Why do I feel that thoughts come from the brain ?

[Nick_98]

Hello , I was just sitting here self inquiring while I thought about something really interesting. 

I don't know if that's true or not. But I feel that my thoughts are coming from above not below. I mean that when I think about experiencing myself I feel my thoughts are coming from above , the upper part of my body, not from below, not from my legs. 

Why aren't my thoughts coming from my legs? 

And does that mean that thoughts arise from the brain ? or from inside the skull ?

I will have to inquire deeper but I am having a hard time going past this particular thought. Even Chatgpt says thoughts arise from brain activity. Where do you suggest me taking this inquiry ? What questions should come up next ?

Edited November 6 by Nick_98

[Natasha Tori Maru]

Because your eyes and sense organs are located there?

I have thought on this - and that is the only reason I personally perceive it that way. It is just an assumption.

I am sure if my eyes and ears were on my hips, I ate from my rib cage and smelled from my kneecaps I would perceive my thinking mind to be located somewhere between those sense faculties.

I was literally thinking about this while on lunchbreak

[Nick_98]

2 minutes ago, Natasha Tori Maru said:

Because your eyes and sense organs are located there?

I have thought on this - and that is the only reason I personally perceive it that way. It is just an assumption.

So you agree with me that you feel the same way ? should we stop the inquiry here or inquire further ? the question would be where is "there" located. 

The thing is , I feel like my mind is a lying machine, but I can't spot where it is lying. I can't catch it !

[Hojo]

They are coming from the space in front of you. Theres nothing in your body. Your body is like a clay sculpture theres nothing in it. You just make up that theres something inside of it its actually all out there.

If you are dreaming does the inside of your body in the dream have anything in it? No its made up that inside a body exists. Its like a vr headset.

The vr headset has a game mode that let's your thought seperste from reality cause you previously went bat shit crazy and totally lost control of the simulation. This is like a mini game where you can reset your psyche so when you go back into thoughts creating reality you can stop ✋ and go slowly.

The sad part is people can play the mini game and go even more crazy.

Meditation/conciousness work is a way to stop narrating whats happening. In dreams and in real life you get trapped in the narration and your mind goes absolutely nuts. These are tools to slow down.

If you pay attention to your dreams you can see you are unconciously narrating the dream into existence. Unconciously the keyword. In reality we do the same thing we get into states of unconcious narration.

You aren't in your body. There is nothing behind the light. You are nothing in the field in front of you.

Edited November 6 by Hojo

[Natasha Tori Maru]

@Nick_98 From all the evidence we have it does appear neural activity gives rise to the 'thinking' which would indicate it happens in the brain. But in terms of how we subjectively perceive 'thinking' and where it is located? I personally think it is because my sense faculties are located on my head.

Another weird example - if I place my hand on a hot stove - the pain is registered and processed in my brain, but projected to my hand. It feels like it’s in my hand because the brain’s sensory map (the somatosensory cortex) is wired to treat signals from that area as belonging there. The pain itself isn't IN the hand. The hand just sends the data. 

So the experience, or the qualia of pain, happens entirely in the brain.

I think to survive it has evolved that way - that we perceive it as 'out there' as a convincing sort of simulation. It is rather brilliant because this useful delusion lets us move and react instantly so no thinking is needed. Lighting reflexes for optimal survival. If we didn't have this illusory perception, we would not remove our hand to save it from burning. Instead we would feel it in the brain and then... well that wouldn't work to save the hand, would it?

At least, the above is how I understand it

[Mellowmarsh]

I don’t think thoughts are in the brain in the same context electricity isn’t in a lightbulb. And yet a lightbulb won’t illuminate until electricity makes contact with the bulb. I think thoughts are free flowing everywhere at once and only become things when the brain tunes into them.

Nobody owns a single thought, or has originated a single thought of their own, I think they’re all borrowed, as everybody is aware of the exact same thoughts, since absolutely every thing known owes it’s source to thought. 

Thoughts then must be some infinite field that is everywhere at once, they are neither in nor outside of any body because a body is a thought thing, that’s everything and none locatable. . Sounds weird I know. 

 

This is just an idea of mine, I intuitively think thoughts are an infinite field that has no exact location, and I’m not claiming this to be accurately true, I mean, it’s just an Idea but could be totally wrong, 

 

 

 

 

 

[LastThursday]

My theory is that most people associate thinking with the voice "in their heads". Why's the voice in their heads? Because when we speak out loud our vocal chords make our head and neck resonate - and to a degree our chest. To show that just hold your hands to your head and hum. So the "location" of our voice is mostly in our heads. Also, when we speak to ourselves we partially engage the vocal chords and even lips sometimes, so there's that association too - subvocalising.

It'd be interesting to know if pure sign language speakers see themselves located more in their hands?

Edited November 6 by LastThursday

[UnbornTao]

Since you were asking a particular question at the time ("Who am I?"), this is your mind coming up with ways to distract you from looking into that.

"Thank you, next." (This is you saying that to your thoughts while contemplating.)

If your intention is still to become conscious of that subject, proceed. You can always unpack the whole thought-business after your self-inquiry session, just to give it a name.

To address your point, we could ask what a thought actually is. Without taking it for granted, what is a thought? Where is it located? 

Edited November 18 by UnbornTao

[Leo Gura]

My thoughts come from my ass. Guess I'm just built different.

Edited November 18 by Leo Gura

[Sugarcoat]

What is the goal? Awakening? Breaking down the sense of self? If so, does it realllly matter if the thoughts are related to the brain or not. We can recognize the thoughts by themselves, how they contribute to or even are the foundation for our sense of self and sense of reality, apart from what we feel is just pure perception. Even if you find out that the mind is from the brain, you’re probably not gonna be able to do anything with that information, you’re not gonna directly alter that mechanism by intervening physically like a scientist. So you might as well focus on what you directly have access to and inquire about that, your mind in itself. 

[Ramasta9]

On 11/6/2025 at 1:37 PM, Natasha Tori Maru said:

I am sure if my eyes and ears were on my hips, I ate from my rib cage and smelled from my kneecaps I would perceive my thinking mind to be located somewhere between those sense faculties.

A beautiful mind you have there miss, that took me on a little journey

More please <3

[UnbornTao]

10 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

My thoughts come from my ass. Guess I'm just built different.

Genetics

Edited November 18 by UnbornTao