What to Do When Rational Thinking Doesn’t Work

ByDonna Weber

Most of us like to believe that we are rational beings, but what happens when rational thinking doesn’t work?

You have a problem and no rational solution seems available. Life throws you a curve ball and you need a logical reason for the issue before you can move on. You need a new idea for your business and you are stuck with the same old ideas.

While rational thinking is useful, there are times when it fails us. At those times, we can tap into our heart intelligence.

Read on to find out how.

What is heart intelligence?

According to the HeartMath Institute, our heart has an intelligence all its own. In their book, The HeartMath Solution (2000), Doc Childre and Howard Martin, tell us, “Heart intelligence provides an intuitive, direct knowingness that’s an essential aspect of our overall intelligence.” They go on to say, “The head “knows” but the heart “understands”.”

Your heart intelligence connects you with your emotions. It is the source of love, appreciation, gratitude, and beauty. You tap into your creativity through your heart.

You would think that scientists are totally rational beings, but here is some evidence to the contrary.

“I never came upon any of my discoveries through the process of rational thinking.” Albert Einstein

Why do you need heart intelligence?

This story is a good example of a time when rational thinking doesn’t work. Recently I worked with a woman who had shut down her heart and was trying to function from rational thinking alone. The reason for this was perfectly reasonable. She lost her child in an accident and the pain in her heart was unbearable. That was a good choice at the time, but now she needed another option.

She was stuck in the grief process. She needed to understand why this terrible tragedy happened. There are some things that have no rational explanation. There are no easy answers.

She began the process of reconnecting with her heart. This is not a quick “fix”, but the start of a journey.

Are there areas of your life that are not working? Are you stuck in your head?

How to listen to your heart

Sometimes just being aware that you need to listen to your heart is enough. You can ask, “What is my heart-felt answer?” Then you need to stop and listen. Your heart is not loud and noisy like your mind can be. It speaks in a quiet voice. For many of us the answer will be in the form of an image, a symbol, or a feeling. You might get a positive feeling for yes or a negative feeling for no. This sounds so simple and it is.

Other times you might get a “sign”. I get signs about information all the time. This week a friend was looking for a talk from a favorite teacher. I did not know this when I sent her a link to his latest talk.

When you start paying attention to these signs, you will get more of them.

If you are really stuck…

Some people are so stuck in their head they don’t know how to listen to their hearts. Like my client, they may have too many traumatic events in their past.

If you try to get in touch with your heart, you risk getting in touch with all those traumatic events. You don’t want that.

If you have too much trauma, it is safer to release the trauma before connecting with your heart intelligence. The poetry of emotion can help.

If you want to read more, click on “Are you new to the site?”
(Image: marcus eubanks @ flickr)

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