2014
Quoted from Readers Digest (01-2014 p95)
"Basic biology tells us that bravery emerges from a primal struggle between the brain's decision-making hub (the pre-frontal cortex) and the focal point of fear (the amygdala). When we find ourselves in an unexpected or dangerous situation, the amygdala sends a signal to the prefrontal cortex that interferes with our ability to reason clearly. In extreme cases that can feel 'paralyzing', says Daniela Schiller, a neuroscientist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York."
If you ask: Annie, why don't the brave succumb to fear? I'd defer to Dr. Schiller's reply:
"In some cases, they're (the brave) strengthened by the muscle memory that comes from intense training."
Just as is true of soldiers during basic training, Dr. Schiller goes on to say that "Flight attendants … practice until they're able to empty a jumbo jet filled with passengers in 90 seconds."
And just as baseball players practice throwing, catching and hitting balls, countless times, every day, year after year, so do basketball stars dribble, shoot and steal the ball out from under their opponents' noses, every chance they get.
If you ask: Annie, why did you think to post this information, concerning the lasting effects of intensive brain training, today, I'd reply:
I plan to practice EMDR until my brain is trained to stop a bout of PTSD from paralyzing my voice in 90 seconds or less … and until that change-for-the-better proves habitual, I'll continue to review strings of insights that train my brain to be true to the well-rounded person I've worked, determinedly, to become—then if you ask me to describe the person I aspire to be, I'd reply: I aspire to be the (firmly assertive, positively focused, compassionate) change I wish for the world. Thank you, Gandhi.
Your friend (and mine),
😊Annie
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