Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning

The Midlife Shift: Discovering Authenticity and Vulnerability with Mo Issa

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, where host Andrea Samadhi connects the dots between neuroscience and emotional intelligence for improved well-being and productivity. In this episode, we dive into a transformative journey with Mo Issa, an inspiring author known for his authentic writing and motivational talks.
Join Andrea as she reconnects with Mo, a long-time supporter of her work, to explore his latest book, The Midlife Shift. Mo shares his personal journey from living a life of success and prestige to finding deeper meaning and authenticity. Through candid conversations, Mo reveals how vulnerability and self-discovery have reshaped his life, offering invaluable insights for those seeking to live their true, authentic selves.
Discover how Mo's experiences with writing, running, and reflection have guided him towards a more fulfilling life. Learn about the importance of embracing vulnerability and simplifying life to enhance self-awareness and personal growth. Whether you're navigating midlife changes or seeking to deepen your self-awareness, this episode provides a profound exploration of living with authenticity and purpose.
Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/tr661XZK438
On today's EPISODE #346 “The Midlife Shift: Discovering Authenticity and Vulnerability with Mo Issa” we will cover:
✔ An overview of Mo Issa's forthcoming book: COMING NOV 12th, 2024 to Amazon
✔ Mo will share his personal journey from living a life of success and prestige to finding deeper meaning and authenticity.
✔ Mo reveals how vulnerability and self-discovery have reshaped his life, offering invaluable insights for those seeking to live their true, authentic selves.
✔ Andrea and Mo explore ways we can all dive deeper, embrace vulnerability and simplify life to enhance self-awareness and personal growth. 
On today's episode #346 we meet with someone I’ve known over the years. It was about 10 years ago, that I was connected to our next guest through our mutual friend, motivational speaker, Bob Proctor. At the time, I had no idea how much of a supporter to my work, he would be over the years, and he’s one of the influencers who has helped me to discover, and live on my own authentic path. He was one of the first to use our curriculum for teenagers for a soccer school he ran in Accra, Ghana, and his belief and trust in me, helped me to see this in myself. We never forget those who have helped us along this journey called life, and I’m forever grateful to have met Mo Issa[i], when I was starting out on my journey of self-discovery, where I left the corporate world for a 10-year period, to make an impact in our schools.
Over the years I followed Mo’s work, specifically his writing, which until reading his book, that we will cover today, The Midlife Shift[ii], I had no idea how much Mo’s writing would inspire me, to keep going (learning and growing) on my own path. Right on the front page of his website, you can read his own words.  He says “I am a writer who believes when we find ourselves stuck in life it is because we lack meaning and don’t feel challenged. (In his books, essays and podcasts, he encourages) making small changes to embrace self-discovery, simplify life, and focus on a deep sense of fulfillment.” (Mo Issa)
Let’s meet Mo Issa, an author of three books, who has spoken regularly at conferences and workshops, including TEDx Accra Conference[iii], someone who has read 50 books per year, for the past 10 years, and see what we can learn about living our true authentic life, and improve our own self-awareness in this discovery process.
Welcome Mo Issa!! It’s been a long time since we have spoken, thank you for coming on the podcast, and sharing your work with us. I can’t even tell you how much your writing specifically has helped me over the years. This is an important and special interview. Thank you for being here.
INTRO: For our audience who might not yet know your work, and what brought you to this place now where you started with weekly articles, to publishing three books, that to me can help us all on our own personal journey of “living our best life?” Where did this journey begin for you, leading to The Midlife Shift book that we are covering today?
 Q1: Mo, I’m remembering what you said to me when we were first began planning this recording…you said to me “I’m so happy and inspired that you have the one thing that gets you up every morning.”
I did…and then routines changed with the move to a new location and this is the first recording I’ve done since the end of September. I had to take some time to get organized in my life outside this recording studio, so I wonder, for someone who has traveled and moved around a lot, how do you make sure you don’t lose that thing that inspires you every day?”
Q2: I don’t remember when I saw your TEDx Talk “Rich, Successful, Strong, Yet Empty” but I’m guessing it was around 2015. I knew you as a strong and serious business leader, who worked closely with Bob Proctor, and spent some of your time giving back to help young people learn these success principles that we just weren’t taught in school. I remember being surprised that you thought maybe you had been living life wrong. Can you take us back to how you were living life, and what did you discover was missing? How did you pinpoint it for you?
Q3: At what point did you question your identity (how the world saw you) vs the person who craved a less lavish lifestyle?
Q4: These are all really deep concepts, but you wrote about how “the inner journey is long and endless, but it’s a human one.” I could spend the whole time on just this concept. You also wrote about how “the unexamined life is not worth living.” Can you explain where your “journey of the mind” began, and where did it take you?
Q5: You also write about craving “creativity, presence, simplicity, vulnerability and authenticity.” Again, more deep concepts. I remember years ago you asked me to think about what authenticity meant to me, and I found the notes I wrote about this topic on my phone back in 2021. I wrote a whole bunch of paragraphs on this topic, but the main idea was “living who I am by design.” I know that when I’m not doing the things that make me feel alive, I’m not my best self. I wonder what was it about this topic of authenticity that drew you in?
Q6: When you wrote that writing helped you to “Express the depths of your soul and allowed your muted voice to speak, the better you connected with people around the world.”
This is deep! How can we all learn what’s within our soul FIRST, and then how can we become brave enough to “express the depths of our soul?” Where did you begin to take this journey?
Q7: We’ve taken a deep dive into creativity and our brain on this podcast with Jose Silva’s work, specifically in PART 4[iv] of this series. What about creativity? What do you do to become more creative?
Q8: I’ve spent most of the past week reading Chapter 4 of your book on “Unlocking the Power of Vulnerability” and related to the whole chapter. There’s times during interviews that I just can’t hold the tears in, and I’ve got better at just embracing it all, and not trying to hide my emotions. Can you share how it is coming from a strong male point of view, on not being afraid now to show your emotional side, and what this has done for you?
Q9: I wonder if we could talk about this one paragraph from chapter 4. You wrote:
“We all need to have that one thing at our core a vehicle for going deep into our essence, exploring the mysterious places of our hearts, venturing into our pasts and confronting painful moments stored away in our subconsciouses, which somehow in the writing process had bubbled to the surface”
How did writing, coined with running, help you to become more self-aware, see the real you and allow you to dive deep into the essence of yourself, exploring all of the mysteries in your heart?
Q10: What have I missed here? How would you summarize your mission with your work? How can people reach you?
Mo, I want to thank you for supporting my work all those years ago, when I was just starting out on my own path of self-discovery. I’m still looking for answers, and am grateful to have stayed connected over the years. I’ll be sure to share the best way for people to connect with you, and buy your book The MidLife Shift.
FOLLOW MO ISSA
Website: www.mo-issa.com
 
FINAL THOUGHTS
I knew this episode was important for me, as reading through Mo’s book, I could see where I knew I had more work to do. As I’m working on ways to become more vulnerable with my family, it really didn’t take much, and I can already see changes occurring.
Watch for The Midlife Shift to come out on Amazon November 12th, 2024, and I highly recommend reading each chapter, take notes at what resonates with you, and then look for the action steps you can personally take to gain more self-awareness in your own journey of the mind.
I’ll see you next episode as we continue back with our final chapters of Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership.
REFERENCES:
[i] https://www.mo-issa.com/about
[ii] The Midlife Shift: How I Left the Ratrace and Found Myself by Mo Issa https://www.mo-issa.com/book
[iii] Rich, successful, strong—yet empty. Mohammed Issa TEDx Accra https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XO801NKR0Cc
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 “The Neuroscience Behind the Silva Method: PART 4 Improving Creativity and Innovation in our Schools, Sports and Workplaces”
 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
 
 

Unlocking Authenticity: The Neuroscience of Relationships

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! In episode 345, we continue our 18-week self-leadership series based on Grant Bosnick's tailored approaches. This week, we dive into Chapter 15, exploring the neuroscience of relationships and authenticity.
We revisit key insights on relationship-building from past episodes and introduce the concept of authenticity, drawing on reflections from Andrea Samadi and insights from Mohamed Issa's forthcoming book. Learn what authenticity means, how it impacts our lives, and practical steps for fostering genuine connections with others.
Discover the balance between the reflexive and reflective systems in our brain, and how understanding these can enhance our social interactions. Reflect on your unique gifts and talents, and find out how to nurture them to build deeper, more authentic relationships.
Join us for an enlightening episode that blends neuroscience with practical advice, helping you to live a more authentic life and improve your personal and professional relationships.
On today's episode #345 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January. The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) tied to the most current neuroscience research, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024.
On today's EPISODE #345 “The Neuroscience of Relationships and Authenticity” we will cover:
✔ A review of one of our FIRST interviews, with Greg Wolcott EP #7, July 2019 on his book Significant 72
✔ Ch. 15 from Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership book on “Relationships and Authenticity
✔ A review of Mo Issa’s definition of Authenticity from his book, The Shift: How to Awaken to the Aliveness Within
✔ The Neuroscience of Our Social Brain
✔ 4 Steps to Building More Authentic Relationships
For Today, EPISODE #345, we are moving on to Chapter 15, reviewing “The Neuroscience of Relationships and Authenticity.” We’ve covered relationships on this podcast, right back to the beginning, with Greg Wolcott EP #7, (July 2019) with his book Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today’s Classrooms. Greg Wolcott, an Assistant Superintendent from Chicago, IL, has dedicated his life to this topic through his work at Signficant72.com.[iii] It’s here where you can learn more about Greg’s Relationship Mindset Movement, his book, tools, and resources to improve student-teacher relationships in the classroom. Relationships are also one of the six social and emotional competencies that we built our podcast framework upon, knowing how important relationship skills are for our well-being and future success. “Social relationships—both quantity and quality—affect mental health, health behavior, physical health, and (even our) mortality risk.”[iv]
If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[v], look to see if Relationships and Authenticity (in Pathway 6, our final pathway in this book study) along with biases, trust and empathy is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year. I was not surprised to see this pathway is a high area of focus for me.
While we have covered relationship building often on this podcast, the one topic we have NOT covered yet is authenticity. This is interesting timing for me, as I’m currently reading a book by a good friend, Mohammed Issa[vi], where he covers the topic of authenticity, in depth. It’s the title of chapter 8 of his forthcoming book, The Midlife Shift[vii] (Reclaiming My Authenticity). I remember years before Mo wrote this book, I could tell he was thinking deeply about this topic. In 2021 he sent me a message, and asked me “what does living an authentic life mean to you?”
I take questions from Mo seriously over the years. I know he’s not messing around. I can go back to my notes from 2021 and I can see that I wrote a few pages of “what authenticity means to me.” These notes are important for today’s episode, and when we meet with Mo the middle of next month.
I wrote: Authenticity: is being genuine or real.
What’s authentic for me personally—it’s living life according to my values. And this takes ongoing refinement. I know what’s important and what drives me daily (health is at the top of my value chart, and I’d never compromise it—it’s first, what I focus on the minute I wake up, and close my eyes at the end of each day). Living life authentically for me, is putting health as my backbone of strength, which I’ve found helps me to skyrocket my personal and professional life. It’s been this way for me, for as long as I can remember.
Living an authentic original life: means living who I am by design.
After health, I prioritize what unique expressions I want in my life—growth/challenge (come next) and these things that I value make me authentic/and uniquely me. I have to fight for these values in my life—to go after them, and keep them at my forefront, because only I know what’s best for me here. If I’m not putting health first, (for myself and my family) or learning, growing, researching, and then disseminating/sharing what I’ve learned, I’m not living my true authentic self. It will hurt my productivity if I compromise who I am, at this granular level.
I took some time off from producing episodes earlier this year, and while it was great to have this extra time, I ended up using this time for things that didn’t truly make me happy at the soul level, like this work does.
What about you?
What does authenticity mean to you?
How do you know when you are living a truly authentic life? It’s eye-opening once we know this about ourselves, so we can course correct, when we veer off this path of authenticity.
Do you know what is special about you? What are your unique gift/talent that makes you stand out from others? A talent that you know deep inside that you must keep working and perfecting, as it’s this talent that awakens your aliveness?
I love how Mo Issa defines authenticity, which shows up as a theme in all his books. After years of self-reflection, Mo believes that “true authenticity means being ourselves—not an imitation of what we think we should be or what others want us to be. We all have a unique gift, and we must find and nurture it.” (Mo Issa, The Shift).
Getting back to Chapter 15 of Grant Bosnick’s book; what does he have to say about being authentic? Bosnick says that before we can build authentic relationships with others, he has us consider what authenticity means to us first.
He says that being authentic is: “being real, being honest and true with yourself, being vulnerable, letting go of your own ego, looking not only at what you like about yourself, but also the “darker part that can be improved or changed (I’ve heard this called our “shadow work”) and having the courage, humility, and discipline to take a hard look in the mirror at who you are.” (Chapter 15, Relationships, Bosnick).
Bosnick covers what holds us back from being authentic and he lists: “fear of being vulnerable, fear of rejection, fear of judgment, fear of abandonment, competitiveness, insecurity, self-protection, jealousy, fear of not being good enough” well I pretty much resonated with the entire list. Some of his list more than others, but right up there, for me, would be “fear of not being good enough” which I’ve been working on for the past 25 years.
When I let go, finally, of caring what other people think of me, it was probably the most freeing experience I’ve ever felt. Sure, it’s nice to be liked by others, but also, to know that not everyone will connect with who I am, the authentic me, and to let go of caring about that, is freeing.
Being Authentic:
What does this mean to you? Do any of the items on Bosnick’s list keep you from being truly authentic?  He asks us some reflection questions:
What might be holding you back from being truly authentic?
What can you do, even small steps, to help you feel more comfortable with being who you are? Being truly authentic?
Being Fake or Superficial
Bosnick goes on to describe why some people show up as fake or superficial. I always think of the character Eddie Haskel from the TV Show Leave it to Beaver when I’m thinking of a “fake” person. He was always trying to impress Mrs. Cleaver, and he came across as insincere. We can all spot people like this, and Bosnick reminds us of why people can come across this way. He says that “it’s in our comfort zone, we want to be liked, it’s easier, our ego gets in the way (and that change can be difficult) when we don’t have the courage, humility and discipline needed to take a hard look in the mirror at who we are.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 177).
What are some reasons for not being authentic?
Bosnick thinks “insecurity, jealousy, inner competitiveness, fear, self-protection” can keep us from not showing others our true selves, and in turn, we can appear fake or superficial. Brene Brown writes about The Power of Vulnerability[viii] as the “birthplace of joy, belonging, authenticity and love” in her 2012 book, with suggestions for how to prevent us from appearing fake in this process. Her book teaches us “how to practice courage, and accept imperfection, to embrace vulnerability and acknowledge our fears.”[ix] She dives into exploring the power of authenticity, of being true to our feelings, thoughts, and actions as the backbone to living an authentic life.
With this in mind, going back to Bosnick’s book, he mentions that he struggled with being vulnerable, with letting others see his true authentic self, and felt he needed to protect himself, but when he “let people see the real me. It was so rewarding and felt so good (and) freeing (so he then) decided to have the courage to be authentic and real.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 177) He was fully aware that some people might not like him, but he knew that was ok, as he knew he would build the right relationships, with those who did.
Reflection on Being Authentic
He then asks the reader to reflect:
What holds you back from truly being authentic?
How can you become more comfortable with being authentic?
I went back to Mo Issa’s definition that we covered in the beginning of this episode that “true authenticity means being ourselves—not an imitation of what we think we should be or what others want us to be. We all have a unique gift, and we must find and nurture it.” (Mo Issa, The Shift).
We will go deeper into Mo Issa’s work when we meet with him next month, but I think that this is what we are supposed to discover about ourselves (FIRST) through self-awareness, and only then, (once we are clear on who we are) can we build more authentic relationships with others.
To close out Bosnick’s chapter 15, on relationships and authenticity, he does cover being self-focused vs other-focused, valuing differences, overcoming our own egos, and putting other people first, which was the theme of Simon Sinek’s famous book, Leaders Eat Last.[x] Simon Sinek penned this book when he noticed that some teams trusted each other so deeply that they would literally put their lives on the line for each other. Other teams, no matter what incentives were offered, were doomed to infighting, fragmentation and failure. Why Sinek wondered? Well, the answer became clear during a conversation with a Marine Corps general who said "Officers eat last." Sinek watched as the most junior Marines ate first while the most senior Marines took their place at the back of the line. Great leaders sacrifice their own comfort--even their own survival--for the good of those in their care.
Bosnick calls this “other focused” and reminds us that “in order to build truly authentic relationships, we need to overcome our own ego and put others first.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 182). Bosnick does cover the different needs of extroverts and introverts, that we have covered on EP 186[xi] as well as different behavioral styles that can help us to learn how to better interact with other people who have different “styles” than we do.
The Neuroscience of Our Social Brain
To close out chapter 15, Bosnick goes into the Neuroscience of Our “Social Brain” and covers the story of the famous Phineas Gage, Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient.[xii]  Without going too deep into the neuroscience, Bosnick explains that “we have two systems in our brain: the X-system and the C-system. The X-system (or reflexive system) is automatic, responsive, like/dislike, reward/threat. Since this part of our brain is non-thinking, it’s not affected by our mental load.
The C-system (or reflective system) is controlled, conscious, with executive function and executive control.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186). Motivation and effort are required to engage this part of the brain, and it can be affected by our mental load.
X-system (reflexive)=automatic
C-system (reflective) =we need motivation and effort to activate
The story of Phineas Gage goes like this: “in 1948 in the United States, (he) survived a blast while building a railroad, which shot a tamping iron through the front part of his brain. Remarkably, he survived. However, his behavior had changed. Where before, he was a mild-tempered, respecting person, his behavior was now to seek reward without consequences, operating only by habit, (and he turned) rude…He destroyed the C-system, (his controlled thinking) operating on X-system only. In other words, he had no control over his automatic, reflexive system, and his behavior became unbearable as a result. He treated everybody as an object for his own personal reward.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186).
The C-system, (that requires motivation and effort to activate) Bosnick explains, is important for self-reflection and understanding self/other relations and occurs in the front (middle) part of our brain. We know this part of our brain as the Default Mode Network[xiii], and the part of our brain where we take breaks for creativity, thinking and learning to occur. He adds to our understanding here by saying that “when the brain is at a resting state, this specific system kicks in, which is focused around social understanding (thinking about yourself, others’ thoughts, others’ actions etc.).”
Bosnick reminds us to “stare out the window and do nothing and (says) your life will thank you, and it will help you to build more authentic relationships. This was the whole idea behind EP 48[xiv], on Using Brain Network Theory to Stay Productive During Times of Chaos.
Bosnick Reminds Us to Go Slow to Go Fast
I can’t even tell you how many times I have heard the phrase “go slow, to go fast” this week, and here it is at the end of chapter 15. Bosnick says that “in order to build truly authentic relationships with people, we need to go slow, to go fast.” He suggests that we “slow down the conversation with people, truly listen to them empathetically and be fully present with them. This will build the relationship to be deeper…go slow with the conversation and communication in order to go fast with the depth of the relationship.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 187).
Reflection Activity: Building More Authentic Relationships
Bosnick suggests the following reflection activity for building more authentic relationships.
Think of a person in your business, or personal life, that you would like to build a more authentic relationship with.
How would you describe them? Are they introverted/extroverted? What are their behavior styles? How do they approach authenticity and relationships?
Let your brain go into your Default Mode Network. Stare out of a window and think: what could you do to build a more authentic relationship with each of the people you are thinking of? How can you go slow to go fast?
I will add one final step, that came from the quote from Mo Issa and suggest that once we have done the work ourselves, and know what makes us truly authentic, we know our own unique gifts and talents, and we continue to nurture and grow them, we can next look outward, and recognize the unique talents and gifts in others. We covered this practice extensively on EP 214 with Dr. Marie Gervais[xv], by learning to see the “spirit” in others.
I’m confident that by practicing these steps, with each person we want to build a deeper, more authentic relationship with, (whether in our personal or professional lives) that we will notice strides of improvement, once we have identified and appreciated our own authenticity and uniqueness. Then, we can recognize it in others for the magic to occur.
 REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #345 on “The Neuroscience of Relationships and Authenticity” we covered:
✔ Mo Issa’s definition of authenticity from his book The Shift: How to Awaken the Aliveness from Within
Mo believes that “true authenticity means being ourselves—not an imitation of what we think we should be or what others want us to be. We all have a unique gift, and we must find and nurture it.” (Mo Issa, The Shift).
✔ Andrea’s reflection from 2021 when Mo Issa asked her “what does authenticity mean to you?”
What’s authentic for me—it’s living life according to my values. Living who I am by design. If I’m not putting health first, (for myself and my family) or learning, growing, researching, and then disseminating/sharing what I’ve learned, I’m not living my true authentic self. It will hurt my productivity if I compromise who I am, at this granular level.
✔ We ask the reader to consider: What makes YOU authentic?
✔ How do you know when you are living a truly authentic life?
✔ Have you identified your unique gifts or talents that make you stand out from others?
✔ Do you know what might be holding you back from being truly authentic?
✔ The Neuroscience of Our Social Brain
“We have two systems in our brain: the X-system and the C-system. The X-system (or reflexive system) is automatic, responsive, like/dislike, reward/threat.
The C-system (or reflective system) is controlled, conscious, with executive function and executive control.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186). Motivation and effort are required to engage this part of the brain.
The story of Phineas Gage who destroyed the C-system, in his brain and was operating on X-system only. In other words he had no control over his automatic, reflexive system, and his behavior became unbearable as a result.
The C-system, (that requires motivation and effort to activate) we learned, is important for self-reflection and understanding self/other. We know this part of our brain as the Default Mode Network[xvi], and the part of our brain where we take breaks for creativity, thinking and learning to occur.
“When the brain is at a resting state, this specific system kicks in, which is focused around social understanding (thinking about yourself, others’ thoughts, others’ actions etc.).” We learned to get into this resting state by “staring out of a window and do nothing (except reflecting on what else we can do to improve our relationships) and this knowledge that we uncover will help us to build more authentic relationships. We learned to slow down the conversation with people, truly listen to them empathetically and be fully present with them. This will build the relationship to be deeper…go slow with the conversation and communication in order to go fast with the depth of the relationship.” (Chapter 15, Bosnick, Page 186).
✔ 4 Steps to Building More Authentic Relationships
Think of a person in your business, or personal life, that you would like to build a more authentic relationship with.
Get to know them on a deeper level. How would you describe them? Are they introverted/extroverted? How do they approach authenticity and relationships?
Let your brain go into your Default Mode Network. Stare out of a window and think: what could you do to build a more authentic relationship with each of the people you are thinking of? How can you go slow with your conversation to go fast with the depth of the relationship?
And finally, we looked at the quote from Mo Issa that suggests that once we have done the work ourselves, and know what makes us truly authentic, once we know our own unique gifts and talents, and we continue to nurture and grow them, next, we can look outward, and recognize the unique talents and gifts in others.
I will close out this episode with a quote from Mo Issa’s second book, The Shift that says “we all have a primal need to belong—a human urge to be part of something larger than us. We fulfill that need when we connect authentically to exchange energy and feel seen, heard and valued.” (Mo Issa)
Let me know what you think. Did this episode help you to improve your authenticity, and deepen your relationships?
I know this episode will take time to practice and refine. It’s taken me my lifetime so far to fully embrace my unique talents and gifts, where I recognize my own authenticity. Now I’ve got the rest of my life to take this understanding and help me to build stronger, deeper relationships with others.
And with that thought, I’ll see you next time where we will cover chapter 16 from Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, on biases.
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #7 with Greg Wolcott on “Building Relationships in Today’s Classrooms”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/greg-wolcott-on-building-relationships-in-todays-classrooms/
[iii] www.significant72.com
[iv] Social Relationships and Health:  A Flashpoint for Health Policy Published August 4, 2011, by Debra Umberson and Jennifer Karas Montez  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3150158/
[v] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
[vi] www.mo-issa.com  
[vii] The Midlife Shift by Mo Issa https://www.mo-issa.com/book (COMING SOON).
[viii] The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Power-of-Vulnerability-Audiobook/
[ix] The Power of Vulnerability by Brene Brown https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-power-of-vulnerability-en
[x] Leaders Eat Last by Simon Sinek 2014, https://www.amazon.com/Leaders-Eat-Last-Together-Others/dp/1591845327
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 186 on “Using Neuroscience to Understand the Introverted vs Extroverted Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-neuroscience-to-understand-the-introverted-and-extroverted-brain/
[xii]Phineas Gage, Neuroscience’s Most Famous Patient https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/
[xiii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #48 “Brain Network Theory” https://www.achieveit360.com/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/
[xiv] IBID
[xv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #214 on “The Spirit of Work: Connecting Science and Business Practices and Sacred Texts for a Happier and Healthier Workplace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/marie-gervais-phd-on-the-spirit-of-work-connecting-science-business-practices-and-sacred-texts-for-a-happier-and-more-productive-workplace/
[xvi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #48 “Brain Network Theory” https://www.achieveit360.com/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/
 
