Current research has discovered that the heart is the regulatory organ, not the brain. In order to feel safe and secure, our heads and hearts have to be in coherence. Stressful emotions such as anger, frustration, and anxiety create irregular and erratic heart beats, or what is known as an incoherent heart rhythm pattern. Positive emotions such as appreciation, care, joy, and love create highly ordered, smooth, and harmonious heartbeats, known as a coherent heart rhythm.

Paying attention to the heart is crucial to overall wellness. Current stressful lifestyles can leave our hearts in incoherent states. Reconciliation of the heart requires an honest inventory of our inner and outer lives and our willingness to look at what might be hidden in the shadows. Psychologist Carl Jung defined the shadow as the place in the unconscious where we hide parts of ourselves that appear negative to our conscious minds, fearing they might be evil or bad. When we fail to recognize these shadow aspects, they can cause us to feel and/or act in ways we don’t consciously understand.

Prior to the twentieth century, survival was the key component of daily life. Today, life spans are much longer, and we have many luxuries that our ancestors did not enjoy. With modern technology, education, medical advances, and appliances decreasing the time needed for basic survival, we can now pay more attention to the deeper aspects of what makes us feel more whole.