1233. Heart, Head & Gut !!!

Modern scientists have investigated on the connection between brain and gut. They say both are connected by an extensive network of neurons and hormones. They call it gut-brain axis. Research says that there is tremendous amount of information flow from the gut to the brain through the Vagus nerve and this flow is mostly one-sided.

When someone says “I have a gut feeling” it is when he gets a signal from the enteric nervous system which is considered the second brain. Scientists say that our gut produces the same chemicals that our brain produces when it thinks. So, that “Gut Feeling” is actually cells in our body evaluating the situation at hand and giving us the feedback. However, while our brain can override doubt, our gut is automatic, unconscious; it is unable to do analysis or complex thinking. So it is unfiltered feedback. This can help or hinder us. “Going by the Gut Feel” however, implies uncertainty and does not guarantee a good outcome. Hence in a few occasions anything done on “Gut Feelings” can put us in a “Shit Scared” situation.

All these years we knew it was only our mind which reside in either Heart or Head would let us take up decisions, now we have this Gut too. As far as my opinion we need to have our entire body parts to get involved if we have to take any decisions. Although the mind from head, heart, and gut work together, they have obvious differences in physical function. They also play different mental and emotional roles. For example, the mind from head analyses information and applies logic. In contrast, the mind from heart senses the world through emotion and feelings, and so it is good if the mind from our gut is used to behave as a catalyst to speed up the time in taking decisions.  

The Mind from gut can also helps us learn self-preservation by teaching us to follow our instinct that’s the “Gut Feeling” we all experience at times. Self-preservation is related to identity of “who I am”??? I do not know if this is anyway related but I wish to state that keeping the gut clean was one of the aspects of Ayurveda. There is this “Basti”, the enema therapy which cleans the colon to increase the feeling of wellness in the digestive system.

So we can say we have three brains:

Firstly it is the Head, the master processor taking care of thinking and cognition. It recognises an object creates meaning of them, makes narratives and masters language. Head based language sounds like this: “I think”, “I reckon”, or “I understand”.

The second is the Heart, the emotional intelligence. Here lie our values, along with the process of emoting, the process of valuing and the way we feel about relationships. Heart based language centres on “I feel”, “I experience” or “I relate”.

Finally there is the Gut, the core identity. It is the domain from where emerges the questions like “What am I, what am I not?” This is responsible for safety and protection of the body. Our gut is extremely important in upholding our immune system. Gut based language is “It takes guts”, “Let me do it” or “High, Sir”.