Here is today’s chapter upload (January 17, 2021)

Great Thoughts About the Heart

.

(January 16, 2021) Today, I worked on Douglas e-book, The Human Heart is a Supersensible Organ of Perception, adding two more sections that I think you will find very interesting as you journey to truth. Didn’t have much time to swim around in the swamp so if you found interesting news, please feel free to drop it below.

For the next few days, I will be uploading chapters to this blog page, where you will be able to access all the chapters of the book, once it is complete.

Here are today’s uploads:

A Thumb of Fire

.

Three Fields of Force

.

Douglas Gabriel has written a book about the heart, entitled The Human Heart is a Supersensible Organ of Perception, which we are releasing section by section until complete. Below are the chapters released so far.

Introduction

Chapter One: The World Changes When Our Hearts Do

Chapter Two: Physiological Aspects of the Human Heart

….Secrets of the Heart

….Chambers of the Heart

….A Thumb of Fire

Chapter Three: Three Fields of Force

Chapter Four: Great Thoughts About the Heart

.

By Douglas Gabriel

Chapter Two: Physiological Aspects of the Human Heart – Chambers of the Heart

“Go to your bosom; knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know…”

William Shakespeare

.

Fifth Chamber of the Heart

In Anthroposophy, much is made of the nature of the “fifth chamber” of the heart. This secret has been kept since ancient times but now is the focus of the next step in understanding the true nature of the human heart in its future development. It is our belief that the pericardium, the “sac” around the heart is indeed this fifth chamber that holds the secrets of proper heart evolution.

University of Calgary researchers were the first to discover a previously unidentified cell population in the pericardial fluid found inside the sac around the heart. The discovery could lead to new treatments for patients with injured hearts. Researchers found that a specific cell, a Gata6+ pericardial cavity macrophage, helps heal an injured heart. The cell was discovered in the pericardial fluid within the human pericardium of people with injured hearts, confirming that the repair cells offer the promise of a new therapy for patients with heart disease.

Heart doctors had never before explored the possibility that cells just outside the heart could participate in healing and repair of hearts after injury. Unlike other organs, the heart generally has a limited capacity to repair itself which is why heart disease is the number one cause of death in North America.

This discovery will open the door to new therapies and hope for the millions of people who suffer from heart disease. Doctors now know that pericardial fluid is rich with healing cells. These cells may hold the secret to repair and regeneration of new heart muscle.

.

The pericardium (pericardial sac) is a double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the great vessels. The pericardial sac has two layers, a serous layer and a fibrous layer. It encloses the pericardial cavity which contains pericardial fluid. The pericardium fixes the heart to the mediastinum, gives protection against infection and provides the lubrication for the heart.

The pericardium has a tough double layered fibroelastic sac which covers the heart. The space between the two layers of serous pericardium, the pericardial cavity, is filled with serous fluid which protects the heart from any kind of external jerk or shock. There are two layers to the pericardial sac: the outermost fibrous pericardium and the inner serous pericardium. The fibrous pericardium is the most superficial layer of the pericardium. It is made up of dense and loose connective tissue which acts to protect the heart, anchoring it to the surrounding walls and preventing it from overfilling with blood.

The serous pericardium, in turn, is divided into two layers, the parietal pericardium, which is fused to and inseparable from the fibrous pericardium, and the visceral pericardium, which is part of, or in some textbooks synonymous with, the epicardium. Both of these layers function in lubricating the heart to prevent friction during heart activity.

When the visceral layer of serous pericardium comes into contact with the heart it is known as the epicardium. The epicardium is the layer immediately outside of the heart muscle proper. The epicardium is largely made of connective tissue and functions as a protective layer. During ventricular contraction, the wave of depolarization moves from the endocardial to the epicardial surface. The pericardial sac also:

• Sets the heart in the mediastinum and limits its motion
• Protects it from infections coming from other organs
• Prevents excessive dilation of the heart in cases of acute volume overload
• Lubricates the heart

.

.

The Auricles of the Atria – the Sixth & Seventh Chambers of the Heart

In the future, the sixth and seventh chambers of the heart (auricles) will develop to take on a more central role in heart function. At this point, the auricles insinuate that the “capacity” of the heart can be expanded when necessary. The auricles have been generally ignored by science and their place in heart function is little understood. We believe that the auricles are another part of the sensory mechanism of the heart that listens to (senses) venous and arterial blood and then can respond appropriately.

.

The auricles are like wings on the heart, which is an image of the heart used by the ancients for millennia. They are sometimes referred to as the “ears” of the heart – as their name implies. Is it possible that moral development can expand the heart’s capacity to become a better listener that can react to blood flow in an extraordinary fashion? This is a part of heart evolution yet to be developed.

The first speculation concerning cardiac auricles were findings from Ancient Egyptian archaeological studies. It is believed that Diocles of Carystus (4th century BC) considered the role of the heart as a leader of the body and discovered two cardiac ears or auricles. He described the ability of the heart to listen and understand by these ears or auricles. He also attributed a sensory role to these appendages.

Herophilus of Alexandria (300 BC) and later Rufus of Ephesus (1st century AD) were the first persons who described auricles and distinguished them from ventricles. This clarification was continued by Persian physicians in the Golden Age of Islam (9th–12th century AD.) During the Renaissance, William Harvey (1578–1657 AD), a British physician, noticed auricles and emphasized their function of contracting before the ventricles.

.

.

In Egyptian sculptures, paintings, and writings the heart was the symbol of faith and courage. Ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphs for the heart with ear-shaped auricles in the symbols and paintings. They saw these ear-like parts of the heart, the auricles, but we do not know if they were aware of their role and function because we cannot find any mention of them in their texts or other written documents.

Today, in anatomy, auricles are known as part of the human heart which is roughly cube-shaped except for these ear-shaped projections. Auricles are pectinate tubular muscle walls that are positioned at the root of the pulmonary vein on the left and externally overlap the ascending aorta, on the right. But the true role of the auricles is still little understood today and their role in future is not understood.

.

.