 

The Neuroscience of Resilience: Building Stronger Minds and Teams: Insights from Grant Upbeat Bosnick (Chapter 14)

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity, and results using practical neuroscience.
In Episode 344, we continue with our 18-week self-leadership series, diving into Chapter 14 of Grant Bosnick's book to explore the neuroscience of resiliency. We revisit past episodes with Horacio Sanchez to understand the factors that contribute to resilience and discuss the intriguing analogies presented by Bosnick, including the donkey in the well and the carrot, egg, and coffee bean story.
Learn how to build resilience within yourself and your teams by focusing on Patrick Lencioni's five functions of a high-performing team. Discover how developing willpower, a crucial faculty of the mind, can enhance your ability to overcome adversity. We also delve into new research on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a brain region associated with willpower and resilience.
Join us as we uncover strategies to harness resilience, strengthen our brains, and emerge stronger from life's challenges. Don't miss this insightful episode that equips you with the tools to face adversity head-on and lead with resilience.
On today's EPISODE #344 “The Neuroscience of Resilience: Building Stronger Minds and Teams” we will cover:
✔ A review of past EP 74 and EP 286 on “Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness”
✔ A review of Horacio Sanchez’s work on resiliency: protective vs risk factors.
✔ Ch. 14 from Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership book with 2 intriguing analogies presented by Bosnick, including the donkey in the well and the carrot, egg, and coffee bean story.
✔ Learn how to build resilience within yourself and your teams by focusing on Patrick Lencioni's five functions of a high-performing team. Discover how developing willpower, a crucial faculty of the mind, can enhance your ability to overcome adversity.
✔ Discover how developing willpower, a crucial faculty of the mind, can enhance your ability to overcome adversity.
✔ We also delve into new research on the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, a brain region associated with willpower and resilience.
For Today, EPISODE #344, we are moving on to Chapter 14, reviewing “The Neuroscience of Resiliency,” a topic we have covered a few times on this podcast, way back with Horacio Sanchez, who named his Educational Consulting Business Resiliency Inc. back on EP #74[i] and then we did a deep dive Brain Fact Friday on EP #286 “Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness.”[ii] On this episode we reviewed Horacio Sanchez’s definition of resiliency as “a collection of protective risk factors that you have in your life” and that there are some factors we are born with, and others come in through childhood, family, school, life events and social experiences.
Horacio reminds us that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.”  This is why two people can possibly respond in two completely different ways after a traumatic experience. One person walks away, dusts themselves off, and recovers quickly, (they had more reservoirs of resilience to tap into) while the other has a completely different outcome, and needs more assistance to get back on track.
With resiliency, we can overcome adversity or difficulty and have good outcomes in our life, but you can see why not everyone is born with exactly the same protective factors needed, so we don’t all have the same levels of resiliency. Horacio mentioned that “25% of the population are naturally resilient” and his work focuses on instilling this trait in those who are not naturally resilient due to the number of risk factors associated to them. To this day, he continues with his mission, flying around the country, helping our next generation of students to become more resilient.
Resiliency came out as a low priority for me with the with 0% (Pathway 5) along with Change and Agility, and it makes more sense to me now that I understand the protective and risk factors that I faced growing up as a child, from my family, from school, life and social events. When I review the list, I can see that I was fortunate to have more protective factors, than risk.  
IMAGE FROM EP 74 with Horacio Sanchez.
If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[iii], look to see if Resilience (in Pathway 5) along with change and agility, is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
If you haven’t listened to EP 74, or 286, where we dove deeper into the building resiliency, grit and mental toughness, I highly encourage that you listen to both of these episodes, in addition to what we will uncover today on resiliency.  
So what does Grant Bosnick have to say about building resilience in ourselves, and our teams in chapter 14 of his book? He opens up the chapter with a situation with a farmer and his donkey, who had fallen into a hole in the ground, (a well) and couldn’t get out. Finally, after trying to get the donkey out, he gave up, and decided to shovel dirt into the well, since the donkey was old, and not worth saving. At first Grant writes that the donkey cried with the dirt being shoveled onto him, until he eventually stopped and was quiet. When the farmer looked into the hole he was amazed at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt, the donkey would shake it off his back, and use the dirt to climb up higher, until he was able to easily step out of the hole and trot off happily.
What Grant is showing us at the start of this chapter is that we all will have dirt shoveled on our backs in our life, and “that we can either get buried in the dirt or shake it off and take a step up. Each adversity we face is a stepping stone, and we can get out of the deepest wells by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 160).
There was another analogy in Grant’s book that I liked, about a carrot, an egg and a cup of coffee.  The story went like this. There was a young woman who went to her mother one day, complaining the things were difficult for her with her life. Her mother took her into the kitchen and filled three pots with water, and placed them on the elements, bringing each one to a boil. One pot she placed carrots in, the second, an egg and the third one, coffee beans. After 20 minutes, she asked her daughter what she saw. Her mother’s explanation was eye-opening.
She explained to her daughter that “each of these objects faced the same adversity—boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it was softer and became weak. The egg was fragile…but after being in the boiling water, it’s inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. (Bosnick writes that) after being in the boiling water, they changed the water…(and the mother asked her daughter) when adversity faces you, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161).
Grant asks the reader of his book to think about this question. Which one would you pick? “Are you the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity (wilted) and became soft, losing its strength? Are you the egg that starts with a soft heart, but hardens with the heat? Or are you like the coffee bean that actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that (brought) the pain?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161). I’m hoping that we all desire to experience change with the adversity we face.
Bosnick gives two real-life examples of famous people who took their pain, and changed for the better, because of it. Terry Fox, a distance runner from British Columbia, Canada was his first example and Kawhi (Ka-why) Leonard, a professional basketball player from the NBA. You can look up these stories, if you don’t know them already. Growing up in Canada, I remember Terry Fox’s story well. Terry Fox took the pain of a cancer diagnosis that led to one of his legs being amputated and replaced with an artificial leg, and rather than giving up, or becoming hard or soft, he changed the situation with his Marathon of Hope.  It was “first held in 1981, and has now grown to involve millions of participants in over 60 countries and is now the world’s largest one-day fundraiser for cancer research, with over $750 million Canadian dollars raised in his name.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 162).
Bosnick reminds us that “resilience is not only about bouncing back from adversity, but rather it is about surviving and thriving through the stress caused by the adversity, and changing our situation to make it better.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 162).
Building Resilience in Ourselves and Then with Our Teams
After Bosnick focused on building resilience in ourselves, he went on to show how to build resilience in our teams, and he mentioned a book, that we have recently talked about with mediation expert John Ford, from EP 340.[iv]   I love making connections with past episodes, and when I read Bosnick mention The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni[v], I went straight back to that episode with John Ford. In chapter 14, Bosnick outlines “the five dysfunctions of teams: absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. (Next he outlines) the five functions of a high performing team: trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 170).
Bosnick writes that “when we feel accountable and have attention to results, we adopt a mindset or attitude of control, which enables us to take direct, hands-on action to transform changes, adversities and the problems that they may cause…If we believe that we can influence the outcome of an adverse situation, we are more apt to push ourselves to deal with it. If the opposite is true, we may question our ability to turn adversity around and stop trying.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 171).
When I think of a recent time that I faced adversity, and had to be resilient in the process, if I didn’t think it would be possible for me to be successful, there is no way I would have persevered. Each individual on a team must have this mindset, as they go through change and adversity. The focus must be on Lencioni’s work: “building a high functioning team—with trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results—(that) will lead to proactive behaviors and increase our own (personal) resilience and the resilience in our team.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 171).
Bosnick offers a reflection activity in Chapter 14 where he asks the reader to:
Think of an adverse situation that you are facing at the moment (could be in your work or personal life).
Consider how this situation is making you feel. I’m going to add that if you feel like the situation is in control of you, then you are not going to win. You’ ve got to be confident that YOU are in control of whatever it is that you are going through.
How can you adopt a more prosocial mindset to see the adversity as opportunity to make things better for yourself and others? Thinking of the carrots, the egg and the coffee bean. What will it take to get you to become the coffee bean?
How can you help yourself and your team to be more high functioning? Thinking of Lencioni’s 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, how will you help your team to move towards trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results?
Developing Our Will to Overcome Adversity:
 What will it REALLY take for you to become more resilient and overcome adversity? It will take a highly developed Will Power. We have talked about how to develop this faculty of our mind on EP #294[vi] where we dove deep into the 6 Faculties of our Mind, with our Will Power being one of them. I do highly recommend listening to this episode if you want to review these important faculties.
Since I can always use a refresher myself, I’ll highlight what we covered on this important faculty that we will need to develop, to overcome adversity.
YOUR WILL: This is one of my favorite faculties. (out of the 6: along with our ability to reason, use our intuition, perception, memory and imagination). This one (The use of the Will) gives you the ability to concentrate. While sitting down to write this episode, I’ve gotten up from my desk a few times, but I’m determined to finish writing this, so I can record and release this today. That’s the will at work. You can also use the will to hold a thought on the screen of your mind, or choose thoughts of success, over thoughts of failure. OR-use the power of your Will to overcome the adversity you face, like Terry Fox, or Kawhi (Ka-why) Leonard. If you have a highly evolved will, you’ll lock into doing something, block out all distractions, and accomplish what you set out to do.
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY TO OVERCOME CHALLENGE OR ADVERSITY?
Developing the will takes practice. Meditation can strengthen your will, but so can staring at a candle flame until you and the flame become one. I tried this activity in my late 20s, and remember it was a few hours of staring at this candle flame, before I was able to block out the distractions of the outside world, and the flame extended towards me.  This faculty, like the others, takes time and practice, but once you’ve developed this faculty, you’ll know you have the ability to sit, focus, and do anything. An extension of this activity would be that once you and the flame have become one, try to change the color of the flame. In your head say “blue, blue, blue” and watch the color of the flame turn to blue. Pick a different color and see if you can quickly change the color of the flame from blue, to red, to orange, to whatever color you think of.” This activity will strengthen your will.
BRINGING IN THE NEUROSCIENCE:
It was here that I wondered what neuroscience has to say about this topic. We have covered The Neuroscience of Resiliency on past episodes, but we have not yet covered some new research that Dr. Andrew Huberman discovered this past year about what happens to our brain when we have a highly developed Will Power, that we will need to overcome adversity and challenge. This new research actually made famous scientist jump out of his chair.
DID YOU KNOW that there is a part of the brain called “the Anterior mid cingulate cortex. This area is not just one of the seats of willpower but scientists think it holds the secret in “the will to live?”[vii]
When I first heard about this part of the brain, I knew it was important for overcoming adversity, and helping us to become more resilient.
Scientists discovered that this part in the brain increases in size when we do something we don’t want do, like exercising when we would rather not, or diet or resist eating something we know is bad for us, when we would rather eat the old way.
Dr. Huberman shared on this eye-opening episode with his guest, David Goggins that “when people do anything that they don’t want to do, it’s not about adding more work, it’s about adding more work that you don’t want to do, this brain area gets bigger.” This part of the brain is larger in athletes, larger in people who overcome challenge, and as long as people continue to “do difficult things” this area of the brain keeps its size.
To me, this shows that building resilience in ourselves and our teams is not just good for whatever challenge we are looking to overcome, but we are building stronger, more resilient brains: specifically, stronger anterior mid cingulate cortexes.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #344 on “The Neuroscience Behind Building Resilience in Yourself and Your Teams” we covered:
A review of EP 74 and 286 where we covered the Neuroscience of Resilience with Horacio Sanchez’s work reminding us that our protective or risk factors in our lifetime, will determine how resilient we will be in our life. While 25% of the population are naturally resilient, Horacio asserts that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.” Horacio has dedicated his life to helping our next generation become more resilient.
Next we looked at Grant Bosnick’s book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership (Chapter 14) where he gave us the analogy of the donkey who fell into the well, and demonstrated resiliency when he used the dirt shoveled on him, to climb out. This example taught us that we all will have dirt shoveled on our backs in our life, and “that we can either get buried in the dirt or shake it off and take a step up. Each adversity we face is a stepping stone, and we can get out of the deepest wells by shaking off the dirt and taking a step up.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 160).
Another analogy we learned was through the mother and daughter story, and that when adversity faces you, Bosnick asks us to reflect. “Are you the carrot that seems strong but with pain and adversity (wilted) and became soft, losing its strength? Are you the egg that starts with a soft heart, but hardens with the heat? Or are you like the coffee bean that actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that (brought) the pain?” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 161). I’m hoping that we all desire to experience change with the adversity we face, like the coffee bean.
After learning about building resiliency in ourselves, we learned about building resiliency within our teams, and looked at Patrick Lencioni’s The Five Dysfunctions of a Team. The absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance of accountability, and inattention to results. Then we learned to turn this around, using the five functions of a high performing team: trust, absence of fear of conflict, commitment, accountability and attention to results.” (Chapter 14, Resilience, Bosnick, Page 170).
Then we looked at how we develop resiliency, using our Will Power from EP 294 where I shared an activity to strengthen this faculty of our mind either through meditation, or with an activity of staring at a candle flame, and with time, effort and sheer will power, blocking out everything else around you, until you and the candle flame become one.
Finally, we looked at the fascinating new neuroscience behind the part of our brain (the anterior mid cingulate cortex) that becomes bigger when we use our will power to do those things we don’t want to do. Scientists believe this ability to use our will power to do difficult things, which builds our resiliency, is what’s really behind the will to live.
I hope you’ve found this episode on building resilience in yourself and your teams as valuable as I have, and that when challenge comes our way in the future, that we continue to lean into it, using every ounce of our will power, and become a coffee bean, emerging stronger than the challenge we faced, and knowing that this process is building a part of our brain (our anterior mid cingulate cortex) to be bigger, helping us to continue to do difficult things in our future.
With that thought, I’ll close out this episode and see you next time, with two interviews coming, to help us to continue to build stronger versions of ourselves this year. I’ll see you next week.
REFERENCES:
 
