Emotions are not simply chemicals in the brain. They’re electrochemical signals that affect the chemistry and electricity of every cell in the body. The body’s electrical state is modulated by emotions that change the world within the body.
Candace Pert, chief of brain biochemistry at the National Institutes of Health, made a breakthrough discovery that changed the way scientists understand the mind-body connection. She found the opiate receptor – the mechanism by which a class of chemicals (peptides) alters the mind and body. Her research led her to an understanding of the way emotions function as a regulatory system in the body.
At a neurological level, Pert found the feeling of being connected with God, of feeling blessed, is an important part of brain function. “Blessing and bliss come from the same root. We are hard wired to be in bliss. It’s normal and it’s natural,” she says.
The naturally occurring ‘bliss chemicals’ are called endorphins, and they’re released in the brain and body in response to emotional states and physical activities. Pert says “The opiate receptor…. is in our frontal cortex, the most advanced part of our brains. It’s like we’re designed to make choices around pleasure. The very highest, most intelligent part of our brain is drenched in receptors to make us use pleasure as a criterion for our decisions. So it’s okay to feel good – God is good.”
Pert continues, “We know that the vibration in these receptors mediates, or leads, to the whole organism feeling bliss. … that endorphin vibration is really the bliss of union and divine union.” So when we create that kind of resonance internally, we’re in line with that divine self. True bliss represents an optimal state of functioning.