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At best, most Westerners seem to believe in the “language of the heart,” but assume it is somewhat archaic and second-place to the “logic of the brain.” Even churches, it seems, are bewildered in a leader speaking of a discernment of the Spirit, wherein one seeks to notice the “nudging of the heart.” Most church business is a logical discussion of what should be done, with little attention to what ancients meant by wisdom, which was an embodied way of listening to the Spirit.
Pardon me if I seem to be chasing an illusive and allusive rabbit with the following questions, but I ask anyway: Could the high rate of heart disease in our culture in any way be linked to our not having our heart “touched” enough? … to our losing “touch with” the heart, through the dominance of the brain and the technology arising from it? … through our alienating the heart? ... by our not "following" our heart? ... our "losing" heart? ... too much "heartache"? … could getting in touch with the heart be as important as exercise, diet, and genetics in heart wellness?
I do know this: I have never heard anyone say, “I love you with all my brain.” I have never told anyone, “My brain is overflowing with love for you.” Persons do say, “I love you with all my heart.” And, “My heart is overflowing with love for you.” I do know that on Valentines Day we do not give cards with the outline of the brain, but we do give cards with the outline of the heart. When someone is grieving the loss of a lover or beloved, we say, “Her heart is broken” or “She broke his heart.” We do not say, “Her brain is broken” or “She broke his brain.” We do speak of love piercing the heart, when one is love struck, not that one has a pierced brain.
We cannot, however, return to a more institutional time before the development of the frontal cortex, the center of human reasoning. We do not want to relinquish the brain. Indeed, likely, each of us can recall a time we were “following my heart” and ended up wishing we had “followed my head.”
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