This Recent Discovery Is So Powerful It Defies Belief | Gregg Braden

.

The Vagus Nerve

Rudolf Steiner spoke many times about what he called, “the frontal spinal column” in contradistinction to the regular spinal column which is associated with the standard chakras of the Hindu/Buddhist system of spiritual development. This frontal spinal column has often been misunderstood by spiritual scientist. The simple reality is that, the vagus nerve accomplishes the exact tasks that Steiner attributes to the frontal spinal column.

The front column is obviously the vagus nerve that gathers information from all the organs below the heart and gathers them together into the vagus nerve running through the human heart. Then, from the heart, through the throat and brow, the vagus nerve reaches up to the crown of the head and there interacts with the energy arising from the normal spinal column which baths the pineal gland. The front and back spinal columns merge in the fourth ventricle of the midbrain and unite the ascending and descending columns into the cyclic flow of regenerating energy. Descriptions of these two columns are found throughout spiritual literature concerning ascension practices.

.

.

We will describe this phenomena in the later parts of this article as the wish-fulfilling stone or cintamani tree or the “jewel in the heart of the lotus.” The front column is well-known as a ruyi stone, which is generally pictured as a specter-like device with multiple stones that represent the heart, throat, brow, and crown chakras. The ruyi stone (scepter) is a common tool used by Tibetan Buddhist monks in their daily practice. Speculation runs wild when Westerners try to define or understand this vajra tool. Much more is known about the regular spinal column which is connected to the major chakras.

It is clear to the initiated that the ruyi is a spiritual tree that is part of “bringing down the heavenly dew” that nourishes the nerves and circulatory systems of the human body.

.

.

Let’s examine what science tells us about this ruyi stone – or the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve, also called the tenth cranial nerve, starts in the brain and runs down the trunk of the body, with branches innervating the major organs. A major component of the autonomic nervous system, it interfaces with the parasympathetic nervous system and helps to regulate the heart, lungs, and the digestive system. It is a bi-directional nerve, meaning it both sends signals from the brain to the organs and the organs send messages back to the brain. The vagus nerve runs from gut to brain directly through the atrio-sinus node, the pacemaker of the heart.

The vagus nerve is an important sensor and regulator of basic functions including breathing, heart rate, the relaxation response, the gut-brain connection, and the formation of memories. The motor vagus nerve normally holds inhibitory influence over both systemic inflammation and some autonomic functions such as heart rate. It exerts stimulatory effects on gastric motility, detrusor contraction, pupillary activity, salivatory secretion, and tear secretion and it is also involved in pancreatic exocrine function.

The vagus nerve is a bi-directional nerve, so both the afferent (sensory) and efferent (motor) branches have important functions: afferent pathways mediate anti-inflammatory responses and the release of corticosteroids from the adrenal glands, whereas efferent pathways mediate anti-inflammatory processes via direct effects on immune cells or through the splenic sympathetic nerve. The vagus nerve is important for maintaining homeostasis and preventing an overreactive immune response. It can send a signal into the brainstem that triggers both glial cell activation within the central nervous system as well as the general innate immune response, sometimes called the sickness response.

Vagal tone is a measure of the constitutive output of the motor branch of the vagus nerve. The vagus nerve is responsible for the autonomic changes that allow us to go from lying down to standing up without fainting. With a loss of vagal tone, both the anti-inflammatory pathway and parasympathetic inhibition over autonomic systems are diminished.

The vagus nerve is so named because it “wanders” like a vagabond, sending out sensory fibers from your brainstem to your visceral organs. It is the longest of the cranial nerves and it controls your inner nerve center – the parasympathetic nervous system. It oversees a vast range of crucial functions, communicating motor and sensory impulses to every organ in your body.

The neurotransmitter acetylcholine, elicited by the vagus nerve, tells your lungs to breathe. You can stimulate your vagus nerve by doing abdominal breathing or other breath exercises. The vagus nerve is responsible for controlling the heart rate via electrical impulses to specialized muscle tissue – the heart’s natural pacemaker – in the atrial sino-node, where acetylcholine release slows the pulse.

Your gut uses the vagus nerve to tell your brain how you’re feeling via electric impulses called “action potentials.” Your gut feelings are carried to the heart and then to the brain. Vagal syncope is when your body, responding to stress, overstimulates the vagus nerve causing your blood pressure and heart rate to drop. During extreme syncope, blood flow is restricted to your brain, and you lose consciousness and faint.

The importance of the vagus nerve cannot be overemphasized and it does all that the ancients said the frontal spinal column accomplishes.

.

.

Heart Light Illumination ~ Heart Awakening on the Ascension Path

Douglas Gabriel has written a book about the heart, entitled The Human Heart is a Supersensible Organ of Perception, which we are releasing section by section until complete. Below are the chapters released so far. You can also access the chapters by typing “The Human Heart” in our search bar and all of the posts will be displayed.

Introduction

Chapter One: The World Changes When Our Hearts Do

Chapter Two: Physiological Aspects of the Human Heart

Secrets of the Heart

Chambers of the Heart (you are here)

Next: A Thumb of Fire

The Gabriels have several Ruyi stones. Pictured below is one of our favorites. You can find them in a variety of sizes and ornamentation. This one is 10 inches long. Ruyi Stones bring the resonance of frontal spinal column development into your environment and have been used for spiritual practice for centuries.

The stone represents the completion of the cycle of the earthly and cosmic nutrition stream.

.

For those of you that have been “traveling” on this spiritual path with us for awhile, you might now see why we frequently point you to the ASCEND diet as a way to help your physical body prepare for ascension.

Ascension Sacraments for the Early Cosmic Nutrition Diet

.