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #74 with Horacio Sanchez on “How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #286 on “Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-building-resiliency-grit-and-mental-toughness/
 
[iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #340 “Navigating Workplace Conflicts: Insights from a Mediation Expert, John Ford”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/navigating-workplace-conflicts-insights-from-a-mediation-expert/
 
[v] The Five Dysfunctions of a Team by Patrick Lencioni Published April 11, 2002 https://www.amazon.com/Five-Dysfunctions-Team-Leadership-Fable/dp/0787960756
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #294 “Beyond Our 5 Senses: Using the 6 Faculties of our Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/
 
[vii] How to Build Will Power Dr. Andrew Huberman with David Goggins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=84dYijIpWjQ
 
 
 
 

Unlocking Brain Health: Insights from a Leading Neuro-Ophthalmologist Dr. Sui Wong

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! In episode #343, host Andrea Samadi interviews Dr. Sui Wong, a renowned neurologist and neuro-ophthalmologist based in London, UK. With over 110 peer-reviewed publications and extensive research in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy, Dr. Wong shares her holistic approach to improving brain health and patient outcomes.
Discover the science behind visual snow syndrome, the impact of lifestyle-specific interventions, and the connection between eye health and neurological disorders like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. Dr. Wong also delves into the importance of mindfulness, nutrition, sleep, and a balanced lifestyle in enhancing overall well-being. Join us for an insightful conversation that bridges neuroscience with practical strategies for everyday life.
Don't miss this episode filled with valuable insights and actionable tips to help you thrive. Welcome, Dr. Sui Wong!
Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/GwR82IYJTbE
EPISODE #343 with Dr. Sui Wong on “Unlocking Brain Health: Insights from a Leading Neuro-Ophlamologist we will cover:
✔ Dr. Sui Wong's career path in medicine, that led her to write 4 books to help her patients (and the world) improve their brain health.
✔ How understanding our eye health can help us to prevent neurological disorders (like Alzheimer's Disease) in the future.
✔ What we should all understand about our eye health for improved health and longevity.
✔ What common neuro-ophthalmology cases she sees.
✔ Why did she introduce Mindfulness into a study on Visual Snow Syndrome?
✔ What would Dr. Wong add to our list of Top 6 Health Staples?
✔ How to learn from Dr. Wong, and find her books.
 
On today's episode #343 we meet with Dr. Sui H. Wong, a Neurologist and Neuro-Ophthalmologist based in London, United Kingdom. In addition to her clinical work as a medical doctor and physician, Dr. Wong is an active neuroscience researcher, who translates pertinent and clinically relevant questions into research, to improve person-centred patient outcomes. Additionally, she has the qualifications and experience to consider a broader spectrum of lifestyle-specific interventions. Dr Wong’s holistic approach in empowering patients has been recognized with many awards, and this is just the beginning for her.
When I was introduced to Dr. Wong, an active neuroscience researcher with a mission of translating important clinically relevant questions into research for improved person-centred patient outcomes, I knew I had to speak with her. She is a widely published author and researcher with over 110+ peer-reviewed publications in medical journals, chapters and conference abstracts, to date. 
I looked at the articles Dr. Wong has published, and one caught my eye. She’s done extensive research that you can find in Ophthalmology Journals, like a recent article that I’m going to paraphrase, but it was called Visual Snow Syndrome (which is a neurological condition where individuals see persistent flickering white, black, transparent or colored dots across the whole visual field) After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy.[i] We have spent some time on this podcast walking through Pubmed.gov, and if you go there, and put Mindfulness into the search bar, you will come up with over 30,000 results.
Let’s meet Dr. Sui Wong, and see what we can learn from her decades of research and her thoughts on what lifestyle-specific interventions she recommends.
Welcome Dr. Wong, thank you for coming on the podcast today, and meeting me, all the way from the UK (where I was born)(Worthing, Sussex). Welcome.
Q1: Can you give us an overview of why you chose this path and ended up in Neuro-Ophthalmology with an explanation of what you do with your work?
Q2: How can understanding our eye health help us to prevent neurological disorders in the future? We’ve covered Alzheimer’s Prevention strategies and I wonder what you would with the importance of our brain health?
Q3: I listened to a recent podcast you did on Neuro Podcases and while I don’t have a case for you, I’ll tell you I had a scary eye experience years ago? It turned out to be an ocular migraine, but I seriously thought I was going blind. Before I spoke to my doctor, I had no idea what this was, and that it was nothing to worry about. What do you recommend we ALL learn and understand about our eye health for improved health and longevity?
Q3B: Is there a connection between migraines in our head, and our gut-brain axis?
Q4: What are some common neuro-ophthalmology cases you see?
Q5: I looked at your research and one of your publications drew my attention. It was the Visual Snow Syndrome study that improved with Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy. Since we talk about Mindfulness often on this podcast, can you share what this study revealed? What can we all take away from the power of Mindfulness?
Q6: What advice would you give us outside of this list that we’ve created from all our interviews, of the TOP 6 health staples to boost our physical, and mental heath, helping us to age gracefully, and how much of our health do you think has to do our brain health?
Q7: For people to reach you, what is the best way? What services do you provide?
Q8: Anything I have missed?
Dr. Wong, I want to thank you for your time, meeting with me today, and helping us to all make the connection with our brain health, and longevity.
RESOURCES AND CONNECT WITH DR. SUI WONG
Thursday Tips-Bitesize brain health tips to thrive:  bit.ly/drwongbrainhealth
Website for Dr. Wong’s books: https://www.drsuiwongmd.com/books
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/drsuiwong.neurologist/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-sui-wong-neurologist/
Mindfulness for Brain Health (in paperback/ hardcover/ Kindle/ audiobook)https://books2read.com/u/4XNXAgBreak Free from Migraines Naturally (in paperback/ hardcover/ Kindle/ audiobook)https://books2read.com/u/bwgG5ZSleep Better to Thrive (in paperback/ Kindle/ audiobook)books2read.com/u/mv0XQ2Quit Ultra-Processed Foods Now (in paperback/ Kindle/ audiobook)https://books2read.com/u/m27M21
Email office@neuroeye.co.uk
REFERENCES:
[i] Visual Snow Syndrome Improves with Modulation of Resting-State Functional MRI Connectivity After Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy published by Sui H Wong, et al, March 2024  https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37967050/
 
 

Mastering Mental and Physical Agility: Strategies for Self-Leadership Insights from Grant Upbeat Bosnick (Chapter 13)

