How would you define gut feelings?
Personally, I think I would have defined them as immediate hunches about people or situations, my sixth sense, intuition. Does that resonate with your definition? I highly value my sixth sense. I am not the only one. I have learned that experienced CEOs over multi-million-dollar businesses understand the value of gut feelings and make some of their most important decisions based on them. But let me share with you the reason I stated that this would have been my definition. It is not that I disagree with it, but it’s just that my understanding of this concept has expanded with the help of Scripture.
“… My heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.” Psalm 22:14 (KJV)
“I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation ….” Psalm 38:7
“My bowels, my bowels! I am pained at my very heart ….” Jeremiah 4:19 (KJV)
“Behold, O Lord; for I am in distress: my bowels are troubled ….” Lamentations 1:20 (KJV)
These Bible verses are either metaphorical, or they are providing insight into a profound connection between our bowels, loins, gut, and our emotions.
The “second brain” is a title that has been given to our lower intestinal tract. Why would it be called that? Interestingly, our second brain contains more than 100 million neurons—more than what is contained in our spinal cord or peripheral nervous system. These 100 million neurons are collectively referred to as the enteric nervous system (ENS).
The ENS produces every class of neurotransmitters that are produced in our skull. You could think of neurotransmitters as a language of the nervous system. Serotonin and dopamine are examples of neurotransmitters. Amazingly, the gut produces 95 percent of our body’s serotonin—what we typically refer to as our happy hormone. Why is the gut producing serotonin and dopamine? These neurotransmitters perform numerous roles that are unrelated to our emotional state, but still….
Scientists who have done research on the gut acknowledge what is referred to as the gut-brain axis. “A big part of our emotions are probably influenced by the nerves in our gut.”1
Really? This sounds so new and cutting edge, and yet these concepts have been around for a long time. Consider these statements from over 100 years ago:
“There is dissension, strife, and discord. Impatient words are spoken and unkind deeds are done; dishonest practices are followed and anger is manifested—and all because the nerves of the brain are disturbed by the abuse heaped on the stomach.”2
“The indulgence of appetite beclouds and fetters the mind, and blunts the holy emotions of the soul.”3
Our gut feelings are much more influential than we may have realized. We will continue exploring this connection next month.
1. Adam Hadhazy, (2010). Think Twice: How the Gut’s “Second Brain” Influences Mood and Well-Being. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/gut-second-brain/
2. Ellen G. White, Counsels on Health, p. 577.
3. Ellen G. White, Testimonies for the Church, vol. 3, p. 310.