By Douglas Gabriel

Introduction

Chapter One: The World Changes When Our Hearts Do

“Go to your bosom; knock there, and ask your heart what it doth know…”  William Shakespeare

Any undertaking to describe the human heart in all its glory is bound to be limited in its scope because the heart has been evolving along with humanity and will continue to do so into the future as its nature, over time, is unlimited. Any comprehensive expose on the human heart would have to go back in time to witness the embryological development of the heart and project into the future an attempt to describe what the heart will become. Even with a comprehensive historical perspective on what great thinkers have “discovered” about the heart, we cannot wrap our arms around this central core of the human being. The ideas of what the heart becomes has been speculated upon by doctors and philosophers with mysterious stories of the future fifth, sixth, and seventh chambers of the human heart yet to be discovered.

These speculations shed light on a few parts of the unfolding heart mystery. Indeed, the ancients focused on the heart as the seat of human consciousness and speculated that the involuntary muscle of the heart will become a voluntary muscle that will someday be completely controlled by human will power that is charged with moral forces. Many philosophers say the voice of the heart is the moral conscience of the individual, a type of super-organ that can perceive everything, both inner and outer.

There is no limit to the power and majesty of the cardiovascular system working together with respiration. As Christopher Fry tells us in his play, A Sleep of Prisoners: “The human heart can go to the lengths of God.” In fact, spiritual scientists, old and new, agree that the heart is a sense organ that can listen to and understand the language of the divine. Some would go so far as to claim that the human heart is the holy grail that is the treasure found by the worthy knight who suffers the quest for the grail for the sake of others. Or as Walter J. Stein tells us in his book, The Nineth Century: “The Holy Grail is the consummation of the heart’s desire, its root and blossoming . . . paradisical, transcending all earthly perfection.”

Throughout our presentation we will be seeking answers to many questions about the heart from the ancient Hindu Vedas to cutting edge modern research on heart rate variability. Many misconceptions will be outlined in a timeline that reflects the evolution of heart knowledge over the course of history. One of those gross errors in understanding the heart and its function is the myth that the heart is a pump. But the true view of blood circulation is much more complicated and has only become accepted by cardiologists in recent times. Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s teachings contend that: “The heart is not a pump; the heart is an organ of perception.” As a matter of fact, he believes that the heart is the most important organ of perception that can be trained to become a supersensible organ of perception of both the outside world and the inside world of the human being. The heart is the organ that can commune with the divine through a language of the spirit that is unique to the heart.

The Heart is Not a Pump

The mechanisms that develop this supersensible organ will be the major theme of this multi-series post. We intend to show that a thorough examination of the heart will unveil numerous “heart mysteries” that have been known since time immemorial, but little understood by modern science. Even though, the most current heart research demonstrates that the ancients, and spiritual scientists like Rudolf Steiner, had the story correct all along.

Some of the mysteries that have come to light concerning the heart are leading doctors and scientists to rethink and reimagine the profound centrality of the heart and its effects on all aspects of human physiology and health. Some ideas from the past will sound somewhat unfounded or magical, but over time they have come to be the new view that is being adopted by main-stream science. A few of those heart mysteries are:

• The nature of the seven chambers of the heart
• The connection between heart and brain coherence
• The etherization of the blood through the “front spinal column” (vagus nerve)
• The importance of the axis of the heart in utero and as an adult
• The predictive capacities of heart rate variability to determine longevity and illness
• The electrical nature of the heart and its torus field of energy
• The nature of the human “I am” found in the heart
• The central focus of the human mind in the heart – not the head
• The capacity to develop heart-thinking through warmed up thoughts
• The secret “box” in the heart that records karma from one life to another
• The role of the heart “chakra”, its nature and function
• The etherization of the blood and its ability to nourish the pineal and pituitary gland
• The development of morality through the supersensible organ of the heart
• The true shape of the heart in current times and its shape in the future
• Heart perception as an alchemical process involving salt/mercury/sulfur
• The mystery of the “jewel in the heart of the lotus” – the cintamani stone
• The mystery of the wish fulfilling tree – the world tree planted in Eden
• The awakening of the heart as the tool to define and control all perception
• The heart is created by two interpenetration vortices
• Perception is written into the blood
• There is a cognitive path of heart-perception

.

This list of heart mysteries is not exhaustive and many other hidden truths will come forth as we look at the literature concerning the heart. We find many of these insights and inspiration in every type of writing, from sacred texts to modern poetry. Everywhere we look, we will find aspects of the heart being described as the most profound center of human consciousness, evolution, and love. The ancients often lumped the heart together with other key components of human self-development by linguistics and association. The heart is clustered together with ideas about the hearth (seat of fire), the ear (hearing), the home, heaven, and mother.

When you think about the heart, the most important human thoughts also come to light. The seat of life and consciousness find their home in the heart as the throne of love that reflects the love of heaven on earth. The heart is the mystical source and crucible of love, the ‘august master binding of all.’ As the Chaldean Oracles state: “Having mingled the spark of soul with two, with breath and mind divine, he added to them a third, pure love, the august master binding of all.”

It is now time in human evolution to start thinking with the mind of the heart. As Van Morrison puts it in one of his lyrics: “If my heart could do my thinking, and my head begin to feel, I would look upon the world anew, and know what’s truly real.” This poetic injunction is the key mission of humanity as it develops moral (warmed-up) thinking instead of brain-bound, cold, dead thinking that leads to the void of materialism. The head is the past. The heart is the past, present and future where we learn to speak with the divine and receive cosmic nourishment from the exchange of love between humans and the divine. Or as Meister Eckhart has told us: “God is born in the heart and the heart is born in God.”

When hearts begin to feel, thinking can develop into living imaginative thinking that is based in reality – not cold-hearted scientific materialism that leads to nihilistic despair. Living thoughts are born in warm-hearted thoughts that have a life of their own that is fired through and through by hierarchical beings who share those inspirations with humans. Learning the language of the spirit is basically learning the language of the moral heart. Often this language of the heart is spoken in poetic language that can stretch the human imagination to “the lengths of God.” The great poet and writer, Fredrick von Hardenberg (Novalis) gives us the insight that: “The human heart is the universal field of beings. It is the field where all faculties of the mind – understanding, reasoning, imagination, and feelings, are integrated. Human beings can feel with their heart using a language indicative of love.”

