---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul…"
description: "\"“In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul Pearsall chronicles arresting accounts of our body’s cellular emotional intelligence. He tells of Claire Sylvia..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg"
---

#  In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul Pearsall chronicles…

![“In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul Pearsall chronicles arresting accounts of our body’s cellular emotional intelligence. He tells of Claire Sylvia, the famous heart-lung transplant recipient who suddenly began craving new kinds of food—chicken nuggets and beer— as well as experiencing…” quote by Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg)

> ““In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul Pearsall chronicles arresting accounts of our body’s cellular emotional intelligence. He tells of Claire Sylvia, the famous heart-lung transplant recipient who suddenly began craving new kinds of food—chicken nuggets and beer— as well as experiencing unfamiliar emotions. But why? Stunningly, in dreams, she had conversations with her donor (whose identity had been kept anonymous, standard hospital policy), which allowed her to locate his parents. They confirmed that her new tastes and feelings were those their son had too.””

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

A heart‑lung transplant recipient experiences donor’s preferences and emotions, suggesting cellular memory of the donor.

**In simple terms:** Donor’s traits can influence recipient’s tastes and feelings.

Key Takeaway

Consider the possible impact of donor traits on health.

Themes

identity memory biology empathy

Mood

thoughtful curious

Type

scientific narrative

When to use this quote

- organ donation counseling
- patient support groups
- medical research
- psychotherapy

Key Concepts

cellular memory psychosomatic transplant ethics

Questions to Reflect On

- What ethical concerns arise from donor‑recipient emotional transfer?
- How might this affect consent processes?

A Different Perspective

Scientific evidence for cellular memory remains controversial.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Code Psychologist](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/code-psychologist-4825731/) [Craving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craving/) [Emotional intelligence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotional-intelligence/) [Heart Code](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/heart-code-4825729/) [Programming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/programming/) [St Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/st-paul/) [Tastes Feelings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tastes-feelings-3756582/) [Tells Claire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tells-claire-4825730/)

## Related quotes

> [“Every good, true, vigorous feeling I have gathers impulsively round him. I know I must conceal my sentiments: I must smother hope; I must…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charlotte-bronte/every-good-true-vigorous-feeling-i-have-gathers-impulsively-round-him/)

[Charlotte Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charlotte-bronte/)

> [“Knowledge advances, funeral by funeral,” the economist Paul Samuelson once observed.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicholas-wade/knowledge-advances-funeral-by-funeral-the-economist-paul-samuelson/)

[Nicholas Wade](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicholas-wade/)

> [My law-givers are Erasmus and Montaigne, not Moses and St Paul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-m-forster/my-law-givers-are-erasmus-and-montaigne-not-moses-and-st-paul/)

[E. M. Forster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-m-forster/)

> [“As a genius St. Paul cannot be compared with either Plato or Shakespeare, as a coiner of beautiful similes he comes pretty low down…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/s-ren-kierkegaard/as-a-genius-st-paul-cannot-be-compared-with-either-plato-or/)

[Søren Kierkegaard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/s-ren-kierkegaard/)

> [I have long been convinced that the Christian Eucharist is but a continuation of the Eleusinian mysteries. St Paul, in using the word teleiois,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-anthony-froude/i-have-long-been-convinced-that-the-christian-eucharist-is-but-a/)

[James Anthony Froude](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-anthony-froude/)

> [“The psychologist Paul Slovic has proposed an affect heuristic in which people let their likes and dislikes determine their beliefs about the world. Your…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-kahneman/the-psychologist-paul-slovic-has-proposed-an-affect-heuristic-in/)

[Daniel Kahneman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-kahneman/)

> [“This is evident in the fact that St Pauli have a club shop in New York, selling all sorts of memorabilia and apparel even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robbie-dunne/this-is-evident-in-the-fact-that-st-pauli-have-a-club-shop-in-new/)

[Robbie Dunne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robbie-dunne/)

> [“A sign in the Hall of Biodiversity offers a quote from the Stanford ecologist Paul Ehrlich: IN PUSHING OTHER SPECIES TO EXTINCTION, HUMANITY IS…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kolbert/a-sign-in-the-hall-of-biodiversity-offers-a-quote-from-the-stanford/)

[Elizabeth Kolbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kolbert/)

> [Just because you're from a city ten miles outside of St. Paul. It doesn't mean you don't read magazines, or the incredible Internet, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vera-wang/just-because-you-re-from-a-city-ten-miles-outside-of-st-paul-it-doesn/)

