Head Brain, Heart Brain, Body Brain: Our Three Centres of Intelligence

Living authentically requires balancing all three of our “brains.”

Most people think that we only have one brain, but we actually have three. Scientists have identified integrated neuronal centres in the heart and gut regions. Our three “brains,” or intelligences, work together to help us make sense of the world. Almost everyone is dominant in one of these three centres, which can limit our ability to live authentically. However, by attuning to all three centres, we gain access to the full range of our intelligence. When balanced, we can make better choices, build and maintain stronger relationships, live and work with greater consciousness and contribute more fully to our communities.

Our Three Brains

Head Brain

The head brain is what people most often recognize as the source of our intelligence. 100 billion neurons process facts and information, enabling us to analyze the world around us. In other words, our head intelligence enables us to think. When refined and used to its full capacity, this centre offers us deep insight and wisdom.

Body Brain

Scientists refer to the body (or gut) intelligence centre as our “second brain.” It comprises 100 million neurons located in our digestive system. The language of this intelligence centre is sensation (think “butterflies in the stomach” or “I’ve got a gut feeling”). When refined, the body centre provides intuitive intelligence. When we listen to it, we can better discern what to do.

Heart Brain

Least familiar to most people is the “cardiac brain” located in the heart. Scientists have now mapped the 40,000 neurons in this “little brain” that communicate with our head and body brains along the vagus nerve. The heart intelligence centre speaks to us through emotions and is the centre of feeling. By cultivating this brain, we acquire emotional intelligence and gain access to empathy and compassion.

Each person is naturally dominant in one of the three centres. This means that our first response to situations is either thinking, feeling or doing. However, over-relying on one centre of intelligence disregards the other two, even to the point that we lose touch with them. Using only one-third of our intelligence creates imbalances that can cause problems in our relationships, work and ability to live a fulfilling life.

The Enneagram and the Three Centres of Intelligence

The Enneagram is a framework that offers deep insight into the three centres of intelligence and helps us better understand how they affect our experience.

The Enneagram describes 9 universal patterns of personality. Each person has a dominant personality type, but also shares characteristics with other types. Learning the strengths and challenges inherent in our dominant personality type increases our self-knowledge. With a better understanding of our tendencies and the reasons behind them, we are able to live more consciously and intentionally. Self-knowledge aids us in developing authenticity, presence and wisdom, which, over time, enable us to gain more and more self-mastery.

In the image above, each personality number falls into a triad corresponding to one of the three centres of intelligence. Numbers 2, 3, and 4 are in the feeling (heart) triad; 5, 6, and 7 are in the thinking (head) triad; and 8, 9, and 1 are in the doing (body) triad.

Consider: When faced with a decision, do you first respond by analyzing the situation, reacting emotionally or preparing to act? Your answer to this question hints at which triad you fall in.

Each triad’s centre of intelligence relates to the other two in a hierarchy. There is the dominant centre (this is also a person’s main personality type), the supporting centre and the repressed centre. For example: the dominant intelligence for type 1 is the “body” or “doing” centre. This might mean that the person’s impulse is to take action when faced with a decision or challenge. Their supporting intelligence might be the head centre, which thinks of reasons that justify their desire to act. Disregarded, then, may be the repressed intelligence – the heart in this case. Putting it all together, this person might act based only on the facts, or the logic, of a situation. They may not consider how the decision aligns with their values and what they care most about. As another example, someone who is dominant in the heart triad may make emotionally motivated decisions and struggle to consider a situation more objectively.

Imbalance in the Three Centres of Intelligence

Relying too much on our dominant centre of intelligence can cause imbalance and prevent us from living consciously and authentically. Characteristics of imbalance include:

• A sense of directionlessness or lack of purpose
• Feeling unable to take charge of one’s life
• Indecision, lacking confidence in decisions, or making unsound decisions
• Emotional reactivity (especially fear, anger and anxiety)
• Over thinking
• Making quick decisions and realizing later that one chose poorly because of haste
• Being unable to break negative habits
• Feeling unfulfilled, or having a sense that something is missing

When trying to solve problems in this imbalanced state, we tend to lean on our dominant intelligence. Unfortunately, this often makes the situation worse. For example, a person who is head- or thinking-centre dominant has strengths like mastering areas of knowledge, analyzing situations and finding logical solutions. But, when facing a decision (especially under stress), they may focus on trying to think their way through it. If they could better recognize signals from their body and emotional centres, they would have more information – from their intuitive intelligence and from their emotional intelligence – to help them make a choice. Instead, they compensate by over thinking, spinning their wheels as they grow more frustrated and indecisive. This might end in a poor decision that negatively impacts the individual or their relationship with another person.

