The "Fear Center" Amygdala — How Meditation Transforms Your Stress Response, Ends Anxiety

Our Brains Are Still Wired Like Cavemen

"That saber tooth looks like he wants free-range human for breakfast. Better grab my spear or get ‘outta here!"

Considering what they dealt with on a daily basis, our primitive hunting and gathering ancient ancestors certainly needed homed-in survival instincts.

To avoid becoming just another prehistoric lunch statistic, our neanderthal forefathers needed within their noggin a highly evolved "fear center" amygdala. They did, and it served them well.

The problem is, our brains are still wired much like our stone-age ancestors. While we live in modern cities free of lions, tigers, and bears — our job stress, money problems, and relationship quarrels still trigger our "fight or flight" fear response eight days a week.

With an estimated eleventeen-zillion studies pointing to stress as the #1 cause of disease, figuring out a way to downsize our primitive amygdala is critical to the future of mankind.

It appears that we can take the "Caveman out of the Cave," but we can't take the "Cave out of the Caveman."

Or can we? Stop the record. Science has discovered a way. It's called meditation.

Bust Stress Forever By Changing Your Brain

In 2011, Massachusetts General Hospital researchers fMRI brain scanned 51 adults before and after 8 weeks of mindful meditation training. What did they find?

A staggering discovery, the greenhorn meditators had effectively silenced the "electrical activity" within their primitive amygdala(e), and in effect, had far fewer "anxiety, worry, and fear signals" bouncing around their beautiful brains.

However, what shook the neuroscientific community to the core was that the participants had dramatically decreased (!) their amygdala(e) size/volume. And it didn't take years either, they accomplished this amazing feat in less than two months!

The implications of this finding are tremendous. Knowing that it's possible to, like a light switch, turn off our primitive "caveman brain," we can bulletproof ourselves to the well-documented negative effects of stress — with anxiety and depression the first moles to get whacked.

The Power Of Meditation: From "Caveman" Brain To "Astronaut" Brain

But there's more. Other studies have found that meditation grows and "thickens" our prefrontal cortex. What's that, you say?

From dark caves to sunlit skyscrapers, from incoherent grunting to the world wide web, from the muddy riverbanks to the far reaches of the solar system — we owe our prefrontal cortex a debt of gratitude.

In essence, by shrinking our "Neanderthal" amygdala and growing our "Homo sapien sapien (yes twice)" prefrontal cortex, is meditation the secret to time-warping evolution?

Can meditation shift humanity into a peaceful, space-faring, "Star-Trek-like" Type I civilization, as envisioned by Russian astrophysicist Dr. Nikolai Kardashev?

One thing's for sure, planet earth could certainly use a little less "caveman" brain and a little more "astronaut" brain.

De-Activated Amygdala Benefits: ▲Health | ▲Immunity | ▲Relaxation Response | ▼Stress | ▼Fear | ▼Fight or Flight | ▼Anxiety | ▼Depression | ▼Cortisol | ▼Worry | ▼Anger | ▼Nervousness | ▼Phobias | ▼Bipolar Disorder |

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The world's most successful people often say that "intuition" is far more powerful than intellect and their #1 decision-making tool. Here's how meditation magnifies this mega-important sixth sense.

Dominating headlines with her viral 14+ million view TED Talk and bestselling book, a world famous psychologist makes the compelling case for "mental toughness" as successful people's real superpower. Get "Gritty" with meditation.

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Doctors now say that our deeply intertwined "first" real brain & "second" gut brain are actually one system, not two. Here's how meditation's incredible brain benefits can transform your microbiome — and ultimately, your health.

If you want to supercharge your immune system, then boosting these three brain & body chemicals will do the trick. Thankfully, meditation fills them to the brim. Live long and prosper.

The brain’s recently discovered "neuroplastic" nature means that we can carve and mold our noggin' like a sculptor shapes his clay. Here are four immune system linked brain regions that meditation so conveniently fortifies.

Other than hibernating bears, meditators are the world's best sleepers. Here's how meditation conquers sleep problems, dominates sleep disorders, while helping people with even the worst cases of insomnia sleep like a log.

Sleeplessness goes far beyond inconvenience. With our productivity, mood, energy, & health taking a roundhouse kick to the clavicle, chronic insomnia can really crimp our potential. Luckily, meditation fortifies our brain's sleep center.

We all wish we had more hours in the day. Learn why the ancient mind practice makes our shuteye so efficient, & why no amount of meditation can ever completely replace our nightly sleep cycle.

Earth’s natural cycles of light & dark dictate our biological clock. The problem is, our screen time & long work hours have taken an (especially) heavy toll on our "sleep molecule." Luckily, meditation rebalances this critical chemical.

Did you know that meditation not only makes you a better lover, but also shifts your libido into overdrive? Here we dive into the mental, emotional, & physical reasons meditation has folks running into the bedroom. Bring sexy back into your life.

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The latest research has confirmed that meditation's incredible benefits do indeed pass from a pregnant woman to her unborn baby. From inception to delivery (& beyond), here are the wonderful ways meditation helps both mom & baby.

One study had a group of heart patients practice meditation over the course of one year, with incredible results. More proof into the mind’s incredible ability to heal the body, here is what they found.

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