The heart is a muscle about the size of your fist. It lies behind and to the left of your breast bone . . . and pumps about 6 quarts of blood 12,000 miles per day.
Your heart works tirelessly, propelling life through various blood vessels, arteries and veins of the body. In Sanskrit, the word for faith is shradh. It is derived from the root hrd coming from hrdaya, meaning heart. Faith is an abstract concept. Where, physiologically, is faith? In the bones? In the spleen? With the study of Sanskrit, we learn that faith is rooted in the heart. Consequently, what you put your heart into, becomes infused with faith.
"Love is freedom, compassion, care, intimacy, trust, and divine faith. These profound qualities are the qualities of life. We could say that love is the law of life." ~ Dr. Vasant Lad
Because every thought and emotion is also a bio-chemical reaction, in the form of some chemical, be it serotonin, dopamine, norepinephrine . . . or adrenalin, your heart can circulate the emotion (via the blood stream) throughout the entire body.
When blood chemistry is in balance, faith will rest comfortably in the heart. With faith situated in the heart, the heart holds the power to heal.
1.5 million Americans suffer from heart attacks each year. Statistics from the American Heart Association demonstrate that heart disease is the leading cause of death in the United States. Hypertension has been dubbed the silent killer. It's nondiscriminatory; it affects men and women in every state, of every color, of every size . . . and of every religion. The question we must ask is why is the heart attacking us?
If hypertension is the silent killer, joy is the silent healer.
Imagine for just a moment that your misery, your love, your pain, and your bliss lie completely in your hands. What if joy became your constant companion? With joy, even the most mundane acts become blissful. With anger, even the most joyous acts become miserable.
Love is expansion. Anger is contraction. When love is present, pain is crowded out. There's simply no room . . . blood flows freely and oxygen goes where it is needed. If anger is present, pain takes the driver's seat.
When there is excessive muscle contraction, blood is obstructed and oxygen no longer flows freely. Cells die. Energy is required to manufacture new cells, and without oxygen, this is an exhausting process. When struggling with pain or sickness it is far too easy to get lost in medical terms and diagnosis. Heart disease: what a vague and scary diagnosis.
With the fear of the unknown, we begin to believe that science somehow has priority over our instincts. We take the medication and we continue about our business until we start to feel crummy again. It is at this time that we must seek joy. With joy comes faith in the unknown. When faith resides in the heart it results in an extremely powerful pharmaceutical type therapy.
Your body is your inner-pharmacy.
Many drugs are nothing more than an exact copy of neurotransmitters that are absent (in some quantity) in your biological make-up. Who says you can't make up your mind and increase the potency and efficiency of your own inner pharmacy?
It's proven that when a patient has faith in the remedy or in the physician, positive outcomes increase dramatically. With a stable support system, stress relief and a balance between structure and freedom, the prognosis brightens. This is the power of the mind.
Joy is sweetness. Sometimes it comes in the form of chocolate, but most of the time it comes in the form of love. This sweetness, this love . . . and this happiness are the nuts and bolts of a joyful life.
Seek joy & silently heal.
