Where is the mind?
If the answer is “inside my skull”, it’s a deeply flawed assumption.
When a mind is working, it does not use only its brain to do the job. Thinking — which is a manifestation of a mind — is an embodied process.
The mind is what the brain does, and what it does is regulate the body. This regulation massively influences thinking and the guesses (decisions) the brain will settle into.
A tight shoulder with a slouched neck, like it or not, will influence your thinking and the guesses the brain perceives as ideal solutions.
So does fast or slow breathing.
So do visceral sensations — the butterflies in the stomach (anxiety) — which, given the right affordance, can easily transform into fire breathing dragons (stress).
Cognition is “always” embodied.
Each thought is a constant communication between the brain, body, and the environment.
Many philosophical traditions tried to explain this interplay: dualism, idealism, panpsychism.
But none mapped it as elegantly as Buddha did nearly 2,500 years ago with his theory of dependent origination, called pratītya samutpāda.
Buddhism views thoughts as co-arising and dependent. By updating your environment and listening to your body, you can change your thoughts. It’s that simple!
Modern neuroscience supports this theory through interoception research and embodied/extended cognition models.
What you feel influences what you think… And what you think reshapes what you feel… All within the context of your environment.
So…
Where is the mind?
Pragmatically: it is in the head. Brain being the primary organ because it stores and processes data.
Scientifically: mind is a product of brain and body thinking. The content and nature of our thoughts — what constitutes consciousness — is a dynamic interplay of neurotransmitters, hormones, sensations, etc, in the body.
Remove the brain, and you are a lump of mass. Dead matter.
Remove the interplay of brain and body, and you are still a lump of mass. But alive and a puppet, dancing to the tunes of your automatic thinking.
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