Some psychologists maintain that mental acts such as thinking are not performed in the brain alone， but that one’s muscles also participate. It may be said that we think with our muscles in somewhat the same way that we listen to music with our bodies.
You surely are not surprised to be told that you usually listen to music not only with your ears but with your whole body. Few people can listen to music that is more or less familiar without moving their body or， more specifically， some part of their body. Often when one listens to a symphonic① concert on the radio， he is tempted to direct the orchestra② even though he knows there is a competent③ conductor on the job.
Strange as this behavior may be， there is a very good reason for it.One cannot derive④ all possible enjoyment from music unless he participates，so to speak，in its performance. The listener “feels”himself into the music with more of less pronounced motions of his body.
The muscles of the body actually participate in the mental process of thinking in the same way， but this participation is less obvious because it is less pronounced.
① symphonic adj.交响乐的
② orchestra n. 管弦乐队\[C\]
③ competent adj. 有能力的，能干的，能胜任的，称职的
④ derive v. 取得，得到\[(+from)\]
用肌肉思考，用身体聆听
一些心理学家认为，像思考这样的内心活动，不是只在脑中进行的，人的肌肉也参与其中。可以说，我们用肌肉进行思考的方式，在某种程度上与以身体聆听音乐的方式是相同的。如果告诉你，你通常不仅是用耳，而且还用整个身体听音乐，你肯定不会觉得意外。聆听多少有点熟悉的乐曲时，很少有人不移动身体—更明确地说，不移动身体的某一部分。当一个人从收音机里收听一场交响音乐会时，他常常会不由自主地指挥起管弦乐队来，即使他明明知道有一位称职的指挥正在承担着这一项任务。
这一举动虽然可能显得奇特古怪，然而却是很有道理的。如果一个人不身入其境，比如说，参加演出，他便不可能从音乐中获得应有的一切美感。听者“觉得”自己随着或多或少明显的动作而进入了音乐之中。
人体的肌肉实际上以同样的方式参与了内心的思考过程，但是这种参与更不易觉察，因为它更不明显。