How to know the wonders of our body and be happier

I would like to share with you some thoughts on the Heart in particular and on the functioning of our body in general through the enlightening words of the Silvia Di Luzio, Senior Research Associate clinical cardiologist at the Nortwestern University of Chicago.
(The following passage is taken from his book The Heart is a Door)

How to discover the poetry of life through science

“You will not hear about feelings, emotions or love but I will try to make you entering a new dimension that unites science to spirituality by passing through the poetry of life.

We often hear the Heart like a pump: nothing more terrible for me as a cardiologist in admiration of this organ that holds, in my opinion, the secret of life.

I assure you that see a heart beating already when the fetus is 2 mm,  a few days after the fertilization took place, it is something wonderful.

The Heart is the first organ that is formed when we are conceived: the brain actually develops during the nine months of pregnancy but begins to take on its complex structure from birth onwards thanks to all external sensory stimuli.

The Heart is also the last organ to go out when the course of life has come to an end.

How many brave hearts have we seen endure brain death for days or weeks!

This faithful companion, tireless, works for us incessantly, certainly as a pump, as it distributes blood throughout the body, BUT NOT ONLY.

The heart participates in our joys and sorrows: we often hospitalize patients with fatal heart attacks who have recently suffered a serious bereavement in intensive care: and according to popular wisdom it is not even anomalous (the so-called “DEATH OF HEART BREAKING”), but for science this shouldn't happen if the heart were just a pump.

The Heart is a generous and just organ: when the body requires more blood for increased work, for example, for a run, it begins to beat faster to ensure the oxygen requirement of all tissues; and it is also the one who in case of emergency or extreme necessity decides to drastically reduce the blood to the muscles and peripheral tissues to direct it to the organs “Nobles” (kidneys, brain, liver) who cannot “suffer” otherwise the survival of the individual would be affected.

We all know the commandment: “LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF” yet we have many difficulties in applying it in daily life either because we are selfish or because it is sometimes easier to forget about yourself in order to love and care for our loved ones.

Well, the heart is a living example of this perfect balance! Such as?

The heart sends, through the aorta, the oxygenated blood from the lungs to the whole organism, but the best blood, the first one that is expelled from the heart, returns, through the coronary arteries, to him.

The Lectio Magistralis of the heart

So let's learn the lesson of the Heart: we must be well in order to help others and perform one's task in the best possible way, and this is not an act of selfishness, on the contrary ... sometimes in fact giving up on oneself may not be a sign of goodness, rather a need for recognition and affection, which unfortunately does not take too far.

Like on an airplane when they tell you to wear it first the oxygen mask and then to help another person; even your little son next to you, because if you faint you can't help him and your baby can be in danger.

But beware the same function of the heart depends on the fact that it is generous enough to send blood to all the other organs otherwise it will not be able to survive for long !!!

The lesson of our wonderful body is nothing but harmony, collaboration and respect for pre-established roles, without which a fatal imbalance would be created.

The society that works best is that of a healthy human organism, in which billions of cells coexist, multiply and work for a single purpose., let's not forget: our survival! Our body is a sacred place and the Heart is its temple.

I like to think of life as an opportunity to learn a lesson:

We are all born from everything and we return to everything, but in between we are given the opportunity to live, to make choices, often guided by our brain that individualizes us, makes us unique and gives us the opportunity to differentiate ourselves from animals: the brain I see it as the  free will.

But what can a brain without a heart ever achieve?

What an inner reaction the phrase stimulates you: "He is a man without a heart!": almost horror!

And what "He is a man without a brain" ?:  I would say pity.

But even a brainless heart does not go far: giving love indiscriminately leads to nothing: we remember Jesus who chased the merchants from the temple: those who are not worthy cannot "trample" your heart if they do not have respect for it.

I therefore believe that the answer to life can be found  in harmony, collaboration and love choices which, however, must be made with awareness and conscience: a perfect union between heart and brain.

Thank you for spending a few minutes of your time on this timeless journey through the mysteries of life. "

Dr.ssa Silvia Di Luzio (Taken from The Heart is a Door)

.

To learn more about the topic, below you will find a brief speech by Dr. Di Luzio on the heart and the body.

.

.Discover the books on Amazon The Heart is a Door by Dr. Silvia Di Luzio e Laugh heartily. The therapeutic power of laughter by Gianni Ferrario!