The Heart, Our Soul’s Central Seat, is the
Best Shield Against Dehumanization

By Dr. Dorothea Fuckert, MD

Certified Life Between Lives® Facilitator, Germany

Expand your heart to embrace all things in the world. Open your heart to receive all that is good. Calm your heart to face the changing times. – Japanese proverb

The heart, due to its immense importance, is a recurring theme of my columns in SOTA. It is our strongest inner healer, primarily through (self-)forgiveness of all our shadows and weaknesses, but also in other ways. It holds compassion, peace, truthfulness, freedom, joy, and numerous other qualities. The HeartMath Institute and others have shown that the heart’s electromagnetic field is fundamentally stronger than that of the brain. It might be even stronger, the more open and vibrant the heart chakra is. Our heart is a great synchronizer, a mediator between the many opposing poles of life, between above and below, inside and outside, the conductor of the entire symphony orchestra.

All-encompassing love is the highest goal of our human evolution, along with universal wisdom (cosmic consciousness) and creative power. All-encompassing love unfolds through the heart chakra, universal wisdom through the crown chakra, through thoughts and visions, and creative power through the throat chakra, through voice, arms, and hands. The latter manifests itself in action and communication motivated by love and truth. In this process, we evolve into an “image of God” over the course of incarnations. All-encompassing love is the highest level of consciousness, inherent in every soul as its most beautiful divine potential, residing in the heart chakra, its central seat or “living room.” It is unconditional love for oneself, for others, for humanity, for all beings, and for everything that is. We must admit to ourselves that we are still a long way from it, without feeling guilty.

Threatened by the growing global spiritual revolution, by the increase of love and light, darker forces are fighting brutally to maintain their power and their survival. This happens overtly through war, violence, abuse, oppression, exploitation and injustices, but also through a more hidden process of progressive dehumanization: the prevailing materialistic worldview reflected in science; the image of humanity as bad, flawed, powerless, fearful, submissive, lazy, and selfish in religions, politics, media, and bureaucracy; the numbing of independent thinking and judgment through more or less veiled manipulation; the ignoring of basic human needs, the suppression of natural spontaneity and emotionality, accompanied by increasing intellectualization, moralizing and coercion to conform in all areas of life. It is happening subtly through technology and AI, alongside their great advantages. Our hearts sense this as a sensory organ. Blaise Pascal, the famous French mathematician, physicist, innovator, and philosopher, said 400 years ago: “The heart has its reasons which reason does not know.”

For example, conversations, therapy sessions, and conferences are shifting massively into the virtual realm. To avoid misunderstandings: I regularly use the internet, Zoom meetings, and AI for specific purposes. I’m also aware that our society will continue to move in this direction; a return to traditional methods is neither realistic nor desirable. However, I don’t want to deceive myself but rather make clear distinctions and trust my perception. It has been proven that sensory perception is limited in online meetings. Studies have also highlighted the risk of “video conferencing fatigue.” They’ve shown that those who sit in front of a screen for several hours tire more quickly, lose concentration, and feel drained. Constantly staring at the camera, restricted freedom of movement, and a lack of breaks can negatively impact health, well-being, and performance.

The internet gives us the illusion that we have an equivalent substitute for the physical presence of a living person. But as long as we are human, this cannot be and never will be an equivalent substitute. We are body, mind, heart, and soul. All levels of our being are equally important, and none should be neglected at the expense of the others. Video conferences do not have the same impact as real, face-to-face encounters. The direct energetic and emotional connection between people is qualitatively different. Let’s be honest: Would you want to be accompanied by a Zoom call during the birth of your child or in your final hours? Who would hold your hand then? Who would place their hands on your forehead? These extreme examples show that, despite all its advantages, virtuality can also dehumanize.

On average, our bodies are surrounded by 1.7 square meters of skin. Every touch is instantly transmitted to the brain via five million sensory cells. The sense of touch is our largest sensory system. What physically happens during a touch is such a complex process that it cannot be analyzed down to the smallest detail. However, we do know that an enormous amount of information is transmitted through the skin. And this information cannot be switched off. We can close our eyes and cover our ears, but we can never truly “block out” the skin, not even while sleeping. 

Studies have shown that touch is crucial for the development of social skills. It allows us to understand ourselves as individuals beyond the boundaries of our skin and to interact with others as such. Touch is vital. It has been found that it inhibits the release of harmful stress hormones and instead stimulates the production of oxytocin. This hormone is primarily produced in the hypothalamus, but also in the heart. Oxytocin is essential for the development and strengthening of relationships and bonds. It promotes openness and trust between people. 

Negative influences like lies and manipulation cannot easily reach us with an open, feeling heart, because unlike the mind, the heart cannot be manipulated. It is now also recognized as a finely tuned, sensual-intuitive instrument. We experience deep heartache in certain life situations, for example, in the face of painful losses or horrific wars. A broken heart, however, is not, as some believe, the result of a heart that is too open or too sensitive, but rather of a heart that has closed itself off. If we were deeply hurt as children or adolescents, this blockage may have been necessary because the painful feelings were so overwhelming that we couldn’t process them. With a more mature heart as an adult, we can keep it open, utilize its great powers and grow even further.

We are currently experiencing a profound metamorphosis. Not only is the global order changing radically, but so are the psychological and cultural ones. No one knows how this change will manifest itself on Earth in the coming years and decades. In this sense, we are facing a leap into the unknown. In these times, the value of heart intelligence becomes clear. The heart is far more than just an organ that moves blood flow. It is a sensory organ. It receives subtle information that the mind often only grasps later. And it reacts to the emotional and social fields that arise between people. HeartMath describes this phenomenon as social coherence, the ability of heart rhythms to organize and synchronize within relationships. When we become coherent, not only does our inner state become more ordered, but a field also emerges that others can more easily perceive. Heart rhythms synchronize. Tension can dissipate. Conversations become clearer. And it becomes easier to stay connected in an emotionally charged environment.

For the leap into the new, into change, into the unknown, a spiritual vision of direction is quite helpful: We know where the soul is heading in our evolution. One resource we can always rely on is our connectedness with others. Even when we have been wounded or feel threatened, our shared humanity connects us in the most secure way. We experience this as genuine, authentic, and empowering in our hearts. It strengthens our resilience and positively impacts our emotional and physical well-being. 

As the qualities of the heart continue to unfold, this connectedness can transform into a profound, universal sense of belonging. Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Protestant theologian, pastor, and prominent opponent of National Socialism, was known for his courageous resistance against Hitler. I think he drew his courage and clarity from his open, feeling heart, as well as his sure knowledge of what is right and wrong. A few months before his execution in April 1945, he wrote a beautiful, now famous poem in prison. The first verse reads:

“By loving forces silently surrounded,

I feel quite soothed, secure, and filled with grace.

So I would like to live these days together,

and go with you into another year.”

And the last one: 

“By loving forces wonderfully sheltered,

we are awaiting fearlessly what comes.

God is with us at dusk and in the morning

and most assuredly on ev’ry day.”

(Translated from the original by Hilmar H. Werner, 2010; slightly altered by him 2015) ♥

Dr. Dorothea Fuckert, MD is located in Waldbrunn, Germany, and sees clients in-person there as well as locations in France, Switzerland, and Austria.

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