Neuroplasticity

Here are some great quotes about brain plasticity - researchers are finding more evidence about the relationship between exercise, physical and mental health. Exercise your body, exercise your brain, exercise your mind.

“Brain Plasticity - Refers to how circuits in the brain change–organize and reorganize–in response to experience, or sensory stimulation. Periods of rapid change or plasticity occur in the brain under four main conditions: when the immature brain first begins to process sensory information (developmental plasticity); second, when changes in the body, like a problem with eyesight, alter the balance of sensory activity received by the brain (activity-dependent plasticity); third, when we alter our behavior based on new sensory information (plasticity of learning and memory), and fourth, following damage to the brain (injury-induced plasticity). Scientists believe that the same brain mechanisms underlie all four types of plasticity: adjustments in the strength of connections, or synapses, between brain cells.”
Center for Child Health and Development

“For decades, it was assumed by many neuroscientists that adult humans had a “hardwired” brain that did not generate new cells and could not significantly change.” from Slate.com

“The most important take home message about brain health is that we now know that no matter what your brain status or age, there is much you can do to significantly improve brain function and slow brain aging.” from Sharp Brains

“What you think and imagine can change the structure of the brain.” Dr. Norman Doidge, author of The Brain that Changes Itself

“The environment plays a key role in influencing plasticity. In addition to genetic factors, the brain is shaped by the characteristics of a person’s environment and by the actions of that same person.” from Brain Plasticity: What Is It?

“Golden Moments of Choice are possible because your brain is always changing (that’s called neuroplasticity). The changes are either by default as it interacts with your environment or deliberately as it interacts with your mind. Your brain can either be randomly molded by external circumstances or artistically sculpted by your self-aware mind. Which do you think leads to an intentional-and self-directed life—letting your brain be rewired by outside forces, or ensuring that the brain rewire is an inside operation?” from Exercise Mind Hygiene On A Daily Basis

What you think and imagine can change the the structure of your brain; how you think and how you feel. But in order to choose this change, direct this change and artistically sculpt this change, you must interact with awareness rather than react without conscious choice. For me, this is what personal development and self improvement is all about.

TAGS:brain health, brain plasticity, self-directed life, self improvement

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Goal Setting

Watch Zig Ziglar discuss goal setting. Zig mentions four steps to goal setting.

1) Write it down.

2) Put a date on it.

3) List the obstacles you must overcome.

4) Identify the people, group or organizations you need to work with.

and

5) Spell out a plan of action (with a time limit).

TAGS:goals, action

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Synchrodestiny

When you live your life with an appreciation of coincidences and their meanings, you connect with the underlying field of possibilities. This is where the magic begins. This is a state I call synchrodestiny, in which it becomes possible to achieve the spontaneous fulfillment of our every desire. Synchrodestiny requires gaining access to a place deep within yourself, while at the same time awakening to the intricate dance of coincidences out in the physical world. It requires understanding the profound nature of things, recognizing the wellspring of intelligence that endlessly creates our universe and yet having the intention to pursue specific opportunities for change as they appear.” The Spontaneous Fulfillment of Desire by Deepak Chopra

Spontaneous fulfillment of our every desire. I’m not sure if we could live in a world with spontaneous fulfillment of every desire. Chaos would rein supreme. But I do think that as we begin to become more aware of the underlying coincidences (often opportunity knocks very, very quietly) we can get better at manifesting our desires (intentions).

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Consistency with my Personal Development

goldstar
Do you struggle with consistency? I do. For example, I have a goal to complete my meditation CD every day, for approximately an hour. I have yet to complete 7 days in a row. So I’m going old school to reinforce my consistency.

When I say old school, I mean OLD school. Going back to kindergarten, my teacher would give us gold stars for especially good work. (I think I got a gold star for an especially long nap - I’m sure my teacher needed it.)

I am placing a visual aid where I can see it several times a day. Just a simple piece of paper with the next 7 days on it. And a gold star for every day I complete my meditation.

When I reach 7 cays in a row, I’ll go for another seven days and after that a third set of seven days will give me the magical 21 days (in a row that is) that “they’ say is key for establishing a habit.

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Happy Father’s Day

When I was little I would play a game with my father. I would put my finger in my father’s hand and pull it away before he closed his hand. His hand was so big, it was like a giant bear trap.

“I thank you for the kindness
And the times when you got tough
And, papa, I dont think I
Said I love you near enough –”

from Dan Fogelberg’s song - Leader Of The Band

I just wanted to say thank you Dad. I love you,

Tommy

Success

Napoleon Hill tells us about Andrew Carnegie’s philosophy of success

“It is true that whatever your mind feeds upon your mind attracts to you. Now you see why it is important that you recognize that all success begins with definiteness of purpose, with a clear picture in your mind of precisely what you want from life.”