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! In episode 342, we continue our 18-week self-leadership series inspired by Grant Bosnick's book, diving deep into Chapter 13, which focuses on the neuroscience of agility.
Join Andrea Samadi as she explores how physical and mental agility play critical roles in our ability to handle sudden changes and stressors. Discover practical strategies to enhance your mental agility, build resilience, and thrive in the face of adversity.
This episode not only highlights the importance of maintaining physical fitness but also delves into the science behind mental flexibility. Learn how to identify and manage your stressors, strengthen your neural pathways, and become anti-fragile in both your personal and professional life.
Stay tuned for insights from neuroscientist Tara Swart and actionable tips to improve your brain's agility, ensuring you are better prepared to navigate life's challenges. Don't miss this enlightening episode and the upcoming interview with Dr. Sui Wong on resilience!
On today's episode #342 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January. The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) tied to the most current neuroscience research, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024. So far, it’s taken us 8 months to cover the first 13 chapters thoroughly, and we still have 6 chapters to go.  After this week on agility, we have chapter 14 on resilience, 15 on relationships and authenticity, 16 on biases, 17 on trust, 18 on empathy and the final chapter 19 (and one of my target areas to focus on this year), the topic of presence. When we finish each of these chapters, we will put them all together, with a review of each one, in one place. It really has surprised me that a thorough study of this book will take the entire year to complete.
On today's EPISODE #342 we will cover:
✔ The Neuroscience of Mental and Physical Agility
✔ An overview of our personal and professional stressors
✔ Why being antifragile can help us overcome life’s obstacles and challenges
✔ Characteristics of an Agile Brain
✔ 6 Pathways of an Agile Brain
✔ 4 STEPS to Developing an Agile Brain for Future Problem Solving Success
For Today, EPISODE #342, we are moving on to Chapter 13, covering “The Neuroscience of Agility” which came out as a low priority for me with the with 0% (Pathway 5) along with Change and Resilience. If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[ii], look to see if Agility (in Pathway 5) along with change and resilience, is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
I was surprised to see this topic showing up with a low priority, not because this topic is something that I don’t think about daily, but it was when I read the first few paragraphs of Grant Bosnick’s chapter 13, on Agility, where I was reminded that we are talking about physical agility, in addition to mental agility, and as I’m getting older, I notice this area requires extra effort to stay on top of. While the self-assessment says this is not an area of focus for me, it’s one of my TOP priorities at the moment.
Grant Bosnick opens up this chapter by talking about a basketball player who pivots by “maintaining one foot having contact with the ground without changing its position on the floor and utilizes the other foot to rotate their body to improve position while in possession of the basketball. In life and business, when we are faced with a change or challenge immediately in front of us (Bosnick says) it is the same.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership). He reminds us that “in basketball, to be agile and pivot, a player needs to be physically fit and have strong ankles, otherwise they may injure themselves in the moment of stopping suddenly.
Reading this paragraph took me back to my 20s when I was a teacher in Toronto. I loved basketball. So much so that I spent some of my weekends being trained as a basketball coach where I learned drills directly from one of the Toronto Raptor’s coaches themselves. I remember taking these drills to a boy’s PE class, and watched in amazement at the skill of these young men, playing a sport, where I honestly thought there were players in that PE class who should have gone pro. I watched them pivot, and move in ways that I knew I never could. One student worked with me after class, trying to teach me to walk and pass the ball through my legs at the same time, and after an hour, I just gave up. It took these young athletes many years of practice outside of their gym time to develop these skills. Thinking back now, to those days, a few decades later, I know that while I don’t have the same physical agility as I did years ago, and I definitely can’t walk and pass a basketball through my legs at the same time, I still put exercise at the top of my list, and know that when I put in the time here, this helps (not hurts) my ability to pivot maybe not like those basketball players, but enough to be prepared physically, to handle sudden change that inevitably will come my way in life. And while I know that we can’t all be at the same level physically, (depending on the amount of time we can dedicate here) we ALL have the same advantage when it comes to the ability to strengthen our mental agility.
This is where Grant Bosnick takes us in his book, reminding us that “in business or life, when we are faced with a challenge or a change that makes us stop suddenly in our course of action. At that moment, we need to have mental agility to be strong in that moment… (reminding us that) we all face stressors and challenges in life. We need to push through, adapt and thrive in the moment, so that we can pivot, see the opportunities and come out even stronger on the other side.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 145)
Stressors and Triggers
Bosnick covers “various stressors or triggers that may cause us to stop our course of action (with) ways to improve our mental agility and ability to pivot.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 145).
On Table 13.1 Bosnick lists common stressors in the workplace, in our personal lives and I think he’s got ALL of the stressors covered. I looked at what is currently stressing me out (in my work and personal life) and they are ALL on Bosnick’s list in some form. I think that it’s easy to get overwhelmed with work and personal stressors, that I even forgot about daily stressors like traffic, or road closures, not having enough time for the daily exercise, or things that are important to us, or those days where I fall short on sleep, and know I’ll pay for it somehow.
Bosnick does tie chapter 9 on emotion regulation into this chapter, with strategies to overcome our daily life stress, and when we look at the Neuroscience of Mental Agility next, we will connect emotion regulation with a strategy from Tara Swart, MD, PhD, a neuroscientist and author of The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain for improving and strengthening our neural pathways, to improve our brain agility (or mental agility).
Before we can strengthen our mental agility, it helps to know what is stressing us out. I was actually talking about this during the week with one of my good friends from high school. We throw ideas back and forth, and I mentioned that as certain stressors were piling up in my daily life, I was getting to the “end of my rope with them.” She gave me a good analogy, and shared that we can pile up all of our stressors on a book shelf, until we reach our breaking point, and the book shelf breaks. I think it’s good to be aware of our breaking points, and how much we can handle at once.  Bosnick suggests an activity where we identify all of our stressors.
IDENTIFYING OUR STRESSORS
First, look at the stressors on Bosnick’s list, (Table 13.1) and see if you can identify what is stressing you out. I think these days we can also circle workload, and lack of time in our work day, and I’ve circled injury with my girls who are both facing injuries from competitive gymnastics at the moment. Look and see what your stressors are.
Bosnick suggests next to uncover the magnitude of these stressors by rating them on a scale of 1-5.
Here’s where our mental agility comes into play. Bosnick introduces three terms from the book Antifragile by N Taleb[iii] where there are three types of systems, organizations or people.
 The fragile: which is like an egg and breaks under stress. No one wants to be labeled as fragile.
The robust: which is like a phoenix, when destroyed comes back exactly as it was before. This is a step in the right direction, but who wants to emerge from challenge the same as before?
The antifragile: gets stronger from uncertainty—like the Hydra from the Greek myth where you cut off one head, two grows back in its place. It gets stronger from the sudden change.
When we face challenges, changes and stressors, we need to become antifragile in the process according to Grant Bosnick. He also mentions resilience that we will cover next in chapter 14, and have covered this topic often on this podcast[iv] with EP 135 “Using Recovery to Become Resilient to Physical, Mental and Emotional Stressors.” This episode came from some of the biggest AHA moment from EPISODE #134[v] with Kristen Holmes, the VP of Performance Science of WHOOP[i], a wearable personal fitness and health coach that measures sleep, strain, and recovery.
Bosnick, in chapter 13 cover specifically how to grow from adversity, sustaining our peak performance, and that what we want to take away from this chapter is how to “train our brain to be antifragile in order to be more agile in the moment when we face challenges or stressors.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 149)
HOW DO WE IMPROVE OUR PHYSICAL AND MENTAL AGILITY?
Bosnick does talk about the importance of maintaining “a healthy lifestyle, with proper amounts of sleep, food, water and physical fitness. This will increase your energy and mental alertness” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 151) so that when something comes our way, unexpectedly, we can be better prepared, or more agile which will help us to be “prepared to withstand the shock.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 150). He also talks about the importance of taking the time to rest and recover by going for a walk, practicing yoga, or meditating. We’ve gone deep into the Top 6 Health Staples Scientifically Proven to Boost Our Physical and Mental Health[vi] that will provide us with the mental strength “to withstand our stressors in the first place, just like a basketball player needs to have physical strength to withstand the sudden stop.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 150).
Bosnick also suggests “yet another way to improve our mental well-being and strength is to find meaning in what we do (and that) by aligning personal meaning and doing what matters most, we will create a focus and a source of energy that can help us cut through a lot of the chaos. We did cover this topic with Chapter 2 on Goals[vii] and Chapter 3 Inspiration and Motivation[viii].
Bosnick does cover more strategies in Chapter 13 including overshooting, mental self-talk, and the importance of anticipating the future with examples that I know we’ve mentioned before on this podcast, with neuroscientist Friederike Fabritius, who wrote about Wayne Gretsky’s ability to think ahead of the hockey puck. Bosnick shares that “Wayne Gretsky, the greatest ice hockey player in history, once said “I don’t go where the puck is; I go where the puck will be.” And this, Bosnick reminds us “is what we need to think in order to get through these stressors or obstacles and find the opportunities on the other side.” (Chapter 13, Bosnick, Page 156) anticipating and directing ourselves to where we want to be.
Bosnick has us think of ways that we can adapt and manage ourselves through change, urging us to overshoot to strengthen our mental muscles which can endure more than we think, with strategies that include learning to become more optimistic.
It was here that I wondered what else could we learn about the neuroscience of agility (specifically mental agility where we all have the same ability, since we all have a brain) and I wondered if there was a way that would allow us to use our brain to work FOR us, rather than against us, and the answer came when I found Tara Swart MD, PhD, a neuroscientist and author of The Source: The Secrets of the Universe, the Science of the Brain. The answer came to me with her definition of “Mental Agility.”
What Is Mental Agility?
Tara Swart opens up her book, The Source, with a paragraph written by Charles Haanel, from 1919, (you can tell from the language that this was written over 100 years ago) in her Epigraph that reads:
“Some men seem to attract success, power, wealth, attainment with very little conscious effort; while others conquer with great difficulty; still others fail altogether to reach their ambitions, desires and ideals. Why is this so? The cause cannot be physical…hence mind must be the creative force, must constitute the sole difference between men. It is mind which overcomes environment and every other obstacle...”
Tara Swart says that “Mental agility is the ability to switch between tasks and between different ways of thinking, such as logical, emotional, creative, intuitive, physical, or motivational.”
She says that mental agility “also enhances the way you respond to stress and your capacity to keep multiple options open, allowing you to make your thoughts and emotions work for you during challenging tactical or physical events.”
In many ways, mental agility boils down to being flexible and not so hard on yourself, whether life gets in the way of your goals (like with any of the stressors from Bosnick’s list) or you encounter personal slip-ups in your day to day life. We’ve all been there, but how we persevere through all of this is a sign of mental agility. 
Tara Swart wrote this book to offer an up-to-date, scientifically backed method for retraining the brain to direct our actions and emotions to lead us towards our deepest dreams and goals. She shows us how to take control of our own brain, and this powerful understanding took her nine years of college, seven years of practicing psychiatry and ten years of being an executive coach to get to this point.
In chapter 5 of The Source, Swart lists an activity to help us to improve our Mental (Brain) Agility by learning to “nimbly switch between different ways of thinking.” (Chapter 5, The Source, Page 109).
Swart reminds us that we are all “perfectly capable to assessing more of our brain power more of the time. We don’t because we don’t realize how brilliant, flexible, and agile our brain can be.” (Chapter 5, The Source, Page 109).
DID YOU KNOW THAT “an agile brain is one where each of our neural pathways is adequately developed?”
An agile brain Swart says can:
Focus intensely and efficiently on one task at a time
Think in many different ways about the same situation or problem
Switch gradually between these different ways of thinking
Fuse ideas from differing cognitive pathways to create integrated solutions
Think in a balanced way, rather than thinking rigidly (or logical) for example.
What is Swart’s Whole-Brain Approach to Brain Agility?
(IMAGE CREDIT: Credit by Andrea Samadi from Chapter 3, Brain Agility, The Source, Tara Swart).
Swart lists 6 ways of thinking that correlate with a simplified version of that neural pathway in the brain.
HOW AGILE IS YOUR BRAIN?
Swart next suggests that we try this activity to see how agile (or balanced) our brain is to see where our strengths are, as well as areas for improvement.
STEP 1: Draw a circle in a notebook, and give yourself 100% to start of with in the center with “Your Source”
STEP 2: Draw the arms for each of the 6 areas that correlate with brain agility. Emotions, Physicality, Intuition, Motivation, Logic and Creativity.
STEP 3: Call to mind one of your stressors (personal, or work) and rate how much of your brain power went towards each area.
STEP 4: Look to see how effectively you draw from your brain’s resources during times of stress. Did you allocate more energy to certain areas, and less to others?
Swart reminds us that we don’t need to have balance in all areas, but it’s important to “feel strong enough in all the pathways, as well as knowing what your key strengths are.” (Ch 3, The Source, Page 115).
EXAMPLE:
From Andrea: You can see my example in the show notes with a sports injury with both my children that is definitely one of my stressors.
INTUITION 50%
While dealing with anything stressful, I notice that I go straight to my intuition first. Before was even told about each of my daughter’s injuries, I could tell by looking at their facial expressions, and body language that the injuries were important for me to take seriously.
PHYSICALITY 20%
Once I have the intuitive feeling, next I’ll feel something in the pit of my stomach that tells me (to go straight to the ER) or whether we can wait the injury out with some time.
EMOTIONS 10%
While I’m always working on mastering my emotions, it’s impossible for me to hide what I’m feeling. When I’m serious, you will see it on my face.
CREATIVITY 10%
Next I’m thinking of ways to solve the problem, (the injury) and what we will need to do for a speedy recovery.
MOTIVATION 5%
This pathways keeps me focused on the end result
LOGIC 5%
I don’t need to get x-rays or wait for a doctor to tell me the results. While I know that my husband would lean this way first, I rely on different pathways in the brain while under pressure.
If you can take ONE of your stressors, and do this activity, you will learn what pathways in your brain are your strengths. Most people, Swart says have 2 or 3 pathways that they favor, 2 they draw on while under pressure and 2 they don’t use much, if at all.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #342 on “The Neuroscience of Agility” we looked at Chapter 13 of Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership uncovering our top work, personal and everyday life stressors.
Next, we rated our stressors on a scale of 1-5 to uncover the magnitude of what stresses us out on a daily basis.
We looked at three terms from the book Antifragile by N Taleb[ix] where there are three types of systems, organizations or people.
The fragile: which is like an egg and breaks under stress. No one wants to be labeled as fragile.
The robust: which is like a phoenix, when destroyed comes back exactly as it was before. This is a step in the right direction, but who wants to emerge from challenge the same as before?
The antifragile: gets stronger from uncertainty—like the Hydra from the Greek myth where you cut off one head, two grows back in its place. It gets stronger from the sudden change.
We learned that when we face challenges, changes and stressors, we want to become antifragile in the process so that we grow from adversity, and become stronger in the process.
Finally, we looked at Mental Agility, with Tara Swart’s whole-brain approach from her book, The Source, by taking one of our stressors, and rating how much of our brain power we use while problem solving. I highly encourage this activity to notice which pathways you favor during problem solving, which ones you go to while under pressure and which ones you don’t use at all.
The goal with this episode was to show us that while physical agility is important, it’s our mental agility that some, like Charles Haanel, from 1919, believe “overcomes environment and every other obstacle.”
While I will always keep the TOP 6 health staples at the top of my mind to improve my physical agility, I’ll end this episode with a quote from our ALL-TIME most listened to episode from November 2022 on “Applying the Silva Method for Improved Creativity, Intuition and Focus”[x] that has now over 9K downloads.
I hope you have found some valuable insights in this episode, and we will see you next week, with an interview with neuroscientist Dr. Sui Wong, and then chapter 14 on resilience.
See you next week.
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii] Antifragile by Nassim Taleb Published Jan. 28, 2014 https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/0812979680
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #135 “Using Recovery to Become Resilient to Physical, Mental and Emotional Stressors”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-recovery-to-become-resilient-to-physical-mental-and-emotional-stressors/
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science of WHOOP.com on “Unlocking a Better You: Measuring Sleep, Recovery and Strain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE “Top 5 Health Staples” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #323 “Using Neuroscience to Level Up Our 2024 Goals”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-season-11-of-the-neuroscience-meets-sel-podcast/
 
[viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #324 on “The Neuroscience of Inspiration and Motivation”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-self-leadership-series/
 
[ix] Antifragile by Nassim Taleb Published Jan. 28, 2014 https://www.amazon.com/Antifragile-Things-That-Disorder-Incerto/dp/0812979680
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 1 “Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
 
 
 

Unlocking the Power of Soul Health: A Conversation with Pam Buchanan

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! In this enlightening episode, we delve into the intersection of neuroscience, corporate innovation, and soul health with Pam Buchanan, founder of QuantumSense. Pam shares her journey from the high-paced boardrooms of Silicon Valley to exploring the concept of soul health, which she believes is crucial for achieving true well-being and productivity.
Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/4SNJuB3hfEg
Throughout her career, Pam has been at the forefront of innovation, from introducing mutual funds to the banking industry to working alongside visionaries like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg at NASDAQ. Now, through QuantumSense, she aims to bring the concept of soul health to the masses, offering programs that help reduce anxiety, increase energy, and boost overall life satisfaction.
Join us as we explore how practical neuroscience can be integrated with soul health to create a paradigm shift in the workplace and beyond. Pam shares actionable insights and tools that you can start using today to improve your energy levels and overall well-being. Don't miss this thought-provoking discussion that could redefine how you approach your mental, physical, and soul health.
For more information, visit our website and stay tuned for more episodes that bridge the gap between science and practical application.
EPISODE #341 with Pam Buchanan on “Unlocking the Power of Soul Health” we will cover:
✔ How practical neuroscience can be integrated with soul health to create a paradigm shift in the workplace and beyond.
✔ Actionable tools you can start using today to improve your energy levels and overall well-being.
✔ Ideas to BEGIN thinking about soul health, in addition to our physical and mental health.
On today's episode #341, we welcome Pam Buchanan, founder of Quantum Sense, a consulting agency for the new paradigm, something we talk about often on this podcast.
After Pam took an introspective look at how she was able to perform throughout her career – which required her to be able to keep up with the pace of Silicon Valley – she accredited her successes to more than physical and mental health. She began what would be over a decade of research and self-examination to eventually define this as Soul Health. Throughout her personal and professional life, Pam has a long-history of being at the forefront of innovation. She was among the first to bring mutual funds to the banking industry in the 80s, and she identified unicorn startups to take to the public markets.Prior to starting Quantum Sense, Pam served as a Managing Director at Nasdaq for 15 years and was responsible for identifying, building, and maintaining relationships with pre-IPO, companies, founders, c-level executives, venture capital and private equity firms. It is in this role where she was in the boardrooms and minds of some of the world’s greatest innovators including Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg. Pam understands how the corporate mindset has evolved over the past few decades and is ready to lead the next evolution through Soul Health. Now, as the Founder of Quantum Sense, Pam is drawing from her wide-ranging experience and ability to distill and convey complex concepts to bring Soul Health to the masses. She has developed programs and services designed for companies proven to help their employees reduce anxiety, increase energy, create focus, boost creativity and ultimately improve their overall satisfaction in the office and life.
If you look at the direction our podcast is taking, you will see that while I’m always looking for ways to connect the most current brain research to improve our productivity and results, I am also extremely wide open to what else is out there. What else could we all be thinking, and doing, that might be a paradigm shift from our old ways of thinking in the workplace, but ways that will be necessary for us to ALL reach these higher levels of achievement. Ways to understand and improve our own Soul Health.
Let’s meet Pam Buchanan, and learn more about the fascinating intersection she has discovered with neuroscience and corporate innovation, through the lens of Soul Heath.
Welcome Pam! You have no idea just how timely it is that we are meeting. I have been diving into this topic, after being interviewed recently on some other podcasts that focus on this topic, and this is an area of interest for me right now.  Welcome, and it’s an honor to have you on the podcast today.
Q1: When I looked at your background, which is impressive, but it also reminded me of my Mom, who spent years in the financial industry (life insurance) when her heart was in education. She made money, but ultimately, not living her soul purpose for her career led her to many health issues (like Cancer) over the years. It was impossible for me to miss that there was something off with the daily stress she had to led to her health issues. Can you share what led you to go from the fast-paced boardroom, working with some of the world’s greatest innovators like Elon Musk and Mark Zuckerberg, to helping others to improve their Soul Health? Where did this shift begin for you?
Q2: It’s interesting to me that you’ve attributed your past success to more than just physical and mental health. I relate to this, as I’m interested in both of those areas (and the Top Health Staples[i] that drive our performance) but there is a side of me that is the driver behind all the success that I’ve seen over the years, and it’s the spiritual side of me. Or like you say, our Soul Health. What was it for you that helped you to notice the importance of your soul health, and unlocking the depths of your soul’s energy? How did you begin to introduce Soul Health to the corporate world?
Q3: In your decade of research, I wonder who did you study to learn more about this important area of yourself?
Q4: Reducing anxiety, increasing energy, boosting creativity, these are all areas I’m exploring at the moment. Finding NEW tools to do this so that I’m refreshed at the end of a work day, instead of drained. What have you learned that can help us all to embrace our soul/spiritual side, and this new paradigm of work/life balance?
Q4B: What tools are you using? (I’ve recently had my aura read, and it picked up where my energy levels are operating…not far off from what I know about myself from the usual DISC or Myers Briggs Assessments. It picked out my mental state in my working environment and how I’m coming across to others.
Q5: I know that there have been leaps forward in advancements in the workplace, where meditation and mindfulness are now common areas to reduce stress, whereas 10 years ago, these topics were left out of the Corporate World. What are you seeing with your work? Where are we now with talking about this side of ourselves in the workplace? What is the future of soul health to you?
Q5B: Where should we all begin to improve our soul health?
Q6: What services do you provide and how can people learn more about your work?
Q7: What have I missed? Is there anything else that’s important that you would like to share?
Pam, I want to thank you for joining me on the podcast. You’ve added credibility to an area that I know doesn’t need it, but your background and experience could help others bridge the gap into looking at this side of their health. Their Soul Health.
For people to learn more about you, what is the best place?
CONNECT WITH PAM BUCHANAN
Website: https://thequantumsense.com/   and www.senseforward.co
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/pam-buchanan/
pam@thequantumsense.com
RESOURCES:
The Consciousness of the Way with San Qing (Podcast Andrea mentions at 7:35) https://www.instagram.com/theway_126/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EP 307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov “Bridging the Spiritual World with Rigorous Scientific Method” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
Sylvia Brown Secret Societies and How They Affect Our Lives Today January 1, 2009 https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Societies-Affect-Lives-Today/dp/1401916767
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning EP 207 with Greg Link “Unleashing Greatness with Neuroscience, SEL, Trust and the 7 Habits” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/co-founder-of-coveylink-greg-link-on-unleashing-greatness-with-neuroscience-sel-trust-and-the-7-habits/
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Bonus Episode on The Top 5 Health Staples https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
 

Navigating Workplace Conflicts: Insights from a Mediation Expert, John Ford

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! In episode number 340, host Andrea Samadi speaks with John Ford, an experienced workplace mediator and author of "Peace at Work: The HR Manager's Guide to Workplace Mediation." With a wealth of expertise in conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, and soft skills training, John shares his journey from practicing law to becoming a mediator. He discusses the importance of trust, effective communication, and addressing conflict head-on in both personal and professional settings. Discover practical tools like talking sticks and empathy cards, and learn how to apply neuroscience and emotional intelligence to navigate conflicts and improve workplace dynamics. Don't miss this insightful conversation that bridges the gap between science and everyday application!
Watch our interview here https://youtu.be/NShwQio_QAk
EPISODE #340 with John Ford on “Peace at Work: Connecting Emotional Intelligence to Conflict Resolution” we will cover:
✔ The importance of acquiring Emotional Intelligence Skills for conflict resolution in our workplaces of the future.
✔ The influencers who inspired John Ford's work (Daniel Goleman, John Gottman, Ken Cloke and many more.
✔ Tools and resources to support Conflict Resolution in our workplaces. 
 
