Sep 14, 2026 · 40 min · 12 segments
On this fascinating episode of The Levels Of Consciousness Podcast, we are discussing "The Power Of Love: A Scientific & Spiritual Innerstanding
Loke SaintHost
Interestingly, research also shows that people experience decreases in serotonin levels, similar to what is seen in obsessive states in depression.
Testosterone levels decrease, but happily dopamine activity stays high and the bonding neurotransmitters oxytocin and vasopressin increase.
This return of cortisol and adrenaline to normal levels is also essential for survival.
Research shows that the human body can stand and even flourish with stress for up to eight weeks.
But after that, the stress hormones can wear down the body's most important organs, When we can moderate stress by being sure that our loved person will stay in our life, our stress hormones thankfully decrease to more normal levels.
One of them is the finding that the emotional pain in losing someone you love is registered in the same areas of the brain as physical pain.
At the same time, however, their brains also show more calming activity in areas rich in opioid and oxytocin receptors.
For example, how much of it has to do with cultivated habits of curiosity, kindness, and connection? And how much is that magical concept we sometimes call good chemistry? Attachment and love need not be of the romantic kind to exercise their beneficial effects on the brain.
Throughout history, humans survived and thrived because of membership and belonging to groups, much like the Levels of Consciousness podcast family here.
All of our data on loneliness and the benefits of having a social network, as well as a much smaller network of close friends, supports the benefit that there are incredible health benefits of having friends and even connections with people less close.
Now, despite the lingering mysteries around attraction, love, and their demise, there seems to be little or no disagreement about how critically important relationships are to our very existence, says Robert Waldinger, HMS professor of psychiatry, part-time, and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Waldinger said his research and other studies in the field of love have found convincing evidence that relationships and how happy we are in them profoundly influence our health.
Research has indicated the level of satisfaction with relationships in midlife is a good predictor of healthy aging.
Interestingly, research also shows that people experience decreases in serotonin levels, similar to what is seen in obsessive states in depression.
Testosterone levels decrease, but happily dopamine activity stays high and the bonding neurotransmitters oxytocin and vasopressin increase.
This return of cortisol and adrenaline to normal levels is also essential for survival.
Research shows that the human body can stand and even flourish with stress for up to eight weeks.
But after that, the stress hormones can wear down the body's most important organs, When we can moderate stress by being sure that our loved person will stay in our life, our stress hormones thankfully decrease to more normal levels.
One of them is the finding that the emotional pain in losing someone you love is registered in the same areas of the brain as physical pain.
At the same time, however, their brains also show more calming activity in areas rich in opioid and oxytocin receptors.
For example, how much of it has to do with cultivated habits of curiosity, kindness, and connection? And how much is that magical concept we sometimes call good chemistry? Attachment and love need not be of the romantic kind to exercise their beneficial effects on the brain.
Throughout history, humans survived and thrived because of membership and belonging to groups, much like the Levels of Consciousness podcast family here.
All of our data on loneliness and the benefits of having a social network, as well as a much smaller network of close friends, supports the benefit that there are incredible health benefits of having friends and even connections with people less close.
Now, despite the lingering mysteries around attraction, love, and their demise, there seems to be little or no disagreement about how critically important relationships are to our very existence, says Robert Waldinger, HMS professor of psychiatry, part-time, and director of the Harvard Study of Adult Development at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Waldinger said his research and other studies in the field of love have found convincing evidence that relationships and how happy we are in them profoundly influence our health.
Research has indicated the level of satisfaction with relationships in midlife is a good predictor of healthy aging.
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