Novalis also tells us that it is only the human heart that can satisfy this unquenchable desire to commune with our higher nature that is found in the divine. He tells us: “Building worlds is not enough for the deeper urging mind; but a loving heart sates the striving spirit.”

Khalil Gibran agrees with Novalis that the heart is where the secrets of love are found: “All these things shall love do unto you that you may know the secrets of your heart, and in that knowledge become a fragment of life’s heart.” Or as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe put it: “What is uttered from the heart alone will win the heart of others to your own.” Goethe predicated the perception of the world upon the capacity of the individual’s heart content: “A man sees in the world what he carries in his heart.” Thus, the heart is the key to perceiving the world either as heaven or hell, depending on what each person carries in their heart. We see the world through the lens of the heart. It seems that to change our view of the world, we simply need to change the content of our hearts. The great Sufi poet Kabir insinuates the same wisdom when he said: “‎Lift the veil that obscures the heart, and there you will find what you are looking for.”

We must learn to seek the answers about the world and our self inside the heart as the poet Rainer Maria Rilke tells us: “The work of the eyes is done. Go now and do the heart-work on the images imprisoned within you. All the soarings of the mind begin in the blood.” This shows us that our conscious mind needs to realize that the depth of heart-wisdom never ends. Rilke tells us in another passage: “Our heart always transcends us. Have patience with everything that remains unsolved in your heart… live in the question.”

Poets have given us the ability to transcend brain-bound thinking with a few simple words that open the heart to its truly divine nature. Whatever you consider the divine to be, we find its source and end in the human heart. As the Sufi poet Rumi tells us: “Only from the heart can you touch the sky. Your heart knows the way. Run in that direction. If light is in your heart, you will find your way home.” So we begin and end in the heart, which sometimes is unfamiliar to the secular humanist who “believes” in modern materialistic science. Human consciousness transcends the five senses that modern science is based upon. There are higher senses that reveal our divine nature found in the quiet beating of the heart.

Rumi points to the source and finds it to be never ending. He gives us the injunction: “Why are you knocking at every door? Go, knock at the door of your own heart. Whoever has heart’s doors wide open, could see the sun itself in every atom. Surely there is a window from heart to heart: they are not separate and far from each other. And now the time has come to turn your heart into a temple of fire.” This temple of fire is the source of fiery wisdom that connects us directly to our higher self and the divine self of the universe. Rumi gives us the formula in the following lines: “When you seek love with all your heart you shall find its echo in the universe. When love for God has been doubled in your heart, there is no doubt that God has love for you.”

But modern poetry takes its lead from the wisdom of the ancients found in every sacred book or text of the past. In ancient India, a profound understanding of the heart was known as a central principle of spiritual teachings that go back to the first writings of humanity.

The heart was always given the highest praise and was placed on a throne that was unequal to anything but the divine beings themselves. In the Chandogya Upanishad we are told: “As great as the infinite space beyond is the space within the lotus of the heart. Both heaven and earth are contained in that inner space, fire and air, sun and moon, lightning and stars. Whether we know it in this world or know it not, everything is contained in that inner space. The heart is the center of the perception process of the soul and the sensory environment of the human being. In the heart, these sense impressions are perceived, detected, bound together, and thus first truly felt and understood. The heart is the starting point for all sensory impression.”

This view of the heart is far beyond the scientific nonsense that the heart is simply a muscle that is a “pump” that forces blood through the cardiovascular system. To underestimate the heart is a grave mistake that veils the true nature of what a human being will become in the future through the evolution of the heart. Even Aristotle, in his On the Generation of Animals, has a more profound view of the heart than our top heart doctors:“We are justified in seeing the heart as the source of the being’s life, shape, and organization.Blood and its blood vessels are the original source of life. All other parts of the body depend on the heart and have their source, or origin, in the heart.”

We need to listen to the ancients and glean the wisdom they developed thousands of years ago concerning the importance of the heart as a highly developed sense organ. The primary place of the heart is beautifully described by Aristotle and only now is coming to be understood as the king or queen of all organs.

The capacity for the human heart to be an organ of knowledge that produces our concepts that are connected to our perceptions is often ignored by science, medicine, and philosophy. Over eight hundred years ago Thomas Aquinas informed his students that a concept is a “word of the heart” that forms after perceptions are digested by the heart. Concepts in the modern world have been relegated to the brain where they are stored in nerve cells. Some new research on heart/brain coherence has demonstrated that Aquinas was correct when he wrote in Summa Theologica that: “The heart is related to the higher cognitive activities, which take place after sensory perception and the development of imaginative images.

Something takes place in people whenever they perform an act of perception. This is the act of receiving and conceiving the perceived object. This concept designates the sound, and the concept itself is called a word of the heart. This thought process takes place in the individual penetration and unification of the act of perceiving with what is being perceived. Sense perception is the tool for the spiritual and intellectual activity of thought. The human heart is an organ of knowledge and love, mediating between heaven and earth, thinking and willing, human being and environment.”

Theosophists, who study the wisdom of god, also give the highest praise to the heart as the home of god in the human being. The heart is the center of the universe and is a perfect reflection of the cosmos. Helena P. Blavatsky wrote in The Secret Doctrine:  “In the heart is the only manifest God. The first born are life, the heart, and pulse. Shiva is the being in the heart, the lowest aspect of Brahma – force or mind. Shiva is the Lord of the Pulse, the only direct manifestation of spirit in matter. It is the heavenly breath and the rhythm of the Infinite. The pulse point is also termed the ‘drum of Shiva.’ The heart is also the great mountain of the divine rising above the four elements into the ether concealing a spirit so vast that the universe can scarcely contain it.” 

Another great spiritual science, Rudolf Steiner, points out that the human being has evolved to the point where hearts must begin to have conscious thoughts – warm, imaginative, living thoughts. He is also one of the strongest proponents of the idea that the human heart is a sensing organ, a type of eye for the divine beings to work through. Steiner tells us in The Michael Letters: “Hearts begin to have thoughts, that is the new way of thinking with the heart. The newly developed heart-organ slowly transforms into an eye or a sensing-heart-eye-organ.”

