Cardiologist explores spirituality of the heart

When asked which five people, living or dead, he'd like to invite to dinner, cardiologist Kirk Laman chose Thomas Moore, Prophet Muhammad, Mohandas Gandhi, Mother Theresa, and his father who died three years ago.

Laman says,"My passion and life's purpose is to help people discover and heal their heart's troubles. I'd like to share the concept of living a mystical life now. This means shifting our focus from the outside to the inside to tap into our heart's deepest wisdom. Our hearts do know. They know what we need to be well on every level. If we can connect with this knowledge then we can begin the healing process."

In the Ann Arbor News today, "Emotions could be key to heart" describes Laman’s work to heal hearts through spiritual means as well as medical methods.

"Having grown up in the Methodist church with a typical Christian upbringing, he'd long been interested in things of the spirit. When he learned about the mystical Rumi tradition of Islam, which includes the healing of the heart, he converted.

Laman, an assistant professor of medicine at Michigan State University, does "heart-opening" exercises 45 minutes every morning, and throughout the day...

Asked which emotions are hardest on the heart, Laman said studies show depression is the most severe, followed by anxiety and stress..."

The article quotes Laman,"Getting people to change is difficult. We live in a world that's focused on the outer. In order to really change, you have to take your focus from the outer and move it to a more inner portion of your heart."

Lamen’s blog offers ways to do this.