>>14375081>Are we overestimating the role of the brain?Not so much, that we are underestimating the role of the gut and spine. The gut is more than just 'food acquisition' it is the locus of vital chemical transformations without which we would die. The gut does not "operate nonstop", in fact, peristalsis (the contraction of the smooth muscle of the intestinal walls that move the bolus through the passage) slows under various conditions such as physical stress or while sleeping; this is why one should strive to not eat within 2-4 hours of sleeping, to reserve energy for sleep processes.
Consider that, on average:
Brain: 60 million neurons
Gut: 80 million neurons
spine: 120 million neurons.
At any given time, a person's behavior can usually be traced to fundamental imperatives based on one of these "brain-bodies". The gut might induce hunger and a desire to eat, while the spine appreciates someone engaging in exercise. The brain is highly stimulated by things like internet websites, but at the expense of spine and gut. The best situations occur when the brain is helping the gut and spine achieve maximum health and effectiveness. Problems arise when one system or the other is out of balance, and problems should be expected when, for example, the gut wants to eat something the brain knows isn't good for it, or using the brain to figure out ways not to exercise.
Thinking about things in terms of these three "sub-bodies" has been personally very useful. If you think of yourself as just one unitary thing, it will be harder to understand. If you think of all behavior as coming from the brain alone, it will be hard to explain many behaviors.
>Where is soul?The soul is a myth