A follower of Dr. Steiner’s, Ehrenfried Pfeiffer, was one of the closest students of Steiner who was directly taught the secrets of the heart by his master. Pfeiffer has written a great deal about the etheric heart, its fifth chamber and the necessity to develop the heart as a supersensible sense organ that can perceive the working of the etheric Christ. These mysteries were guarded by Pfeiffer and others due to their sensitive nature which describes evolutionary aspects of the heart that were well-guarded secrets of the ancient mystery schools. The mystery of the fifth chamber of the heart was central to why Steiner’s life was somewhat “cut-short”, according to Pfeiffer. But even though Pfeiffer indicated these secrets were to be still hidden in the present time, he revealed as much as he could about the fifth chamber to help change the current view of materialism that believes the heart is a pump. Pfeiffer clarified his point of view in December 1950, by writing:

“The radiation from this etheric organ of the heart is actually developing into a spiritual sense organ. A new sense organ is developing in this etheric heart, and this is the only organ by which man is able to sense and to recognize the Etheric Christ.”

Another Anthroposophist, named Karl König, agreed with Pfeiffer and described the etheric heart and the etherization of the blood in his book, Earth and Man. König reaffirms Pfeiffer’s ideas and adds to them the future condition of the etheric heart that loosens itself from the physical heart. König tells us: “The heart is concerned with warmth and light within the blood. Rudolf Steiner describes how into the heart – on account of its being a sensory organ – stream all the activities of our metabolic system, all the activities of our limbs, arms and legs, where we go, what we do, and how we do it. All this is stored up in the heart, as in a casket. This now, going through life between death and rebirth, becomes the whole of our karma in our next incarnation. Since the year 1720, the heart has altered its condition and loosened its connection from the physical structure of the heart and very great changes in the whole life and existence of man have come about.”

Even though Rudolf Steiner’s lecture, The Human Heart (May 26, 1922) is not usually combined with his pedagogical lectures, it is a key for Waldorf teachers to unlock the secrets of the etheric bodies of elementary aged students. My teachers in Waldorf education asked that I make sure to include this lecture in our materials necessary for Waldorf teacher training. It is imperative that Waldorf teachers understand the evolution of the physical, etheric, and astral components of the human heart as it develops from birth through age fourteen. Only when the teacher can work with the incarnating etheric heart and help birth the incarnating astral heart, can the teacher understand the true task of education. Teachers are the mid-wives of numerous births in the growing child and a complete cosmology, pedagogy, and psychology can paint the full picture of what a child is and what they are becoming. In Steiner’s The Human Heart, we find a guide to these delicate processes and are given the insight that allow the teacher to offer each child what they need in a developmentally appropriate fashion.

Many mysteries of the heart are revealed in Steiner’s, The Human Heart. Here are relevant selections from his book:

“All that happens in the moral life, and all that happens physically in the world, the moral and the physical, are found in their real union when we learn to understand all the configurations of the human heart. 

“When puberty occurs, man’s own etheric heart is so far formed that it can receive these forces that develop out of our activity in the outer world. Thus, from puberty onwards man’s whole activity becomes inserted, via the astral body, in his etheric heart – out of the pictures of the stars, out of the images of the cosmos – this is a phenomenon of untold importance. At the same place where our own etheric heart – has formed itself, we now have an astral structure too, which gathers together all our actions. And so from puberty a central organ is created wherein all our doing is centered. The etheric-astral structure wherein the heart is floating, so to speak, contains all that man takes with him into his further life of soul and spirit; wherein, he can hand over his entire karma to the cosmos.

“In the heart, as far as the etheric universe is concerned, you have a cosmos gathered up into a center; and a gathering together of all that man does in the world. This is the point where the cosmos – the cosmic process – is joined to the karma of man – This intimate correspondence of the astral body with the etheric body is to be found nowhere in the human organism except in the region of the heart.

“In our time there are certain changes taking place in the heart, by which gradually a fifth chamber will develop. In this fifth chamber man will have a new organ which will allow him to control life forces in a different way than is possible at the moment.”

The lucid insight of Dr. Steiner about the human heart is unparalleled in any time of history. He gives the reader the ability to understand human development so that the teacher can become a knowledgeable person assisting the cosmological aspects of human evolution. When the teacher first knows what to look for, then the sense organs can be developed to perceive the subtle and invisible forces at work in the physiological and psychological development of the child (or even the yearning adult) that recapitulates the development of humanity. Each child relives the development of its ancestors and must be given the proper building blocks to create the modern human being anew.

Each stage of development has a curricula that feeds the needs of the growing human heart. The many secrets of karma are found, and placed, into the etheric heart through the integration of the astral desires of the individual. The “casket” or “little box” in the heart-of-hearts holds the treasures each child brings with them from the past. The point of education is to nurture this “jewel in the heart of the lotus” that carries with it the eternal “I am” of the child that wishes to be born again with new opportunities to gain wisdom and ascend the path of human evolution.

Learn how to educate the children in your life, even the child “inside of you” that may not have been properly educated and spiritually-nourished, with Douglas Gabriel’s books and lessons on the Eternal Curriculum. Our books are free to download as PDFs. Begin to relive the development of your ancestors and heal your wounded heart. https://eternalcurriculum.com/books/

.

Douglas Gabriel has written a book about the heart, entitled The Human Heart is a Supersensible Organ of Perception, which we are releasing section by section until complete. Below are the chapters released so far. You can also access the chapters by typing “The Human Heart” in our search bar and all of the posts will be displayed.

Introduction

Chapter One: The World Changes When Our Hearts Do (you are here)

Next: Chapter Two: Physiological Aspects of the Human Heart

Secrets of the Heart

Chambers of the Heart

We have shown you in the last four years of research at the American Intelligence Media that we have been enslaved on a prison planet for centuries and that our real capacity as human beings, literally our human evolution, has been suppressed through diet, education, and culture. Now, the time has come when you can walk yourself and people in your downline out of their prison cells into what humanity becomes. But to do that, you must come to know your heart….and many of you may not realize that the heart is an organ of perception.

