Heart Shaped Drum

"I beat on my small red drum for you"

Its maybe the most romantic thing I've ever heard. Its a shame nobody's ever said it to me. I heard it the first time I watched A Constellation of Bones- one of my favorite pieces of art ever. One of my favorite experiences ever.

The human heart is the origin of all rhythm and music. Its the place we feel love the deepest. It connects. It loves. It heals. It works hard for you every moment of the day. Take a moment and say thanks to your "little ticker". Put your hand over your heart, feel your pulse. Be grateful that today you are alive, and today you have the ability to give and receive love (even if you aren't in a place where it is safe to do it just now).




Our hearts can get wounded just like any other part of us. Today I spent the morning reading about all kinds of physical illnesses that can result when our hearts are overburdened, and we know them well: palpitations, angina, heart attack... and more. But the physical is only one of the spheres that make up our health. A burdened heart can also manifest on spiritual, mental, and emotional levels before, during, or after manifestation on a physical level. Work on all of these levels are required for true healing.

In Botanical Medicine, the herbs containing cardiac glycosides and other molecules important for heart health, also tend to have mental, emotional and spiritual indications... and some in small energetic doses are even indicated for broken-heartedness.

In Traditional Asian Medicine, the heart is not only responsible for the physical task of pumping blood, but also for housing the Shen- which can be translated at the mind or the spirit. When the heart is healthy and the Shen is well housed, sleep is calm, intelligence is bright, eyes sparkle, ability to feel emotions is clear, wisdom is available, and joy is experienced. An imbalanced heart can cause anxiety, depression, mania, forgetfulness, restlessness, dullness, nightmares and insomnia. These are symptoms that we mostly ignore and suppress in our Western society, with sad results. But these are symptoms that form a picture of imbalance when read with a discerning eye- what your body needs is help to restore balance, not to have the symptoms erased.

Regaining balance is possible. Sometimes help is needed. Its holding onto balance that is impossible, and the irony is: trying to hold onto it only makes it harder! So let go. Tune into your heart. Is is asking you for help? Is it ticking merrily away? Does it beat for someone? It beats for you.

When I study illnesses from an allopathic view and memorize the pharmacologic therapies used for each. It grounds me to rethink it in naturopathic terms, and prepares me for the naturopathic modality phase of studying...

Sometimes help does come in the form of anti-depressant and anti-anxiety medications. Though overused- I believe these drugs can in some cases be life saving. But these therapies are meant to be like ships to carry you through a dark time- eventually you reach the brighter shore- eventually you need to step off unless you want to live on a ship forever!