Emily Fletcher explains how meditation physically changes the brain, enlarging the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and strengthening the corpus callosum to boost empathy and reduce the sense of separation from others. Prison meditation programs have cut recidivism rates, showing the social impact of sustained practice.
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When you start a meditation practice, something in your brain lights up called the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. So dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, which is basically just a fancy way of saying the altruistic part of the brain. So you actually start. So the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex is the piece of you that's in charge of people that we perceive as separate. Right now, the me center of the brain is already very developed. So it's. So what meditation is doing is that it's quite literally expanding your idea and your sense of who you perceive as same. You start to see more of yourself inside of others and more of others inside of you. So you start to realize quite viscerally, that as I hurt you, I hurt myself. And as I help you, I help myself. Because in order to terrorize someone, you must first have an enemy. And in order to have an enemy, you have to first perceive them as separate. And the more you meditate, the larger this dorsomedial prefrontal cortex becomes, the harder it is for you to see anyone as separate.
Wow, that. That explains a lot. This is why. I mean, I've read studies about how meditation reduces crime. Meditation in prisons allows prisoners to. To. To be released and not get incarcerated again after a couple of years. So that's. That's beautiful. I had no idea that it had to do with a chemical situation happening in your brain.
Yeah, it's a certain. It's a certain part of the brain that starts to light up and it actually gets stronger over time. What a lot of people don't know is that they think that meditation might change the brain chemistry, but over time, it actually changes. Like the neurogenesis. It actually can rebuild gray matter. And one of the most fascinating things that meditation does is that it strengthens and enlarges something called the corpus callosum, which is the thin white strip that literally connects the right and left hemispheres of the brain. So the left hemisphere of the brain is. Now, this is admittedly a gross oversimplification, but, you know, don't send us a thousand emails. I was a Broadway showgirl. I'm not a neuroscientist. Okay, so left hemisphere of the brain is like the part that's in charge of critical thought, analytical thought, past future, separateness, actually math, balancing your checkbooks. And the right hemisphere of the brain is more in charge of creativity, intuition, creative problem solving, connection, color. All of these things are right brain phenomenon. And if you look at a human brain, it actually splits right down the middle. The only thing that connects the two hemispheres of the brain is this thin little white strip called the corpus callosum. Now, we've known for a long time that meditators have a thicker corpus callosum than non meditators, but we weren't able to pronounce if it was causal or correlated. Now, we know that the longer you meditate, the thicker this thing becomes, which suggests that it is indeed causal. That actually it is the meditation that is strengthening this piece that connects the critical part of the brain with the creative part of the brain. So it's basically if this is your individual and this is your collective, then you start to have this simultaneity. Like, yes, sure, I'm Emily Fletcher, but I'm also everything and everyone. I am you, you are me. There's only one thing, and we're all it. The Vedic sages have been saying that for thousands of years.
We're creating more feelings of connected. We're creating more feelings of empathy. We're creating the ability to understand each other. And that helps create a better, safer, more beautiful world.
Yeah, it's like you're up leveling a state of consciousness which makes those imbalances impossible. Like, if I perceive you as the same as me, then how could I terrorize you? Why would I want to give you food that is poisonous? Why would I want to poison the planet for the next generation if I really see them as an extension of myself?
