Heart versus Head  Decisions   Susan Kramer

We might think that a decision coming from our 'heart' would be mushy but it is just the opposite.

A head decision is an analytical decision and is one dimensional; in fact it is straight line thinking and works well in a math equation, and that is about it. This kind of analysis does not work in relationships in the workplace or with family or friends since it is so one-dimensional. It does not take into consideration all the prevailing circumstances that go into making the best decision from all facts and circumstances combined.

Heart decisions come from our total experience—bodily senses, mind, and soul. We say these are heart decisions because we feel the energy for making these decisions in our torso—the physical and emotional seat of our being while in our human form. The energy for making the best decision is not centered in the top of our body, the head. The energy really is pumped all through us from the center of our body, our physical heart, energizing all of our body.

By analyzing all the data taken in through the receptors of all of our bodily senses we can know that we have reached the right decision by noting how we feel in our torso, in our physical heart or physical body. We should feel relaxed in our body instead of stressed in our body. Some signs of stress being digestive upsets, raised blood pressure, and headaches after making just head, instead of full-body decisions.

Some of the hatha yoga practices help us get back in touch with the experience and practice of making full-body decisions—decisions that eliminate the stress in our body that comes from basing decisions on just a mathematical equation, in other words, from making a decision that does not come from viewing and reviewing all the circumstances. Hatha yoga postures are of a body-mind nature. We learn to really feel the workings of our body through the control of our breathing, and the effects of hatha as a bodily meditation. This is one of the greatest benefits of yoga—coming to experience all aspects of ourselves separately, and additionally, as a working unit. A unit that is meant to be taken from the yoga classroom into daily living as an integration of bodily feeling, greater perception from the bodily senses, and then compounded into a best decision in each situation we confront in living.

Imagine if you were laying in a deep relaxation pose and a heavy bean bag were placed upon the heart region of your body. Your attention would be drawn to the sensation going on in your torso, while all the while thoughts were flowing through your mind. This little practice can help you remember to pay attention to the level of comfort in your daily decision making, from the level of comfort felt in the torso of your body during decisions making.

In summary, if we make decisions using all the available input and our body stays relaxed, then we are making a best decision. If, on the other hand, we feel uptight and stressed from a decision we have made, we are only using the mathematical aspect of our thinking mind and have not taken all the circumstances into consideration.

Our bodies are more than our vehicle for getting from here to there. Our bodily senses are to be paid attention to and incorporated into all decisions that seemingly flow from thoughts in our brain.

Heart versus Head Decisions  © 2003 Susan Kramer
web site http://www.susankramer.com
email susan@susankramer.com

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