70% of the input from the neurons of the body is coming from just two places: the heart and the lungs — and the majority of this is coming from the heart. This is one of the Heart-Brain connections.
Which heart are you talking about?
There are two hearts that are alluded to in science and spirit:
Emotional heart
This is a heart that is influenced by the mind exclusively. This is because emotions are generated from the mind from thought, so emotions begin with thoughts that get processed through the brain and have an emotional outward expression. But the key here is they are generated by the mind, and usually a mind of deficiency, need, or lack.
What was the first emotion ever recorded? Fear..
And where did fear come from? Man being separated from his true identity, from his true one and only Father.
Spiritual heart
This is what Solomon was speaking of when he was talking about the heart as the wellspring of life, the source of all life.
Cold heart, hard heart
Is this an emotional heart or spiritual heart? Is this heart influenced by the mind or by the spirit?
The answer is obvious.
Pure Heart
This is a heart, or better described a spirit, that is reconnected to its identity, to its Family, to its Father, and not influenced by the mind nor the emotions. What did the wisest person ever say about a pure heart?
They will see their Father, their eyes will be opened so they can see the Truth.
Never base your life on what you think or what you feel, but on who you ARE and what the Truth IS — or I should say Who the Truth IS.
And you will know the Truth, and the Truth will set you free: free from the mind, free from the emotions, free from the roller coaster of happy and sad.
Here are the ways we can help you in your health journey:
Here are the ways we can help you in your health journey:
- Outpatient Comprehensive Teaching and Treatment Program-has the most benefit of teaching, treatment, live classes and personalized coaching. This program has the most contact with Dr. Nemec with 3- 6 month programs that can be turned into a regular checking and support program for life. This is our core program that has helped so many restore their health and maintain that restoration for years.
- Inpatient Comprehensive Teaching and Treatment Program-is our four-week intensive inpatient program for those that are not in driving distance, usually over 4 hour drive. This is the program that is an intensive jumpstart with treatment, teaching, live classes and coaching designed for all our international patients along with those in the US that do not live in Illinois. This program is very effective especially when combined with our new membership program support.
- Stay at Home Program-is offered to continental US patients who cannot come to Revolution New Medicine but still want a more personal, customized plan to restore their health. This program also includes our Learn Membership Program.
- Membership Program is our newest program offered for those that want to work on their health at a high level and want access to the teaching at Revolution New Medicine along with the Forums: both Dr. Nemec’s posts and other members posting. And also, to have the chance to get personalized questions answered on the conference calls which are all archived in case you miss the call. The Membership Program has 3 levels to choose from: Learn, Overcome and Master. The difference is at the Overcome and Master levels you received one on one calls with Dr. Nemec personalizing your program for your areas of focus.
