Love Joy. Getting More Dopamine Hit.
Dear Friend,
There’s a popular South Korean food ordering app that allows you to scroll through a selection of tasty meals and then click on something to order.
Once you’ve placed your order, that’s it. You’re done. The app is called FoodNeverComes. And as the name of the app indicates, you never actually receive anything.
If you want to experience the pleasurable kick it is claimed you can get from placing fake orders, check it out here.
In another story that shows that humans like to get their ‘dopamine hit ‘ from wherever they can find it, some recent research on a sample of church-goers in Britain and Brazil found that attending a service activated the body’s “mu-opioid” system, the same system activated by taking heroin or dope.
The human body, it seems, is designed for good feelings and we want more of it. The biological evidence of this includes:
The Endocannabinoid System - the equivalent of your own internal cannabis factory with receptor sites (dealers) distributed throughout the central nervous system (including brain) and peripheral nervous system ( your touchy feelies).
Anandamide - a neurotransmitter (chemical messenger) named after the Sanskrit word ‘ananda’ meaning ‘joy, bliss, delight’.
DOSE (Dopamine, Oxytocin, Serotonin, Endorphins) - the so-called ‘happy hormones’.
This may explain why your Sahaja yoga meditation practice is easier to maintain than Mindfulness and other forms of commercial meditation.
It’s because Sahaja yoga has an immediate effect on the body’s ‘reward system’ which is mediated by dopamine pathways. Other practices are either not having this effect or do so to a much lesser degree.
This has an evolutionary implication. Species adaptation is more likely via a mechanism that activates the ‘reward system’ : easy to do + pleasurable + enhances psychological wellbeing = speed of spread in the general population (goes viral).
So now you know. If you want to turn yourself into a bliss bunny, do your Sahaja yoga meditation daily and don’t order food that is never going to be delivered. More below.
Also below: cool down with some home-made ice-cream; and, claiming your inner treasure with a meditation.
Best wishes
P.
PS.
Moon Calendar (at end) this coming week: Tue. 7th Jul - Saptami (Window of opportunity); Thurs. 9th - Navami (Things work out); Sat. 11th - Yogini Ekadashi (Goal achieved).
