As we age, our brains don’t serve us as well as they did when we were younger. So it’s good to know our heart is like a second brain. It does far more than pump blood to keep our bodies alive. According to scientific research by the HeartMath Institute, the heart sends many more messages to the brain than the brain sends to the heart.

Human hearts are receivers of energies from the earth’s magnetic energy fields. They are also receivers and transmitters of energies created by human emotions, both positive and negative. Positive energies created by love, appreciation and compassion make us happier, more peaceful and healthier. They also have positive effects on other people and on our brains’ cognition. Negative emotions such as fear and anxiety create depleting energies that can have negative effects on cells in our bodies. And they can inhibit our abilities to relate well to other people.

Barbara Hildt, a Lakeside resident since 2009, has been an art teacher, a Peace Corps volunteer, a community organizer, a state legislator and a trainer of youth and adults in peacemaking skills. For spiritual guidance and peace, she has made meditation a staple of her life.

With help from the HeartMath Institute, Barbara has learned to use heart coherence to improve her mental, emotional, and physical health. Love energy she receives with an open heart benefits her relationships with others and allows her to connect to souls far away on earth, as well as with the souls of loved ones no longer living in physical bodies.