Have you heard of Emotional Intelligence and/or Mindfulness based stress reduction (MBSR) techniques?
Emotional Intelligence or EQ is a concept that Daniel Goleman popularized in the late 1990’s. Emotional intelligence, like mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) meditation, helps you to see yourself with more clarity and spaciousness. In both the emotional intelligence and MBSR models we are taught inner sensing. This kind of pausing with introspection can lead to greater understanding and control over our environment, brain and body.
It turns out that the neuroscience underpinnings of mindfulness meditation have to do with a different brain structures. From the point of view of neuroscience, different thought patterns, are stimulating different parts of the brain. For example getting hooked by strong emotions stimulates our limbic system, while planning for the future engages the prefrontal cortex. There is an interesting theory called “the triune brain” which describes the evolution of the brain starting with the reptilian brain (the fight/flight brain that’s 300 million years old), the mammalian brain aka the emotional brain which is 100 million years old and the neocortex or the thinking brain that’s 4 million years old.
Humanity has only recently become conscious of how to use the prefrontal cortex for emotional regulation. While Buddhist and Yogis have been teaching methods of meditation and breathing techniques for millennia, it’s only been in the past 30 years that we in the West have been turning our attention to these powerful introspective technologies which stem from these teachings. Buddhist and Yogic practices are the entry point into the parasympathetic nervous system that leads to poise, equanimity and greater emotional regulation. Those with more emotional intelligence, have a higher EQ!
Today, maybe more than ever, we need to support our brain, nervous/immune systems to deal with the many toxic environments we encounter. The good news is that we can use these practices to evolve our brains and balance our nervous and immune system sooner than later. If you are interested in this topic, you may like to read more about my new book- If The Buddha Had and Autoimmune Disease: The Shocking Truth About the Self and The End of Suffering.
