The Constant Battle Of Head Versus Heart

Have you ever second-guessed yourself, done or said something that went against your gut, only to realize in retrospect that your initial feeling or hunch was right? Had you acted differently, it could have saved you a lot of heartache and loss, emotionally, physically or financially?

If you have ever been in this position, know that you are not alone. The “head versus heart” dilemma can be very confusing and frustrating. Many of my clients struggle with it and some experience a great deal of confusion, stress and emotional discomfort as a result.

When faced with difficult decisions or challenging situations, we usually have a good sense of what the best course of action might be. But then we tend to look for concrete evidence to support our feelings and intuitive hunches, and when we cannot find any, which is often the case, our heads take precedence over our hearts. So we end up discounting our feelings and intuitions, usually to our own detriment.

The struggle between head and heart is a common theme in philosophy, literature, art, and popular culture, as we all regularly experience inner conflicts between reason and emotion, logic and intuition, responsibility and passion.

In response to this dilemma, some spiritual teachings recommend we strive to shut down the ego-mind to create an exclusively heart-centered reality to better guide us through life. In these teachings the ego-mind is seen as a source of suffering and a barrier to enlightenment or spiritual growth.

There would always be an endless fight between the heart and the brain. You cannot live with only one of them so you have to use both for your judgements. The smart people are the ones who can balance and know when would they let the heart or the brain take control over the other ~ Mary Sadek

Now, in today’s world, the strictly heart-centered approach can work well for a while until we encounter another major life challenge where we cannot see the logic in our emotional impulse or gut reaction. Then the fear-based survival thinking of the ego-mind kicks in. The pendulum instantly swings back to head over heart and we are right back where we started.

What is the solution? Or are we forever relegated to this constant battle of head versus heart?

The angels and my guides say this dichotomous state of consciousness is a natural part of our being in this world. We are spiritual beings in human form. Constantly balancing our human logic and reason with the numinous inner guidance of our feelings and intuitions is part of our karmic journey in this lifetime.

As we progress on our spiritual path, our consciousness will continue to struggle with this dualistic way of being. The constant tension between our head and heart is an important part of what drives our spiritual growth and soul evolution in this lifetime.

This is one of the reasons why engaging in some form of spiritual practice is so important. Those heart-based spiritual traditions have been right all along, but it is meant to be a lifelong process of growth and expansion, not an instant, simplistic solution to attain perfection.

Cultivating pure love and true wisdom greatly enlivens the heart and brain, physically as well as spiritually. And the harmonization of love principle in the heart and the wisdom principle in the brain creates a magnetic force that draws healing energy into the whole body ~ Regina Malabago

A daily spiritual routine of heart-centered mindful meditation, prayer, divination, journaling, ritual or energy work helps to alleviate the inner tension, confusion and stress of the head versus the heart. It improves our ability to balance ‘head’ and ‘heart,’ to become more centered in all aspects of our lives, and to make better decisions for our highest good.

The goal, then, is not to suppress our logic and reason, nor to downplay our feelings and intuition. The goal of true conscious living is to become more balanced and empowered in all of our faculties, enabling us to make better, wiser decisions that are in alignment with our higher self and our soul journey.