The Brain
In the last ten years there have been very interesting breakthroughs in Neuro-Science: the study of how our brain works.
Now we know:
We do not think with our brain only: each and every one of our cells thinks and feels, in addition to doing whatever it is they are designed for. We think with ALL our body.
Our thinking and feeling mechanisms are interwoven, not separate entities.
Memory is also stored in each cell – not in a specific part of the brain.
People can read with the tip of their noses or their armpits when they go blind.
The brain is a powerful recorder, amplifier and transmitter of thoughts and feelings.
The right brain is responsible for metaphysical functions such as intuition and inspiration. It has not been possible to pinpoint these in the physical context of the brain itself. This is our path to our spirituality, to our divinity, to the creator in us.
The left side of the brain is responsible for the logical processes and those that have to do with order and succession, such as language and math, our capacity to debate, etc.
THE PHYSIOLOGY OF THE BRAIN
The brain can be divided into three parts:
· The lower brain or Limbic Brain.
· The middle Brain or Emotional Brain.
· The Neocortex, just behind our forehead where our frontal lobes are, is our Thinking Brain.
The lower part of the brain, directly connected with the spine, is called the limbic brain. This is a very strong organ. Our capacity to fight or flee in situations of danger lies here. In order to concentrate on these functions, the Limbic Brain disconnects the upper parts of the brain for the duration and takes control of our body.
It re-directs the low of blood to our extremities; our face turns pale. It discharges a lot of Adrenaline into the blood stream, giving us added strength. Our heart beats much faster and we breathe very shallowly. We are ready to fight or flee. This is exactly what happens when we are triggered by something. Our Limbic brain takes over and we are unable to think rationally for the duration.
The middle brain is the site of our emotional life. It is connected to both the Limbic and the Neocortex.
The Neocortex is the part of the brain with which we think, analyze, and reach conclusions.
THE TRIGGER: A SEQUEL TO TRAUMA
Every though we have, every event we experience or witness, every word we hear is recorded in our brain. According to their intensity, each of these creates a path, a road, or an avenue. These paths, roads and avenues are imprinted into our brain. The superficial ones, superficially, the strong ones deeply, according to their level of strength.
This is the learning process. That is how we know, if we have burned ourselves before, that if we put our hand in fire, it will hurt.
When we suffer an intense traumatic experience – and be aware that the same event can be perceived differently by different people, so every person’s experience is valid – the experience is engraved in our brain, like a carving made with a knife on a wooden surface.
As a consequence, (just like when, after burning yourself, every subsequent time you go near fire you will always be careful not to put your hand on the flame), when you perceive a similarity with an event that has affected you traumatically, you will feel the same pain or anger, or whichever emotion it was that you felt then.
That is how we get triggered. The frontal lobe, or thinking process is hijacked by the limbic brain, the one in charge of the fight or flight reaction. We stop thinking! We go back to the original event and react accordingly!
And this happens every time our present even has a similarity with the past event.
This dynamic can destroy your relationships and your professional life.
Can you change this?
Yes! You can! You can change everything and anything, and you can also change this vicious circle.
