Monday, December 17, 2012
இ Baŋäŋaz இ
Do you think with your head or act with your heart? It has been a long tradition we connect the mind with the brain. Other than the heart being a muscular organ, the size of a fist weighing about 300 grams that pumps blood, the MDBG Chinese Dictionary also defines heart as mind / intention / centre / intelligence. So what the heck a heart has a mind or just a figure of speech? No argument here but to follow this saying 'follow your heart' where heart is driven by love and the analytical head is driven by logic and analytical.
Let's start the heart pumping with characters where its very common for Chinese in encompassing the heart to express emotional feelings. Frequently used words such as 'be careful' 小心xiǎo xīn literally *small heart*; 'worry' 擔心dān xīn lit. *carry heart*; 'relax' 放心fàng xīn lit.*release heart*; 'faith' 信心xìn xīn lit. *trust heart*. In a state of 'happiness' 開心kāi xīn lit.*open heart* and 'sadness' 傷心shāng xīn lit. *injured heart*. There will be a never-ending 星星心心知我心 xīngxing xīn xīn zhī wǒ xīn lit. *stars heart heart knows my heart*. Guess the word 心xīn *heart* has to stop here am afraid some are beginning to see stars already.
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| source:www.chineseetymology.org |
On the left is the etymology of the Chinese character 心xīn *heart* a close resemblance of a muscular heart. One will often hear this popular inspiring greetings in Chinese pinyin when wishing someone's success ~ 心想事成 xīn xiǎng shì chéng *lit. heart think matter/affair succeed* an equivalent to 'may your wishes come true'. Wonder if ever the movies maker decides to film another Star Wars sequel will they include this scene where Yoda in his squinty eyes softly utter to his new Chinese Jedi "May The Force 心xīn *Heart* Be With You".
Can the heart really dictate one’s actions? Here is an excerpt from scienceray.com "According to the Institute of Heartmath, Dr J Andrew Armour first introduced the concept of a functional 'heart brain' in 1991. His work revealed that the heart has a complex intrinsic nervous system, contains around 40,000 neurons that qualifies it as a 'little brain'. The heart communicates with the brain in ways that influence how we perceive and respond to stimulus coming from the outside world. The heart can even cause the brain to obey its commands hence has a mind of its own."
So can elements of a person's character - or even their soul - be transplanted along with a heart? One woman who believes this is to be the case is CLAIRE SYLVIA after she was given the organs of an 18 year old boy, who was killed in a motor cycle accident. "I was given a young man's heart - and started craving beer and Kentucky Fried Chicken. My daughter said I even walked like a man" ~ Claire Sylvia :Bananaz's Beleaf It Or Nought
Thought supposed to stop mentioning 心xīn *heart* however this is something not to be missed. The above word is "ài," the traditional Chinese character that clearly explains 愛 *Love* which has to be a combination of both the 心xīn *heart* and situated right in the middle of the word 受shòu *accept*. Any idea why a person with a broken heart is tossing and turning on bed all night long? The answer lies in the broken heart itself as the jagged edges of the heart keep poking at the body. Anyway enjoy the Achy Breaky Heart by Billy Ray Cyrus below.
