picture in my mind

The other day, I came across something that said that the heart has 40,000 neurons, and thinks independently of the brain. A short review here. Apparently, researchers are considering that it's part of the reason people with heart transplants acquire strange memories of their dead donor; there was one case where a girl was so traumatised by the 'memories' of her previous donor being murdered, that she and her mum reported to the police, and the murderer was easily and promptly apprehended. There were other accounts of people acquiring very strange and contrasting personalities once they had a heart transplant; it's all very fascinating.

One of the most mind-boggling things I read in the review:

Research has also revealed that the heart communicates information to the brain and throughout the body via electromagnetic field interactions. The heart generates the body’s most powerful and most extensive rhythmic electromagnetic field. The heart’s magnetic component is about 500 times stronger than the brain’s magnetic field and can be detected several feet away from the body. It was proposed that, this heart field acts as a carrier wave for information that provides a global synchronizing signal for the entire body. (McCraty, Bradley & Tomasino, 2004)

There is now evidence that a subtle yet influential electromagnetic or ‘energetic’ communication system operates just below our conscious awareness. Energetic interactions possibly contribute to the ‘magnetic’ attractions or repulsions that occur between individuals, and also affect social relationships. It was also found that one person’s brain waves can synchronize to another person’s heart (McCraty, 2004).

This, I tell you, gives a whole new meaning to I feel like I know you on a vibe-y level and Listen to your heart. Also, maybe it gives backing to the idea of love at first sight; except that it isn't love at first sight, it's love at first vibe. :P Later in the review, they also mentioned that this idea of a heart brain might be behind our concept of intuition, or gut-feeling. Of course, the mystical nature of all of this makes most scientists fidgety and some of them are outright dismissive of the idea that the heart contains memories and thoughts or influences decisions and feelings, and simply categorise patients who claim to 'know' their dead donors as loons suffering from surgery trauma.

The Qura'an however clearly states, "They have hearts that they are not able to understand with", clearly establishing the thinking nature of the heart. We're also told that the one who will succeed in the hereafter are those who bring a sound heart; once the heart is okay, everything else will be. 

Transcript of Lecture - Purification of the Heart