Follow Your Heart – Trust Your Gut
You've probably heard people say things like, "I feel it in my stomach," or "I always go with my gut." You could even say it yourself. But, rationally, we still feel that the best decisions are made by the logical brain, but did you know that you have two additional brains, one of which is your gut?
The enteric nervous system is in the lining of the intestines. It has hundreds of millions of neurons, which is one thousandth the number of neurons in your brain. The vagus nerve, which extends from the base of the brain to the chest and abdomen, connects gut neurons to the brain. This "gut reptilian reaction' developed to keep us safe from harm. We could detect predators with our gut before we saw them with our eyes. The clearest connection between the gut and the mind is how we feel anxious and stressed. A gut instinct is when we have a scared reaction to something. This information from your gut instinct will be routed to your head brain for action. When confronted with hostile or terrifying events, the Reptilian brain, which is in charge of keeping the body safe, reacts. The 7 F's can help you remember its regular approach of dealing with fear.
- Flight - flee, get the hell out of there.
- Fight - stop and I'll punch your lights out!
- Freeze – most animals and insects do this; they keep still and play dead or are paralyzed with fear.
- Fawn strives to please. To avoid future harm or strife, pacify the threat.
- Fornicate - humans have a strong need for sex in order to procreate as a species. Consider the post-war baby boom or making up sex after an argument!
- Food - provides energy to the body so that it can deal with the issue.
- Flop – feeling completely overwhelmed and falling to the ground almost hoping that the ground will swallow you up
No matter what the brain decides, the gut will send blood to the arms and legs if we need to fight or run like hell. Even though a predator is probably not the cause of a new stressful situation, our bodies can respond in a similar way. Making decisions based on intuition implies that we are acting out of fear and defence.
There are two types of intuition; the second type of intuitive understanding is typically overlooked since it lacks words. It is based on emotion. For instance, when we have a big, exciting feeling and just "know" we may not understand why; we just know! Your second intuition area is in your heart. The heart has a separate neural system. Like the gut, the heart has at least 40,000 neurons (nerve cells). This is how many subcortical regions the brain has.
Following your heart's intuition can lead to extraordinary life transformations, as your decisions become about expanding your identity rather than avoiding pain or unpleasant situations. On a personal level, adopting heart-based intuition allows you to make more informed judgements about what is best for you, resulting in less stress. It also means that you may be more open to love because you know who you can trust. If you're looking for love, this is your gut feeling to follow.
The next time you hear, "follow your heart" or "trust your gut," you'll know that these expressions aren't completely illogical after all!
