"The seat of the soul and the control of voluntary movement in fact, of nervous functions in general are to be sought in the heart. The brain is an organ of minor importance."
An Overview of the Brain
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Brain and Intelligence |
For centuries we have understood that "he himself" was way off base, that, in fact, the opposite is true. The heart is simply a biological pump that brings oxygen flowing into our cells to keep tissue alive. It is the brain that controls movement, both voluntary and involuntary. Passion begins in the brain; so dies love, hate, pain, fear, wonder, imagination, inspiration, enthusiasm, apathy, speculation, mistrust, honor, a sense of humor, a craving for rocky road ice cream, and all other thoughts and feelings. The brain runs the slow, from the involuntary intake and outgo of breath to the voluntary embrace of beloved friend.
The Brain is the far more complex organ than any superficial examination could reveal. It is composed of two major sections, the left and right cerebral hemispheres, which are almost, but not quite, mirror images of each other. Each of these hemispheres is composed in turn of four sections, the frontal lobe, the parietal lobe, the occipital lobe, and the temporal lobe. Separating these hemispheres and lobes are three fissures that look almost like crevasses within mountain ranges, the longitudinal fissure, the sylvian fissure, and the central sulcus.
What is Intelligence?
What about intelligence? Does is arise from one single spot in the brain? Can we follow it to its source and pinpoint its location in this efficient but complicated network of cells, chemicals and fluids? The twin cerebral hemispheres control humankind's highest functions-those cognitive, ideational, and imaginative functions, the intelligence. The cerebral hemispheres may then be called the true home of our inner cosmos or our minds. This complex system functions in the body as we do in the world, through communication, through signals sent from one cell in the brain to the next. A single nerve cell in the brain consists of the branching fibers. Nerve signals are sent from the cell body down the path of the long fiber and out through the branches. Synapses are the link between nerve cells.
Who is is Operator of the Brain?
Your head may be the processor of your brain, but are you the one who operates it? Are you in control, or is your mind at he mercy of the buffeting, biting winds if life? The secret to a more powerful intelligence is twofold. First, you need to gain control of the raw material that pinkish gray matter inside your head on which so much of your life depends. Second, you need to widen your viewpoint to include every perspective; in short you need to stop seeing through your eyes alone and begin to see through universal eyes. The first will make you intellectually strong; the second intellectually powerful.
However, one thing is certain. You can be smarter tomorrow than you are today. The mind can stretch it can be strengthened, toned, and conditioned to perform miracles for you.