If we allow anger and fear to dominate, we will lose the neurological ability to think logically and act compassionately towards others.

We all born with huge potentiality to grow and evolve while undertaking our life’s journey. As we travel, all of us grow continuously but uniquely. The quality of our life depends on the quality of the seeds that lie deep in our mind. Some seeds we get from our ancestors (by way of genes) and some are sown by others like our parents and teachers during childhood while remaining seeds we grow and nurture, as we age, in our mind. All our life or the destiny depends on the choices we all make while growing and watering those seeds. If we give water to the seeds of love and compassion then we grow spiritually, peacefully and get our life enlightened. If we choose to water seeds of hatred, anger and self-centeredness then we get stress, tension and eventually pain and suffering in our life.

According to Buddhists philosophy our mind is a field in which every kind of seed is sown – seeds of love and compassion, joy and hope, seeds of anger, sorrow, fear and aggression. Every day our thoughts, words and acts plant need new seeds or we water those seeds which are already present in our mind consciousness. Buddhism also says that the practice of mindfulness helps us identify all the seeds in our consciousness and with that knowledge we can choose to water only the ones that are the most beneficial. As we cultivate the seeds of joy and transform seeds of suffering in ourselves, understanding, love and compassion will flower (Thich Nhat Hanh in Understanding our Mind).

Modern brain science has now established that we all have two brains – one that deals with anger, aggression, selfishness and self centeredness and another deals with compassion, reasoning, open minded and kindness. Since we live in a world filled with anxiety about uncertainties so both parts of brain are constantly on active mode. There is a famous parable (story) of Cherokee that says there are two wolves very often fighting inside us. One is greedy, selfish and aggressive with full of arrogance and pride while the other is compassionate, serene, peaceful and generous. They often struggle for supremacy over our actions and behavior and that part will win or dominate which we choose to encourage. Let’s read first what the original is ‘Cherokee parable’:

An old Cherokee chief was teaching his grandson about life...

"A fight is going on inside me," he said to the boy.

"It is a terrible fight and it is between two wolves.

"One is evil - he is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, self-doubt, and ego.

"The other is good - he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith.

"This same fight is going on inside you - and inside every other person, too."

The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather,

"Which wolf will win?"

The old chief simply replied,

"The one you feed."

The origin of this duality in our actions and behavior lies in our brain means two neurological wolves lies in our brain. The old reptilian brain, the most ancient part, lies in the limbic system and this part is responsible for emotions including anger, fear and aggression. This original part of brain solely exists for our survival. When we experience the emotion of fear and aggression, our reptilian brain goes into action and the rest of the brain shuts down. As human evolves other parts of brain were added while retaining this original part. The most recent part that has been added to our brain is frontal lobes and anterior cingulated, where reason, logic and compassion resides

According to Andrew Newberg and Mark Robert Waldman in How God Changes Your Brain argue that when it comes to making sophisticated moral decisions which part of the brain will come? The selfish brain or the cooperative/compassionate part? Again, as with the two wolves, it depends on the one you feed. If you allow anger and fear to dominate, you will lose the neurological ability to think logically and act compassionately towards others. In face, it is nearly impossible to find peace and serenity if your mind is preoccupied by negative, fearful or hateful thoughts.