Natural Connections: The Heart and Mind

"Natural Connections: The Heart and Mind" was designed to understand, in an attempt to interpret, how our heart and mind are influenced by being in nature. This idea goes back to a quote by Aristotle, "Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all", speaking to the human need for emotional education. To understand empathy and emotional regulation. Taking it a step further to the physiological function of the heart and mind, and how they are so deeply interdependent, using the nervous system and hormones to communicate stress, mood, and attention. When the heart stops, the cerebral cortex ceases to function. However, if the brain stops working, the heart can continue because it has its own "brain" made up of tens of thousands of neurons, allowing the heart to self-regulate rhythm and heart rate. All of this surely can still happen without the introduction of the natural world. Still, we now know how much being in nature, the smells of the earth's floor, the tannins we inhale, the sounds of birds, flowing water, and the energetic vibrations between trees can lower stress levels within the heart and mind, how the Earth's microbiome affects our own microbiome through putting our hands in soil, which can minimise symptoms of depression. Nature reflects human existence on a primal level. "Natural Connections: The Heart and Mind" is my interpretation of these connections, as well as our social nature playing a significant role in balancing our body systems by educating our hearts and our minds. We are social creatures meant to convene in the forest. Even if only for an afternoon.