We are often overwhelmed by the conflict between heart and mind, between emotions and reason, between what we want and what we believe we must do.

In the West, we have lived this dichotomy in a very marked way. We have suffered from it for centuries, and it is only in recent decades that advances in psychology and neuroscience have begun to confirm what other ancient cultures had already pointed out.

We must resolve the duality between heart and mind in order to see beyond.

The Disregard of Emotions

The dominance of reason over emotions has characterised Western thought, perspective, and morality for centuries. The ancient Greeks, such as Plato and Aristotle, already believed that the virtuous man was the one who subjected his emotions to the control of reason.

This attitude of distrust and disregard towards emotions was embraced and strengthened by monotheistic religions —Christianity in particular— which promoted a morality of sacrifice and self-control, where will and reason had to dominate the human being’s “low passions” that dragged him toward sin.

The hierarchy of reason reached its peak during the Enlightenment, to the extent that Descartes expressed his famous phrase “I think, therefore I am,” attributing to reason the foundation of existence and truth.

It was not until well into the 20th century that various currents of modern psychology —such as humanistic and transpersonal psychology— began to focus on correcting this disdain for emotions. It took until the end of the last century for the concept of “emotional intelligence” to be proposed, in an attempt to correct the imbalance that had conditioned us for so long.

The Eastern Perspective

Advances in neuroscience in the study of psychosomatic processes —namely, the interrelationship between thoughts, emotions, and the body— confirm the more integrated and harmonious view of Eastern cultures.

In the Indian tradition, although different koshas (layers or bodies) that make up the human being are distinguished, it is noted that kama (sensations, emotions, and passions) and manas (the concrete mind, thoughts, and reason) go hand in hand and work as a single kama-manas body when it comes to making decisions, even the most trivial ones.

Chinese culture has gone even further. In addition to identifying the Three Treasures (Sanbao) —that is, the three energies that constitute us as human beings: jing, the most organic, which forms the body; qi, the breath or vital energy; and shen, the most subtle, which generates the mind— it also precisely details the energetic interaction between each emotion and specific physical organs and viscera. Thus, the energetic balance between mind, emotions, and body is crucial for health, well-being, and harmonious living.

When Buddhadharma (Buddhism) focuses on eliminating desire (trisna) to free us from suffering, it does not refer solely to passions or emotions, but to desires and attachments to the egoic illusion of having a separate, individual existence distinct from LIFE. These attachments are fed by the combined action of the skandhas, the physical, emotional, mental, and consciousness aggregates that make up the puggala (the person). These aggregates must be addressed simultaneously and equally to achieve harmony and fulfilment.

Only One Heart

It is thus quite evident that the excessive prominence of reason and the disregard and control of emotions have been more a source of conflict than of balance. Clearly, the answer is not to swing to the opposite extreme and let emotions guide us entirely, but rather to find equilibrium and harmony between reason, emotions, and also the body—often the great forgotten element.

Just as LIFE, in the proportion that corresponds to us as individuals, we are a unity and function as a whole, holistically. We cannot live in a fragmented way, dissociated into parts each going its own way. We must become aware of this and observe ourselves sincerely—from a place of calm, without judgement or rejection—in order to gradually identify the different energies that comprise us, from the physical body to consciousness, including sensations, emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and mental constructs.

To feel them and become aware of how they function, how they are activated, how they calm down, how they interrelate with one another, and how they determine our actions and moods. In this way, we will begin to understand the inherent logic of each one, and how, naturally and without forcing, we can cease to be slaves to egoic automatisms and begin to move beyond personal well-being.

Harmony between reason and emotions is one of the essential requirements if we wish to hear the voice of the Heart where our true nature lies. The symbolic Heart pointed to by all those, from here and there, who have engaged in profound and sincere introspection. The Heart where Love and Wisdom reside, inherent to the Non-Dual Nature of LIFE. The Heart that beats as the one and only Heart of LIFE.