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Heart Intelligence

FROM HEAD TO HEART, SEPARATION TO INCLUSION, CONFLICT TO GROWTH

Our current worldview considers the brain as the exclusive centre of knowing,
communication, decision-making and creativity. We are taught to read life through the
lens of the mind where things, people and emotions become concepts to be analysed
and evaluated for what they can contribute to the fulfillment of our own ambition.

But this way of approaching life, although very efficient, is incomplete and gives rise to a
vast number of problems and frustrations in the realm of relationship, well-being and
sustainable living.

It leads us to ignore other levels of perception and intelligence,


and compromises our ability to gather information from more,
sources, like intuition; it prevents us to envision solutions that
the brain cannot perceive and to put the harmonizing,
transformative and creative energy of love into action.

The good news is that modern research is now revealing the


existence of another centre of knowing where all our multiple
intelligences appear to gather and come together: the heart.

Are you connected yet?


Although we live in today in an increasingly connected world, more and more people
struggle to relate to the world around them and feel alienated. We blame time,
technology, greed or the increasing complexity of life, but the real issue is that we
increasingly ignore the voice, the needs and the aspirations of our hearts.

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The human heart is much more than a pump. New research
tells us that the heart actually radiates an electromagnetic
field that expands far beyond the boundaries of our physical
bodies and through which we directly touch each others
moods, feelings as well as all living organisms.

Beyond the words we say, it is the messages encoded in


those waves that carry the true meaning of what we express
just like our smart phones encode in invisible waves and transmit with a high degree of
precision the ideas and emotions we intend to communicate.

Our hearts are connectors who constantly talk with each other and with the world
around them. Emotions influence the functioning of every cell in our body; they determine
the mode of activity of our brain - whether we think peace and look at things from the
point of view of frustration, anger or love; they affect the behaviour of people around us;
and because they perceive and reflect inner states of being, they never lie.

Heart intelligence
Just like we have learned to operate in the dimension of mind, thoughts and concepts, we
can learn to explore the dimension of feelings and of the tremendously sensitivity of our
precious mind-body instrument:

Learn how to use feelings and inner imagery as a source of information and guidance;
Get access to all of our intelligences - heart, mind, body and soul - and become more
wise, aligned, response-able and impactful in our work and relationships;

Connect more intimately to the rhythms of nature and to the inner side of things;

Access the transformative energy of love; and

Develop and experience the main faculties of heart intelligence: self-care, care,
connectedness, empathy, appreciation and gratitude, well-being, joy and enjoyment,
trust, the desire to benefit others, generosity, courage and creativity.

Yet, to access this intelligence, we need to reopen the bridge that joins our heart and
mind and heal the split created by personal and collective traumas as well as the
disconnection we perceive between our sense of self and our inherent, natural, loving
relationship with nature, life and the great cosmic Intelligent Life all around us.

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Heart Intelligence
& Leadership
THE QUALITIES OF LEADERSHIP & THE QUALITIES
OF THE HEART ARE LARGELY THE SAME

As a leader, parent or team mate, do you sometimes get bogged down in mistrust,
communication breakdown and ego clashes?

Do you tend to overstretch your precious resource by attempting to control, compete


with or complain about others?

Are you still dealing with peoples issues with the rusty tools of denial, arm-twisting,
guilt, carrots and sticks?

If your answer to those questions is yes, then this workshop is definitely for you.

What is the relationship between growing people, authentic and successful


leaderships, and the heart?
During times of change and crisis like the ones we are going through today, leadership is
one of the critical elements that allows individuals and communities to find their way into
the future in an authentic and lasting way. But there are two very important things to
understand about leadership:

The overwhelming majority of the problems we encounter in the world are, before all,
people problems: problems related to lack of empathy, misunderstanding,
betrayed values, mistrust, ego based attitudes and motives, inadequate thinking,
lack of information, vision, good will, or commitment; absence of awareness of the
meaning and purpose of what people do, low self esteem, inability to focus,
emotional immaturity, carelessness, low morale, inconsistent character, etc;

The second one is that people can be convinced by reason, facts, information and
knowledge, but they are moved by emotions. Until their heart is touched, until their
emotions set their energy into motion, they keep their head in the sand and do not
act. They may change their mind but they do not change their behaviour.

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Most people have the talents, the values, the intelligence and the good will to do the right
things and come together around shared values for the common good. But this potential
remains vastly untapped.

LEADERSHIP IS ESSENTIALLY THE ART OF CONNECTING TO PEOPLES HEART AND


TOUCHING THE SOFT YET CRITICAL ENERGIES OF MEANING, PURPOSE, VALUES,
SHARED REALITY AND CHARACTER.

It is the ability to mobilize resource in order to meet needs your needs, my needs, the
needs of an organization, a market, a customer, a stranger who needs help. And in this,
the greatest resource leaders need to recognize and engage is the human potential.

We know since a few decades that emotional intelligence, the ability to manage emotions,
motivation and understand others, is a key component of intelligence, engagement,
commitment, personal effectiveness and leadership.

But the new research goes even further and reveals that the heart actually plays a
fundamental role in brain functioning and communication, and that it is through the heart
that one gains access to the inner resource of personal talents, charisma, intuition,
courage, inspiration, resilience, trust, passion, truthfulness, empathy, good will, creative
intelligence, enthusiasm and character that lie within everyone of us and are at the heart
of leadership.

But how well educated are our hearts? How much are we giving them the space they
need to reveal their gifts? And are we making the best use of their tremendous potential?

Heart Intelligence and Leadership in action


Over two days of guided activities, personal reflection and sharing focusing on skill
acquisition, we explore the key dynamics of heart intelligence and how it allows us to
(i) connect to people and situations at a deeper, more engaging level, and (ii) develop the
core skills and attitudes that support authentic personal growth and leadership abilities.

Key subjects covered are:

Charisma, Leadership and the qualities of the heart;

Passion, mission and forgiveness: being involved, resilient and dealing with the
blows - personal practices for healing hurts;

Heart based communication: seeing with the heart, understanding the language of
feelings and accessing the rich resource of heart based creativity;

The life giving powers of appreciation, good will, generosity and gratitude;

Shared values, togetherness and trust;

Stories of courage, resilience and the art of being truthful;

Key practices for cultivating humility, inspiration and inner guidance.

SEEDS for Change / Heart Intelligence www.seeduni.org 4

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