 
On today's episode #340, we welcome John Ford[i] BA. LLB (UCT) Founder, Author of Peace at Work: the HR Manager’s Guide to Workplace Mediation, who is an experienced workplace mediator and works as a Conflict Resolution Coach and Workplace Mediator.  He’s also a past president of the Association for Dispute Resolution of Northern California and served as managing editor for Mediate.com for over 10 years. Currently, he teaches negotiation and mediation through UC Law SF (formerly UC Hastings).
When I saw the work John has been doing, providing soft skills training on communication, conflict resolution, emotional intelligence, assertion, negotiation, mediation, dealing with difficult behavior, customer service, nonverbal communication, de-escalation, stress management, diversity and inclusion, I knew I had to have him on the podcast. I saw the importance of teaching our next generation of students these important social and emotional learning skills over 25 years ago, working with 12 teenagers, who turned their results in school, sports and their personal lives around, in a matter of weeks. I had to learn more about John Ford’s pathway that took him from practicing law, to working on workplace mediation, training others in these important emotional intelligence training skills.
Let’s meet John Ford, and see what we can learn from his vast experience with conflict resolution to see how he gains trust, with a calming effect in the most difficult and tense situations.
 Welcome John, thank you for meeting with me today. Where have we reached you today? (I’m located in Arizona).
Q1: John, can you share what inspired you to transition from practicing law to focusing on workplace mediation and soft-skills training?
Q2: Can you also explain how your work was influenced by all of these researchers and influencers that our listeners would know well. Like Daniel Goleman, the author of Emotional Intelligence, neuroscientist Antonio Damasio, John Gottman’s evidence-based research as well as Paul Ekman’s work on facial expressions.
Q3: What are some other books that you can point us to improve these important skills, books, like Difficult Conversations (Douglas Stone, Bruce Patton and Sheila Hein), or Nonviolent Communication to help us to improve how to better communicate our feelings in our work and personal lives?
Q4: I see you have created tools to help express our feelings without using blame (which we all know takes us down a pathway to more conflict). I don’t remember how long along it was that I learned to take “you made me feel” out of my vocabulary, since no one can make me feel anything. It was a good lesson to keep in mind that only I control my feelings. Could you explain how The Empathy Set[ii] and The Talking Sticks work and the benefits they bring to users?
Q5: In your opinion, what are the most common challenges organizations face when dealing with workplace conflicts?
Q6: What advice would you give to someone who wants to start incorporating empathy and effective communication strategies into their professional or personal life?
Final Thoughts: Can you share a success story that highlights the impact of your products or training programs on a team or organization?
John, I want to thank you very much for meeting with me today. For people to learn more about you, what is the best place?
 
CONNECT with JOHN FORD
 
John Ford
www.johnford.com
www.empathyset.com
www.empathysetapp.com
john@johnford.com
REFERENCES:
[i] https://www.johnford.com/johnford
 
 
[ii] https://www.empathyset.com/
 

Embracing Change: The Neuroscience Behind Thriving in 2024 Insights from Grant Upbeat Bosnick (Chapter 12)

In episode 339, we delve into Chapter 12 of Grant's latest book, exploring the cutting-edge neuroscience of change. Building on seven months of in-depth discussions, this episode aims to equip you with the knowledge to thrive in 2024 by understanding how our brain interprets change as either a reward or a threat.
We'll revisit key episodes that have previously tackled the concept of change, including insights from futurist Chris Marshall and renowned neuroscientists. Discover how your brain's response to social and emotional threats can be as powerful as its response to physical dangers, and learn practical strategies to navigate these challenges.
Gain a deeper understanding of Maslow's hierarchy of needs and its evolution into self-determination theory. Explore Bosnick's ACRES model—Autonomy, Competence, Relatedness, Equity, and Sureness—to see how meeting these needs can help you embrace change and achieve your goals.
Join us as we unpack Dr. Huberman's insights on how to harness neuroplasticity to create lasting behavioral changes. Learn how to manage the agitation and strain that come with pushing past your comfort zone, and find out how to build a positive change network to support your journey.
Whether you're looking to enhance your agility, resilience, or overall well-being, this episode offers valuable tools and reflections to help you navigate and embrace change with confidence.
Welcome back to SEASON 12 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 6 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #339 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January.  The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) tied to the most current neuroscience research, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024. So far, it’s taken us 7 months to cover the first 12 chapters thoroughly, and we still have 7 chapters to go.  After this week on change, we have chapter 13 on agility, 14 on resilience, 15 on relationships and authenticity, 16 on biases, 17 on trust, 18 on empathy and the final chapter 19 (and one of my target areas to focus on this year), the topic of presence. When we finish each of these chapters, we will put them all together, with a review of each one, in one place.
On today's EPISODE #339 we will cover:
✔ The Neuroscience of Change
✔ How our brains sense rewards versus threats
✔ How social and emotional threats are the same as physical threats
✔ Review of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs
✔ Review of Self Determination Theory
✔ Triggers to watch for during times of change.
✔ How to Change Our Nervous System to change our actions and behaviors, and leave behind a legacy we are proud of.
For Today, EPISODE #339, we are moving on to Chapter 12, covering “The Neuroscience of Change” which came out as a low priority with 0% (Pathway 5) along with Agility and Resilience. I wasn’t surprised to see this topic showing up with a low priority for me this year, mostly because I love change, and am constantly looking for new ways to do things. If I am doing the same things over and over again, I can tend to get bored, so it’s important to find new angles, and challenges, daily to inspire the most creativity.
If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[ii], look to see if Change  (in Pathway 5) along with agility and resilience, is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
We’ve covered the topic of “change” in many different places on this podcast, most recently on EP 296,[iii] with Futurist Chris Marshall on his book “Decoding Change”, EP 244 “Using Neuroscience to Change our Perceptions”[iv], or EP 209 on “Using Neuroscience to Impact Change”[v] where we looked at a quote from the great, late Sir Ken’s famous TED TALK, Do Schools Kill Creativity, where he reminded us that “If you’re not prepared to be wrong, (by not fearing change and making mistakes along the way) you’ll never come up with anything original.” Think about this for a moment. Think of the times in your life where you embraced change. Would you agree with me that embracing change helps us to have more guts and perhaps stretch more in the future? It helps us to build our future confidence levels. There are many different ways to change our brain, like we found out with Dr. Michael Rousell on EP 159[vi] who taught us “How the Power of Surprise Can Secretly Change the Brain.”
So what does Grant Bosnick say about The Neuroscience of Change in Chapter 12 of his book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership? He opens up the chapter with examples of change, asking how we feel when:
Example 1: We are in nature and come across a “breathtaking view” (how do we feel) I love seeing water (rivers, lakes or waterfalls in nature). How about you? What do you enjoy seeing/feeling in nature?
Or, think of this—we are in nature, and we see a large bear in front of us (how do we feel seeing a large bear compared to the first example of the beautiful river or waterfall)? I’ve never seen a bear, but we do see rattlesnakes often on the hiking trails with the same effect as a bear! If a rattlesnake doesn’t kill you with their venom, they could very possibly bankrupt you, due to the high cost associated with treating snake bites.[vii] Think about how seeing a bear or a snake in nature, makes you feel now? The first example is obviously peaceful, and the second quite stressful.
Example 2: We are working hard, and go for our dream position at work, and we are thrilled that we actually land the promotion! (How do we feel) This feels incredible!
Or, you don’t get the promotion, someone else gets it (how do we feel then)? Deflated is a word that comes to mind.
With both of these examples, the breathtaking view, or when we land the promotion we worked so hard to achieve, Bosnick explains “we feel like we got a reward. It’s a rush. We get a sensation in our brain and a hit of the big neurochemicals” dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, norephinephrine, adrenaline.” (Page 132, Ch 12, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
But with the bear in the woods, (or snake on the hiking trails), or being overlooked for the promotion our brain actually sees this “like it’s a threat. We feel tense, stressed, pressure…our body physically feels it.”
Then Bosnick said something that caught my attention that showed me the difference between these two examples. Bosnick says that “Neuroscience has shown us, that the feeling we get from a social or emotional threat (like being passed over for the promotion) is the same as the feeling we get from a physical threat, (like seeing the bear of the snake) and that the negative (threat) response is stronger than the positive (reward) response.” (Page 132, Ch 12, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership). This explains to me why social and emotional threats can have a long-lasting impact on us and deflated just doesn’t cover it. If we let these threats impact us, they do have the ability to zap our future confidence levels.
When we see how our brain interprets “everything and everyone we meet as either a reward or a threat” we can better understand “how our body reacts, (and) our brain and mind think, (leading) to the decisions, behaviors and actions we make.” (Page 132, Ch 12, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership). It’s here that Bosnick reviews the five levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, where the bottom two are our physiological needs (food, water, shelter) then safety needs (health, emotional security, financial security) that we need first for survival. The top three are our psychological needs, social belonging (friendships and love), the need for self-esteem (confidence, recognition and respect) that leads us to the top, with self-actualization (where we pursue our goals and seek happiness). 
Bosnick talks about how Maslow’s model evolved into “Self-Determination Theory” around the year 2000 where researchers found that there were “three physiological needs: the need for Competence (feeling valued for our knowledge, skills and experience), the need for Relatedness (collaborating, connecting or serving others) and the need for Autonomy (being able to exercise self-regulation…to achieve our goals.” (Page 133, Ch 12, Bosnick).
Bosnick expands on this, calling it ACRES, A=autonomy or the feeling of control or choice), C=competence (feeling valued and respected for our contribution), R=relatedness (a need to belong and be accepted, to also have social connections), E=equity (perceiving actions as fair) and S=sureness (the ability to predict what’s going to happen moment to moment).  (Page 133, Ch 12, Bosnick). Bosnick tells us that “if all of our ACRES are being met, it will put us in a toward state and we will fully embrace everything ahead of us; (but) if our ACRES are threatened, it will put us in an “away state” and will then resist or block things ahead of us.
IMAGE CREDIT: Figure 12.1 ACRES Example Grant Bosnick
Bosnick shows us the ACRES example in his life, showing the reward and threats he felt with a work situation.
Understanding our basic human needs, and how they have evolved over the years, helps us to understand why we resist change, whether it’s intentional, or from a subconscious point of view.
Remembering that Our brain is tied into “everything that we do, and everything that we are.” (Dr. Daniel Amen)
I can look at Bosnick’s ACRES example, and clearly think of a work experience I did not enjoy, as it went against the ACRES Model of Needs. With brain science in mind, I can gain more understanding of why I didn’t enjoy this experience, helping me to seek out a NEW work experience, where the ACRES were all met.
When I think of that work experience I did not enjoy, ALL five of the ACRES examples were not met, so I felt the negative threat response in my brain, activated daily, didn’t notice any positive reward responses, and even though I felt like I was consciously making an effort, my brain kicked into the “fight of flight response” just like my body was preparing for a threat (like the bear in the woods, or snake on the hiking trail).  At the end of each day, I felt threatened and not rewarded.
Can you think of when you have felt the ACRES Model working for you (where you feel rewarded) or against you (where you feel threat) while going through change?
Bosnick next explains how open-minded or close-minded we are to change, in his figure 12.2 with an image that was created by Michael Mahoney[viii] the author of The Human Change Process book, who addresses why change is so difficult for people, and how to lean into change, and maximize your chances for success.
“The open-minded/closed minded dimension relates to the degree of mental openness to the environment and our level of curiosity. Open- minded represents the level of reward that we perceive and close-minded represents the level of threat that we perceive. With a passive mindset, we will either subtly support or oppose the change; with an active mindset, we will either overtly support or overtly reject the change.” (Page 137, Ch 12, Bosnick).
We did dive into the emotion of curiosity on our interview with the co-author of the famous book The Archeology of Mind, Lucy Biven on EP 270[ix] where we looked at Jaak Panksepp’s research, and again with Gabrielle Usatynski on EP #282[x] “How to Use Jaak Panksepp’s 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Family, Career and Life.” With this look at effective neuroscience, it makes sense to set out with a “seeking” or curious mindset, while approaching change, to be as open as we all can to what we might learn in the process, while being mindful of what makes you close-minded. Bosnick points out that it’s normal to go back and forth between these two states, but just to be mindful of what shuts you down, or puts you in the threat response. We want to be in the “Bring Change On” quadrant from figure 12.2 but what do we do if something is “triggering” us as a threat response?
Bosnick lists a few triggers we can be mindful of watching during times of change. Some included:
History of this particular type of change: Think about how have you been in the past with the change you are experiencing now? Remember that past behavior can help you to predict future behavior.
Beware of the fear of loss that Bosnick says creates insecurity and unsureness.
Beware of the fear of the unknown.
Lacking a plan.
Fear of giving up our freedom.
If you are going through a change right now, look at the change response quadrant figure 12.2 and see where you would place yourself. Are you clearly in the Bring it On Quadrant, or are you going back and forth between being open-minded (and ready for change) or close-minded (and unsure of yourself).
Look at the list of triggers and see if any of these are causing you to experience a threat response in your brain.
What I love about Bosnick’s book, is how many reflection activities he has, in addition to the Companion Workbook that goes along with this text. Bosnick suggests to “build a positive change network” so you don’t need to face change on your own. He suggests adding in new social connections to increase the positive rewards in your life, and minimize the threat responses you might face.
What Else Does Neuroscience Say About Change?
Can we really change our nervous system—specifically our actions and behaviors that will lead us to NEW conditions, circumstances and environments in our life?
Can we with focus, and with the use of our will, become more open-minded to change in our life?
After learning about how our brain either feels threatened or rewarded during times of change, I wondered what Dr. Andrew Huberman would suggest and I found an episode he did back in 2021 on “How Your Brain Works and Changes”[xi] that gave me some insight into how I can change my actions and behaviors to be more open-minded, getting me to that “Bring it on” Quadrant, so that I’ll see the change I’m experiencing as a reward, instead of a threat.
I think this is brilliant! Using our understanding of practical Neuroscience to actually change our brain, and lean into change, with an open-minded, active mindset, keeping our brain primed for rewards, and aware of how to mitigate threats.
Dr. Huberman suggests that in order to change our actions and behavior towards something, we must first of all understand how this part of our brain works in our nervous system. He dives into an hour long explanation you can watch, but I will give you the short-cut version.
He explains that our nervous system consists of these five things:
We experience sensation (we have neurons that see color, feel sensations, taste, smell). We can’t change our sensory receptors.
We experience perception (our ability to take what we are sensing or paying attention to) and focus on it. He says we can put a spotlight on something we want to pay attention to, for example.
Then we have our feelings/emotions (like happiness, sadness, boredom, frustration) and he reviews how neuroscientists, psychologists, and philosophers argue (like crazy) about this topic, and how emotions/feelings work. Dr. Huberman says that it all goes back to understanding that there are certain neuromodulators that have a profound impact on our emotional state. Dopamine (involved with motivation and reward, and important with things outside of ourselves, things we want to pursue) and serotonin tends to help us to feel good with what we have. Dr. Huberman reminds us that “feelings and emotions are contextual” and that while showing joy/sadness can be appropriate in some cultures, it can also be inappropriate in others. While he says, there are no “happiness” or “sadness” circuits in our brain, but it is fair to say that “certain chemicals, and certain brain circuits tend to be active when we are in a happy/focused state, certain brain circuits tend to be active when we are also in a non-focused, or lazy state” (Dr. Huberman) It makes sense to me here to do our best to lean into the happy focused state as often as we can, knowing we could use the happiness brain chemicals in our pursuit of new things.
Then our thoughts: that are like our perceptions, but they draw on “not just what’s happening in the present, but also things we remember from the past, and things we anticipate in the future…and our thoughts can be controlled in a deliberate way” (Dr. Huberman). We have spent a considerable amount of time on this podcast talking about how important our thoughts are, with ways to lean into positive thinking, and put a hard STOP on the negative thoughts that come our way.
Then finally our actions and behaviors that Dr. Huberman considers to be the most important part to our nervous system. Our actions and behaviors he says are the only things that will create any “fossil record” of our existence. Or I say, they will be what will determine our legacy, or the impact we want to have on the outside world. When we die, our body disintegrates. The sensations, perceptions, feelings and emotions, or thoughts we had in our lifetime “none of these are carried forward” except the ones that we convert into actions (like writing, or actually doing something with the things we THINK about. Our legacy, or “fossil record” is through the ACTION we take in our life.
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea recreated this image from Dr. Andrew Huberman's Solo EP Jan 3, 2001 "How Your Brain Works" 
At this point, I can draw back on MANY episodes where we have focused on taking action (rather than just thinking of what we want to do) but we are focused on the Neuroscience of Change right now. How can we stay open-minded to bring on change in 2024 and keep moving forward?
Dr. Huberman has us reflect back on what builds our Nervous System (our sensations, our perceptions, feelings and emotions, our thoughts) and they ALL lead to this one last part, our ability to TAKE ACTION.
He says that we do “have the ability to change our nervous system” and this is when we “deliberately put our focus on something that we want to do.” This is where the work comes in here. When we want to “learn something new, CHANGE something (like a behavior) and he gives the example of learning to resist speaking, or force yourself to be quiet where we want to actively suppress our behavior and CHANGE our BEHAVIOR or ACTIONS.
When are suppressing a circuit in our brain, (using our forebrain that is fully developed by age 22) to do something different (that’s challenging to us) norepinephrine (adrenaline) is released and it will create a feeling of challenge or agitation as you engage these neurocircuits to push yourself past this threshold of where you normally don’t go. In the situation where we are learning to not speak, and withhold something we really want to say, we are putting self-regulation into action. “You will feel limbic friction that comes from this top-down processing.” (Dr. Huberman).
Think about any time you have tried to take a new action or behavior. You’ll feel annoyed (which is really the adrenaline that’s released from your brain).
“Agitation and strain is the entry point to neuroplasticity” Dr. Huberman
If we can push past this agitation and strain, we will be changing our brain, our actual nervous system, as we create a NEW change of behavior in our life.
This brings me to a quote by Peter Senge where he says that “people don’t resist change. They resist being changed.” That feeling of agitation will come up during change, and when the change is your choice…or something that you really want to do, you will push past the threshold to overcome the change.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #339 on “The Neuroscience of Change” we looked at two examples of what happens to our brain when we see something our brain wasn’t expecting, like the breathtaking view, or when we land the promotion we worked so hard to achieve, Bosnick explains “we feel like we got a reward. It’s a rush. We get a sensation in our brain and a hit of the big neurochemicals” dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, norephinephrine, adrenaline.” (Page 132, Ch 12, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
But when we see a bear in the woods, (or snake on the hiking trails), or we are overlooked for a promotion at work, our brain actually sees this “like it’s a threat. We feel tense, stressed, pressure…our body physically feels it.”
We learned that “Neuroscience has shown us, that the feeling we get from a social or emotional threat (like being passed over for the promotion) is the same as the feeling we get from a physical threat (like seeing a bear or a snake).
When we see how our brain interprets “everything and everyone we meet as either a reward or a threat” we can better understand “how our body reacts, (and) our brain and mind think, (leading) to the decisions, behaviors and actions we make.” (Page 132, Ch 12, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
Next we reviewed Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs that led to “Self-Determination Theory” around the year 2000 where researchers found that there were “three physiological needs: the need for Competence (feeling valued for our knowledge, skills and experience), the need for Relatedness (collaborating, connecting or serving others) and the need for Autonomy (being able to exercise self-regulation…to achieve our goals.” (Page 133, Ch 12, Bosnick).
We learned that when our ACRES are being met, (our autonomy, competence, relatedness, equity, and sureness) it will put us in a toward state and we will fully embrace everything ahead of us; (but) if our ACRES are threatened, it will put us in an “away state” and will then resist or block things ahead of us.
Looking at Bosnick’s ACRES example, we thought about work experience we did not enjoy, to see where it went against the ACRES Model of Needs. With brain science in mind, we can gain more understanding of why we either enjoyed, or didn’t enjoy this experience. It all led back to how our brain either interprets the experience as a reward, or a threat.
We looked at triggers to be aware of to mitigate threat, during times of change.
Finally, we looked at how to change our nervous system, to change our actions and behaviors, so we can leave behind a legacy (or fossil record as Dr. Huberman calls it) that we are proud of.
We learned that “Agitation and strain is the entry point to neuroplasticity” Dr. Huberman
This is when lasting CHANGE is happening at the brain level, and impacting our entire nervous system. So when I’m working on something, (like trying to learn something new…like understanding the neuroscience of change for this episode) and that limbic friction feeling comes up, (and I’m annoyed or agitated) I now have a deeper understanding of what’s happening at the brain level. I will now push forward, stay positive and lean into the change that I know is happening in my brain, as I embrace the change and say “Bring it on!”
The Neuroscience of Change is an exciting topic, and it’s only going to be strengthened with the next two topics, Agility and Resilience.
To close, I’ll revisit the quote from the great Sir Ken[xii], who’s vision for creativity in our schools and workplaces of the future, is something that left a lasting impression on me. If we are afraid of change, of failing and doing something wrong, we will never come up with anything original.  
I hope this episode has inspired you, like it has me, to lean into change, with brain science in mind, and keep working on the legacy or fossil record that you want to leave on the world.
I’ll see you next time.
REVIEW OF OUR MAP (This is chapter 12/19)
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, (after I was inspired to cover Grant’s book after our interview the end of January) we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #296 with Chris Marshall on “Decoding Change”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/futurist-and-behavioral-scientist-chris-marshall-on-decoding-change/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #244  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-neuroscience-to-change-our-perception/
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #209 “Using Neuroscience to Impact Change”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/using-neuroscience-to-impact-change/
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #159 “Using the Power of Surprise to Change Your Beliefs” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-michael-rousell-on-the-power-of-surprise-how-your-brain-secretly-changes-your-beliefs/
 
