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The Way Our Brains Work

by | Mar 8, 2021 | Journal | 0 comments

I am not a brain surgeon, I am a student and teacher of Ayurveda. I am not the person to call when you have a tumor, but I am quite useful when you want to understand why you take less or more time to respond to a question (we can also talk about what your accuracy rate means).

One of the beautiful parts of Ayurveda is the normalization of functions of our bodies. Even the amount of time it takes to process a question is indicative of the balance of elements in your specific constitution, among other factors.

In a constitution heavy with earth and water elements (kapha dosha), decisions take longer. It doesn’t mean that kapha people are stupid, it just means they take longer. Likely this person is more thoughtful, assessing all sides of things before sharing a response. When they respond — in a day, week, or year — they’re much more likely to have chewed over and considered all factors, including the human factor.

There are other sides to this though. If you aren’t responding because your mind is zapping around a cavern of a million possibilities, you’re more likely dealing with space and wind elements (vata dosha). Alternatively, if your response is quick and sharp, you’re probably on fire (and moving with water) with pitta dosha.

None of these are bad ways to mentally process, but each can become a negative story we tell ourselves if we choose to compare our processing speed to another’s and ignore the value of each type.

In any decision, we need all three minds: one that roams the wide expanses, one that cuts through with razor-sharp clarity, and the thoughtful process that stabilizes.

Oziel Gómez via Pexels

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“On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure.”

The Bhagavad Gita 2:40