Once grammar is internalised, we use it without consciously thinking of the rules that underpin it.
For example, to describe a certain nostalgia, we may use the past tense without thinking about the conjugations that apply.
Similarly, to describe nostalgia harmonically, we may use the dorian scale without consciously thinking about the b3 and b7. We are simply leaning into the emotional quality these relative notes bring to the table.
Scales aren’t instructions for notes.
They are guides for harmonic feelings.