Do you know someone who seems to magically lift your mood without saying a word? When the Dalai Lama visits a city, residents often say they feel peaceful simply by being in his presence.

Researchers believe that peaceful people’s hearts emit uplifting waves that affect nearby hearts. This may explain why some people make us feel so good while others leave us feeling deflated.

In English, an intimate, honest conversation is called a ‘heart-to-heart’. Across cultures, humans refer to the heart when they talk about feeling love. We often gesture towards our hearts when asked to point to ourselves.

Intuitively, we’ve guessed that the heart is more than just an organ, but now science supports this inkling.

The heart produces a strong electromagnetic field that extends several feet from the body. New studies reveal that the stronger the field, the more likely it is to affect the hearts of others.

Incredibly, we can strengthen our heart’s waves just by changing our attitudes. When feeling a positive emotion like gratitude, waves begin to flow with more stability. In some cases, hearts will even begin beating in sync with the strongest heart waves in the room.

When hearts sync up, those involved often experience similar emotions. This explains why a monk meditating on love can brighten someone’s mood without saying or doing anything at all. Negative emotions, though influential, aren’t as powerful because they produceerratic, shorter waves.

In 1993, 4,000 meditators gathered in Washington D.C. hoping to bring peace to the city. For three weeks they met daily and focused on sending out peace. During this time, police were astonished to report a 23 percent drop in crime with no other explanation.

Could it be that the meditators’ positive emotions created a collective field so strong it affected the whole city? Some theorists say as hearts around the city began to sync up, crime went down.

Romantic couples also experience frequent synchronization between hearts. In one study, couples sat a few feet from each other without speaking or touching. Within moments, couples’ hearts began to beatin tandem. Pregnant mothers and their babies experience a similarconnection.

We’re all capable of profoundly influencing those around us, even when we aren’t trying to. At the same time, whoever we spend our time with may be affecting our lives in ways we never imagined. With this new information will you be more aware of what kind of waves you might be emitting? Will you choose more peaceful, positive company?