A key aspect of better communication and relationships relies on developing a better understanding our mind.
For hundreds of years we have been taught to value and focus on our brain, and in many cases to ignore our heart or gut. This has clearly not been effective, if we look at the world around us.
Science tells us that our heart and our gut are integral parts of our mind. When we are able to be in a grounded and present state, we are able to access all of our mind, which includes the heart and gut.
This quote by Daniel Siegel from UCLA, sums it up:
“The mind is an embodied and relational process that regulates the flow of energy and information”.
I love this because it includes the body (embodied), heart (which is relational) and brain (whose specialty is manipulating information) as well as including the energy flow that occurs between all of the aspects.
Each part of our mind is designed for a unique purpose, as well as form part of and contribute to our whole organism.
While the scientific proof of the brain, heart, gut interaction is fascinating, it is not something new. Indigenous peoples around the globe have known of this connection for thousands of years and have many ways of describing it. Our indigenous cousins here in Australia have a particular word that describes an aspect of this connection: Dadirri. This is translated into a “state of deep listening”. A state of deep listening is more than listening with your ears. It means listening with your whole mind to fully understand what is happening in any situation.
Our whole mind is something that we all have access to and sometimes use. It can seem elusive and out of our control! The truth is that we always have the choice as to whether we access our whole mind or just our brain.
At Evolutionary Intelligence, one of the ways we work with and integrate the aspects of our mind is through our Think, Feel, Know process. I will expand on this in a future article.
So there are a few things we can take away right now about the mind:
- it involves the brain, heart and gut, as well as the energy flow between them
- it gives us the ability to access a deeper wisdom
- presence is a key to being able to access our mind
- we have control over our access to it
I invite you to take some time to become grounded, notice what is happening in your body (feelings etc), acknowledge them and own them, then ask your gut what is it that you need. You can be sure the answer is from your gut, as it will be short and clear without a story attached.