Mindsight: The New Science of Personal Transformation

The posterior cortex is the master mapmaker of our physical experience, generating our perceptions of the outer world—through the five senses—and also keeping track of the location and movement of our physical body through touch and motion perception.

did not have to speak just because the impulse was there. My son went on to tell me that my getting “upset”

It enables us to become fully aware of what is happening—and to restrain

simple connection of sensory nerves from the periphery to our spinal cord and then upward through the various layers of the skull-encased brain allows signals from the outer world to reach the cortex, where we can become aware of them. This input comes to us via the five senses that permit us to perceive the outer physical world.

To reconnect with myself, I needed to check in with the essential components of mental life—to reflect on my internal sensations, images, feelings, and thoughts.

When resonance literally becomes mirroring, when we confuse me with you, then objectivity is lost. Resonance

Response flexibility harnesses the power of the middle prefrontal region to put a temporal space between input and action. This ability to pause before responding is an important part of emotional and social intelligence.

Indeed, the parts of our brain that process physical pain overlap with the neural centers that record social ruptures and rejection.

The internal maps created by mirror neurons are automatic—they do not require consciousness or effort. We are hardwired from birth to detect sequences and make maps in our brains of the internal state—the intentional stance—of other people.