Heart studying
New science of wellbeing
In both basketball and education, there’s a fascinating concept known as "head-faking." In basketball, a head fake is a deceptive move where a player feints a motion to mislead an opponent, creating an opportunity to maneuver around them. In the context of teaching, head-faking involves a more subtle approach: it’s a method of imparting knowledge where the learner acquires understanding without being fully aware of it. This technique can be incredibly effective in promoting deep learning, as students engage with the material in a more intuitive and less pressured manner.
Building on this concept, we can introduce the term "heart-faking." Analogous to head-faking in teaching, heart-faking refers to experiencing emotions or feelings without consciously recognizing them. While head-faking in education is a targeted strategy used to facilitate learning in specific instances, heart-faking represents a more pervasive and normative phenomenon. In our daily lives, we often encounter situations where our emotions guide our actions and decisions subconsciously. This implicit emotional guidance shapes our behavior and interpersonal interactions without our explicit awareness Understanding these concepts can enhance both teaching strategies and emotional intelligence, highlighting the importance of subtlety in learning and emotional experiences.
While the concept of "heart-faking" refers to subconsciously experiencing emotions, its opposite—what we truly strive for—can be termed "heart-studying." Heart-studying encompasses both an intellectual process and a state of being.
As an intellectual process, heart-studying involves paying careful attention to the properties of our emotions and forming judgments about how they "feel." This means observing and analyzing our emotional responses, understanding their triggers, and discerning their impact on our thoughts and behaviors. By engaging in heart-studying, we develop emotional literacy, which is crucial for emotional regulation and personal growth .As a state of being, heart-studying allows us to consciously experience our emotions and explore their workings from a first-person perspective. This conscious awareness fosters a deeper connection with our inner selves, enabling us to navigate our emotional landscapes with greater clarity and intentionality. It encourages mindfulness and self-reflection, promoting a holistic understanding of our emotional lives .In essence, heart-studying bridges the gap between feeling and understanding, offering a pathway to emotional intelligence and well-being.
There is an abundance of academic, peer-reviewed journals in fields such as cardiology, neurobiology, and psychology that offer third-person perspectives on emotions and their impact on human behavior. However, there remains a significant gap in first-person studies focusing on "heart study"—the introspective exploration of how our emotions feel.
Recognizing this gap, I am excited to announce the establishment of The Heart Study Foundation. This foundation will be dedicated to the academic and peer-reviewed study of our emotional experiences from a first-person perspective. Our mission will be to advance understanding of how we experience and interpret our emotions, bridging the divide between objective scientific research and subjective emotional experiences.
The Heart Study Foundation aims to:
- Promote first-person research methodologies that prioritize the subjective experience of emotions.
- Foster interdisciplinary collaboration among scholars in psychology, neurobiology, cardiology, and other related fields.
- Publish peer-reviewed studies that provide insights into the nuanced and personal nature of emotional experiences.
- Encourage the development of tools and techniques for individuals to better understand and articulate their emotional states.
I believe this initiative is both timely and necessary. The world is ready to embrace a deeper, more nuanced understanding of emotions, and The Heart Study Foundation will lead the way in pioneering this essential research.