[Vera Wang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vera-wang/)

> [“The strength of the familiar electromagnetic force between two electrons, for example, is expressed in physics in terms of a constant known as the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-livio/the-strength-of-the-familiar-electromagnetic-force-between-two/)

[Mario Livio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-livio/)

> [“However, as a guarantee of its renewed youth, the symbolical phoenix never reappeared before the eyes of the world without having consumed solemnly the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliphas-levi/however-as-a-guarantee-of-its-renewed-youth-the-symbolical-phoenix/)

[Éliphas Lévi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliphas-levi/)

> [As in nature, as in the arts, so in grace; it is rough treatment that gives souls as well as stones their lustre; the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-guthrie/as-in-nature-as-in-the-arts-so-in-grace-it-is-rough-treatment-that/)

[Thomas Guthrie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-guthrie/)

> [“Environmentalist Paul Hawken, in the 2009 commencement address to the University of Portland, said, “Ralph Waldo Emerson once asked what we would do if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-j-pastor/environmentalist-paul-hawken-in-the-2009-commencement-address-to-the/)

[Paul J. Pastor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-j-pastor/)

> [“Coined by ecologist Eugene Stoermer in the 1980s, but popularized by Dutch chemist Paul Crutzen in 2002, the term Anthropocene refers to the geological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cristina-eisenberg/coined-by-ecologist-eugene-stoermer-in-the-1980s-but-popularized-by/)

[Cristina Eisenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cristina-eisenberg/)

> [Wherever St. Paul went, there was a riot. Wherever I go, they serve tea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-t-wright-2/wherever-st-paul-went-there-was-a-riot-wherever-i-go-they-serve-tea/)

[N. T. Wright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-t-wright-2/)

## More by Judith Orloff

> [The art of communicating is to speak with a non judging sensitivity and mean it rather than impulsively verbalizing whatever feelings arise; there's no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/the-art-of-communicating-is-to-speak-with-a-non-judging-sensitivity/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [The relationship with your self is the most important relationship you'll ever have.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/the-relationship-with-your-self-is-the-most-important-relationship/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Certain people give off positive energy, others negative. It's the quality of someone's being, a measure of the love with which they've led their…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/certain-people-give-off-positive-energy-others-negative-it-s-the/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [If you want to surrender to creativity, surrender to creation.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/if-you-want-to-surrender-to-creativity-surrender-to-creation/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [“Always, emotional freedom involves choosing where you put your attention.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/always-emotional-freedom-involves-choosing-where-you-put-your/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [As a skilled psychologist, Dr. Reznick draws from her wealth of experience to offer children and parents a treasure trove of skills to relieve…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/as-a-skilled-psychologist-dr-reznick-draws-from-her-wealth-of/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Surrender to life today. Don't fight anything. Just enjoy the flow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/surrender-to-life-today-don-t-fight-anything-just-enjoy-the-flow/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Whenever your well-being feels at risk around certain people, make a tactful and swift exit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/whenever-your-well-being-feels-at-risk-around-certain-people-make-a/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Stop protesting the hand you've been dealt! Become partners with your life instead of making it an exhausting wrestling match.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/stop-protesting-the-hand-you-ve-been-dealt-become-partners-with-your/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Illness sets the stage for the opening of our hearts.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/illness-sets-the-stage-for-the-opening-of-our-hearts/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [When you have no idea how to surrender and you're tied up in knots, JUST BREATHE!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/when-you-have-no-idea-how-to-surrender-and-you-re-tied-up-in-knots/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Look at your life as your main career and your divine classroom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/look-at-your-life-as-your-main-career-and-your-divine-classroom/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [“What is emotional freedom? It means increasing your ability to love by cultivating positive emotions and being able to compassionately witness and transform negative…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/what-is-emotional-freedom-it-means-increasing-your-ability-to-love-by/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [“Intuition intelligently informs patience. It’ll convey when to have it and if something is worth working on or waiting for.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/intuition-intelligently-informs-patience-it-ll-convey-when-to-have-it/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

> [Being a control freak makes us tense, stressed out, and unpleasant to be with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/being-a-control-freak-makes-us-tense-stressed-out-and-unpleasant-to/)

[Judith Orloff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

[Explore all 92 Judith Orloff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/)

## More Craving quotes

> [“The more the soul loves the word, the more craving it has after it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-gurnall/the-more-the-soul-loves-the-word-the-more-craving-it-has-after-it/)

[William Gurnall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-gurnall/)

