Physiological responses, the kind relayed from major body organs to the brain via the vagus nerve, are not necessarily your “mind” in the sense that they contribute towards your conscious actions or self-directed goals. But yeah, they send signals which can be interpreted one way vs. another depending on if you’re being mindful.
Arousal is especially interesting because you can compress a nerve in the right way and experience something you don’t actually feel or want to feel. Feelings, however, are not the “mind”, i.e. the self-directed, persistent and conscious entity.
I think it’s important to say this because people often fall into the trap of thinking physiological responses are indicative of consciousness.
Another cool thing about the vagus nerve is what happens when people get vagotomy (from Wikipedia)
> Researchers from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital have demonstrated that vagotomy prevents (halves the risk of) the development of Parkinson's disease, suggesting that Parkinson's disease begins in the gastrointestinal tract and spreads via the vagus nerve to the brain.[24] Or giving further evidence to the theory that dysregulated environmental stimuli, such as that received by the vagus nerve from the gut, may have a negative effect on the dopamine reward system of the substantia nigra, thereby causing Parkinson's disease