Wired to Connect

Wired to Connect
posted by Wendy Strgar Nov 20, 2009 1:06 pm
filed under: Love & Relationships, Making Love Sustainable, Relationships & Sexuality, Spirituality, communication, connection, love

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Sustainable love skills, the kind that we use as a compass to keep us connected to vital, healthy and happy relationships, are now being recognized as skills that might just save our species.

We finally have the scientific equipment to verify what we have always known: our drive to be social, to be connected to each other, is actually hardwired. Our need for connection and drive towards empathy is not a result of environmental influences but rather a function built into the brain itself. Daniel Goleman, PhD, a science writer for The New York Times and bestselling author of Emotional Intelligence, has taken his research to a whole new level with his book, Social Intelligence.

Advances in neuroscience now allow us to observe brain activity while we are in the act of feeling. We can now witness that we are continuously forming brain to brain bridges–a two-way brain traffic system. In the same way that we can “catch” a cold from someone, we can “catch” their bad mood–or good mood. The significance of the relationship indicates how deeply we are affected and will stimulate actual physical consequences: hormonal response that magnifies stress (cortisol) or induces happiness (oxytocin).

Positive interactions and being surrounded by loving people actually works like a vitamin for your entire being. Negative relationships and interactions don’t just make us angry; they make us ill. As in other brain functions, this one also reflects our amazing neuro-plasticity. This is to say that our brains are continually building new connections–and no matter how young or old, anyone’s personality can be affected by other people. We literally heal each other through our social connections.

This news couldn’t come at a better time, as we continue to replace real interaction with techno-driven reality. Is it really dating when it is virtual? Are we connected to others when we only share words on a screen? More than any new technology, what we truly need is to develop a lifestyle which encourages deeper human connection. Overwhelmed with digital connectivity, it is easy to become oblivious to the people surrounding us. How often have you witnessed someone at a check out stand absorbed in some deep conversation on a cell phone and entirely oblivious to the person in front of them.

Real intimate connections don’t happen on the phone, in a text message or on IM: they require a real-life presence where we pay full attention to the people we live with. Empathy grows in our brain through eye contact, voice recognition, and touch-all of the time-intensive ways of knowing another person well enough that we can’t objectify them. Empathetic connections are the prime inhibitors of human cruelty. Scientists agree that the survival of our species depend on our ability to grow and develop this innate ability and a culture which encourages deep and true human connections.

So next time you’re feeling blue about the state of the world, turn off your electronic gadgetry and go for a walk, preferably holding hands with someone who loves you. Sustaining your love is not only good for you, but you may also be saving an endangered species!

Wendy Strgar is a loveologist who writes and lectures on Making Love Sustainable, a green philosophy of relationships which teaches the importance of valuing the renewable resources of love and family. Wendy helps couples tackle the questions and concerns of intimacy and relationships, providing honest answers and innovative advice. As her online presence continues to grow, Wendy has become a trusted and respected source of information on lasting and healthy relationships. “I feel like I am inventing a language to give intimacy back to the people, take the fear away and open a space for physical love to serve as the glue that holds relationships together." Wendy lives in Eugene, Oregon with her husband, a psychiatrist, and their four children ages 11-20.
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Hello,
I saw this on Care2 and thought you'd like it as well.

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Sylvia Wulf says
Nov 21, 2009 5:48 AM
Surprise!?? I haven't had a cell phone in years, never owned one of those texting/internet/ multi-app gizmos and don't want one. I use the phone as seldom as possible, and only use email because it keeps me in daily contact with friends and family too far away to see daily. Autism, birth defects and all sorts of ill health issues have been connected to lack of vitamin D and inactivity, and too much cell phone might well be causing brain cancer. I'll pass - a walk or bike ride in the sun trumps a stupid video game any day!

Lyn Z. says
Nov 21, 2009 5:46 AM
I know that when I'm stressed & want to just "hide-out", the best thing that I do for myself is connect with my friends & family, and, of course take my walk on the beach = always brings my mind & body back to center & calms me.

Kristianna Loken says
Nov 21, 2009 2:39 AM
We all know these thinks but we don't admire that.This is really very true post.We must follow it...Thank you so much for such a great post here...
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Justin B. says
Nov 20, 2009 10:21 PM
haha. ya this society is getting more and more disconnected from real people. I wish more people walked and rode bikes, it allows for more opportunities to converse than if you were in a car.