The Neurobiology of Bliss--Sacred and Profane

Sex in the brain, and what it reveals about the neuroscience of deep pleasure

In studies that observe the brain in action, the right hemisphere seems to be the
sexy hemisphere. It lights up during orgasm—so much so that, in one study, much
of the cortex went dark, leaving the right prefrontal cortex as a bright island. New
research suggests the right hemisphere is also hyperactive amongst the
“hypersexual,” a symptom of brain injury loosely defined as groping,
propositioning or masturbating in public without shame.

What is surprising about this is that pleasure is classically thought of as the

province of the left hemisphere, not the right. The left is most active when
recalling happy memories, meditating on love for another, and during the
expansiveness of grandiosity or mania.

The left hemisphere is even preferentially more active among people free of
depression and less active among the unhappy. If the brain were a simpler and
more cooperative organ, the left hemisphere would be lit up like the Fourth of July
during an orgasm. Instead, it is surprisingly silent. Why might this be so?

Until eight years ago, neuroscience had little scientific basis from which to
comment on bliss, sexual or otherwise. Despite our public fascination with things
sexual, as researcher, Gemma O’Brien put it, “orgasm is not impersonal and third
person enough for the sciences.” Neuroscience was hobbled by the avoidance of
such squashy topics, even if it meant setting aside important parts of human
experience. However, a clearer portrait of pleasure is now emerging. Bliss, both
sacred and profane, shares the diminution of self-awareness, alterations in bodily
perception and decreased sense of pain. And while the left frontal lobe may be
linked to pleasure, the other three characteristics are bilateral.

Absence of pain is predictably akin to pleasure, but the other two—losing a sense
of identity and of bodily limits—are less obvious. Self-awareness, apparently, is no
picnic. William James described the self as that kernel of consciousness that
persists throughout various experiences and sensations. The self is divided between
the stream of consciousness and an internal observer—except in those rare
moments when we dissolve into mysticism.

Self-awareness exists as a running critique organizing conscious experience.

Telling stories to ourselves (often about ourselves) is the cognitive default.
Escaping continual self-observation seems an underappreciated pleasure. Roy
Baumeister wrote an entire book devoted to the premise that self-awareness is
frequently a burden. Across cultures, we blunt awareness with alcohol, drugs, auto-
hypnotic rituals and when times are dire, suicide. Meditation offers relief from this
self-preoccupation and one of the few tools for creating a durable boost in
happiness—perhaps by dampening activity in regions implicated in judgment,
comparison, planning and self-scrutiny. Left prefrontal cortex activation correlates
with happiness and Tibetan Buddhist monks have created the greatest measured
spike in activity in this region produced by simple thought when meditating on
compassion. The reported depth of meditation also corresponds to activity in the
brain’s pleasure centers, such as left forebrain bundle, anterior insula and
precentral gyrus. This overt pleasure is accompanied by a shift in emotional self-
regulation; meditators are more aware of thoughts and feelings conceptually, but
less emotionally disrupted by them, according to one study. Both hemispheres are
involved in self-observation.

Pleasure is also linked to a loss of awareness of the boundaries of our body, and
this, too, involves both sides of the brain. Orgasm and meditation dissolve the
sense of physical boundary, but the activation patterns are distinct. Meditation does
so in a somewhat cerebral way, altering bodily self-awareness by enhancing
activity in specific brain regions, such as right angular gyrus—regions that become
most lively during attempts to imagine ourselves from a stranger’s perspective,
during out of body experiences or déjà vu, and in a neurologically obscure disorder
in which patients lack awareness of their own paralysis or bodily infirmity.

