Trust the heart

The quote above makes me think whether a heart can actually think. Or is it there only to provide us with feelings? What if the heart can actually think? Can we trust our heart then? From the very beginning, all of us rely on our brain to think. When we're hungry, the brain tells us to eat. When we feel tired, the brain tells us to get some rest. When we need to write down something, the brain tells us to find pen and paper. Every single thing on what we do seems to be connected with our brain. Now, how about our heart? What do we use it for? Most people say that woman make decision by using her heart while man more likely to make decision based on his brain logical thinking. Man tends not to use his heart on almost every thinking he makes. Wouldn't it be nice if all of us can make decision based on our feelings (heart) and also by our logical thinking (brain)? But still, this statement will rise some arguments. People are groups of individual differences, therefore it cannot be said that a feeling/sense is a better way to perceive things and make decisions. Many people will say you need to trust your heart, emotions may be more reliable when making choices or so they say. Nevertheless, it cannot be said that logical thinking solely is a better way to perceive things and make decisions. So, I've made a little research to fulfil my curiosity and found these two nice articles that hopefully can also satisfy your hunger on this topic, Heart versus Brain. The first article is from here and the second one is from here. I hope you can get fresher ideas and opinions after reading these articles. Enjoy reading=)

Trust Your Heart

Now it's time to make the shift-the great leap into your heart. Are you beginning to see how your head gets in the way? How it creates so much noise? The chatter, the limited vision, the fear? Trust your heart and have the courage to dream, for what you dream becomes your life. What dream should you dream? The first answer your heart speaks is the truest. When you tell that truth to yourself, it becomes apparent to the world. Follow what you love. That is always the right direction. When your intention is clear, the path opens up. Find that course. Stay on it. Believe in yourself. When you lose your direction, trust your heart, and look inside to find it again. It will always be in the same place.
Are you beginning to see how what you've relied on-your intellect, your assessments, and sometimes your logic-has complicated your life? It isn't the head that sees clearly, nor does the head always see with love. Often, it sees with eyes of fear. The heart sees clearly. It balances the mind and emotions. It takes what's real and processes it into truth, then action. It takes into account all that needs to be done, then draws a map, an itinerary, for how to accomplish that, Yes you say, but my head does that too. and then I don't need to feel.....Your hear can do it better because it maps the way in love. Learn to listen to your inner voice. Listen to your heart. It's your connection to the spirit, to people, to the universe, and to yourself.

Trust your heart while choosing clothing, ice cream or even lifepartner

“Trust your heart” is the mantra, when it comes to picking out an item of clothing or choosing a flavour of ice cream, a house and even a life partner, according to a new study. In the new study, Leonard Lee (Columbia Business School), On Amir (University of California, San Diego), and Dan Ariely (Duke University), found that emotions could be more dependable when a person has to make choices.
“Our current research supports theories in evolutionary psychology that propose that our emotions can be conceived as a set of ”programs” that have evolved over time to help us solve important recurrent problems with speed and accuracy, whether it is to fall in love or to escape from a predator,” wrote the authors. They added: “We investigated the following question: To what extent does relying on one’’s feelings versus deliberative thinking affect the consistency of one’’s preferences?” write the authors. For the study, the researchers designed experiments where participants studied and chose among 8-10 products, sometimes relying upon their emotional reactions and sometimes calling upon cognitive skills. And they concluded: “Emotional processing leads to greater preference consistency than cognitive processing.”
In addition, they found that the study participants tended to make more consistent choices when products were represented by pictures instead of names, when pictures were in colour rather than black and white, and when the participants were encouraged to trust their feelings while making their choices. Also, the subjects made consistent choices when they had greater cognitive constraints (i.e., when they were asked to memorize a ten-digit number as opposed to a two-digit one), and when the products tended to be more exciting (a pen with a built-in FM radio receiver) rather than functional (an LED book light).
“If one buys a house and relies on very cognitive attributes such as resale value, one may not be as happy actually purchasing it. Indeed, our results suggest that the heart can very well serve as a more reliable compass to greater long-term happiness than pure reason, wrote the authors.

(images via justbesplendid)
"To trust yourself is to trust Silence. To trust your own heart is to trust the wisdom that is radiating and shining. All the thoughts, feelings, desires, and fears are just a superimposition that is called 'myself.' When all that disappears, for at least a moment, your Self shines forth. Radiantly, clear, and empty. Needing nothing, nourished, and overflowing" Eli Jaxon Bear