Have a Heart

In the book A Change of Heart Claire Sylvia tells her story following her heart transplant surgery.

She reported noticing that various attitudes, habits and tastes changed following her surgery. She had inexplicable cravings for foods she had previously disliked. For example, though she was a health-conscious dancer and choreographer, upon leaving the hospital she had an uncontrollable urge to go to a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and order chicken nuggets, a food she never ate. Sylvia found herself drawn toward cool colours and no longer dressed in the bright reds and oranges she used to prefer. She began behaving in an aggressive and impetuous manner that was uncharacteristic of her but turned out to be similar to the personality of her donor. Interestingly, uneaten Kentucky Fried Chicken nuggets were found in the jacket of the young man (her donor) when he was killed. From Organ Transplants and Cellular Memories, Nexus Magazine.

It makes sense that the heart has a mind of it’s own. Makes sense to me anyway. There was a Chanel 4 documentary series called Mindshock, aired last year. One was about heart transplants and the possibility that the heart retains some of the memory of the (now dead) donor. Interesting.

One of my monastic mentors on occasion would say, ‘The body does have a mind of it’s own you know’! He was teaching us to listen, with body-mind. They are not two.

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