So we think we are pretty clever these days having so many ways to study and publish research about the brain. We have come a long way. We even have “Brain Awareness Week”

If you get the chance to see the Tutankhamun exhibition at the O2 you might be amazed by how advanced a civilisation could be 4000 years ago.

They also had an interesting take on the usefulness of the brain - given they didn’t have the technology to know what it’s role might be. Suffice to say they didn’t include it on the list of vital things to bury with the Pharoah for use in the afterlife.

Pretty stupid these Ancient Egyptians eh? Or were they?

When the boy king died at the age of 19 they prepared his body as usual by removing the internal organs and preserving them in ornate jars. So the liver, kidneys, heart all went into these fantastic burial recepticals. Only surprise to those organising Brain Awareness week might be that the egyptians scooped out the brain via the nostrils and discarded it since it was deemed unimportant (and difficult in the mummification process) and not vital for the afterlife.

So if they had no way of working out the role the brain plays I wonder what it was they did know?

Is it possible that the only knowledge they had was through the experience of the emotions, sensations, reactions in the body in the way it provided them feedback on every day life?

Here’s a thought for what it’s worth - the more and more we use our brain to rationalise our experience of the world the more we can be guilty of ignoring the feelings and emotions that we have in the rest of our bodies.

Powerful modern day approaches to self development and realising your true potential like the Human Element and New Code NLP heavily advocate paying attention to the sensations, reactions and kinaesthetics in the body as the only reliable indication of what’s going on in our neurology.

So as a civilisation which appears to have reached a potential and spohistication not to be repeated for thousands of years maybe the ancient egyptians were cleverer than you might think. And maybe is wasn’t the brain awareness that stood them in good stead?!!