[vii] Rattlesnake Bites in Pima County Pose Costly Consequences Bri Pacelli April 2, 2024 https://www.kgun9.com/news/community-inspired-journalism/midtown-news/rattlesnake-bites-in-pima-county-pose-costly-consequences
 
[viii] Human Change Processes by Michael Mahoney https://www.amazon.com/Human-Change-Processes-Foundations-Psychotherapy/dp/0465031188
 
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #270 “A short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience” with Lucy Biven https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lucy-biven/
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #282 “How to Use Jaak Panksepp’s 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Family, Career and Life” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/gabrielle-usatynski-on-how-to-use-jaak-panksepp-s-7-core-emotions-to-transform-your-relationships-family-career-and-life/
 
[xi] How Your Brain Works and Changes by Dr. Andrew Huberman 2021 https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wuY0R571xaBTbNOX4yuqY
 
[xii] Do Schools Kill Creativity? Sir Ken Robinson TED Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iG9CE55wbtY
 
 
 
 

Time: Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick: The Neuroscience Behind Effective Time Management Chapter 11

Welcome back to Season 12 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, where we connect science-based evidence with practical applications for improved well-being, achievement, and productivity. I'm Andrea Samadi, your host, and today we're diving into episode number 337, continuing our 18-week self-leadership series based on Grant Bosnick's tailored approaches to self-leadership.
In this episode, we explore chapter 11 of Grant's book, focusing on the neuroscience of time management. Discover how understanding your chronotypes and managing your energy can lead to better productivity and creativity. We'll share insights from Kent Healy's perspective on time management and highlight practical strategies from renowned experts like Stephen Covey and Brendon Burchard.
Learn how to prioritize tasks, avoid common time traps, and use your peak energy periods for deep work. Whether you're an early bird or a night owl, this episode provides valuable tips to make the most out of your 84,600 seconds each day.
Join us as we uncover the science behind effective time management and how it can transform your personal and professional life. Don't miss out on these powerful insights to help you reach greater heights in 2024.
Welcome back to SEASON 12 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 6 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #337 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January.  The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024.
On today's EPISODE #337 we will cover:
✔ We'll share insights from Kent Healy's perspective on time management and highlight practical strategies from renowned experts like Stephen Covey and Brendon Burchard.✔ Discover how understanding your chronotype and managing your energy can lead to better productivity and creativity. ✔ Learn how to prioritize tasks, avoid common time traps, and use your peak energy periods for deep work.✔ How will YOU manage your time, with brain science in mind?
For Today, EPISODE #337, we are moving on to Chapter 11, covering “The Neuroscience of Time Management” which came out as a low, or RED priority for me at 8%, and again, not because this topic isn’t important for me, but I’ve already put strategies for time management into place, so this is not an area I need to focus on this year. It’s interesting to see how each of these lessons play out in our daily life, putting theory into practice. This morning I had to chance to see why this topic showed up as low importance for me to work on this year. I had slotted on my calendar to write this episode, (a Saturday), I started my day at 4am (with early meditation, then some time in the sauna) before hitting the hiking trails for what I call a long 7-mile hike, that I do only if I am fully rested, to guarantee a good day of focused writing. While driving back from this this hike, I had a call from a good friend I had not seen in quite a few years, who wanted to see if we could meet for coffee. I know the time required to write, record and edit this episode, so I told her this was my priority for the weekend, and that I could let her know if I finish earlier. Otherwise, we could plan to meet another time, even though I know it would be great to see this friend. This weekend was not the right time.
So before we even start looking into the Neuroscience Behind Time Management that this topic is important to me. Vitally important. Not just for managing my own time, but also valuing the time of others as well.
If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[ii], look to see if Time Management is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
We covered this topic on the podcast in our early days, with someone I came across about 15 years ago, before publishing my first book, on success strategies for teenagers. I wanted to find other success books were out there, and I came across Kent Healy’s Success Principles for Teens[iii] that he co-authored with Jack Canfield.
At that time, I was working with success principals (character and leadership) with students in the classroom and reached out to Kent for some thoughts on something to help inspire our next generation to think bigger, (like I knew he did) and reach for greater heights. Kent created a video for me that we used with students and I featured this video on EP 33[iv] of our podcast that was called “Time Management, the Greatest Asset We Have.” Kent gives a perspective to the amount of time we have, in a way that 15 years later, I’ve still not forgotten his words in this video recording. You can watch Kent’s explanation of “time management”[v] here, with the visuals that he provided, reminding us that “we all have the same amount of time” and he even breaks it down and tells us how many seconds we have every day (84,600 seconds to be exact). While ALL the experts agree that we can’t create more time, or change this number, some will say we can use our time to generate more of something else (like energy) but Kent’s message was about using this time (these 84,600 seconds we have each day wisely) and focus on what we can control, and that’s our personal growth.
He gives an example of adding just 15 extra minutes a day towards learning something new, and that adds up to 3.8 full days a year, and asks us to think of what value we put on 15 minutes of time.
After thinking about Kent Healy’s message on time, my mind went back to when I heard over and over again, the words from Earl Nightingale, through Bob Proctor, who often would quote Earl’s thoughts on time management. Proctor would quote Earl and say “Time cannot be managed! Nobody masters time management. I merely manage activity.”[vi] Which led me to think about the blocks of time (my activity) that I have on my calendar, and the early morning blocks are non-negotiable. Also, my work hours (whether it’s working on the podcast on the weekend), or my full time work (weekdays) my calendar is blocked off, and the time here in non-negotiable.
Kent Healy’s message about paying attention to what I do with even 15 minutes of time, mixed with Earl Nightingale’s message of managing activities (or blocking out what’s important for us to accomplish each day) is engrained so deeply into my daily habits that I have a deep respect for my time, and other people’s.
Think About These Questions:
Do you value your time?
Do you value other people’s time?
Do you think 15 minutes of time really matters?
Let’s see what Grant Bosnick thinks about Time Management in Chapter 11 of his book. He opens up the chapter by asking us to define what it means to “manage time” and says “it’s more about managing our energy through time.” (Ch 11, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
HOW GRANT BOSNICK MANAGES HIS TIME:
Bosnick does mention Stephen Covey’s The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People that we looked at on EP #207 with our interview with Greg Link, who took The 7 Habits Book to incredible heights, saying that Covey’s work influenced his approach to thinking about time. Bosnick created something he calls his 7 Roles Planning Sheet where breaks down his task list into several different roles we might have in our life (like competent salesperson, collaborative team member, parent, etc). I like how his planner breaks down the different roles we all have, so we can separate our work roles and personal life roles, with the next steps (or goals) to move each of these roles forward.
IMAGE CREDIT: Grant Bosnick Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership Chapter 11
I’ve seen the author of the book, High Performance Habits, Brendon Burchard[vii], create something that also helps break down our long task lists, using different projects with his 1- Page Productivity Planner that I’ve put a link to in the show notes.
I’ve personally used this planner for years to keep track of the steps in certain projects, keeping them all separate. Like writing a new book, or building a new website, with the steps needed in order to move each project forward.
IMAGE CREDIT: Brendon Burchard’s 1 Page Productivity Planner[viii]
The part I liked the most on this planner, was the PEOPLE section, where you keep track of important people you reached out to (helping you move each project forward) to those who you were waiting to hear back from. EVERY important person I have ever met with (over the years) was written on this list, until I crossed them off and had finished what I needed to accomplish with them.
Bosnick also covered a concept that Stephen Covey is known for creating where we pinpoint on a graph what is urgent and important to cover immediately.  We covered this graph, and Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits on EP 68[ix] “The Neuroscience of Personal Change.” The urgent and important quadrant, or quadrant 1, is for tasks and responsibilities that are critical and require immediate attention. These activities are often time-sensitive and necessary for your existence, such as pressing problems, deadline-driven projects, or last-minute preparations. This concept came from Covey’s Habit #3 Put First Things First: Plan Weekly and Act Daily.
Stephen Covey built his whole career around the 4-quadrant chart called the Urgent and Important Matrix[x] where our attention goes to Quadrant 1 with Urgent and Important Tasks completed first and Quadrant 4, Distractions last. I’ve put the chart in the show notes for anyone who wants to see all of the quadrants.
Quadrant 1 - Crises - URGENT and IMPORTANT
Quadrant 2 - Goals and Planning - NON-URGENT and IMPORTANT
Quadrant 3 - Interruptions - URGENT and NOT IMPORTANT
Quadrant 4 - Distractions - NOT URGENT and NOT IMPORTANT 
Whatever method you use to manage your long task list, Bosnick mentions it helps to “see all of the tasks and micro-tasks that need to be done” in one place, and I’d have to agree that it helps to have something printed off where you can see everything that’s important for you to accomplish, in one view.
Bosnick does cover our Circadian Rhythms of Life, and “when we are at our peak energy and peak mental alertness: early morning, late morning, after lunch, evening, nighttime.” (Ch 11, Bosnick) so that we schedule our tasks that require the most cognitive function, in the times we are the most alert, and administrative tasks where less cognitive function in required, around this. This is something I know we are all aware of, but here’s the kicker. What if you had a call from someone you wanted to see, to go meet them for coffee, during the time of day that you know you were the most productive.
Would you meet them, or get your work done first, and then find the time to meet with them? I think the answer to this question is obvious, that high performers, who value their most productive time blocks of their day, would always complete their work first.
I love the section in Bosnick’s book about “Time Traps and How to Overcome Them” as we all could use a refresher on ways to avoid those things that “drain our energy and time.” (Bosnick, Ch 11)
Bosnick’s Top Energy Drainers:
Procrastination
Saying Yes to Everything
The Perfectionist
There are more, but these ones just made me smile. They’ve come up in ALL of the time management courses I’ve done over the years. It’s funny because over the years, I’ve learned to be a bit more flexible with life in general, but with time management, I refuse the bend the rules.
For procrastination: I say “do it now, or it will never be completed.”
For Saying Yes to everything: I say “no to everything FIRST with the contingency that I can get back to the person if something changes.
For the Perfectionist: I understand this one. When I’m interviewing someone, I want what I put out to the world to be perfect, as it usually represents that person’s life’s work. I will put the time needed to be sure I’m proud of the work I’m doing. Brendon Burchard calls this “Prolific Quality Output”[xi] and this is a High-Performance Habit that helps you to focus on the outputs that matter.
Ask yourself:
What are the outputs that matter the most for your personal or professional career?
For me and this podcast, it’s producing high quality, well-researched episodes, that make a difference for others who listen.  In my professional life, everything I say during a presentation matters. I don’t want anything less than perfection, so I’d put the time in to make sure I’m always delivering Prolific Quality Output.
Bosnick suggests “setting your highest priority and focus around this” (Ch 11) and I don’t think there is anything wrong with reaching for the highest standard you can, without burning yourself out.
What does Neuroscience Say About Time Management?
I tuned into Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Episode on “Tools for Better Productivity and Time Management”[xii] and this episode was in agreement with Grant Bosnick’s idea of being aware of our chronotypes. Dr. Huberman mentioned that “For those people who go to bed around 9:30pm-11:30pm and wake in the window of 6am-8am that there tends to be an increase in catecholamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, 0-8 hours after waking, which generally speaking leads to increases in alertness, attention and focus that are great for analytical work, great for implementation of strategies that you already understand.”
Dr. Huberman and his guest, Dr. Adam Grant discussed how many people do not take advantage of these brain chemicals that they also said “provides extra energy and leads to more divergent thinking” as many people will use this important block of time to knock out their emails, or have non-productive conversations with their coworkers-and miss this opportunity.
The Neuroscience of Time Management shows me that understanding my chronotype is a crucial component to whether I will be making use of my time and brain chemistry at the specific time of day when I will have access to extra energy and more divergent thinking that involves creativity that generates new and original solutions to problems.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #337 on “The Neuroscience of Time Management”
DID YOU KNOW:
That our chronotype “the natural inclination of your body to sleep at a certain time or what people understand as being an early bird versus a night owl”[xiii] should be factored into our Time Management Strategy?
“For those people who go to bed around 9:30pm-11:30pm and wake in the window of 6am-8am that there tends to be an increase in (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, 0-8 hours after waking, which leads to increases in alertness, attention and focus that are great for analytical work, great for implementation of strategies that you already understand.” Dr. Andrew Huberman with Guest Dr. Adam Grant
As we are thinking about the best strategies to manage our activities, projects, or even the roles we have in our personal and professional lives, in order to have access to this extra energy, and divergent, creative thinking, we will want to plan our “deep” work 0-8 hours after waking.
This made me think of Grant Bosnick’s Top Energy Drainers:
Procrastination
Saying Yes to Everything
The Perfectionist
With this extra energy, and creative thinking, I would put it all into creative prolific quality work (the perfectionist in me) and use the extra energy to combat against procrastination, while protecting my time by saying no to everything, (at first). I know I can always come back to projects that I would like to do, that have meaning to me, but by truly managing my energy and activities, I am protecting this commodity that we all have: time.
What about you? Will you change anything you are doing now, with this understanding of WHEN you might be the most alert, creative and have the most energy in your day?
This did make me think that the 84,600 seconds that Kent Healy reminded me that we all have each day, and how 15 minutes a day (that adds up to 3.8 days/year) can be used even more wisely with this understanding of The Neuroscience of Time Management.
IMAGE CREDIT: KENT HEALY on Time Management
I’ll close out this episode with a quote from Benjamin Franklin where he reminds us that “lost time is never found again.”
I hope this episode has helped you to see the questions we asked at the start of this episode with a new light:
Do you value your time?
Do you value other people’s time?
Do you think 15 minutes of time really matters?
I will definitely continue to be mindful of other people’s time, and keep working on using my blocks of time in the early morning hours, when I’m most productive and creative.
With that thought, we will close out this episode, and I’ll see you next time for Chapter 12 of Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership on The Neuroscience of Change.
REVIEW
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, (after I was inspired to cover Grant’s book after our interview the end of January) we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
RESOURCES:
Are you a morning lark, or a night owl? https://www.sleepwatchapp.com/blog/on-the-nature-of-larks-owls-in-their-modern-habitat/
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii] Success Principles for Teens by Jack Canfield and Kent Healy April 15, 2008 https://www.amazon.com/Success-Principles-Teens-Where-Want/dp/0757307272
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #33 with Kent Healy on “Managing Our Time, Our Greatest Asset”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-kent-healy-on-managing-time-our-greatest-asset/
 