Remember that time I told you about walking through the White House (August 2010) and using conscious clairvoyance to perceive what was happening to our country because I was so distraught that there was no resolution to 9-11 and Barack Obama was fundamentally changing America right in front of my eyes? I used a different type of perception in order to see the landscape at a higher level of understanding. I used my “heart forces” which allowed me to perceive and experience beyond the five senses and thinking, feeling and willing. I used a different capacity, but one that anyone can develop and improve upon continuously.

In our next lessons, Douglas Gabriel is going to explain how you can develop this supersensible organ of perception. He spent the summer writing about the subject and we are ready to release one chapter at a time to the American Intelligence Media and Neoanthroposophy blogs. Along the way, we will add new audios to deepen your understanding of the subject. If you have questions and comments, please add them to the boxes below. Your insight will help us develop meaningful conversations about the topic as we add new audio content to the chapters.

If you are only here for the geopolitics, we understand that you may want to drop off at this time. But if you, like us, can’t get enough of TRUTH – no matter what it is about, then join us. We can assure you that you will never see the heart in the same way again.

Dear AIM Cats, if you are reading this blog, you are the leaders that will guide humanity out of its prison into the New World Awakening. Let’s get started teaching you about becoming a free and spectacular human being.

Chapter One: The World Changes When Our Hearts Do

.

The Human Heart is a Supersensible Organ of Perception

By Douglas Gabriel

.

Chapter Two: Physiological Aspects of the Human Heart – Secrets of the Human HEart

“The heart of a fool is in his mouth, but the mouth of a wise man is in his heart.” Benjamin Franklin

.

Heart Intelligence

It is only recently that the intelligence system of the heart was discovered. The heart is not a pumping machine. It is an intelligence system. It is the most intelligent system of all our brains, with its own receptors, its own electromagnetic force, from 45 to 70 times more powerful than the brains of the neocortex, and the only force capable of changing our own DNA. It can turn the mortal into immortal, glial cells into heart cells, mortal center into immortal walls in any cell. It is, in fact, the heart that turns each one of us from dying cells into living cells. No one of us is human until the heart beats. And vice-versa, that first beat of the heart is what makes us human.

The heart contains its own nervous system and nerve ganglia that process information and send it to the neocortex. The heart is a hormonal gland producing its own neurotransmitters, dopamine, epinephrin, norepinephrin, the catechlomines, which affect the kidneys, the adrenal gland, the circulatory system and the neocortex. The heart generates from 45 to 70 times more amplitude electrically than what we call the brain, plus all emotions alter the heart’s electrical field. Electricity emanating from the heart of a person can be detected and measured in the brain waves of others near or touching the person. Cellular memory resides in the heart cells, as can be seen from transplant cases. DNA can be altered in the hands of a person practicing head/heart “entrainment,” or that which was taught in ancient yoga techniques.

The amygdala, in the midbrain, starts forming immediately after the heart’s first beat. It stores all the memories of our life in the womb, with the placenta, the water, the fluids of life, and the terror of losing them, and also the joy of being fed, of bouncing, of moving.

The amygdala also stores the life of the mother, her depressions, her fears, her joy. This accumulation of memories goes on in us until the age of three. Which means that all this time we have lived, our life has been recorded for us in the amygdala. After the age of three, the hippocampus matures in us. In it, conscious memories are stored and we have access to them. However, the hippocampus has no access to the memories and the life we lived in the amygdala of the previous three years, even if from this point on amygdala and hippocampus converse with each other.

What happens to the memories of the amygdala? They become our individual nightmare, the invisible conditioning of all our actions, the blind spot of our lives, the origin of all our terrors, the unknown reason why we do what we have done even when we do not know why we do it.

The conditioning of the amygdala can only be removed by the intelligence system that was developed prior to it, which is the heart with its electromagnetic force and its power of transformation. Otherwise, the amygdala can act on its own by passing the intelligence centers of the neocortex.

Heart/Brain Coherence

Modern science has discovered that when the heart and brain work together, magical things happen. Heart/brain coherence seems to make the human being highly aware of everything happening in the person’s environment – inside and outside. HeartMath technology is an innovative approach to improving emotional well-being and triggering capacities that were thought not to be available to waking human consciousness. It can teach one to change your heart rhythm pattern to create physiological coherence, a scientifically measurable state characterized by increased order and harmony in our mind, emotions and body.

In other words, the heart overrules the amygdala. HeartMath research has demonstrated that different patterns of heart activity (which accompany different emotional states) have distinct effects on cognitive and emotional function. During stress and negative emotions, when the heart rhythm pattern is erratic and disordered, the corresponding pattern of neural signals traveling from the heart to the brain inhibits higher cognitive functions. This limits our ability to think clearly, remember, learn, reason, and make effective decisions. This helps explain why we may often act impulsively and unwisely when we’re under stress. The heart’s input to the brain during stressful or negative emotions also has a profound effect on the brain’s emotional processes, serving to reinforce the emotional experience of stress.

In contrast, the more ordered and stable pattern of the heart’s input to the brain during positive emotional states has the opposite effect – it facilitates cognitive function and reinforces positive feelings and emotional stability. This means that learning to generate increased heart rhythm coherence, by sustaining positive emotions, not only benefits the entire body, but also profoundly affects how we perceive, think, feel, and perform.

Secrets of the Heart

One secret of the heart that science is researching is the nature of vortices in the heart and their relationship to the axis of the heart. This new field of study is revealing aspects of blood flow through the heart that the ancients never imagined. The heart is not only two interpenetrating vortices, but it also has numerous vortices in the heart itself. Heart vortex rings are created by the flow of blood in the different chambers of the heart. Cardiologist have found numerous vortex rings and found that each one has a specific frequency that it attunes to, creating harmonious blood flow.

