Similar perspectives are found in many religions. Even with these traditions and plentiful metaphors such as "I love you with all my heart", most of us have been taught that the heart is just a muscle that pumps blood and maintains circulation.

Neuroscientists have discovered exciting information about the heart; however, that reveals it is far more complex. Scientists have found that the heart has its own independent nervous system–a complex system referred to as "the brain in the heart." There are at least forty thousand neurons (nerve cells) in the heart–as many as are found in various sub-cortical centers of the brain.