The supercomputer that is your brain

Over the last few weeks, we’ve talked a lot about the brain…

Its central role in your life and the world – the importance of meeting its needs – how you should treat it, and how you should not treat it, if you want to live a life of less trouble…

And today, I want to take you behind the curtain and give you a closer look at the supercomputer that is your brain.

You see, your brain is a beautiful, complex, and magnificent machine – a mechanism composed of ten times more neurons than there are people on the planet! Those neurons make up the lobes and portions of your brain that work together to guide you through your day-to-day life.

Even when you do something as simple as scratch an itch, millions of microscopic units are working together to make it happen…

Hopefully that can serve as a reminder that you are valuable and important!

Anyway – the different parts of the brain collaborate to control your senses, your body, and your mind, all playing their own parts and making their individual contributions.

The frontal lobe – named for its location at the front of your brain, behind your forehead – is responsible for higher-order, executive functions, like thinking, expressing, planning, decision-making, and problem-solving.

Your personality lives in the frontal lobe. It does not directly process information from the senses, but it does give meaning to that information and help us figure out what to do with it.

Meanwhile, the parietal lobes directly perceive that sensory information. When you accidentally touch a hot stove, the pain receptors in your hand are communicating with your parietal lobes to tell you – ouch – you should probably move!

The parietal lobes also use sensory information to orient you in space and know where your body parts are.

The temporal lobe processes your perceptions so that you can remember them. It is your temporal lobe that puts your memories into short-term and long-term storage. 

(Fun fact: you can remember what the temporal lobe does because of the relationship between memories and time, but that’s not why it’s called the temporal lobe. That’s because it is located near your temples.)

The occipital lobe receives and interprets signals from your eyes. It works together with your temporal lobe to process visual information into memories and with the parietal lobes to help you know how you occupy the space you’re in.

The limbic lobe is situated inside the brain, and works with the other parts of the brain so that you can experience emotions. It also regulates some of your natural instincts – hunger, reproduction, etc.

If you have great balance, you can thank your cerebellum. Even if you don’t, you can still thank your cerebellum, because it helps you with all activities that require coordination.

And finally, the brainstem is like the best personal assistant you could ever dream of… it takes care of all of your vital functions without you having to even think about it.

Imagine if your heartbeat, your digestion, or your breathing required your active attention. You would never have the capacity to do anything else! The brainstem takes care of those things so you can spend your conscious effort doing things like working, cooking healthy meals, or playing with your kids.

If you can believe it, all these parts of your brain are made up of their own pieces with even more specific roles. And they all work together to help you create the life you’re living right now.

Take good care of them, and they will take good care of you 🙂

Make today your masterpiece!

Florina