Gut feelings

Who are you?
A question not so easy to answer.
Perhaps you are more of a stream than a solid object...

Not just  a stream of thoughts, but a stream of ancestors, and animals and memories and things that has happened to you and much more...
You are connected to a long chain of ancestors, not only humans, but also to pre-human animals.  A part of the brain is called the reptile brain. And perhaps is that part of  more like the brain of a lizard than anything. And sometimes it seems that we are responding to threats like a lizard would do.

In mindfulness you will learn to be more free from all this heritage. We use to say that it is good to listen to the gut feeling. But what if this feelings are inherited from long ago?
Perhaps it's best to first listen to the gut-feeling and then ponder about it.

An example can be; you meet a bear in the forest (you can do it in my country) and your gut feeling or instinct says; run! But that can trigger the hunt instinct in the animal. It's better to walk away slowly or to play dead. I would prefer the first alternative ;~}

Another example; it's very common to see the shapes of faces in, for instance, clouds.
That can be a inherited will to look for enemies in a landscape.
A long time ago in our history we had to look for the faces of people hostil tribes in the surroundings. And perhaps we still have those tendencies hidden somewhere in us.

But you need a kind of training to listen to your feelings and thoughts...

As you go to the gym to train your body, you also can cultivate your mind.
Illustration by Rob Donnelly. Click image to expand.
And that's what mindfulness is good for.











It's nine o'clock PM and it's time for my daily exercise.

Have a good night!

 

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