HeartAndMind said:

Very interesting topic btw.

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indeed

id agree that the breath, heartbeat & thought activity do have some relationships with each other

've noticed that generally when thinking slows the heartbeat & breathe slow down aswell, and vice versa, although its not always the case

during the peak of the highest dose of mushrooms i've taken i felt like i was dying and when i checked i couldn't find a pulse, as i felt like i was dying i was panicking, definitely thinking a lot, but had no thumping heartbeat, i can't recall my breathing pattern at the time tho

the heartbeat or breath can be a good objects to meditate on if you feel like you need something to concentrate on, i feel like they are good because they are subtle and mostly effortless and when your concentrating on something subtle, constant & effortless your attention/position of seeing is already more seated within what is all the time/beyond time, beyond effort, awareness, the heart of everything

the way i see it is the physical heart is an amazing organ with many undiscovered functions that are worth researching but the spiritual heart is the true seat of the Self, the very core of our existence

the word heart i feel implies centre, the source, the preceding truth, like 'coming from your heart' is coming from your centre, from your true place which is in you all the time, 'give it heart' is to give it your all, everything, 'get to the heart of the matter' is getting to the cause, the original source

to realize our non-physical Heart is to get to the heart of all matter
i feel that would be the best use of the heartbeat, to realize the Heart of all beats

take the pulse of the universe

Quote:

After extensive research, Armour (1994) introduced the concept of
functional ‘heart brain’. His work revealed that the heart has a complex intrinsic
nervous system that is sufficiently sophisticated to qualify as a ‘little brain’ in its
own right. The heart’s brain is an intricate network of several types of neurons,
neurotransmitters, proteins and support cells similar to those found in the brain
proper. Its elaborate circuitry enables it to act independently of the cranial brain –
to learn, remember, and even feel and sense. The heart’s nervous system
contains around 40,000 neurons, called sensory neurites (Armour, 1991).
Information from the heart - including feeling sensations - is sent to the brain
through several afferents. These afferent nerve pathways enter the brain at the
area of the medulla, and cascade up into the higher centres of the brain, where
they may influence perception, decision making and other cognitive processes
(Armour, 2004).

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