Science has confirmed the wisdom of what Luke asked in the New Testament, What reason ye in your hearts? Author Joseph Chilton Pearce stated in an interview, Discoveries in the field of neurocardiology are, believe me, far more awesome than the discovery of non-locality in quantum mechanics. It is the biggest issue of the whole century, but it's so far out and so beyond the ordinary, conceptual grasp, that a lot of the people doing the actual research are yet to be fully aware of the implications. The heart has its own independent nervous system with around forty thousand neurons (60 to 65 percent of all the cells in the heart are neural cells) - a heart brain.

Neurocardiologists and other researchers are discovering that the heart is the psychophysiological means to create the life you want. The heart provides the most effective way to affect your physical health, your emotional well-being, your cognitive abilities, and, for our purposes, your ability to listen to greater wisdom and to direct your life by that wisdom.

And there is strong evidence that by connecting with your heart (by consciously bringing up pleasant feelings like love or appreciation), you affect others around you. Your heart produces 2 1/2 watts of electrical energy each time it beats, creating an electromagnetic field identical to the electromagnetic field around the earth. This field takes on a torus, or an egg-like donut shape, that extends beyond your body from three to twenty-five feet. Chilton Pearce and others speculate that we may be able to link our hearts with those of others, perhaps using the holographic nature of the torus to promote well-being in others. At the very least, this practice of tuning in to your heart dramatically reduces stress, improves your creativity, and helps you feel more at peace and compassionate.

Neurocardiology proves what yoga sage Patanjali prescribed in the second century C.E.: put your attention on wholesome states. Soak in love, compassion, and creativity, and in time the ways of seeing and feeling that produce suffering will fall away and the wholesome states will remain. When you focus on love and appreciation, your heart brain affects your cranial brain; it actually changes your brain structurally, creating new neural pathways that make it easier to feel positive and to return to this positive state more quickly when you are stressed, exhausted, or in pain. Your cortisol levels fall, and your immune system may get a boost - in other words, you physically become what you are feeling!

The heart is the key to making life organizing work. First connect (engage the body), then focus on your heart (it helps me to place my hand there), and remember a moment in which you felt how you want to feel now. If you want to feel calm, perhaps you can remember kayaking in the moonlight with your best friend. If you want to feel creative and energized, perhaps you can recall a moment in which you were brainstorming with coworkers and were bursting with fresh ideas. If you want to communicate clearly, your memory might be of an intimate conversation in which you listened and spoke with love. If coming up with a memory or a feeling feels difficult or you are drawing a blank, simply focus on a time when you felt appreciated or appreciative. Let yourself be shifted toward how you want to feel right now. This isn't about forcing; it's about inviting.

This simple invitation opens a communication channel to wisdom beyond your thinking mind and your current perceptions of your situation. The heart listens and receives and then it hands off to the mind to help things happen, is how Sufi master teacher and the author of Unveiling the Heart of your Business Mark Silver described it to me. The mind is not a sensing organ; it can't take in the unknown. By tapping into how you want to feel, you stop trying to think your way to a solution or new perspective, and instead, use your heart to intuit and feel your way. As you do, you biologically entrain yourself to this new place.

Menu of Heart Arts

The following ideas may aid you in connecting with your heart and making the emotional shift. The most important thing to remember - as with just about everything in life organizing - is that you already know how to do this. It isn't something new or difficult; you are simply bringing more attention to influencing how you feel for the purpose of guiding your life.

Don't Name It: The heart brain doesn't use language, so don't waste time trying to name how you want to feel; that only engages the cranial brain. Remember: heart first, head second.

Breathe into It: Many practices, such as yoga, instruct us to breathe into and out of the heart area. Imagine your heart opening and closing, or picture it having a little pair of lungs.

Inner Heart Spot: Touch the center of your breastbone, and you'll find a slight hollow; it might even feel tender to the touch. In the yogic tradition, it is taught that your inner heart lies behind this spot. Gently rub or tap this area, then focus your breath there.

Bloom: Visualize or feel a flower (it can be a lotus, a rose, a peony - you choose) inside your chest, right at your heart. As you inhale, imagine the flower gently beginning to open, spreading its petals. With each exhale, focus on the shape of the flower, on the sensation of dwelling inside the blossom, or even on the scene or color. Enjoy a few breaths watching your heart bloom.

The above article is an excerpt from The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Year, copyright 2006 by Jennifer Louden. It is printed here with permission of New World Library, Novato, CA, www.newworldlibrary.com, 800-972-6657 ext. 52.

Jennifer Louden is the bestselling author of The Women's Comfort Book and four other books selling over 765,000 copies worldwide. She has appeared on Oprah, is a columnist for Martha Stewart's Body & Soul Magazine, and is releasing her Life Organizing system through her newest book: The Life Organizer: A Woman's Guide to a Mindful Year. You can share a cup of virtual tea with Jennifer at www.jenniferlouden.com and www.lifeorganizerbook.com.