This video below shows vortex rings to give you an idea of how this energy works in the heart. The Science of Vortex Rings

When heart vortices are misshapen or do not form fully, heart problems begin. Likewise, this is the case with the axis of the heart both in utero and throughout life. The angle of the axis and the health of the vortices can predict the health of the body. The optimal degree of inclination mimics the earth’s axis. The heart is based on the curve of the diaphragm, but the axis is inclined at an angle of 23 degrees, like the axis of the earth against the path of the sun.

Dr. Rudolf Steiner pointed out that there were two major vortices that work together to create the angle of the axis of the heart using forces from above and below the human body. In Man: Hieroglyph of the Universe (GA 201), Rudolf Steiner describes these whirl-winds in the following fashion:

“Imagine, if you will, a wind whirling from above downwards with a certain velocity, and another from below upwards so that they whirl into one another. Assuming that the difference in velocity of the downward streaming force is such that we can say: the relation of the velocity of the up-flowing stream to that of the downflowing stream gives us the same ration as the ration of the velocity of the motion of the stars to that of the Sun, then, if they are whirling into each other, a condensation will be produced by their whirling and will assume a particular form, the silhouette of the human heart.”

Steiner continues: “If we take the difference of velocity between the downward and the upward current, relating the latter to the former in such a way that a difference in velocity results bearing the same relationship as the difference in velocity between the stellar time and the solar time, then through the rotation a condensation arises which receives its own distinct form. One whirls downwards, and because the other whirls upwards driving with a greater velocity, the lesser velocity would be that driving downwards, which gives here through the collision, a condensation, a certain figure. This figure, disregarding imperfections, is a silhouette of the human heart.”

Some years before Steiner told us about these vortices, C. G. Harrison, in The Transcendental Universe, describes the same forces and adds a further description: “Man is the axidal coincidence of the macrocosm and the microcosm. Man, as he is at present constituted, is the resultant of two vortices manifesting dynamically on the plane of illusion, and proceeding originally from two separate streams of tendency, the one representing Divine Love, and the other, the Divine Wisdom, which, meeting on the plane of human consciousness, coalesce into an objective personality. The forces on different planes of consciousness which go to make up man ultimately resolve themselves into two vortices which represent his higher and lower nature. The double vortex is a manifestation in time, or the plane of illusion, and is the result of cyclic aberration on the plane of spirit.”

Harrison continues: “Let us consider what is called the ‘torsion of impact,’ or the effect produced when two vortices meet whose axes impinge at an angle. If their velocity be not equal, they form two conical spheroids revolving in opposite directions, corresponding to the “figure of 8.” The ascending hierarchy of the former period complete their evolution, in this cosmic manvantara, under the law of acceleration, whereas the hierarchy who manifest as the Powers of Light are on the ascending arc of their cycle, and are subject to the law of retardation. Accordingly, the vortices which respectively represent their activities are of unequal velocity. One day, the spheroidal vortices will coalesce and become one, first as an elliptical spheroid and afterward as a true sphere capable of indefinite expansion.”

Modern scientific research focuses on heart vortices and have discovered that health and illness are directly connected to the proper interaction of heart vortices and axial deviation. Makato Amaki tells us in Vortex Formation in Decompensated Heart Failure, all about these mysterious rings of frequencies:

“What are vortices and why do they form? The cardiovascular system’s dynamic contours create time-varying and spatially-complex patterns of blood flow. Flow coming in from different directions is melded into a compact, nonturbulent mass of fluid and channeled towards preferential flow lines, often in the form of vortices, ring-shaped regions of rotating blood flow. Mitral leaflets and the trabeculated endocardium further modulate the flow, facilitating continuous asymmetric redirection of blood flow to the outflow tract.”

.

.

“Vortices have different formation time, size, shape, strength, depth, and direction depending on the time of the cardiac cycle, as well as valve and chamber geometry. Which characteristic of the vortex is most important is not clear, but a tightly compact, persistent ring seems to provide the best flow propagation. Interestingly, vortex properties depend on chamber function, but vortices also modulate diastolic LV wall lengthening and recoil. Vortex characteristics may thus be a signature of myocardial health and disease.”

“A distinguishing feature of cardiac blood flow is the presence of vortices, which are ring-shaped regions of rotating flow motion. Vortices are well-known entities in fluid dynamics, characterized by instability that can markedly influence mechanical function. More than 500 years ago, Leonardo da Vinci introduced the concept of circular flow formation in the sinus of Valsalva. Such a fluid structure that possesses circular or swirling motion is defined as a vortex. Vortices are considered as reservoirs of kinetic energy. In vitro experiments have demonstrated that fluid transport can be laminar, vortical or turbulent. Within these patterns, vortex ring formation is the most efficient for periodic changes in the direction of the flow.”

“Vortices, whether in tubes, aquatic motion, or nature, seem to transport fluid more efficiently than in a straight jet by providing a compact hydrodynamic channel. Vortices help multidirectional streams of blood merge without collision and energy loss. Their ability to add volume to the LV without a significant increase in pressure benefits chamber compliance.”

“Vortices have been exhaustively studied in the field of fluid dynamics, and they possess many remarkable qualities. An extremely energy-efficient platform for transport of fluids, they allow the seamless merging of multiple streams without energy loss. Changes in direction of flow are achieved with similar conservation of power while creating compact zones of flow with uniform directionality and tremendous velocity. The characteristics of vortices have powerful application in the context of cardiac structure and function.”

“The most intriguing advantages of vortex formation may be to couple flow, stretch, and cellular response. Fluid forces and vortices are epigenetic modulators in the development of cardiac chambers and valve geometry, and vortices may help distribute flow-related stress loads.”

.

.

C. G. Harrison, in The Transcendental Universe continues:: “Blood motion in the heart features vortices that accompany the redirection of jet flows towards the outlet tracks. Vortices have a crucial role in fluid dynamics. The stability of cardiac vorticity is vital to the dynamic balance between rotating blood and myocardial tissue and to the development of cardiac dysfunction. Vortex dynamics immediately reflect physiological changes to the surrounding system, and can provide early indications of long-term outcome. The evaluation of blood flow presents a new paradigm in cardiac function analysis, with the potential for sensitive risk identification of cardiac abnormalities.”

