Stress will Degrade our Social Structure

We know that the limbic brain is our body’s fight-flee-freeze center.  It engages this way during perceived moments of threat, danger or fear.  Dr. Stephen Porges notes in his book The Polyvagal Theory that “In most individuals the nervous system evaluates risk and matches neurophysiological state with the actual risk of the environment.  When the […]

Cultivating Compassion, Navigating Crisis

Professor Kristin Neff of the University of Texas is considered a leading researcher in the field of self-compassion.  Her research is showing that those who cultivate self-compassion by exercising gentle and non-judgmental self-talk bounce back more quickly during crisis.  The growing evidence is indicating that you can “you can cultivate your self-compassion through meditation and […]

Which Muscles are You Exercising?

Your cortices, like muscles, grow with use. So if you use your limbic brain to function mostly–in fear and threat–you strengthen that part of the brain so it dominates. If you use your prefrontal cortex mostly–for higher level thought like compassion, empathy and learning–that part of the brain gains dominance. What muscle are you exercising?

Is Turmeric the Door to Enlightenment?

Neuroscience and fMRI’s now tell us that insight and higher-order thought processes such as empathy, unity consciousness, and a sense of one-ness all occur in the prefrontal cortex of the brain.  We also know that stress and fear strengthen the mid-portion of the brain called the limbic system.  A stressful life causes the mid portion […]

Does Fear Define YOUR Comfort Zone?

In studies of the brain’s neurology, fMRIs show that when faced with uncertainty our brains decrease the blood flow to the reward center while increasing blood flow to our emotional circuitry — the limbic brain, priming us for fight-or-flight response.  Conversely, in studies of those with lesions in their orbito prefrontal cortex who couldn’t feel […]