Let’s meet your two brains

 

When we hear the word emotion most of us think of love, hate happiness, or fear. those strong feelings we experience throughout life. Our emotions are the driving force behind many of our behaviors, helpful and unhelpful. Just where do our emotions come from?

There are actually two brains inside our heads. Imagine your mind is a car. let us call this car the consciousness car. The road you are driving on is the road of life. This road has its intersections and obstacles and hurdles. They are the decisions you take in life. Some are easy, some are difficult to navigate. In this car, there are two travelers, your two brains. In the passenger seat is your thinking brain. The thinking brain comprises your consciousness, thoughts, your ability to make calculations etc. It is diligent, accurate, and impartial. However, it is the slower brain, and it exists only inside your car. The thinking brain feels he's the hero of your story. But he's simply the supporting character. The real hero of your story, the protagonist, the driver of your car is the feeling brain. Some people also refer to it as the monkey brain. The feeling brain is comprised of your emotions, impulses, intuition, instincts, etc. It is highly irrational and inaccurate. However, it is the quick brain. It is the one that is the first to kick into play whenever you are faced with a situation in life. It is the wisdom and stupidity of the entire body that is the reason why you don't follow through.

In the conscious car, the feeling brain is like a stubborn boy who simply hates to listen to anyone and take directions. It simply does what it feels like it wants to do. On the other hand, the job of the thinking brain is to be your built-in GPS. It is supposed to have all the knowledge and wisdom to come up with and suggest to the feeling brain the right direction to take in order to reach your destination. For example, when you see a bowl of ice cream in the fridge the feeling brain quickly jumps to the front and says I want to eat it, I simply want to eat it. Put that thing in your mouth now. On the contrary, the thinking brain which is slow to enter the scene says that it is not a good idea to eat ice cream because it makes you unhealthy. It is full of calories plant processed sugars that are very bad for your health. If you've ever had two voices going in your mind simultaneously now you know it is your two brains having a debate with each other. Depending on which part of your brain you have been feeding and training in your life your current situation can be understood.

If you've always given to the feeling brain and never given a chance for the thinking brain to train itself, you will likely have eaten that bowl of ice cream by now. Even though you knew that was not the right thing to do. You did it just because the feeling brain in your consciousness car is dominating the life out of your thinking brain. On the other hand, if you only favor the rational calculator and wise-thinking brain all the time, you will likely numb yourself to all the experiences of life. You will not enjoy even a single moment in life because you’re thinking brain will always be coming up with some or the other analysis of why you should and should not be doing certain things.

Our brain is wired to look for threats or rewards. If one is detected the feeling region of the brain, alerts us through the release of chemical messages. emotions are the effect of these chemical messages traveling from our brain through the body. When our brain detects a potential threat, our brain releases the stress hormones adrenaline and cortisol which prepares for a fight or flight response. When we detect or experience something rewarding such as someone doing something nice for us, our brain releases dopamine oxytocin, or serotonin. These are the chemicals that make us feel good and motivate us to continue the task for behavior.

The idea of the thinking brain and the feeling brain is inspired by the book Everything is effed by Mark Maxim. I think it is a beautiful illustration of the struggle we have in our minds on a daily basis. the power of nomenclature is such that when you give a name to a problem like the debate between the thinking brain and the feeling brain in this case you can become more conscious of the problem the next time it happens and hence work towards the solution. There is a beautiful quote that says, “No problem can be solved by the same level of consciousness that created it”. So, in order to find solutions to your problems raising your consciousness is the first and foremost step.