How you feel, is more important than anything else. This statement by itself puts our feelings in an important place in our life. and is an interesting statement. However, according to David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Philosophy; and director of the Brain and Creativity Institute at the University of Southern California, Ultimately, feelings can annoy us or delight us, but that is not what they are for.
He goes on to say that "Feelings are for life regulation, providers of information concerning basic homeostasis or the social conditions of our lives. Feelings tell us about risks, dangers, and ongoing crises that need to be averted. On the nice side of the coin, they can inform us about opportunities. They can guide us toward behaviours that will improve our overall homeostasis and, in the process, make us better human beings, more responsible for our own future and the future of others."
According to Dornsife, the brain is constantly receiving signals from the body, registering what is going on inside of us. The brain processes these signals into neural maps, which it then compiles in centers in our brain. Feelings occur when these maps are read by the brain and we become aware that emotional changes have been recorded, like a snapshot of our physical state.
As our brain receives this information we choose how we react to our physical state, and so we have the ability to choose, moment by moment how we feel.
He goes on to say that "Feelings are for life regulation, providers of information concerning basic homeostasis or the social conditions of our lives. Feelings tell us about risks, dangers, and ongoing crises that need to be averted. On the nice side of the coin, they can inform us about opportunities. They can guide us toward behaviours that will improve our overall homeostasis and, in the process, make us better human beings, more responsible for our own future and the future of others."
According to Dornsife, the brain is constantly receiving signals from the body, registering what is going on inside of us. The brain processes these signals into neural maps, which it then compiles in centers in our brain. Feelings occur when these maps are read by the brain and we become aware that emotional changes have been recorded, like a snapshot of our physical state.
As our brain receives this information we choose how we react to our physical state, and so we have the ability to choose, moment by moment how we feel.