[v] Author Kent Healy on “Time Management: Our Greatest Asset” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w_ibHzu751I
 
[vi] How to Master Time Management by Bob Proctor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yey59NOFNFY
 
[vii] https://brendon.com/
 
[viii] http://www.experimentswithsuccess.com/2014/09/darren-hardy-interviews-brendon-burchard/1-page-productivity-planner/
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #68 The Neuroscience of Personal Change https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-personal-change/
 
[x] The Urgent and Important Matrix https://www.thecoachingtoolscompany.com/coaching-tools-101-what-is-the-urgent-important-matrix/
 
[xi] https://wakeupitsdayone.com/2018/07/16/increase-productivity-habit-4-of-high-performers/
 
[xii]“Tools for Better Productivity and Time Management” Dr. Andrew Huberman with Dr. Adam Grant  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8B0KWmv_-Q
 
[xiii] Chronotypes Definition https://www.sleepfoundation.org/how-sleep-works/chronotypes#:~:text=Chronotype%20is%20the%20natural%20inclination,bird%20versus%20a%20night%20owl.
 
 

Remembering Dr. Wallace J Nichols: Blue Mind: Exploring the Water-Brain Connection

In this episode of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, host Andrea Samadi revisits a profound interview with Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, the author of the best-selling book "Blue Mind." Dr. Nichols delves into the fascinating connection between our brains and water, inspired by his extensive research and personal experiences.
Andrea reflects on Dr. Nichols' groundbreaking work, which explores how being near, in, on, or underwater can enhance our happiness, health, and overall well-being. This episode covers the origins of the Blue Mind theory, its scientific backing, and practical ways to apply it in daily life to combat stress, anxiety, and burnout.
As we honor Dr. Nichols' legacy, Andrea encourages listeners to practice Blue Mind, understand their personal connection to water, and extend this healing practice to others. Tune in to discover how the magical and mysterious connection to water can transform our lives.
On today's episode #338 we will revisit a previous interview #297[i] from last summer to remember the author of the best-selling book, Blue Mind, Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, who made such an impact on the world with his Blue Mind Movement, and is no longer with us today. While this is a difficult episode to write, I know it’s an important one as I could use the tips I know we are going to cover myself at the moment. I’m also sure there are others in the world who could benefit from revisiting the surprising science that shows how being near, in, on, or under water can make you happier, healthier more connected and better at what you do. I could have left this episode until a later date, even closed to World Blue Mind Day coming up July 23rd (later this month) as I stared at a blank document and the words just wouldn’t come out.  Then when I finally did start writing, last month, the document was erased, so it just must not have been the right words. Or maybe this episode was meant to be written near the ocean as I’m sitting next to the Gulf of Mexico, while writing this. Or maybe even written from the point of view, of being under the water, looking around, and up, to “see” what can be felt deeply with this mysterious brain/mind connection.
Before sitting down to write this episode, I noticed sea turtles swimming around in the ocean, up close to us, and everyone mentioned how rare this was. I just kept thinking of Dr. Nichols telling me (in our interview this time last year) that he studied sea turtles for 30 years, and remembered him mentioning that he was hoping someone else more qualified (like Dr. Oliver Sachs) would write the book he wanted to write, connecting the deep mysterious ocean with the intricacies of our brain.
While revisiting our interview, I wondered:
What else could we learn from Dr. Nichols that we might have missed the first time? You know when you read a good book twice you always see something new. This is because you’ve changed since the first time, and you bring new experiences with you. I wonder what doors this second look would open for all of us?
How can I improve my own Blue Mind Practice? Dr. Nichols mentioned that even if we are doing ok, practicing Blue Mind could still help us, but for those people who are in Red Mind (feeling anxious) this practice could save your life. It’s another tool to add to our tool kit to prevent us from reaching Grey Mind (or Burn out).
How can revisiting this episode help others close to me (starting with my own family) helping them to practice Blue Mind in our daily lives? Also not being afraid of the hardest science in the room (our emotions) and keep talking openly about our feelings, and to not be afraid to reach out to others if we feel Red Mind or anxious thoughts.
How can we highlight Dr. Nichols’ work so that we ALL can do what he suggests we do, by finding “our water, pay attention to how it feels and then take someone else with you” to experience the deep mysteries felt with this Blue Mind that’s backed by science.
Knowing our first interview was an important one, I watched the YouTube[ii] version for the third time this week, writing more notes on top of previous notes, to see if I could dig deeper into the meaning of the words of wisdom covered in our first interview.
Let’s go back and revisit this important interview with marine biologist and author, Dr. Wallace J Nichols, to see if we can take our own practice of Blue Mind, to the next level.
We opened up our interview when I recalled standing next to the bluest water I have ever seen in Turks and Caicos, last summer, 2023, just prior to our interview. I remember our bags were packed, and we were just leaving our hotel to return home, when I was introduced to Dr. Nichols, (via email) after experiencing some of the most “magical” memories that our family has ever felt, near the water. Dr. Nichols recalls those turquoise waters, saying he “knew them well” and we would return home as a family, not knowing we would ALL need Dr. Nichols’ Blue Mind Theory later this summer ourselves. It’s all easy to see these things looking backwards, but the dots had not connected forward yet, like Steve Jobs’ famous Stanford Commencement Speech.[iii]
I knew this was an important interview. For myself, as well as for others.
INTRO: We open up this interview with my introduction about Dr. Nichols, and how the foreword to his book, Blue Mind, was written by Celine Cousteau, one of the daughters of the great Jacques Cousteau who wrestles with explaining the “awe and wonder” of our oceans and waterways. She says “should we leave it, or dive in and explain it?” Jacques Cousteau would dive in, so she decides to do the same and says “it’s about reconnecting our sense of self and soul with our waterways and oceans. It’s about finding creativity, clarity, and confidence in our deep Blue Minds.” (Celine Cousteau) Next, I ask Dr. Nichols to share some of the meaning behind Celine Cousteau’s words in the Foreword, and he shared that she connected her background in psychology to her words.
Then I ask Dr. Nichols about how he made the brain/water connection and I loved his answer. He was hoping that someone else would publish Blue Mind. He searched all over the place for this book, Your Brain on Water, and pitched this book idea to Dr. Oliver Sachs, and he was told over and over again, that this is your book to write.
I understood why he kept looking for this book, from my point of view. I’m a former teacher, from Toronto, trying to make sense of how our brain impacts our future results, specifically as it relates to learning. I remember writing the idea of this podcast down, connecting Neuroscience to Social and Emotional Learning and almost hid this idea from others in the beginning. I’m not a neuroscientist, or anything –ist. But there was a time when I was told, just like Dr. Nichols, “you need to make the neuroscience/education connection” (and was handed a ton of books to read). I remember thinking “this is too hard for me” but I did it anyway. I was determined to learn more about our brain and learning, and paid people smarter than me to explain the concepts I couldn’t grasp. Slowly but surely, I began to understand how our brain learns something new.
Which is why I was so impressed when Dr. Nichols “wrote the book” anyway, connecting the nervous system (that we are still making deeper discoveries with) to largely unexplored bodies of water, like the ocean. He connected top neuroscientists, to those who understood the mysteries within the depths of the ocean. He says himself that it took him some time, explaining to me that he’s a marine biologist, who studied sea turtles for 30 years, and I understood what he was saying. He noted “I’m not a neuropsychologist, I just came in the side door.”  He did the work needed to “put this theory together, because he knew he had to do this. What he created continues to gain momentum over the years. He started a movement, The Blue Mind Movement, with this book that he knew he had to write, and proved that we ALL can make the brain/water connection to become happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what we do.
Q1: I was amazed at the research held in the pages of this book. I had to ask how he did it, and the answer just blew me away. Dr. Nichols talked about how they held Blue Mind Summits where they would connect the leading experts in neuroscience, (like neuroscientist Howard Fields) to those who used these principles in their lives around water, like pioneering top wave surfer, (Jeff Clark) or those who used this magical connection to water to overcome addiction. They were asked one question that they each would answer from their specific point of view. Like making the connection with dopamine (in our brain) and surfing, something that had never been done before.
This is where true learning begins, almost like connecting peanut butter to chocolate to create the Reece’s Peanut Butter Cup. Even though Dr. Nichols mentioned that no one would fund this idea, he just knew it had to be done, and he did it.
He mentions Dr. Dan Siegel[iv] often in Blue Mind, and looked for anyone we knew the science to help make this brain on water connection.
Sometimes I forget what questions I ask on interviews. The questions just come out of me and if you know me, I’m like this in real life. I remember someone saying that meeting me for the first time was like a job interview. I’m so curious, and I will just ask you so many questions, you’d leave our conversation wondering “why so many questions?!” I forgot that I mentioned my fascination with surfing at the north shore of Hawaii to Dr. Nichols until I re-watched our interview. Hollywood really does Blue Mind well, with all the movies, bringing water to life, and television has mastered this topic. Until this weekend, I had no idea that the American animated tv series Spongebob was created by a marine scientist educator an animator, and was the highest rated Nickelodeon Series, and the most profitable, generating over $13B in merchandising revenue.[v] So why did Hollywood[vi] film and television producers see something that didn’t reach those who protect our oceans?  This is what motivated Dr. Nichols to keep talking to those who could help him to make this brain/water connection. Since writing Blue Mind, Dr. Nichols’ mentioned there were hundreds more organizations dedicated to saving our oceans, but more work needs to be done here. I do feel a responsibility to continue to spread Dr. Nichols’ work, and keep his Blue Mind Theory in the forefront of our minds.
And by question 2, I was already asking Dr. Nichols “why am I mesmerized by the ocean?” and sharing how I felt a connection to the Billabong Pipe Masters section of the North shore in Hawaii. He looked at me with deep understanding, and it was here that I knew he understood what I was feeling, as I was starting to understand his Blue Mind Theory. I just couldn’t put it into words. There is something magical about being around water, and I’ve felt it for years.
Q2: I asked Dr. Wallace “Why are many people fascinated with the ocean and the “secrets it holds?” and he reassured me this was common, and he hears this all the time. I thought that if I felt this way, how many others listening also feel this fascination? When he said that “many people feel this way” and that “we are not alone” I felt my emotions coming through. Finally, someone telling me what I feel around water is common. I felt understood at a whole new level. He said “maybe everyone feels this connection” and it might not always be the ocean. It can be a puddle, or even frozen water! Now Dr. Nichols is catching my attention, and I can’t look away. As he listed all the sources of Blue Mind, my awareness is expanding. I had no idea there were so many ways to connect to water, and his words and calm voice were transporting me to what he called “virtual water.”
Now that we know what Blue Mind is, (it’s a feeling of fascination that we might all feel around water) how do we apply it and make use of it in our lives to become happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what we do?
Dr. Nichols directs us to STEP 1 of this process where he says that we must first of all understand our own Blue Mind. I know that I am more creative around water. I know my kids have always loved swimming in the ocean, or swimming pools.  What about you?  How do you feel around water? Have you ever stood mesmerized looking at water, or ice, or fog, and wondered what was capturing your attention? I hope that you feel some sort of reassurance that this is something Dr. Nichols would hear all the time. Now what’s next? What do we DO with this Blue Mind Theory?
STEP 2: Mindfully practice Blue Mind in your life. When you are in what Dr. Nichols calls RED MIND (anxious or super stressed) go to the water, get in the water, float on the water, sit by the water, read your book by the water. Practice this evidence-based method that can help transform you to a better place and make this a part of your “emotional tool-kit.”
Dr. Nichols had a goal to make this common knowledge to transform well-being and wellness, while also transforming our ability to protect these waters.
Q2B: Then it happened, and I no longer am afraid to “feel” deep emotions. It happens ALL the time when I’m connecting with others at the heart level, during interviews, (or in life) and I know Dr. Nichols could see it, let alone “feel” it. My eyes started to tear up, and I had to ask “Why do some of us feel so emotional around the water?” I knew he understood what I was trying to ask him. I loved his answer. He said “when we are in the water, we’re vulnerable. Our armor fades away. We access connection, curiosity, compassion, to each other, ourselves and to the water.”  He reminded me that “It’s a place for reflection. Deep reflection. Deep thought.” I love when I feel comfortable enough to be my whole self with someone else. It’s an incredible place to be.  No need to pretend, or hide, or be someone I’m not. Just exist and be 100% myself. This is how I feel around water, and this inspires my writing, deeper thoughts, and a desire to connect and learn.
Dr. Nichols reminds us that “water soothes the soul” and this is written in the King James version of the Bible, Psalms 23, written 3,000 years ago. Having a bad day, (he says) get down to the water, it will soothe your soul.  This is a deeply ancient concept and Dr. Nichols explains the scientific connection to “why” this happens, in his book. His research goes deep into the water/brain connection.
We make some of our best memories on the water, near the water, with the people we care about. This is true! In your mind, think about the photos you take. How many photos do you have of those you love, that have water associated with them? It doesn’t need to be the deep blue ocean. It was be frozen water (ice) or even fog.
We have our deepest thoughts around water. I know this is true for me! It doesn’t have to be the bluest ocean. Sometimes, on rare cooler days while hiking in the mountains, we can see fog, and it always stops me in my tracks. I never thought of this as Blue Mind until reflecting on Dr. Nichols’ words.
We have our nostalgia around water.
We learn a lot. We reflect a lot.
Our world is simplified around water. Our brain shifts to a different place. A place that Dr. Nichols refers to as Blue Mind.
All of this opens us up to emotions. Sad things. Happy things. We grieve at the water. Many of us cry in the shower but don’t forget that “water soothes the soul” (Psalms 23).
Q3: I wondered what Dr. Nichols discovered when he measured his brain in the water, and his response showed me how far technology has come. They went from their prototype cap, with wires, to now where he said we can measure our brain waves without wires while surfing, kayaking, floating or swimming. I still would like to try this.
If you want to do your own research, go to Google Scholar and type “blue mind, blue health or blue space” into the search bar, to learn more.
Q4: Dr. Nichols explains what happens to our brain while swimming, vs floating, when we are still. He shares that Dr. Feinstein would say our brains can go into delta waves (much deeper than theta) when we are floating).
Standing by a lake will give us this “meditative” state, but most people who have not done this before, might not stay there for 2 hours. Or they might think that mediation is boring. To overcome this, Dr. Nichols suggest, that you can put a fishing pole in their hand, and they might stick around the lake just a bit longer than usual.
Q5: How do we use BLUE MIND to become more self-aware? Dr. Nichols explains that when we are in a crisis of any kind RED MIND (feel anxious, urgency) our thinking narrows and we might feel panic which is useful at times, (it can help us) but it can also (when it’s triggered all the time) lead us to GREY MIND and will eventually burn us out.
So we must learn to rest, relax, breathe to gain perspective. Learn to pause to see things from a new angle. Take a more compassionate approach and you might appreciate the opponent better or learn to understand yourself better. This helps with problem solving and thinking.
IMAGINATION:
When you can’t get to the water, think about water with your own imagination.  We don’t need to go to that turquoise water on the other side of the world. Blue scription is doing blue mind wherever you are. 
I explained to Dr. Nichols during our interview that we had left the deep blue ocean. When we returned home, I completely forgot about ALL of the types of water we have available to us in Arizona, where we say we are land locked. Dr. Nichols opened up my mind, and uncovered a way for anyone to find water.
He would begin with…
WILD WATERS:
Start with wild waters
A river, lakes, oceans 
DOMESTIC WATER:
Pool tub spa showers 
Put a candle in bathroom 
URBAN WATER:
Fountains to sit or walk by
VIRTUAL WATER:
Poetry songs recordings of water apps 
Make your own recording of videos, of water to replay later.
Reminding us that we ALL have an abundance of water, even those of us who think we are land locked.
Q7: When I asked Dr. Nichols about our emotions, or why many people prefer to leave them out of the conversation, he reminds me that “our emotions are the hardest science in the room.” The Science of Emotion is rigorous and complex. He’s now fully aware that the science backs up our emotional side, and knows when this side is ignored, is usually from people who just are not aware of the vast amounts of science behind our emotions. His answer made me feel more comfortable with the fact I know I can “feel” deeply, and to not be afraid of this. I will just keep learning, to understand this difficult science, and am grateful I had this once in this lifetime opportunity to sit down and speak with Dr. Nichols, who opened my awareness up to a whole new level.
Q8: When I asked Dr. Nichols about what has impacted him the most over the years with his study, it was all about helping others. I know his work and Blue Mind Theory can save someone’s life, if you are struggling with a RED mind yourself, (to find peace) and once you’ve gone from RED MIND to BLUE MIND yourself, reach your hand out help others to get through their day. 
Dr. Nichols reminds us that we ALL know someone who is sitting on their couch not sure what the point is, and urges us to go find them and get them to water (of some sort) wherever it is. Take them fishing, he says. Go find your water 
Practice blue mind ourselves first, and then take someone else with you
Reminding us that water gives us peace of mind and heart.
At the end of this interview, I felt a deep connection to Dr. Nichols, so much so, that when I stopped recording, I couldn’t stop the tears. I felt his heart, and years of work with his Blue Mind Theory, and was moved to such a deep level. He understood what I was feeling, and I didn’t need to explain why I was crying. I’m sure it wasn’t the first time that he felt that someone “really connect” with his work.
Looking back now, I’m just grateful that I let him see the true authentic me. Not one that is guarded, or afraid. I had no armor on, was vulnerable just like while floating in water, and Dr. Nichols’ BLUE MIND THEORY message came through loud and clear.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this review of our interview EP297 with Dr. Nichols last summer, I remind us to revisit Blue Mind Theory, no just this month, but every month, making it a part of our emotional tool kit. Every July 23rd is World Blue Mind Day, and I am committed to sharing Dr. Nichols’ work with new reflections each year.
I ask you, the listener, how do you connect to Dr. Nichols’ BLUE MIND THEORY?
When you feel RED MIND, what strategies do you have to move you back to peace and calm of BLUE MIND? Have you tried using the water for this?
I encourage everyone to read Blue Mind, and keep looking at the science. Keep practicing Blue Mind Theory.
STEP 1: Understand your BLUE MIND (what is YOUR Connection to being on near or in water)?
STEP 2: Practice BLUE MIND and finally, grab someone’s hand, and take them with you to water (where ever that might be). Dr. Wallace suggested fishing. I love swimming. What’s your favorite way to practice Blue Mind Theory?
For those of you who feel a deep connection to Dr. Nichols’s work, like me, I wanted to let you know that there is a verified Go Fund Me Page to help Dr. Nichols’ Foundation continue to raise funds to continue to raise awareness around the world. The Dr. Wallace J Nichols memorial fund was established to continue the work of one of the world’s most important environmentalists and change makers.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/nichols-memorial-fund
I’ll close out this episode with a reminder from Dr. Nichols book to keep learning and perfecting whatever Blue Mind is to you, with his final thoughts in our interview.
Q8: Hear from Dr. Nichols himself about what’s impacted him the most about the mystery within the ocean. While I can’t ever call up Dr. Nichols, and ask him for another interview, which is the sad part of this episode, I do believe that his legacy is an important one, and I will continue to reference and practice his Blue Mind Theory in my own life, as well as make connections back to his work in the future, so his work continues forward, helping others around the World, to find peace with this surprising science that shows how being near. In, on, or under water can make you happier, healthier, more connected, and better at what you do.
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Interview with Andrea Samadi and Dr. Wallace J Nichols “Blue Mind” EP #297 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-scientist-and-activistdrwallace-jnichols-on-blue-mind-the-surprising-science-that-shows-how-beingnear-inonor-underwatercanmakeyourhappier-h/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast YouTube Interview with Andrea Samadi and Dr. Wallace J Nichols “Blue Mind” EP #297 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwx1jrHj33c&feature=youtu.be
 
