By Salma N. Ajani

While doing my search for this idea, I came across something interesting on the web. At a hospital the relatives gathered in the waiting room, where a family member lay gravely ill. Finally, the doctor came in looking tired and serious.

Surveying the worried faces, the doctor said, “I’m afraid I’m the bearer of bad news. The only hope left for your loved one at this time is a brain transplant. It’s an experimental procedure, very risky, you will have to pay for the brain yourselves.”

The family members sat silent as they absorbed the news. After a great length of time, someone asked, “Well, how much does a brain cost?” The doctor quickly responded, “$5,000 for a male brain, and $200 for a female brain.”

The moment turned awkward. Men in the room tried not to smile; avoiding eye contact with the women, but some actually smirked. One man, unable to control his curiosity, blurted out the question everyone wanted to ask, “Why is the male brain so much more expensive?”

The doctor smiled at the childish innocence and said to the entire group, “It’s just standard pricing procedure. We have to mark down the price of the female brains, because they’ve been used.”

Keeping all kidding aside, let’s answer this age old question; evaluate what we know up to this point, scientifically as well as culturally. Are women really superior to men?

Now research is confirming that the brains of men and women are somewhat different. Studies show that human male brains are, on average, approximately 10 percent larger than female brains. Certain brain areas in women, however, contain more nerve cells.

We must pay special interest on the amount of “gray matter,” the part of the brain that allows us to think. The researchers wanted to know if women have as much gray matter as men or more to make up for the smaller brains. Later, it was proven that women have 55.4 percent gray matter, vs. 50.8 in men.

Men listen with only one side of their brains, while women use both, according to information on brain imaging presented in November 2002, at the 86th Scientific Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Radiological Society of North America (RSNA).

Other research suggests that on average the female brain performs better on some skills, while the male brain executes other tasks at a higher level. It makes sense that brains vary between the sexes. Each sex had a very defined role in ancient time, which helped ensure the survival of the human race. Cave men hunted. Cave women gathered food near the home, and cared for the children.

None of these show superiority, but does show that we are made differently, with different needs, and different ideas. Why do we then compare for superiority, or even expect the other to be just like us?

It is important to realize that man and women are made differently, for a reason. Especially women, need someone she can talk to, share her ideas with and grow with. Man need to hunt, to protect, not ask for directions when they are lost, or I should say just be Men.

In old times, especially in Asian and Eastern cultures, women had many disadvantages (compared to now). Male Emperors would marry many women. Society did not provide woman with many rights. Women were pretty much confined to their homes. However, despite of these disadvantages, there were few women who had access to that woman wisdom, or power. Now, what was the difference between those women, who found their power, vs. those who did not?

The answer is synergy. These powerful women were each other’s support. No jealousies, no putting other women down; just supporting each other to the best of their ability. In fact, when the male emperor would mate with one of his wives, other wives would take care of that wife ahead of time. Give her massages, feed her wonderful and healthy foods, talk to her, and provide her with all the emotional support that was needed.

Today, women have more rights, more freedom, better living conditions. They are lot more aggressive, but they still do not feel as empowered, peaceful and in control.

In today’s society, the concept of women bonding is pretty much lost. Even when a woman goes to different feminine organizations, her goal is networking, improving her business, and benefiting anything and everything, but herself.

If you pay close attention and realize that the difference between a plant, which is alive, and a plant which is dead, is the plant which is alive, is growing. In order for our children to survive, and humankind to flourish in the future, our children must evolve beyond us. In order for them to go beyond us, they need to understand life from all points of view, both male and female. That is why we are here, to teach, to guide, and to help the universe expand and evolve with our differences.

One day I was flipping TV channels where I came across one of those shows where a priest was giving a sermon. He asked something very interesting to his congregations. The question was, “What is the best thing a father can do for their children”? The answer was “Love their mother”. Now this is something I have learned all through my life in my family as to how much powerful a woman can be. I do not mean physically or even mentally. In fact, I grew up learning that my brothers were much smarter and stronger then I was. But there was always this converse of women power or women wisdom, which was always talked about, but was never clarified.

Many women do not realize that their superiority and strength comes from bonding with other women. Man can’t full fill all of your needs and desires. When it comes to emotional bonding, which usually comes from talking, sharing and connecting, girlfriends are the key. Cherish your friends, and specially your women friendships.

Both Man and woman need to be supportive and a source of strength for each other, but timing is the key. Women who have other women to bond with, to share with, to educate and grow with, have more peaceful marriages. These women do not desire to talk to their husbands as soon as he walks into the home, tired from work. In fact, they become source of strength and support for him.

More then half of the marriages end up in divorce in this country. Some time it feels that all the advancement are coming to us with a hefty price. More and more women find themselves helpless, in one form or the other. All it boils down to is that all the power and freedom did not come with the wisdom it required. Woman before us got us the power to move forward, now, it is our responsibility to add wisdom to this power before passing on to our next generation.

The difference between man and women are logical. It makes sense that brains vary between the sexes. Men tend to be more natural-born protectors while women are natural-born nurturers. When women use these natural abilities to form, cultivate, and foster business relationships, they can create lasting business associations in the business circle.

To answer the question, are women superior to men? The answer is, it does not really matter, if we choose not to use that power and wisdom already given to us. From the beginning of the time, only a handful of women are using their full power and wisdom. They understand, and choose to learn and choose to use their strengths. Whether you are a at-home mom or a working women, understanding and connecting with other woman, educating ourselves and truly supporting each other, will help us be who we naturally are, phenomenal women.

Salma Ajani is the Managing Consultant at Ajani & Associates. She is a full-time professional speaker/trainer, author, and consultant, and specializes in the concept of “Women” and “Accelerating Change”. She has worked with Anthony Robbins as a Corporate Speaker, while traveling with his seminars all over the country. Salma uses therapeutic models in her work, such as NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), Erickisonian Hypnosis, Virginia Satir’s Family Therapy, Silva Method, and Richard Bandler’s DHE (Design Human Engineering). ajani.com