What if I were to tell you that neuroscience has now proven that our hearts and stomachs have neural networks just like your brain? It gives new meaning to the concepts of “following your heart” and “listening to my gut”, doesn’t it? In this video Grant Soosalu presents fascinating facts that show centuries-old wisdom is really spot on.
He believes there are currently three detectable brains in our body, but believe that science may find more! The three are:
- The Cephalic brain with 50-100 billion neurons
- The Cardiac brain with 30 – 120 thousand neurons
- The Enteric brain with 200 – 500 million neurons
Coaching is uniquely positioned to help people integrate all three brains and their unique strengths.
The Cephalic brain’s prime functions are cognitive perception, thinking, and meaning making. The cardiac brain is about emoting, values, and relational affect (i.e., your connection to others). The enteric (i.e., your stomach, or gut) brain’s prime function is about identity, self preservation, and mobilization, or said differently, courage.
The researchers found five ways that we can get in our own way:
- When one or two intelligences are used to the exclusion of the others
- When one or two intelligences swamps or overrides the others
- When one intelligence is used inappropriately to do the job or prime function of the others.
- When one or more of the 3 intelligences are in conflict or antagonism with each other (my head says this…but my heart feels otherwise).
- When the intelligences are working together, but are used in the wrong sequence.
So what’s their advice on maximizing your gifts? They offer a road map for integrating your multiple brains:
- Communication – Get connected with your head, heart, and gut and slow down enough to listen. They suggest getting your breathing to a six second inhale and six second exhale as a way of helping move into a state of mindfulness.
- Congruence – With this deeper connection to each brain, compare and contrast with what each is saying and integrate that into an aligned state of being and action.
- Optimize your brains to their highest level of expression, so your cephalic brain is maximizing its creativity, your heart brain is compassionate, and your gut brain for courage to act even if feeling insecure or anxious.
- Wisdom – As these brains integrate, people’s wisdom grows and they inspire others.
Finally, I absolutely love the order they suggest for your three brains to express themselves. First, you need to lead with your heart brain because compassion for yourself is the foundation for connection and empathy to others. We are our relationships, and if your heart isn’t into something it just becomes depressing! Second, once you have that emotional connection with your dreams, you need to think about a solid plan to make it a reality. Third, you have to have the courage to make it happen.
This is exactly why I love being a coach and partnering with people to unlock their dreams, gifts, and passion. Contact me to explore your journey.
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Adaptive Talent is a talent consultancy designed to help organizations achieve amazing results and ongoing adaptability. Founded in 2008 and based in Vancouver, Canada we offer retained search, assessments, total rewards consulting, training, leadership coaching and development programs, and culture & organizational development consulting.