Your Cranky Mood Could Be Because Your Brain is Bored
Hebb’s Law states that neurons that fire together wire together. This is the basis of neuroplasticity–our ability to rewire our brains, behaviors, moods and thoughts. This happens when our brains are signaled to pay attention, like when we’re learning something new. In this learning environment the brain releases dopamine and acetylcholine which stamp the […]
Can You See What I’m Saying?
Our ability to accurately read facial expression comes mostly from our prefrontal cortex. When we are stressed we shut down our prefrontal and actually impair our ability to accurately label others’ expressions and motivations. So being in “threat” mode predisposes us to misinterpret and make false assumptions about others. What happens when a bunch of […]
Use Your Illusions for Good!
If you give the prefrontal cortex the “perception” that it has control over your stress response, it will signal all the way back to the amygdala and brain stem and override the primitive brain stress response. Creating visuals and acting them out in your mind gives your PFC this exact perception! Engage your imagination for […]
Is Your Brain About to Explode?
Our mental, physical, and spiritual self is intimately related to our brain functioning. Much of what we fuel ourselves with, including our thoughts, can harm or heal this delicate and miraculous command center. Aspartame, which is structurally similar to glutamate, shows up in many of our foods. Glutamate is an excitatory neurotransmitter necessary for learning […]
The Domino Stress Effect & the 5 Quickest Ways to Beat it.
How would you approach life differently if you were the first domino in an infinitely long chain of life events? What if each and every action, each and ever thought, rippled out in powerful waves from your being to touch the world around you? Would you consider your words and thoughts more carefully? What if […]
I am Better than Me!
Reward and status are hardwired into the brain to trigger the limbic system (fight or flight) in exactly the same way survival threat does. It’s no wonder media uses these two concepts to market everything. Here’s a tip–if you redefine status to be measured against yourself and your own actions rather than others you can […]
To Know Another is to Know Thyself
Dr. Daniel Siegel, author of Mindsight, notes that “our awareness of another person’s state of mind depends on how well we know our own.” (62). From studying mirror neurons and the insula we now know that we map others’ experiences to our own internal experience and the brain perceives we are actually having the same […]
Rewire Your Body’s Hard Drive
Science knows now that we can rewire the brain and grow new neuronal maps. Neural maps are the active circuits through which all thought-forms flow. They are the pathways of mental engagement and creation. They’ve found that this happens through our focused attention and experiences HOWEVER it’s been proven that those experiences don’t have to […]
Can Blueberries Help You Live Longer?
What if your lunch today included blueberries, dark chocolate, pistachios, and a glass of Port or red wine? Would you feel indulgent, perhaps even a tad bit guilty? Think again! According to Dr. Eric Braverman consuming foods with resveratrol, a class of polyphenols called sirtuin, has been found to “help directly repair genes and make […]
Mindfulness Changing the Political Brain?
The time has come for politics to recognize the magic of both compassion and neuroplasticity! “The fact that our brain is always changing means we’re not locked in to having the stress superhighway built into our nervous system…The cutting-edge research today shows us how mindfulness can help us reshape our brain and nervous system…Now studies […]
