The Chemistry of a Kiss

Only your sweet face
Only your shining smile
Can ever whisk me away
To heaven for a while

The brush of your cheek
My knees turn so weak
Your soft sweetest kiss
Is tender heavenly bliss..

Lovely isn't it, the feeling? Well, allow me to deromanticize the kiss for you. This might help explain the plethora of emotions and sensations you experience during that very special moment of intense love (as some of you may beg to differ, this is to say that i used love only for lack of another appropriate word). Anyway, it's why your knees go weak, your palms sweat, your stomach does flip-flops and you begin to stammer. Does the heart really rule the mind? No. Its actually all in the head folks! Cupid has struck when the Limbic system in your brain gets overwhelmed with neurochemicals.
The cortex is the area of your brain that controls logical thinking, while emotions are processed by the limbic system. Ofcourse, the Limbic system is therefore the one responsible for kissing.
Blame it on the Chemicals!
About as many as more than stars in the night sky, the neurons (little nerve units) accompanied by a 1000 neurotransmitters do the job. Neurotransmitters are ofcourse the chemicals released at the ends of neurons, which help pass on information through the network.
The brain experiences a surge in norepinephrine, dopamine, serotonin phenylethylamine (PEA). A wildly passionate kiss sends out signals to the brain which trigger the mood-boosting hormone serotonin. As a result, the person feels more relaxed and balanced. (FYI: Serotonin is the transmitter responsible for inducing sleep). The best known love-related chemical phlenylethylamin or PEA as it is called, then works much like Cupid’s arrow : it stimulates pleasurable sensations and contributes to that top-of-the-world feeling. Norepinephrine stimulates the production of adrenaline and makes your blood pressure soar when you’re near the person you’re attracted to - yet another explanation for the pounding heart and sweaty palms when meeting the person one fancies. These neurotransmitters attach to the so-called 'pleasure receptors' in the brain to create feelings of euphoria, giddiness, elation and the like.
So why is it addictive? The pleasure receptors crave a certain level of the different neurotransmitters at all times. Which is why you probably keep going back for more.

Wanna know what parachuting, bungee jumping and distance running feel like? Close your eyes and think of your most electrifying kiss!

*SlurrrP*

Ever found yourself ordering the same dish time and again in a particular restaurant? I do that a lot. I'm pretty bad at trying out new dishes off a menu. How the hell can you help it when you
have all these exotic sounding names. Ultimately all you get is the food minus the praise and accolades. So I usually decide to stick to what I think I've had before. But there are those other times when one dish is all you can think of when you embark upon your trip to your much (week-long-)awaited eat-out. Dreamy and restless till the food is brought to your table. The first aroma sends tingles down your body, followed by the bite, which is ofcourse, bliss.

Mmmmmm. Thinking about it aren't you? Well, sorry to interupt your yummy thoughts, but I would like to bring to your attention that a few people including me actually like to take the whole thing a step further and do their teeny bit to make you go slurp slurp.
Yes, I'm talking about those wonderful human beings who make the effort to simulate your restaurant experience in your very own dining rooms. Those people who cook and create, mix
and blend different styles of cooking and make it one tasty affair. Yup, it's those guys who make every effort to figure out what exactly they are eating out of their plates in the restaurant. Hmm, minced garlic, tomatoes, oregano..lets see..does that taste like mushrooms sauteed in olive oil?..umm parmesan cheese eh? Well that's a passing glimpse I can give you off my very own Stuffed Mushrooms recipe. Yes! I did it! I made some very exotic Stuffed Mushrooms for the first time. Forgive me for being so egocentric, but it does feel awesome when you are successful at something you've tried for the first time. So.. I'm thinking its genetic. God! She'd be so proud! I love you Ma!
Behavior, they say is sometimes a consequence of situation. My situation: Italian restaurant..amazing stuffed mushrooms apetizer..and very blah entrees..would-be-dimwit-if-went-back-for-mushroom. Now you know why I had to make them myself!

Generations Slip Away..

Well this one I wrote not too long ago(umm a week back)..If you're the thinking type, you might get the hidden meaning, if you're not, well, read it at your own risk. But this one's got two meanings really. One when you don't have to think too much and read it straight off the screen. The other when you read into it. Caters to both my intellectual and intellectually inept(people who believed Star Wars was going to be about stars having fights with one another) audience. Imagine if you were actually intelligent(or so you think) and didn't get it. What a blow to your ego!
Alright..I was only kidding. Read on..feel free to comment though. Lemme know what you think. My poems are only as good as the assumptions that you can make. Have a good Monday!

Generations Slip Away..
Darwin thought he had explained it all,
Evolution of all big and small.
We live to reproduce,
But 'twas but one excuse,
As Nature Selects whoever wins the brawl.

Not meekest but finest,
Not kindest but meanest,
Preying, chasing, swooping, pinning,
Are but the fine tastes of winning.
While one wins, the other muses,
Over music and withered roses.
The cycle repeats itself over,
Beyond the realms of knowledge you shudder,
Searching the soul only leads a yonder,
The meaning of it is all you wonder.
Thus, deep in contemplation,
Slips away, a generation..

Not slowest but quickest,
Not dullest but smartest,
Thinking, planning, doing, gaining,
Are but the fine tastes of obtaining.
While one wins, the other muses,
Over poems and withered posies.
And the cycle repeats itself over,
Beyond the realms of knowledge you shudder,
Then everything seems so clear,
When all is mortalized by the meteor.
Not a form is then left for contemplation,
For there is no reason for a generation..

© Divya Sagar

Rhythm's gonna GETCHA!

I love music. I really really really do. I mean who doesn't right? Unless you're one grouchy old soul! Anyway, back to what I was talking about, I can assure you that the Rhythm sure got TO me! Yeah..crept up on my tiniest little nerve unit. It all started when I took Music 101, this Spring. Musical transmission, music and memory, music and society...whee!how fun:). Pitch, Melody (such a breeze..lalala) and finally... Rhythm (grr). Some tricky lil technicality this is! It's alright if you're a composer. Then you're born with that stuff! But not alright when you're sitting down for 2 80 minute classes trying to identify the Rhythm and meter for every piece that's being played. Which of course helped me come to terms with how stringent (read:painful) and metrical Western Classical music is (although you've got to give it up for Beethoven, Dvorak et al. Some dudes They were). Anyway, today's the big Quiz. I better ace this one! I have to..! I've grown up with this stuff! Gonna have to gather all my musical brilliance to formulate a better way to crack the test! Maybe after the test, I can get back to a world where music is downright fun and entertaining.

Blog Bug Bites!

Well this one's just for the record- I'm an official BLOGHEAD. Yes, it's true. Believe it! A nice big juicy 'Byte' all for myself. Looking forward to writing more. Till then, you might stumble upon some of the things that are close to me if you decide to bum around in here. Now how often do you get to be nosy? Ok, stop staring! Get clicking!
Cheers!