A return to whole: A Call to reawaken your Three Brains

"The intuitive mind is a sacred gift, and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift." — Albert Einstein

In our fast-paced, hyper-connected world, we’ve become a society ruled by our minds. We’re constantly thinking, analysing, and making decisions, leaving little room for anything else. We’ve become so focused on living in our heads that we’ve forgotten the wisdom and power of our other two vital intelligence centres: the emotional heart brain and the intuitive gut brain. This isn’t just a personal issue—it’s a global challenge that’s stripping us of our well-being, creativity, and the pure joy of being human. Whilst I've mentioned these three brains in a past blog, today I want to celebrate and focus on them in context of becoming Superhuman...

The Rise of the Mind-Heavy Society

Today, we are bombarded with information at every turn. The average person processes about 34 gigabytes of information each day—that’s like reading 100,000 words daily! It’s no wonder we’re all feeling overwhelmed. And it’s not just about being busy; it’s about being too top-heavy, too reliant on our thinking brains at the expense of our heart and gut.

Ancient wisdom has long recognised the importance of these three brains—the head, heart, and gut. These teachings, rooted in cultures around the world, are now being validated by modern science. The heart, for instance, isn’t just a pump; it has its own neural network—about 40,000 neurons strong. This “heart brain” sends more signals to our head than the head sends back, profoundly influencing our emotions, decisions, and even our health.

Similarly, the gut, often called the “second brain,” is home to over 100 million neurons. This gut-brain plays a crucial role in how we feel and how we make decisions. It’s our body’s way of telling us what’s right, what’s wrong, and what we should do next. As neuroscientist Candace Pert beautifully said, “Your mind is in every cell of your body.”

The Cost of Being Top-Heavy

When we live too much in our heads, we lose the magic that comes from balancing all three brains. The heart-brain is where we feel love, compassion, and connection. It’s where we experience the deep, soulful emotions that make life rich and meaningful. The gut-brain is our source of intuition and instinct—the part of us that knows, even when our logical brain doesn’t.

But when we’re too focused on thinking, we suppress these other parts of ourselves. Creativity fades because we’re too busy analysing instead of feeling or sensing. Joy slips away as our heart struggles to connect in a world that often dismisses emotions. We stop dreaming—not because we lack ideas, but because we’ve lost the balance that lets our dreams take flight.

Restoring Harmony: Techniques for Engaging All Three Brains

The good news? We can return to harmony. We can create coherence between all three brains. We can tap back into the wisdom of our heart and gut, and when we do, we unlock our full potential. Here’s how:

1. Breathe Deeply: Start with something simple: breathe. Deep, mindful breathing helps calm the overactive mind and creates space for your heart and gut to speak up. Most of the time we are shallow breathing, which serves only the brain. Try to breathe from deep in your stomach and visualise the breath rising to the heart and finally the head. It’s awesome! I do this all the time. Harvard Medical School has shown that deep breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, reducing stress and anxiety.
2. Step Back: When you’re facing a decision, take a moment to pause. How does the situation make you feel in your heart? What’s your gut telling you? Trust these signals. As Steve Jobs said, “Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.”
3. Practice Heart Coherence: Spend a few minutes every day focusing on your heart. Imagine breathing in and out through your heart and feeling gratitude or love. Research shows this practice can improve emotional balance and resilience.
4. Listen to Your Gut: Pay attention to those gut feelings. Whether it’s excitement, trepidation, or unease, your gut is speaking to you. Scientists have found that your gut microbiome doesn’t just affect digestion—it plays a big role in how you feel and behave. It’s also worth remembering that the vagus nerve creates a powerful connection between the gut and the brain.
5. Create Space for Emotions: Don’t push away your emotions in favour of logic. Let yourself feel—really feel. Journaling, meditation, or even just talking to a friend can help you tune into what your heart and gut are telling you. Ancient wisdom often talks about the importance of balancing our feminine with our masculine. Over the centuries we’ve forgotten both energies exist naturally within us and favour the dominance of one over the other.
6. Embrace Silence: In a noisy world, silence is powerful. Regular moments of quiet can help you hear the voices of your heart and gut more clearly. As Blaise Pascal wisely noted, “All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.”

The Gift of Harmony

When you engage all three brains, life becomes richer. You gain clarity from your mind, connection from your heart, and guidance from your gut. You become more creative, more joyful, more alive. It’s time to shift from living solely in our heads to embracing the full spectrum of our intelligence. The balance of these three brains isn’t just a personal goal—it’s the key to living a deeply fulfilling life.

So, let’s take a breath. Let’s step back. Let’s listen to all the wisdom within us. The journey to balance is the journey back to who we truly are. Living through and with our three brains is a key technique in the Superhuman: Beyond Peak Performance programme.

There are many more techniques to work in with who you are and your own needs for wholeness. If you would like to explore this please do comment below or send me a DM.

I would love to hear your comments. If this blog has been valuable and insightful, please do share and like, for as many people as possible to start to tap into the power of wholeness by creating harmony and coherence between their three brains.

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