Of course, head-centre types aren’t the only ones who experience these kinds of challenges. Any person can find it hard to navigate situations or make decisions when they lean too hard on their dominant centre. The issue is not which type someone is, but whether their three centres of intelligence are in balance.

Balancing the Three Centres of Intelligence

It’s possible to develop balance in our three centres of intelligence. Having the ability to recognize the signals from our mind, heart and body enables us to navigate the world in more skillful ways. We can learn to listen to the signals from our three brains and integrate them into choices in our personal and professional lives. This can seem daunting if a person has leaned on one intelligence centre for their whole life. Yet, change is possible, and even one step toward balance will have positive effects. The key: developing awareness.

One way to progress toward balance is practicing mindfulness. Mindfulness exercises sensitize us to signals from our three centres of intelligence. Here is one example of a mindfulness practice* you can try. Use it to gain new insight into a decision you are facing.

1. Become aware of the present moment.
   Take three deep, slow breaths. Focus on the sensations of breathing in your body.
2. Bring your awareness to your head.
   Focus on and acknowledge present thoughts that relate to the current situation.
3. Move awareness to your heart.
   Place a hand over your heart, and take a moment to acknowledge which emotions you are feeling. Consider your deepest intention and what you value most.
4. Move awareness to your gut.
   Place a hand over your abdomen. Notice any hunches or intuitions that relate to the current situation. Notice any desire to act.
5. Collect all this information.
   Take one deep, slow breath in and out as you consider this information from the body, heart and mind. Then, mentally ask yourself this question: “What will I do now?” Listen for an answer.

Sometimes an answer comes immediately. But, if you don’t receive an answer right away, know that it may take time – especially if the question or challenge is complex. Be patient and open to your three centres of intelligence. When the right answer arrives, it will be very clear.

If you try this practice, you may have a hard time connecting with one or both of your less dominant intelligence centres. Know that this is completely normal! Noticing you’re unable to access how you think or feel, or what you want to do, is actually an important realization. It helps you recognize that you are out of touch with your centres of intelligence. This knowledge can motivate you to work toward change.

The Spiritual Intelligence

There is a fourth intelligence: spiritual. Spiritual intelligence develops gradually as we practice mindfulness, become more skilled at integrating our three intelligences and develop additional qualities such as self-honesty, self-awareness and self-management.

Spiritual intelligence is not about religion. Rather, it is a higher dimension of intelligence beyond the personality (ego-structure) that embodies the qualities of the authentic self. These qualities include wisdom, compassion, integrity, joy, love, creativity and peace. With spiritual intelligence, we can find real meaning in life and our true purpose.

We can activate our spiritual intelligence when we align our head, heart and body intelligences. This requires cultivating the ability to be internally quiet and totally present. That presence gives us greater clarity about whatever we are focusing on, increasing our insight, intuition and creativity.

Developing spiritual intelligence means gaining distance from our ego-personality’s conditioned preferences in thought, emotion, action and values, and instead identifying with our unconditioned conscience and consciousness. With this higher consciousness in charge, we can realise our full potential and purpose, if we choose. We can be free from the dictates of our ego and freed to make choices that transform our life path without the restraints imposed by our ego personality.

Growing in spiritual intelligence takes time and requires us to be intentional, committed and open to change. But, the process is well worth it. By developing our spiritual intelligence, we are also developing serenity, humility, authenticity, emotional balance, non-attachment, courage, the ability to be present, and right and timely action.

If you would like to begin the transformative work of developing self-knowledge, living more authentically and finding your purpose, INSPIRIT can help.

INSPIRIT’s coaches offer flexible and responsive coaching, mentoring and facilitation to help you balance your three intelligence centres, develop your innate potential and find your purpose. The extensive experience and knowledge they’ve gained during their long, successful careers (over 40 years in the legal field alone), in-depth coaching training and personal development work enables them to offer creative, insightful and compassionate support. They skillfully blend coaching strategies, tools, observations, feedback and teaching to support your unique needs. Most importantly, our coaches are committed to helping you reach your deepest understanding of self so that you can live and work in ways that serve both you and others.

*adapted from The Mindfulness Summit https://themindfulnesssummit.com/sessions/head-heart-gut-check/