***Mind of Head and of Heart

Some people carry their heart in their head and some carry their head in their heart.
The trick is to keep them apart yet working together.
- David Hare

Introduction

In wholistic conceptualizations, our primary consciousness resides in spirit and is expressed through body, mind and relationships. The logo of the IJHC includes an icon that represents the interlinking of mind in head and in heart, and that is the focus of this discussion. The mind of relationships, wherein we participate as individuals in a collective consciousness, is a topic that is largely for separate discussion but will be considered here as it relates to the mind of head and of heart. Spirit connects with all.

Mind is often perceived in Western society as being the product of neuronal activity in the head, or, more precisely, in the brain. A parallel with computer functions is generally accepted as the way the mind comes into being, where the brain is seen as the hardware and mind as the software. Confirmation for this belief is found in brain injuries to specific parts of the brain, which produce specific deficits in mental functions. For instance, if your brain suffers the major trauma of a concussion, you may lose consciousness. When you regain consciousness, some of your memories may be lost. If your left cerebral hemisphere is damaged, you may lose your ability to read; if your prefrontal lobes are damaged, you may lose much of your ability to appreciate or experience emotions. Such symptoms are explained as the loss of functions of mind due to damage to neurons that create those mental awarenesses.

An alternative theory of consciousness is that it exists in spirit, with the brain being a radio or TV receiver that transmits the awarenesses of spirit into conscious awareness. This is equally consistent with the evidence from brain injuries. If a particular set of wires in a radio is destroyed, then certain frequencies may not be received or certain sounds may be impossible to play ? although the radio transmission may still be intact.

Coming from the opposite orientation, a Sufi parable observes that those who are not awakened to connect with spirit will look at the finger of the teacher who is pointing to the heavens, while those who are awakened will look at the heavens.

This editorial will consider the world as matter and the world as spirit, and the implications of each for understanding mind ? and for living our lives.

The world as matter

If the world is nothing more than matter, then the theory of mind being the product of the physical brain is a logical deduction, and one with far-reaching implications.

Mind, in this framework, is the on-board computer that guides the organism through life. Mind is connected to:

Sensory organs of sight, sound, smell, taste, touch and kinesthesia (sensing the position of the body);

Internal neural, chemical, hormonal and antibody sensors and responders; and

Muscle sensors and activators.

Thoughts are generated by complex nerve impulse interactions, much as computers perform various functions according to the programming in their wiring. The nervous system functions on the basis of genetically shaped nervous system structures (the hardware), programmed in response to life experiences (the software).

Ethics and moral behaviors are to a large extent individual and collective decisions, based on social structures that evolve and change through time. These are influenced by individuals and groups, through processes of reasoning and social power relationships.

Emotions are the product of nervous system responses to these various inputs, shaped by genetic endowments, habits of life experiences, and choice.

One of the most important deductions in a materialistic world is that if the mind is solely the product of matter, and if the brain is the source of our consciousness, then when we die that is the end of our personal existence. This belief shapes our world in personal and collective ways with far-reaching consequences. If the chips in the game of life we are given can be used only during this one physical lifetime, there is a strong incentive to maximize the social and material gains achievable during this lifetime.

Spirit informing body, emotions, mind, relationships with other people and with Gaia

If we assume that Spirit is the primary source of our consciousness, the world becomes a very different place. Within this belief system, each of us is a pixel in the All. Spirit invites us to choose our paths through life, leaving us the choices of how we invest the gifts and energies we are given and how we respond to the challenges with which we are faced.

Many are satisfied through the intuitive awareness of heart and head that they are connected via their higher selves to a spirit and soul. The inner 'gnowing' (a word I use for intuitive awareness) of the rightness of their intuition is sufficient for these people who trust their intuition to affirm their connection with the All. Others may seek cognitive confirmation they can receive through their outer senses to validate the intuitive information about the world, to convince them of the reality of their transpersonal selves.

A fuller article appears as the editorial in the International Journal of Healing and Caring – on line (IJHC) 2006, Volume 6, No. 3.