TAGS: definiteness of purpose, personal development, what you want from life

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The Mind Body Connection

“…physical exertion itself has a much bigger influence on the brain than previously thought. Just this week, a survey of existing research published by the Cochrane Library concluded that the same aerobic exercise that is good for your heart also improves cognitive function—specifically, motor function, auditory attention, and memory—in healthy older adults. ” John J. Ratey, author of Spark.

“The magical ingredient here, according to Hillman, is brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF. It builds up in those who regularly exercise, causing the brain’s cells to “branch out, join together and communicate with each other in new ways. This and other research has shown that physical activity is therapeutic. We now know that brain cells can grow and regenerate as we age, and exercising may encourage this process” Exercise and the Brain

Personal development includes exercise. Exercise affects our brain and mind. I am more than my brain but I am quite dependent on the health of my brain (and the rest of my body). A healthy mind needs a healthy brain.

TAGS: brain and mind, memory, health, mind body connection, brain-derived neurotrophic factor

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How Our Left and Right Hemisphere Process Information Differently

Watch this video by Dr Jill Taylor Bolte - this video has a lot of great information. What really grabs my attention is the description of how our left and right hemisphere process information differently.

“Our right hemisphere functions like a parallel processor (Parallel processing is the ability of the brain to simultaneously process incoming stimuli.) Our left hemisphere functions like a serial processor (Serial processing occurs sequentially.) Because they process information differently, each of our hemisphere think about different things, they care about different things and dare I say they have very different personalities. Our right human hemisphere is all about this present moment. Its all about right here, right now. Our right hemisphere it thinks in pictures and it learns kinesthetically through the movement of our bodies. Information in the form of energy, streams in simultaneously through all of our sensory systems and then it explodes into this enormous collage of what this present moment looks like, what this present moment smells like and tastes like, what it feels like and what it sounds like. I am an energy being connected to the energy all around me through the consciousness of my right hemisphere. We are energy beings connected to one another through the consciousness of our right hemispheres…

My left hemisphere, our left hemisphere, is a very different place. Our left hemisphere thinks linearly and methodically. Our left hemisphere is all about the past and its all about the future. Our left hemisphere is designed to take that enormous collage of the present moment and start picking out details, details and more details about those details. It then categorizes and organizes all that information, associates it with everything in the past we have ever learned and projects into the future all our possibilities.”

There are two almost instantaneous processes. The first involves the sensory input and the second involves interpretation of that data.

It is the interpretation of the data that will shape our life. How we interpret the data will affect our quality of life. Personal development is all about changing how we interpret the incoming data. Did you know that optimism can change your life expectancy? (Go to this site to see how pessimism/optimism affects your life expectancy.

TAGS:consciousness, dr. jill taylor, hemisphere, possibilities

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Past and Future Focus with the Law of Attraction

Imagination is what allows us to “see” the future.

Memory allows us to see the past.

Perception allows us to see the present.

The Law of Attraction states that whatever I give my energy, attention and focus to, I receive (attract) more of.

Often we attract more of what we don’t want - by focusing on what has already happened. (Memory). Instead, we need to focus on what we want by using imagination. Visualization is forward focusing.

Often, it is our perception of our present circumstances and focusing on what has already happened that gets in the way of our forward focusing. When we visualize that beautiful new 7 bedroom mansion with jacuzzi hotub and home theater, our perception tries to remind us that we are living in a 1 bedroom apartment and our memory that wants us to focus on the stack of bills.

If we are to move from where we are to where we want to be we need to look forward rather than behind.

“Imagination is the highest kite one can fly.” Lauren Bacall

TAGS: focus, imagination, attention, energy

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Visualizing success by keeping it real

Aaron Potts at Today is that Day wrote a great article about visualization

As I read this article it popped into my head that actors must have an advantage visualizing because acting is about emotion. This brought me to google acting and emotions which brought me to http://redbirdstudio.com/AWOL/essence.html

This part caught my attention: “the actor does not see himself as an actor playing the role of the father. He sees himself as the father . He sees through the eyes of the father. His attention (focus) is on himself as the father; who is experiencing real events; who has a past; who has real desires; who interacts with real people and real things in spontaneous ways (not as scripted words.)”

This is how we must visualize. Not acting but feeling. Not following a script but actually being in that moment. This is what visualization is all about. Creating that experience that you want as real and with emotion. As Aaron says “I keep it real” - This is what visualization is - creating the experience as real as possible in your mind.

“We lift ourselves by our thought. We climb upon our vision of ourselves. If you want to enlarge your life, you must first enlarge your thought of it and of yourself. Hold the ideal of yourself as you long to be, always everywhere.” Orison Swett Marden.

TAGS:acting, emotions, feelings, success, thought

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