This is a picture I got from Shilo Shiv Sulema's Facebook updates. Finally, INK conference becomes TED @ Bangalore. I feel really happy for my group of Indian Friends.
I have to say that INK 2010 was the most inspiring event ever happened in my life. It gave me a chance to see beautiful forms of life. How lives become a fantastic story, a piece of artwork and fruitful with highly intellectual works. It is a state of exuberance that exclusively belongs to people who work hard intellectually, believe in collaboration, and live for a passion.
Always I admire him for having a music community. There are barriers I must tackle subconsciously. Currently I am helping out a company to do their branding. When I went for the girls in tech events, I realized being a female entrepreneur is not rare. Not only Min can manage to do it, but many of us can.
I believe one day I will have my own studio, delivering online content for marketing and branding purpose.
At the mean time, I found something interesting about emotions online.
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Love and Fear
by Gary Wilson and Marnia
Robinson
Various spiritual teachings say that there are only two
fundamental emotions: love and fear. For the body, this is true. All
mammals, including humans, have two opposing hormonal responses to stimuli.
Threatening stimuli cause an increase of stress hormones—adrenaline and
cortisol. Soothing or reassuring stimuli cause an increase in oxytocin.
A sudden threat triggers the fight-or-flight response
associated with adrenaline. Adrenaline steps up heart rate, increases
respiration, activates muscles, and promotes hyper-alertness. Longer-term
stress (from a few minutes to days and weeks) increases a different stress
hormone: cortisol. Cortisol, too, makes us hyper-vigilant, but its
evolutionary functions are quite different than the temporary jolt of
adrenaline designed to propel us out of danger.
The stress encountered by mammals—and our hunter-gatherer ancestors—was
chiefly physical, not emotional. The most common physical stressors were
probably starvation, long migrations, and critical injury. To cope with such
emergencies, cortisol begins to break down non-essential organs and tissues
to maintain blood sugar and feed vital organs. When cortisol stays at high
levels, it automatically digests bones, muscles and joints to obtain these
key nutrients. The result is elevated blood fats and sugar, which are
related to many disorders. Another side effect is hunger; we reach for
high-calorie foods.
Today our biggest long-term stressors are emotional and
mental, not physical. In effect, we are a “new” scientific experiment. We
face threats in the form of potential job loss, the pressure of commuting in
heavy traffic, a barrage of fear-producing media, relationship disharmony in
a marriage, etc. Even though these are not physical threats, our body has
only one, automatic response: more cortisol. Cortisol is very hard on the
body, so all these threats indirectly become physical threats.
Fortunately, we have a built-in mechanism for countering
stress, which forms the basis of our alternative response to stimuli. It
entails another hormone, called oxytocin. Apart from its functions of
inducing emotional bonding, labor, and lactation, oxytocin counters the
effects of cortisol. This anti-stress effect of oxytocin is a recent
discovery, and very exciting, because it points the way to better health by
entirely natural means.
Fear - Cortisol
|
Love - Oxytocin
|
Aggression
|
Anti-stress
hormone
|
Arousal,
Anxiety, Feeling stressed-out
|
Feeling calm
and connected, Increased curiosity
|
Activates
addictions
|
Lessens
cravings & addictions
|
Suppresses
libido
|
Increases
sexual receptivity
|
Associated
with depression
|
Positive
feelings
|
Can be toxic
to brain cells
|
Facilitates
learning
|
Breaks down
muscles, bones and joints
|
Repairs,
heals and restores
|
Depresses
immune system
|
Faster wound
healing
|
Increases
pain
|
Diminishes
sense of pain
|
Clogs
arteries, Promotes heart disease and high blood pressure
|
Lowers blood
pressure, Protects against heart disease
|
Obesity, Diabetes, Osteoporosis
|
---
|
As you can see from the chart above, nearly all the
negative effects of continued stress
on the body and mind are related to elevated levels of cortisol. These
include: chronic anxiety and depression, emotional over-reaction,
negativity, weight gain, heart disease, high blood pressure, and weakened
immunity. Oxytocin, by countering cortisol, can ameliorate all of these
conditions—as well as some others (see list of recent discoveries at end of
article).
