As I sit outside with my family today watching the solar eclipse, I can't help but feel the deep connection to the universe that these kinds of events always seem to inspire. I don't think it could be a coincidence that I came across this article this morning reporting on research which seems to indicate that transcendent thinking is for brain growth in teens.
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“What we found is that the degree of brain growth — but not the original thinking in the interview, you actually have to do the work of growing your brain — is associated with also growing who you are,” Immordino-Yang said. “And then that identity development in turn, a year and a half or two years later, predicted how satisfied kids were with their lives and how much they liked themselves.”
In the study, the researchers propose a “developmental cascade” effect in which transcendent thinking leads to brain growth, which in turn leads to life satisfaction.
I hope that all the teens in Columbus get a chance to have a transcendent experience today. And if you want to know more about transcendence and its effects on the teenage brain, check out this article:
Peace and health,
Jenn