I’m Irregular How About You?
David likes music especially drum rhythms. You know like beat, beat pause, pause, pause beat. Irregular beats make the most beautiful and amazing music. But what about when the drum of life is irregular, when you actually have an irregular heartbeat?
About a month ago, we were sitting in meditation when David felt compelled to check his pulse. But something had changed! The regular heartbeat he once had wasn’t there anymore. Instead it was beat, beat, pause beat, beat, beat pause……… It was irregular, really irregular!
All sorts of questions and concerns ran through our heads. – Was it our move to Mexico or the higher altitude, was there something going on in his body he needed to attend to? The arrhythmia wasn’t subtle. … and while we remained relatively calm, we have to admit we each felt scared about the implications we imagined!
Data is always helpful, so he visited the cardiologist, the heart hospital, and our naturopath. Nothing major showed up in need of immediate action. Thankfully, he learned that this type of arrhythmia isn’t fatal. Relieved that there wasn’t something in need of immediate attention, we inquired further…
So, why the change of heart? Why couldn’t he change it back to the way it was? Was his heart rate supposed to return to it’s former regularity? What other perspective would help bring light to this different biological state?
Sometimes we want things to be the old way. Old heart, old ideas, old life. Life is always new, in the now, and sometimes we try to live backwards and that’s hard on us.
Here’s a great quote our friend Nancy G. Shapiro’s upcoming book that offers a reframe of what a healthy heart is.
“If the heartbeat has a more rigid pattern— less freedom, less range of movement, less chaos in its strange attractor—the computer readout then looks like the child was trying to color over something and stay within the lines, scribbling pretty much in one place, back and forth, up and down. This heart, and the human it belongs to will most likely have health problems. Flexibility and adaptability—in other words, a bit of chaos—equal freedom, vitality, and life-force. It’s a paradoxical state derived from staying within a desired pattern while having the ability to move out of that pattern when the necessities of health and wholeness require it.”
Our friend Nancy was an ally who didn’t push us into fixing a problem. And looking beyond the symptoms for a different perspective has really been great for our hearts. David’s been making friends with this new rhythm. He’s been focusing into the space between the heartbeats and feeling his life there.
As you adjust to the changes that might be occurring in your life right now, we invite you to also try a change of perspective:
Instead of making something wrong, consider it an evolutionary step. Sure hearts need care but it’s how we see change that’s the problem. David could be worrying himself to death. Instead he’s been loving riding his mountain bike, gathering the necessary data and receiving the wisdom in this new rhythm in his heart.
This is a time to embrace a new rhythm.
How’s your heart? Are you making friends with it in a new way?
We’d love to hear from you.
©David C. Mackenzie
Beautiful essay! I love the idea of the heartbeat as a strange attractor. And your comment about “focusing into the space between the heartbeats and feeling his life there” reminds me of Bernstein (I think) saying that the most important part of music is the silence between the notes.
great post. irregular drumbeats create their own particular energy and direction, and can convey important messages. way to go!
Dear Susan and David,
Oh es, changes do that to our hearts. I have had major arrhythmia of my heart last summer when I traveled to Germany, 3 month of Bronchitis and both scared me so much. Now that I changed my life completely by moving from Telluride to San Anselmo my heart is fine again and I feel so healthy and fit as never before in my life. I lifted out of a deep depression by just changing my whole life. I still don’t know where I will live for the rest of my life and sometimes that unsettles me but most of the time I can relax into the Here Now knowing all I have to do is being open to where life takes me.
How is the Community living where you are?
Love, Ulli
It is sometimes easy to forget that we are all being impacted by the New Earth Frequency we are blessed to be in. How then could our hearts, the very core of who we are, not feel this? My heart also is shifting and skipping around, rather like a child after a long winter recluse, at last outside in the sun and delighted to be playing and alive! I can hear it saying, “Wow, what now?” How am I to be? All this light! Then I remember . ..all I have to do is listen, and ride the wave…You both are looking ever more radiant. Yahooooo!!
p.s. Love to you, Grace
I Love this article !
It gives us great insight to the changes that are occurring all around us.
The Heart is an amazing organ that is the center of our being. I believe
it has direct contact to our Soul and has the ability to Lift Our Spirits and Guide
us to that which fulfills our new collective Soul’s Agenda in our present space and time.
Abrazos de Luz,
Roger
Love Love pause Love Love Love pause Love Love …. Sounds good to me! Thanks for the tribute to change. pause Love, Jo
Hello David and Susan
Hope this finds you both well, enjoying the sun, and mellower existence.
So when I was 20, in college at Michigan State, a major party school I started to experience heart palpitations . Let’s see no sleep, drinking enough beer to float a boat, smoking enough pot to float the Hindenburg , I was incredulous that my heart would behave so, scared the shit out of me. I wondered if it had anything to do with my life style, ya think?
So a couple of months past and I was at home for summer break, dragging my ass around, depressed, freaked out, and my Cousin came up to me at the sink and said, ” what the hell’s wrong with you?” WTF do you think, my f@$king heart isn’t working right! To which he asked, ” well what’s the worst that could happen?” I stood slack jawed long enough that he answered his own question,” I’ll tell the worst that could happen, YOU COULD DIE, so what! you look like your dead already! ” And walked away.
I finished washing the dishes and decided I’d show him, I was going get on my bike and just end it all . A good hard ride ought to do it,. My heart was jumping all over the place, but miraculously I made home. Disappointed I got up the next day and decided to try again, still I didn’t die. Alright, I must not be riding hard enough, again and again I tried, but all that happened was my heart quite palpitating. I’ve been riding ever since and if someday I die on a ride it will be a great way/ day to leave. I know I would died a long time ago with the bike in my life. I thank my cousin for that lesson often.
And thank you both for all the great work you do!
Miss you guys
Much love,
Michael
hummmmmmmmmmmmmmm. Sigh! ….breath ….oh my …and I guess you have always been “irregular”. Rememebr you have seen my heart so you already know what an “irregular” heart looks like.
Love you,
Tamara