Back on April 7th 2016, Neuroscience news discussed a work done by Igor Grossmann and colleagues from the Australian Catholic University. The article was titled–Wisdom is a Matter of Both Heart and Mind. The study revealed that fluctuations in heartbeat may affect our wisdom.

“Our research shows that wise reasoning is not exclusively a function of the mind and cognitive ability. We found that people who have greater heart rate variability and who are able to think about social problems from a distanced viewpoint demonstrate a greater capacity for wise reasoning.”

The study showed that the physiology of the heart, particularly the heart rate variability during light physical activity, was related to one’s ability to make wiser judgments and being less biased. Wise judgement has been defined by cognitive scientist and philosophers as the ability to recognize one’s on limited knowledge, the complexity of life, how it unfolds over time, considering other viewpoints, and seeking reconciliation. People with varied heart rates were able to reason in a less biased and wiser basis when asked to do so in the third-person perceptive but when asked to do so in a first-person perspective no connections to heart rate and wiser judgments were observed.

Reasoning in the third-person is to me a form of contemplation or meditation. It requires that one not think about himself but look at a bigger picture. Is this not what Jesus has called us to do? To lookup and consider others more important than ourselves? Isn’t this the posture that He taught us in His short-lived life here on earth? He came to serve and not to be served. Life is so much bigger than ourselves. Again this study only confirms what the bible teaches us. Proverbs 16:21 states the wise in heart are called discerning and gracious words promote instruction. The wisdom from above is first of all pure; then it is peace-loving, courteous (considerate, gentle). It is willing to yield to reason, full of compassion and good fruits; it is wholehearted and straightforward, impartial and unfeigned (free from doubts, wavering, and insincerity) James 3:17.

There is a heart and mind connection for as a man or woman thinks in their hearts, so they are. What we speak is a reflection of our heart and mind. The wisdom from above is Jesus. He is our wisdom and the only one who can change a heart of stone to flesh.  Janell Rardon will be joining me September 8th at the Memorial Building at 308 West 7th Street,  Columbia TN from 3-6 pm to discuss the issues of the heart and how to speak healing words. I will teach on how our words ,whether thought or spoken ,can affect us physically. Annette Reeder will discuss food and how it affects our body. There is a Heart-Mind-Body Connection! Hope you can join us!

Proverbs 16:24 Pleasant words are as a honeycomb sweet to the mind and healing to the body.