When something pleases us visually – whether it’s a fine piece of artwork, a beautiful feat of architecture, or an untouched natural landscape – new research demonstrates there is a pattern of activity in what’s known as the default mode network (DMN).

The DMN is a large-scale system of interacting regions in the brain that appears to play a role in how we regulate our sense of self; this network is most active when we’re self-reflecting, remembering, or imagining.

That’s what makes its emerging role in aesthetics so interesting, since the findings of this latest study suggest – a deeply moving visual experience is processed by the same brain network that’s strongly involved in who we are as individuals. (1)

We believe we see the cosmos.

But we see nothing.

Except our self.

An abyss of existence.

Flickering in the mirror.

We like our self.

But only at the last moments of our life will we understand.

That it is not our self we stare at.

But that existence is staring at us!

You are not looking at any mirror.

But we are the mirror…

Do you dare to break yourself?