We may all be familiar with the butterflies flying in our stomach when we are head over heels in love. The heart beats faster, the autonomous nervous system signals excitement and increases oxygen to our muscles, the neuroendocrine system is boosted up; being elevated from head to toe, the body feels lighter and on an instant we can take flight. This is how neuroscientists describe the state of “limbic love.” Emotions are activated in the limbic system of the brain and they coordinate our behavior and physiological states even though we are not always consciously aware of them. The …
Month: November 2021
The little happiness in life is sometimes found in the backyard. Just as planting a seed may flicker hope, a walk in nature may change our ordinary mood to a state of awe, or we may overcome by delight at the sight of the first rose bud in spring. The appeasing quality of nature kindles the human spirit as the marine biologist Rachel Carson (1907-1964) wisely emphasized it : There is something infinitely healing in the repeated refrains of nature –the assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after winter. “Clearly, nature calls to something very deep in …
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