“The pattern of flow in the human heart changes dramatically during one cardiac cycle. However, flow is redirected within the cardiac chambers through vortex formation, which avoids excessive dissipation of energy and facilitates the efficient passage of blood. Visualizing multi-directional flow using echocardiographic techniques may open up new possibilities in assessing cardiac blood transport efficiency in health and disease.”

Leonardo da Vinci examined the vortices of the heart. Leonardo da Vinci’s theory about the heart was right

The Electrical Axis of the Heart

New research has discovered the importance of the heart axis for optimal health. The axis of the human heart changes over time and eventually mimics of axis of the Earth in relation to the Sun. The electrical axis of the human heart is the net direction in which the wave of depolarization travels. It is measured using an electrocardiogram (ECG). Normally, this begins at the atrioventricular node (AV node); from here the wave of depolarization travels down to the apex of the heart.

In Electrical Axis (Normal, Right Axis Deviation, and Left Axis Deviation),Anthony H. Kashou tells us:

“One of the key steps in interpreting an electrocardiogram (EKG) is determining the electrical axis of the heart. Being able to determine the electrical axis can give insight into underlying disease states and help steer the differential diagnosis towards or away from certain diagnoses.”

“The axis of the ECG is the major direction of the overall electrical activity of the heart. It can be normal, leftward (left axis deviation, or LAD), rightward (right axis deviation, or RAD) or indeterminate (northwest axis). The sum of all the individual vectors generated by the depolarization waves makes up the electrical axis. Because each myocyte can produce an action potential, an axis for each wave and interval of the cardiac cycle can be determined. Knowing the axis of each and how they interact can reflect certain pathology.”

“When the electrical axis is discussed and taught, the ventricular axis is typically used in common clinical practice, although the atrial axis can be quite useful in clinical situations. Since the left ventricle makes up most of the heart muscle under normal circumstances; thus, it generates the most electrical force visible on the EKG. The normal ventricular axis is thus directed downward and slightly towards the left.”

“There is some disagreement on the exact degrees that define each type of an electrical axis, but there are some general cutoffs that can be used for the Ventricular (QRS) Axis. The QRS axis moves leftward throughout childhood and adolescence and into adulthood. At birth, the normal QRS axis lies between +30 degrees and +190 degrees. Between the ages of 8 to 16 years, the axis moves leftward with normal lying between 0° degrees to +120 degrees. The normal adult QRS axis is between -30 degrees and +90 degrees, which is directed downward and to the left. This adult range is sometimes extended from -30 degrees to +100 degrees.”

“Determining the electrical axis on an electrocardiogram can help narrow the differential diagnosis and lead to an efficient diagnostic approach for the patient. This will help decrease the time needed to arrive at the right diagnosis and improve patient outcomes. An interprofessional team of clinicians, nurses, and technicians trained in the interpretation of an EKG is needed to achieve this goal. Documenting the approximate degree itself of the axis is the bottom line to study the association with the levels of various possible risk factors.”

Axis Deviation:

If the electrical axis falls between the values of -30° to +90° this is considered normal.

If the electrical axis is between -30° to -90° this is considered left axis deviation (LAD).

If the electrical axis is between +90° to +180° this is considered right axis deviation (RAD).

.

RAD is associated with:

• Fascicular block
• Lateral myocardial infarction
• Right ventricular hypertrophy
• Pre-excitation syndromes
• Ventricular tachycardia
• Ventricular ectopy

LAD is associated with:

• Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome 
• ostium primum atrial septal defect
• glucose intolerance
• atherosclerosis
• fibrodegeneration
• diabetes
• Chagas disease

.

Cardiac Axis in 5 min

The Ideal Heart Axis

The axis of the heart is critical in heart health and it begins in the womb. In one study, cardiac position and axis were evaluated by ultrasound in 183 normal fetuses; both position and axis were found to be constant throughout gestational life. In the four-chamber view of the fetal heart, the normal axis lies at a 45 degree angle (range 22-75 degrees) to the left of an anteroposterior line drawn from the spine to the anterior chest wall. The normal position of the posterior portion of the heart can also be defined. The axis or position of the heart deviated from the established normal range in 15 cases.

Abnormal axis was associated with 50% mortality; abnormal position with 81% mortality. Deviation from the normal position of the fetal heart should initiate a search for an intrathoracic mass, whereas an abnormal axis is an indication for fetal echocardiography. Axis and position of the fetal heart are easily evaluated during a standard obstetric scan and can be a useful tool to determine heart health. Thus, the axis of the heart is a key determining factor for heart health, as well as overall health.

Abnormal axis was associated with 50% mortality; abnormal position with 81% mortality. Deviation from the normal position of the fetal heart should initiate a search for an intrathoracic mass, whereas an abnormal axis is an indication for fetal echocardiography. Axis and position of the fetal heart are easily evaluated during a standard obstetric scan and can be a useful tool to determine heart health. Thus, the axis of the heart is a key determining factor for heart health, as well as overall health.

.

The videos below provide insight further insight into the secrets of the heart. In our next post, we will explore The Heart Sac – Fifth Chamber of the Heart.

2nd Brain Found in the Heart – Trust your Gut Feelings

Two Vortex Rings Colliding in SLOW MOTION. Imagine how this looks in the heart.

Take a moment and listen to Gary Lite, a contemporary videographer, describe vortices, math, and the Rodin Coil. An Introduction to the Rodin Coil and Vortex Based Mathematics

Douglas Gabriel has written a book about the heart, entitled The Human Heart is a Supersensible Organ of Perception, which we are releasing section by section until complete. Below are the chapters released so far. You can also access the chapters by typing “The Heart Heart” in our search bar and all of the posts will be displayed.

Introduction

Chapter One: The World Changes When Our Hearts Do

Chapter Two: Physiological Aspects of the Human Heart

Secrets of the Heart (you are here)

.