Logic and Emotion
Your heart knows things that your mind cannot explain goes the saying. Have you contemplated why so?

Clearly, there is a dichotomy when it comes to using these two great human possessions. The way people make decisions about the most significant things in their lives is a seemingly divergent approach: should you go with the heart or with the head? That sounds like how a set of railway tracks go - parallel to each other, always accompanying each other but never converging. Is this the same situation?

They say logic is flawed in the sense that it does not take into account how a human thinks or more appropriately feels with his or her heart - the domain of emotion. Logic is founded in rational, rule based principles. It is the traditional path of the human who uses the head to take decisions. Emotion is the bad child. The one who has got a bad wrap for being sensitive and thus apparently weak. And so goes on this seesaw - those who eschew sentiments and stick to rules and those who swear by their feelings.


Head Strong
He is ruled by his head, goes the comment. What does that mean? It is meant to point to an individual who uses reasoning for all decisions. Somebody who would shudder to take a step forward unless all signs pointed to an ideal situation. Somebody all of whose ducks are in line.

In palmistry, the two principal lines that dominate your palm (anybody's palm without exception) are the head and heart lines. The head line is sometimes referred to as the career line and heart line as the life line. An individual with a strong head line is one who has no time for emotions. He or she will depend on cold logic or certainties. This may span simple tasks like going to a movie to choosing a career or buying a house or a car. For example, this individual would buy a car only when he or she has researched all details of the car to death including whether the price is worth it. You will love the experience of driving this car says the salesperson to which you give a snort. Who cares about the experience. You want to make sure that everything works out exactly the way you read about. Ambiguity is not for those who think with their heads.


Heart Felt
She is a sentimental fool! A ruthless assessment about somebody who is emotion driven. These are people who often let their heart take the lead. This means being directed by how they feel more than what the facts show. Matters of the heart are not always rational since sentiments play a big part.

In the earlier example of the purchase of a car, when the salesperson says you will love the experience of driving this car, you go on a drive to experience it yourself. The salesperson tells you how much the car costs and what extra accessories will set you back for. But you are hardly listening. Who cares about the price. It is the value you perceive from the purchase and the experience of owning the car. You do not even know whether this car has cutting edge technology or the finest engine. You only know that the experience is awesome for you. Ambiguity rides easily on the shoulders of those who think with their heart.

When you fall in love, you feel your heart flutter, beat loudly or leap for joy; when you're rejected, your heart breaks. You are called heartless or cold when you show no care or love...and bighearted when you extend your concern to others. You love someone "from the bottom of your heart" but are halfhearted about something when you're emotionally uninvolved. You instinctively and physically point to your heart when you say "I" or want to express your deeper feelings.

While the mind is the content of who you are, your heart is your essence. Some believe the heart can be too uncertain and even misguided, but that is the head talking! It is actually a source of great richness, and this wealth is one that cannot be squandered or lost. It is the core, the essence of your being, a reservoir of joy, powerful love and infinite compassion that lies within you.


Which Are You?
Are you driven by your head or your heart? Have you stopped to think about this? Do you cry when watching a movie with sad sequences? While all of us have a certain element of head and heart driven thinking, on the same plane, almost all of us have also a dominant head or heart orientation.

It is fascinating to notice that while a particular situation may be looked at dispassionately (almost ruthlessly) by me, you may be totally directed by the sentiments underlying that situation. I may be suggesting to go for a kill while you would prefer to show your sensitive side.

This opens up the possibility that people who mainly think with their heads can get the benefits of thinking with their hearts by specifically reminding themselves that we are not just rational machines, and that the emotions can provide vital input into our decision-making.

Often, between a couple, the husband may be ruled by the head and wife by the heart. Studies have proven that the female specie is generally ruled more by the heart. In  instances like these, often the husband is puzzled why the wife is taking decisions seemingly without any basis - basis here being logic, reasoning. On the other hand, the wife thinks the husband is a cold, insensitive guy who is ruled by his head.



Your Gut and Your Heart
There are going to be times when you are torn and don't know what to decide. These are times when neither your head nor your heart can help you. You ponder and pause and ponder again, examine all the angles and still can't come to a decision, neither logically or emotionally. That's when you ask what your gut is telling you. What is your gut feel about this goes the question? Gut is the lay person term for intuition. Intuition is often called "seeing with the soul."


Let me leave you with this suggestion.