But during orgasm, the cerebellar deep nuclei and vermis, also in the cerebellum,
glow. The cerebellum used to be thought of as the “motor bit” tacked onto the back
of the brain. The deep nuclei are mysterious, but they seem involved in planning
and initiating movement, motor learning, rhythm, synchronizing and smoothing of
movement. The vermis tracks the movement of the body through space outside of
conscious awareness. Unlike meditation, orgasm seems a heightened sense of
being within one’s body rather than the sense of being outside of it. The
disconnected awareness meditation (“I am not my thoughts, I am not this
experience”) is antithetical to the self-forgetting of sex in which wallowing in the
experience, and the relationship, is precisely the point.
 Mantras To Improve Your Sex Life
What is a mantra? Can they really help me improve my sex
life?
A mantra can be defined as a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that are
considered capable of creating transformation. In other words, a mantra is a
“device” or “tool” that liberates the mind, creating a healing process. There are
many types of mantras, many are centuries old, and all of them work. Their type
and use varies according to the school and philosophy associated with the mantra;
that is why some mantras require verbal repetition and others internal meditation
repetition. I do suggest you use a rosary or a mala (Buddhist prayer beads) to help
you to stay focused on your intention to do the mantras!

The types of mantras that I recommend are Point-Specific Mantras, in other words,
they are designed to work on a specific situation. You do them by utilizing a
rhythmic breathing pattern and internal repetition. Keeping your second chakra
(Sexual Chakra) healthy is very important, and one of the ways to achieve this is to
incorporate mantras to your daily life.

Here, I am giving you some examples of two types of mantras. The first, the
Purification Mantra, works as a “vacuum,” removing fro the mind/aura the
negative emotions and thoughts that are associated with our sexuality. The second,
the Intention Mantra, aligns our mind/aura with the energy of God to attain a
state where we receive that additional help we need for our sex life.

Purification Mantras for general issues:

Even though I am afraid of men/women, I love and accept myself.

Even though I am too tired to have sex, I love and accept myself.

Even though I want to punish my partner, rejecting him/her, I love and accept
myself.

Even though I have never liked sex, I love and accept myself.

Even though I am disgusted by sex, I love and accept myself.

Even though sex is dirty, I love and accept myself.
Even though he/she was unfaithful and I want to punish him/her, I love and accept
myself.

Even though I am ashamed of being fat, I love and accept myself.

Even though I am impotent/frigid, I love and accept myself

Intention Mantras for general issues:

Please God, help me with my intention to enjoy sex.

Please God, help me with my intention to heal my sexual traumas*.

What if I am unable to please my partner?

Many men and women come into a sexual act fearing they will be unable to fully
perform. Women are afraid they will not be able to orgasm and men are afraid of
being “impotent” or of “sinning” of premature ejaculation. For these issues I
recommend the following mantras. They work, truly! You will see the difference
and your partner will notice it too.

Purification Mantras for sexual insecurity issues:

Even though I am afraid of not having an orgasm, I love and accept myself.
Even though I am afraid of being impotent, I love and accept myself.

Intention mantras for sexual insecurity issues:

Please God, help me with my intention to have an orgasm.

Please God, help me with my intention of being great in bed.

I recommend you repeat the mantra before and during sex, in silence and using a
rhythmic breathing pattern. When you notice you are enjoying and achieving what
you want during sex, you can let go of the mantra and fully enjoy the moment. If at
any point during sex you feel you are becoming insecure again, start doing the
mantras once again.

How many times should I repeat the mantras?

To continue the “healing” process, you can repeat the mantra 100 times a day (I
recommend this number of repetitions, although it is not requisite) for several
months. You can even repeat the mantras while you are in the process of falling
asleep, if you wake up in the middle of the night, during your exercise routine, or
while you drive to work; the objective is for you to incorporate the mantras to your
daily routine. You can do the mantras using a mala or rosary; this will help you to
be present in your intention.

Sexual Abuse
If you have suffered sexual abuse, your mantra needs to be

Please God, help me with my intention to heal my sexual abuse trauma

Mantras to Boost Your Libido

Here are your 3 Mantras to boost your libido and put that spark back into your
relationship. With your hands on your heart, repeat these three Mantras throughout
the day and feel their vibrational energy entering in your body, mind and spirit:

 I reconnect with God’s loving and passionate feelings for my partner.

 I feel a stirring in my heart and feel good to have this person in my life.
 I experience a balanced and loving relationship with my partner.