Numerous activities produce more oxytocin: meditation,
yoga, exercise, massage, caring for a pet, joining a support group,
worshiping, and so forth. Yet one of the most important avenues for
decreasing stress and increasing levels of oxytocin lies in our intimate
relationships. In
Love & Survival, Dr.
Dean Ornish points out that love and intimacy are such powerful determinants
of health that if they were produced in pill form, doctors who failed to
prescribe them for unhealthy patients would be guilty of malpractice.
Incidentally, one might wonder why we can’t just take
oxytocin pills to increase levels of this helpful hormone. Unfortunately,
oxytocin doesn’t cross the body’s “blood/brain barrier,” except in the form
of nasal sprays. However, long-term administration of oxytocin via spray has
resulted in amnesia, hallucinations and imbalances in electrolytes and
hormones. To gain its benefits, we must either produce it naturally in the
brain (or have it injected with great precision into a tiny area of the
brain using special equipment…not terribly practical).
Oxytocin has been nicknamed the “bonding hormone” and the
“cuddle hormone.” We produce it naturally when we love, are loved, nurture
another, give selflessly, or engage in affectionate touch. It is not the
neurochemical behind lust or burning sexual desire, although it is
associated with sexual responsiveness.
When we choose to make love by avoiding the
stress-producing cycle of highs and lows of conventional sex with its
attendant anger, resentment and discouragement—and substitute a very
selfless, affectionate, more balanced form of lovemaking such as
Karezza
or Taoist lovemaking—we can improve our health and wellbeing. This shift
takes time, and the effects are subtle at first. Yet consistency can lead to
profound improvements in wellbeing in a surprisingly short time.
Oxytocin equates with love; we could not fall in love
without it. Cortisol equates with fear. These different hormones generate
these opposing emotions, just as the emotions of love and fear trigger the
production of these respective hormones. In other words, neurochemicals and
behavior are circular. This means that with a bit of awareness and
determination we can consciously direct our behavior toward the maintenance
of our ideal hormonal balance.
By the way, oxytocin is a very unique neurochemical; the
more oxytocin we make, the stronger our body and mind respond to it. Our
nerve cells actually sprout more oxytocin receptors, making them more
sensitive to its effects. It grows easier and easier to be loving. Oxytocin
is the neurochemical basis for the adage, “The more you give, the more you
get.”
Love tends to breed more love, and fear tends to breed
more fear. It’s up to us.
Recent findings demonstrating the power of oxytocin:
-
Oxytocin reduces fear. Increased levels of oxytocin inhibit the fight or
flight response in the brain. (Huber, 2005)
-
Oxytocin speeds healing. Wounded hamsters heal twice as fast when they are
paired with a sibling, rather than left in isolation (DeVries, 2004).
-
Oxytocin counters cravings for sweets. (Billings, 2006).
-
Oxytocin reduces antisocial behavior. The administration of oxytocin
normalized social behaviors in animals exhibiting schizophrenia. (Lee,
2005)
-
Oxytocin promotes healthy social behavior. Administration of oxytocin
reduces symptoms of autism. (Hollander, 2003)
-
Oxytocin reduces cravings. When scientists administered it to rodents who
were addicted to cocaine, morphine, or heroin, the rats opted for less
drugs, or showed fewer symptoms of withdrawal. (Kovacs, 1998)
-
Oxytocin calms. A single rat injected with oxytocin has a calming effect
on a cage full of anxious rats. (Agren, 2002)
-
Oxytocin levels were higher in both men and women who reported greater
partner support. (Grewen, 2005)
-
Oxytocin appears be a major reason that SSRI’s ease depression, perhaps
because high levels of cortisol are the chief culprits in depression and
anxiety disorders. (Uvnas-Moberg, 1999)
-
Oxytocin increases sexual receptivity and counteracts impotence , which
may explain why this other way of making love remains pleasurable.
(Pedersen, C.A., 2002), (Arletti, 1997)
-
Oxytocin counteracts the effects of cortisol, the stress hormone.
Increased levels of oxytocin in the brain decrease levels of blood
cortisol. (Legros, 2003)
-
Oxytocin may increase longevity. Companionship can increase longevity—even
among those who are HIV positive (Young, 2004). Oxytocin may also explain
why, among various species of primates, care-giving parents (whether male
or female) live significantly longer. (Cal Tech, 1998)
