From the Gut

5 gut instincts

Very fascinating article here about intuition. My favorite takeaways:

1) Having a “gut” feeling is literal–it often comes as a sensation in your stomach area. This makes sense because the intestines house  the enteric nervous  system, sometimes called the “second brain.” “That second brain really is the intuitive brain,” Ronald A. Alexander, PhD explains, and he  recommends that when it speaks, you listen.

2) Generosity makes  the pleasure centers in the brain light up.  When participants were  given $128 of hard cash along with the choice to keep it or donate it to charity, the reward centers of those who chose to donate went wild. This is known as the  “helper’s  high,” which causes individuals aiding others to experience  improvements in  mood, immunity and overall well-being. That’s why  following your instincts for  sympathy and generosity generally turns out  to be a good investment in your own  health and happiness, too.

3) When your intuition signals that you’ve found something or someone  truly  right for you, the choice often becomes strangely easy. “It feels  healthy; it  feels good; it doesn’t feel like you’re forcing it, there’s  not a lot of  conflict,” says Judith Orloff, PhD.

Jonah Lehrer, author of How We Decide (Houghton Mifflin,  2009) agrees that when you’re poised to make a big decision with  lasting  repercussions, like choosing your life partner, you’re best off  deciding from  the gut.

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