The Exquisite Human Brain
The human brain contains approximately one hundred billion nerve cells (called neurons) — about the same number as the stars in our galaxy.
This article is part three of a series regarding the human brain. Click here for part two. I highly recommend you read parts one and two before proceeding with this article.
Putting together the four parts of the brain
In part one of this series of articles, I delved into the fascinating evolution of the human brain. This journey has led us to its current state, characterized by four distinct parts: instinctive, emotional, intellectual, and intuitive. These parts of the brain — each with their unique role — enable our mind-consciousness to function and experience this 3D reality illusion.
So, what do humans gain with this four-part brain? We acquire an extraordinary instrument for shaping reality with limitless potential. Striving for a harmonious balance of all parts of the brain is the key to attaining health, happiness, and success.
Mainstream science, being intellectual, excludes the subjective world of feelings, instincts, and intuitions. To most physicists, the Universe has no purpose. It is a vast machine whose working parts exist to be figured out.
But if you utilize all four parts of the whole brain, you are helping the Universe fulfill its purpose. Part of that purpose is to promote life and the experiences that life brings in this 3D physical reality.
When your own experiences become richer, the Universe gets better at serving its purpose — which is to provide infinite possibilities as part of the boundless realm of existence. Click here for all my articles regarding ‘The All of Existence.’
How did neurons learn to think?
As I explained in more detail in my first article, the human brain contains approximately one hundred billion nerve cells (called neurons) — about the same number as the stars in our galaxy.
The cerebral cortex — the most recent addition to the human brain — is responsible for all aspects of thinking, including decision-making, judgment, cogitation, and comparisons.
To a neurologist, the cortex is the most perplexing part of the brain. How did neurons learn to think? And even more mysteriously, how did neurons learn to think about thinking? For that’s what you do every day.
You have a thought, and then you reflect on what the thought means. The fact that 90% of your cortex is the neocortex, the “new bark,” shows that you do a lot of thinking and deciding.
By contrast, a dolphin’s brain is about 60% devoted to hearing, which makes sense for a creature guided by underwater sonar.
Balance and harmony are the keys to a successful brain — just as they are for the stability of the Universe. All the regions of the human brain and the billions of neurons in these regions work together in superb balance and harmony — like how an orchestra makes beautiful music. It is unacceptable for even one musical instrument to be too loud or off-key.
The human brain trying to grasp the field of infinite potential
Far more incredible than the physical Universe in which we live is the ‘field of infinite potential’ from which it springs — here and now. All events — past, present, and future — are embedded there, as are all the things that the mind-consciousness can imagine or conceive of.
That’s why it would require an ‘infinite’ human brain and nervous system to comprehend and experience the ‘all of existence.’ And that’s something the human brain and nervous system cannot yet do.
Everything about experiencing this 3D reality depends on the nervous system that is having the experience. For example, humans don’t have wings — so we have no concept of a hummingbird’s experience.
This bird swoops and dives, balances stationary in midair, and keeps an eye out in all directions. A hummingbird’s brain coordinates the flapping of its wings at 80 times per second while hovering — and a heart rate of more than a thousand beats per minute when in full flight.
The hummingbird’s physical structure has evolved to push these limits. The hummingbird’s nervous system is key — not its wings or heart. Thus, the hummingbird’s brain and nervous system function as they do, so it can experience the reality of its incredible form of flight, which is entirely foreign to humans.
The world that exists for humans today reflects the evolution of the human brain and nervous system. All previous versions of the human brain and nervous system — going back to the most primitive sensory responses of the one-celled organisms — have been incorporated into the latest version of the brain and nervous system you have today.
The human brain didn’t evolve on its own. It was following a concept of the world that existed in Universal Consciousness. The processing/delivery device (our brain) kept improving to keep up with what the user (our mind-consciousness) wanted to experience in this earth reality.
You now own the latest version of the device (brain) because you are participating in the most current version of this 3D physical reality that humans have evolved to experience. And yes, I realize that’s a lot to take in.
The emotional part of the human brain
The human brain is an incredibly fine-tuned assembly of grey matter that produces the emotions we need at any given moment. But the brain needs triggers — which can be very subtle.
For example, meeting an attractive woman is different for a man, depending on whether or not he is “in the market.” His brain’s ‘love’ mechanism is not triggered if he is not in the market. If he is, the opposite is true. Importantly, and in either event, it’s not the brain that makes the decision.
Remember that your identity — the essence of ‘who you are’ — is not merely a product of your brain’s four parts. It is the very entity that governs them. The ‘I,’ the self, is the master of your brain, directing its functions and molding your experiences in life.
Our emotions are generated to serve. A complex emotion such as love is sensitive to many responses throughout the brain. And a single hormone cannot be held as its cause.
Emotions (anger, sadness, fear, joy, excitement) are signals. They are neither good nor bad — they are just a form of data. Sadly, society teaches us to suppress the emotions considered “bad” (anger, sadness, fear) in our work and life starting at a young age.
By suppressing emotions, we don’t let them pass through the body. Instead, they may linger and become long-lasting moods. Therefore, it’s important to commit to feeling all your emotions. Don’t try to avoid or suppress them through escapes like drinking alcohol or distractions through social media.
Also, develop the skill of identifying those emotions explicitly within yourself and others so that you can explore the underlying interpersonal issues more deeply.
The intellectual part of the human brain
In humans, the intellectual part of the brain blends instinctive drives and emotions with knowledge gained from experience.
The intellectual brain (at the command of the mind) uses logic and rational thought to deal with the world in a mindful, experiential manner. Responding to a situation requires understanding, while reacting does not.
The human mind (as a part of the Universal Consciousness) has an endless craving for experiences, knowledge, and greater meaning. It comes naturally to our intellect to ask questions and look for answers.
We live on two parallel tracks. On one track, we experience everything that happens to us — on the other, we observe and question those experiences.
As with any aspect of the brain, intellect can go out of balance. If you are too intellectual, you may ignore the interconnecting elements of emotions and instincts. This can lead to overly cautious decisions (overthinking).
But, if you don’t develop your intellect, you can remain stuck in rudimentary thinking. This leads to superstition and falling prey to all kinds of faulty arguments. You become the pawn of influences from outside yourself. Trump’s small-brained minions come to mind.
In Closing
As Deepak Chopra points out in his article “The Brain Needs Reinventing”:
“Humans reinvent the brain day by day. You are doing it right now. In short, the brain is a verb, not a noun. It is reshaped by thoughts, memories, desires, and experiences.
The brain reflects human existence, which is open-ended. What makes us human is consciousness, which we silently shape simply by perceiving, thinking, wishing, and exploring. We had to have a brain that is just as open-ended. Because it is dynamic, fluid, and ever-renewing, the brain is much more malleable than anyone ever imagined.
The most direct way to improve brain function is through the mind. The mind-body connection is powerful because our habits lead to brain changes. What you pay attention to, what your passion is, your approach to diet, exercise, stress, and even basic emotions like anger and fear — all of these things register in your brain and drastically shape its structure.”