> [By the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the A&amp;P, the mood was fading, the moment gone. Amy could feel it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-strout/by-the-time-they-were-pulling-into-the-parking-lot-of-the-a-p-the/)

[Elizabeth Strout](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-strout/)

> [I dream of a love that is more than two people craving to possess one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/irvin-d-yalom/i-dream-of-a-love-that-is-more-than-two-people-craving-to-possess-one/)

[Irvin D. Yalom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/irvin-d-yalom/)

> [When I look at you all I see is heartbreak waiting to happen. And I can't tell if it's because of love. Or loneliness.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ream/when-i-look-at-you-all-i-see-is-heartbreak-waiting-to-happen-and-i/)

[Ream](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ream/)

> [People who do not understand themselves have a craving for understanding — a thing which is rather surmised and never spoken than known and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilhelm-stekel/people-who-do-not-understand-themselves-have-a-craving-for/)

[Wilhelm Stekel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilhelm-stekel/)

> [Pleasure simply brings more craving, but the problem is that we try to get contentment through pleasure. True contentment can only come through service.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/pleasure-simply-brings-more-craving-but-the-problem-is-that-we-try-to/)

[Sri Sri Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sri-sri-ravi-shankar/)

> [I had left home (like all Jewish girls) in order to eat pork and take birth control pills. When I first shared an intimate…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/roseanne-barr/i-had-left-home-like-all-jewish-girls-in-order-to-eat-pork-and-take/)

[Roseanne Barr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/roseanne-barr/)

> [When we think carefully, we see that the brief elation we experience when appeasing sensual impulses may not be very different from what the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dalai-lama/when-we-think-carefully-we-see-that-the-brief-elation-we-experience/)

[Dalai Lama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dalai-lama/)

> [Fie on the eloquence that leaves us craving itself, not things!](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-de-montaigne/fie-on-the-eloquence-that-leaves-us-craving-itself-not-things/)

[Michel de Montaigne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-de-montaigne/)

> [How are we to account for the strange human craving for the pleasure of feeling afraid which is so much involved in our love…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/virginia-woolf/how-are-we-to-account-for-the-strange-human-craving-for-the-pleasure/)

[Virginia Woolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/virginia-woolf/)

> [You don't want to love - your eternal and abnormal craving is to be loved. You aren't positive, you're negative. You absorb, absorb, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-don-t-want-to-love-your-eternal-and-abnormal-craving-is-to-be/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [The worst passion we mortals cherish is the desire to possess. Even when we know that our final destination is a hole not more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/d-t-suzuki/the-worst-passion-we-mortals-cherish-is-the-desire-to-possess-even/)

[D.T. Suzuki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-t-suzuki/)

> [Memory, with its fugitive adjustments, is the merciful veil to the grim enactments of the first law. It hides the anguish in the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stacy-aumonier/memory-with-its-fugitive-adjustments-is-the-merciful-veil-to-the-grim/)

[Stacy Aumonier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stacy-aumonier/)

> [Fianlly a wave of reailty swept over my eyes and I was able to see, I wasn't in love with an angle but addicted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christian/fianlly-a-wave-of-reailty-swept-over-my-eyes-and-i-was-able-to-see-i/)

[Christian](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christian/)

> [The craving to risk death is our last great perversion. We come from night, we go into night. Why live in night?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-fowles/the-craving-to-risk-death-is-our-last-great-perversion-we-come-from/)

[John Fowles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-fowles/)

[Browse all 626 Craving quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/craving/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul Pearsall chronicles arresting accounts of our body’s cellular emotional intelligence. He tells of Claire Sylvia, the famous heart-lung transplant recipient who suddenly began craving new kinds of food—chicken nuggets and beer— as well as experiencing unfamiliar emotions. But why? Stunningly, in dreams, she had conversations with her donor (whose identity had been kept anonymous, standard hospital policy), which allowed her to locate his parents. They confirmed that her new tastes and feelings were those their son had too.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Judith Orloff"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pearsall-chronicles-arresting/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Craving"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pearsall-chronicles-arresting/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/a27/judith-orloff-7344_craving_in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pe_3010521.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul Pearsall chronicles arresting accounts of our body’s cellular…” — Judith Orloff",
                "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                "creator": {
                    "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                }
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Judith Orloff",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judith-orloff/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“In The Heart’s Code, psychologist Paul...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pearsall-chronicles-arresting/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judith-orloff/in-the-heart-s-code-psychologist-paul-pearsall-chronicles-arresting/#breadcrumb"
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
