Brain Obsessed: We Have Traded Science for Soul
“The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honours the servant and has forgotten the gift.”
– Albert Einstein
Let me ask you something: When was the last time you just knew something without being able to explain why? Maybe you met someone and instantly felt something was “off” or conversely, you just met someone and it feels like you just bumped into an old friend? Or you had a gut feeling that you should take a different route home — and thank goodness you did. Funny how we shrug these things off as coincidence or irrational nonsense. Yet, we live in a world obsessed with dissecting every thought and feeling, poking around in our brains like it is some kind of complex instruction manual.
With the advent of technology, brain science is everywhere — from brain scans to behavioural interventions. We are constantly told that every decision we make, every emotion we feel, is just neurons firing or a chemical cocktail in our heads. Mental health? Let us blame serotonin and dopamine. Creativity? Surely that is just the right hemisphere pulling some strings. As if boiling down our entire existence to synapses and neurotransmitters will finally make life make sense.
Do not get me wrong — science is brilliant! I mean, I am a researcher and often get quite obsessed with science. Additionally, I have learned so much about the human mind from science. But I do believe that while we are so busy focusing on the external–that which can be studied–we have kind of forgotten about the intangible, inexplicable, internal aspects of being human.
We have sidelined that quiet, intuitive voice inside us — that quiet, internal knowing. The kind of truth that does not need to be dissected, rationalised, or explained. It is that gut feeling you cannot put into words, the spark of insight that comes out of nowhere, or the sense of something being right (or terribly wrong) without any logical reason. Science struggles to explain this, and instead of admitting its limitations, it is often ignored it altogether. As you know, we tend to ignore that which we do not understand, right? And honestly… That is a problem.
Brain Science: The New Obsession
The brain is truly fascinating. I mean, I have spent years studying it and am still fascinated by it every single day! Unfortunately, I believe we have become so focused on learning more, doing more research, gaining more external knowledge (i.e., factual knowledge), that we have lost sight of that which cannot be measured.
This reductionist approach to understanding ourselves is seductive because it gives us something concrete to hold onto. If we can name it, scan it, and label it, we feel like we understand it. But by doing so we fail to acknowledge that the human experience is far more complex than pure neural activity. That is where intuition comes in.
Intuition does not fit neatly into a brain scan. It is messy, subjective, and deeply personal. Yet, it guides us in ways that logic never can. How many times have you made a decision based on a gut feeling that turned out to be right? Or ignored that feeling and regretted it later? This is not just anecdotal — research shows that intuitive thinking allows for rapid, effective decision-making, especially in complex situations where logic falls short.
Sure, neuroscientists have tried to pin intuition down to brain regions — the limbic system, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex — but mapping it does not explain it. You can tell me which parts of the brain are active during an intuitive insight, but that does not capture the experience of “knowing” without knowing why. That is the limitation of science, it can describe the process, but it cannot explain the essence.
This is also exactly why science struggles to fully capture the inner workings of psychotherapy. The transformative, deeply personal experience of therapy cannot be neatly reduced to brain scans or chemical reactions. Healing, growth, and self-discovery involve layers of meaning, emotion, and intuitive insight that defy strict measurement. And as we know, if science cannot explain something, it tends to get thrown into the “fluffy” basket — dismissed as unscientific or lacking in credibility. This dismissal does a disservice to the profound impact that psychotherapy and intuitive understanding have on our sense of autonomy and self-trust.
Why Should We Care?
Why does our intuition need so much recognition? Because it is not some mystical nonsense — it is a real, vital part of how we navigate the world. It is born out of experience, pattern recognition, and subconscious processing. Ignoring it makes us less adaptive, less creative, and frankly, less human.
Sadly, we are now so obsessed with information — constantly consuming data, analysing metrics, and seeking external validation — that we have grown disconnected from life itself and, more critically, from our own inner world. Our minds are overstimulated, and our attention is scattered. In this digital age, where answers are just a click away, we have forgotten how to seek answers within ourselves. We have lost touch with that deep, internal knowledge that once guided us intuitively. The constant noise of information has drowned out the quieter, yet profoundly wiser, voice within.
So, how do we fix this? Creating spaces where we get to turn inwards. Where we have time to question our own bodily sensations, reflect on both internal and external experiences. It means embracing practices that help us tune in to that inner voice, simply allowing ourselves to sit with uncertainty.
It also means admitting that science does not have all the answers. And that is okay. Some truths cannot be measured, quantified, or explained. They can only be felt.
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