Dreaming Ourselves Awake
"The function of the mind is to dream twenty-four hours a day. The waking dream has a material structure. In sleep, the dream also seems to have a structure. While awake, our mind is affected by cycles of energy through…
Reprogramming the Machinery of the Brain
According to Dr. Norman Doidge in The Brain that Changes Itself, "Michael Merzenich is a driving force behind scores of neuroplastic innovations and practical inventions." One of the groundbreaking devices he developed enabled cognitively deaf children to hear. He…
You in Control of Your Stories
Our prefrontal cortex regulates attention and thoughts with vast amounts of neural connections and a system of arousal and neurotransmitters. If we take no action, our default system may favor excessive stress response and disease. Science proved that focused attention…
A Little Novelty and Humor Goes a Long Way
In order for our brains to learn, encode, and stamp experiences into lasting memories, we must engage in a delicate balance or dance between chemical and neurological activity. One sensitive coupling is the relationship between dopamine and norepinephrine in the…
Raising Your Sword to Battle an Illusion
Our nervous system is a miraculous and complex network of information and control mechanisms. Our SNS (sympathetic nervous system) readies us for action, to mobilize, to activate, charge, fight or flea..among many other things. Our PNS (parasympathetic nervous system) calms…
Rewiring the Subconscious
Neuroplasticity is now a scientific house-hold word. It is our superhero power, our ultimate ability for mind control. According to Dr. Bruce Lipton in The Biology of Belief he notes, "I believe the greatest problem we face is that we…
Nirvana, Located in our Brains?
Dr. Jill Bolte-Taylor is a remarkable individual who tours the world discussing the devastating and enlightening effects of the massive stroke that annihilated the left hemisphere of her brain. With only her right hemisphere online for many years she notes,…
Meditation, an Anti-Inflammatory?
The PNAS (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences) did a study in 2010 with 124 adults which showed that social stressors and pressure (such as public speaking) greatly increased an individual's inflammatory markers. Inflammation is the result of free-radical…
Dopamine and our Sensitive Mind
Among many things Dopamine is also responsible for our brain's reward response. Unmet expectations decrease our Dopamine, increase our stress, which then impairs our performance, lowers confidence which then decreases Dopamine even further. Some simple ways to interrupt that downward…
How Can Memory Improve Your Life?
According to Congressman Tim Ryan in his book A Mindful Nation, "When people have higher working memory capacity they can pay better attention, can solve problems more readily, and have more fluid intelligence--they use facts rather than just know them. Those…