[iii] Steve Jobs 2005 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Interview with Andrea Samadi and Dr. Dan Siegel  EP #28 on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
 
[v] Sponge BobTV Series https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SpongeBob_SquarePants
 
[vi] Chasing Mavericks 2012 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1629757/
 
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick: "Unlocking the Science of Persuasion and Influence" Chapter 10

Welcome back to Season 11 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity, and results using practical neuroscience.
In today's episode, number 336, we continue our 18-week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick's tailored approaches to self-leadership. We delve into Chapter 10, exploring the neural science of persuasion and influence. This topic emerged as a key focus area for 2024, providing insights into why understanding persuasion and influence is essential for long-term success.
We revisit past episodes and notable works like Jack Carew's You'll Never Get No for an Answer and Mark Waldman's Words Can Change Your Brain. Learn about the three modes of persuasion—logos, pathos, and ethos—as well as practical strategies for improving your persuasive approach.
Discover how to apply six scientifically validated principles of persuasion by Dr. Robert Cialdini, focusing on reciprocity, scarcity, and authority. These principles can help you build lasting influence and effectively communicate your ideas.
Join us as we explore the difference between persuasion and influence and how to use these skills to achieve your goals while helping others. This episode is dedicated to Monica Gilfillan, a highly influential figure in education, whose support and inspiration remind us of the power of helping others first.
Don't miss out on these valuable insights to enhance your self-leadership journey. Subscribe, review, and rate our podcast to stay updated with new episodes!
On today's EPISODE #336 we will cover:
✔ The difference between persuasion and influence.
✔ Strategies to improve our persuasion muscles and ways to become more influential for longer lasting relationships and impact.
✔ 3 Tips to Put the Science of Persuasion and Influence into Practice in our Daily Lives.
✔ Dedicated to Monica Gilliflan, a highly influential figure in education, whose support and inspiration remind us of the power of helping others first.
On today's episode #336 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January.  The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024.
For Today, EPISODE #336, we are moving on to Chapter 10, covering “The Neuroscience of Persuasion and Influence” which came as a surprise to me that Pathway Two, showed up as my highest area of focus for 2024. When I looked at the topics that are listed in this pathway, I can see why this area is a work in progress for me, and this self-assessment picked up that I need to make these 3 areas listed in this pathway, a priority in 2024. I’m paying attention to what neuroscience says about persuade and influence, in addition to inspiration, motivation that we covered on EP 324[ii] and presence, that’s the last chapter in this book, and I think the most important. (at least for me).
If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[iii], look to see if Persuade and Influence is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
Thinking back on past episodes, I know we have not yet covered this topic entirely, except for the time I was asked to review Jack Carew’s classic book from 1987 called You’ll Never Get No For an Answer that was covered on EP176.[iv] We explored “Why Our Brains Don’t Like the Word No” and revisited Mark Waldman’s book from 2013 Words Can Change Your Brain where we were reminded that  “Words can heal, or hurt—if you were in an fMRI scanner (that can take a video of the neural changes happening in your brain) (and you were told a firm NO! for something) we could record, in less than a second, a substantial increase of activity in your amygdala and the release of dozens of stress-producing hormones and neurotransmitters…that immediately interrupt the normal functioning of your brain, especially those that are involved with logic, reason, language processing, and communication. And the more you stay focused on negative words and thoughts, the more you can damage key structures that regulate your memory, feelings, and emotions. This may disrupt your sleep, your appetite, and the way your brain regulates happiness, longevity and health.”[v]
In this episode, we looked at 5/10 of Jack Carew’s unique strategies that American Author and Salesman Og Mandino encouraged us all to read to improve our communication and influence with others and I noticed that Strategy 2 was to stop looking out for number one and always look for how you can help others first.
So, after noticing this, I went straight to Chapter 10 of Grant Bosnick’s book, on “Persuade and Influence” to see what he had to say on this topic.
Right off the bat, in the opening of this chapter, Bosnick asks us to think about how we would persuade someone else to do something, like give you a pen you would like to have, for example, or ask for a promotion, or ask someone to buy something you are selling.
Then he differentiates the word persuade that he says “we can think of as quick, more direct, more for short-term or immediate gain” (Chapter 10, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership) while influence he says “is softer, more subtle, much more for longer term and lasting gain.” (Chapter 10, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership)
Persuasion Bosnick says is “more tactical, whereas influence is strategic.”  He gives us the history of persuasion, explaining its origin from the early Greek Philosophers, and that Aristotle wrote about three modes of persuasion: logos (that’s about logic and reason), pathos (that’s about emotion and inspiration) and ethos (that’s about the speaker’s own character and credibility).
Thinking of Jack Carew’s second tip in his book to improve our influence with others (by putting other people first) I think is a good example of a strategy that builds this concept for long-lasting gain (influence) versus persuading someone to give me something that I need for short-term, or immediate gain (like, to pass me their pen, so I can write down something important that I’ll need to remember).
Bosnick provides a list of strategies to improve our persuasive approach, that includes giving people a sense of ownership, or automony to persuade them to take action with something, or by praising them, and making them feel good for taking action.
He offers an exercise to further build our persuasive skills by asking us to complete a sentence: I would like to persuade x to do the following.
Then he brings in Jack Carew’s strategy for becoming more influential and asks us to think about “what’s important to them: their goals, concerns, passions and values.” (Chapter 10, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, Page 109).
Bosnick goes on to explain how to build influence and his exercise reminded me of a networking event I attended in 2014 called Ceospace.[vi] This was an organization where many leaders came up with an idea, and took their idea out into the world, with the help of a larger, more influential network. Author Adam Markel wrote that “it was one of the most magnificent places for entrepreneurs and business owners to come together to seek guidance, insights, inspiration, collaboration, and support.” It’s where Jack Canfield[vii] came up with the idea for his Chicken Soup for the Soul book series, where Lisa Nichols[viii] first began public speaking, and where countless thousands of others launched their ideas into the world.
The CEO of this organization passed away in 2020, and from what I can see, this organization didn’t thrive without his presence. This CEO, Berny Dohrman, had quite a life story. I felt a connection to Berny because of his passion to make an impact on our educational system. He wrote a book called Super Change[ix]  that was about the tools and strategies needed to survive and thrive in an uncertain future.
What I think Berny Dohrmann had that was special, was that he used his influence, to create long lasting change in others. He did not persuade anyone to come to his events for short term results, but was able to influence others easily, with a vision for a better future. It all stemmed around his networking event, where participants would do speed rounds, to meet as many people as possible, asking the other person “What are you working on, and how can I help you.” At the end of the event, participants would have access to high level connections, all who were willing to share the strategies for success that worked for them. It was a brilliant idea, and I know this event took many leaders to new heights.
The Science of Persuasion and Influence
What was so special about how Berny Dohrmann influenced others? Why was Jack Carew’s book from the 1980s still being taught in sales training classes today? I had to look up the Science of Persuasion and Influence and found “6 Scientifically Validated Principles of Persuasion and Influence” that came from Dr. Robert Cialdini.[x] (Chald-ini) I picked the first three to highlight here.
Reciprocity. We are obliged to give if we have been given something. This was the whole idea behind Berny’s networking events. Participants didn’t ask for what they wanted FIRST, they offered to help someone else first, and after you had helped them, they would be more open to helping you. This was also Jack Carew’s second strategy. Stop looking out for number one. Always think of how you can help others first, and you will naturally draw them to want to help you back.
Scarcity. If it's scarce, we want it more. Use this by highlighting the Benefits, Uniqueness and Possible Loss. Berny did this with his networking events by holding them twice a year. If you missed the event, you missed the chance to network with these brilliant minds. Jack Carew picked this as his 10th strategy for becoming more influential. He called his last chapter in the book “Become the Only Choice.” What if you missed the event that would change your future? Carew explains this concept like “the fear of loss.” No one want to miss an opportunity. There is a science to persuading and influencing others and it’s all about showing others how you (or what you offer) is unique and something that no one else (other than you) can offer.
Authority. We are more likely to comply with a request if it is coming from a perceived authority/expert. Dr. Cialdini explains this one on the home page of his website, Influence at Work: Proven Science for Business Success. He says that “it’s important to signal to others what makes you credible before you attempt to influence them.”[xi] It’s better if you don’t do this yourself, and have someone else introduce you, with your credentials, first. This is what made Berny Dohrmann’s networking events successful as each participant was introduced to another person with their credentials and experience, that gave that person instant authority to help, or influence others.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #336 on Chapter 10 on “The Neuroscience of Persuading and Influencing”
DID YOU KNOW:
“There are 6 short cuts to increase the chances that someone will be persuaded?” (Robert Cialdini)
We covered the first three:
Reciprocity. We are obliged to give if we have been given something. Use the neuroscience of influence and persuasion, and think of ways to help others first, (just like Berny Dohrmann’s networking events), instead of thinking what you can gain from other people, think of what you can give to them. Always be the first to give and take the time to make sure what you are giving is personalized and useful to that person. This way, what you will give will have more meaning to that person.
Scarcity. If it's scarce, we want it more. Use this by highlighting the Benefits, Uniqueness and Possible Loss. Take the time to find out how what you are offering to someone else, will help them. You will need to find out what they are looking for to do this, by asking questions, and listening. Then you can “frame what you are saying/offering, so others will find it to be valuable.”[xii]
Authority. We are more likely to comply with a request if it is coming from a perceived authority/expert. Being introduced by others is a fast way to have others learn about your expertise, making you instantly more influential and persuasive.
We looked at Chapter 10 from Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership where Bosnick explained the difference between the word persuade that he says “we can think of as quick, more direct, more for short-term or immediate gain” (Chapter 10, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership) while influence he says “is softer, more subtle, much more for longer term and lasting gain.” (Chapter 10, Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
We looked at a past episode on this topic, taking us back to Mark Waldman’s book from 2013 Words Can Change Your Brain reminding us to be careful of the words we choose to speak to others.
My take-away from this chapter: If I want to improve my influence, it begins with understanding the wants and needs of my audience first (how can I help them) and then being able to say what I mean, and mean what I say. The words I speak do matter when I’m working on gaining influence.  If I’m speaking with someone, and not being completely honest, or not meaning what I say, I know that this can be felt by the other person, and it will hurt my ability to gain trust, rapport and influence. Our brains can detect “benefits and threats”[xiii] and I want to be sure that I’m drawing those I want to interact with towards me, not away from me.
Once I have gained influence with someone I am speaking with, then I can take my persuasion skills to the next level, and we can begin to work together on our common goals.
For example, if someone is asking me in a sales situation if I can offer them a discount. When I’ve build rapport and trust with this person, I can say “yes, I can give you 5% off this order, if you would be able to guarantee the order will come in by the end of this month.” We can begin to use our persuasion and influencing skills to not only give others what they need, but also negotiate with them, for what we need.
I hope this episode has helped to give you some ideas on ways to practice the neuroscience of persuading and influencing, to help others with their goals first, and then in turn, allow you to move yourself forward in this process, with these skills.
I also want to end this episode, with a mention to someone I ran into recently, who I had not seen about 10 years. I ran into Monica Gilfillan[xiv] an avid listener of this podcast, and I had no idea, until we spoke recently and she shared how these episodes were helping her with new ideas. This made me feel proud and grateful (coming from a peer) and did infuse me with some extra energy to keep going with these episodes. If there is someone I would list as highly influential, who knows how to persuade others, it’s Monica Gilfillan. Over the years, I noticed as I connected with a new person in the field of education, they were always connected to her. After she shared how the podcast was helping her, she went straight to ask me how she could help, and what I needed. We all need people in our network who are wired to help others, and I highly suggest connecting with Monica, especially if you are in the field of education. She is an influencer who everyone can benefit from knowing. I thought it was fitting to dedicate The Neuroscience of Persuasion and Influence to Monica Gilfillan and to thank her (and all of you who tune in) for listening.
CONNECT with Monica Gilfillan https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicagilfillan/
And with that, we will close out this episode. We’ll see you next with Chapter 11 on Time Management.
REVIEW
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, (after I was inspired to cover Grant’s book after our interview the end of January) we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #324 on “The Neuroscience of Inspiration and Motivation”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-self-leadership-series/
 
[iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #176 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-communication-why-our-brain-doesn-t-like-the-word-no/
 
[v] Words Can Change Your Brain by Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman, Published July 30, 2013 https://www.amazon.com/s?k=words+can+change+your+brain&gclid=CjwKCAjwoP6LBhBlEiwAvCcthCiCJCWZ-n3nMbmllmxcYj7pY9p3EGBjIT1liFGTzVVBlYWdxCBg6hoC3DMQAvD_BwE&hvadid=241598338504&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=2910883915011355196&hvtargid=kwd-36327312367&hydadcr=15527_10340956&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_2ixec66yv3_e
 
[vi] https://ceospacemembers.com/
 
[vii] https://jackcanfield.com/
 
[viii] https://motivatingthemasses.com/
 
[ix] Super Change by Berny Dohrmann October 31, 2019  https://www.amazon.com/Super-Change-Survive-Thrive-Uncertain/dp/1949003906
 
[x] https://www.influenceatwork.com/7-principles-of-persuasion/
 
[xi] The Science of Persuasion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cFdCzN7RYbw
 
[xii] The Neuroscience of Influence https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-5CZ2AXT1o
 
[xiii] The Neuroscience of Influence Leadership Coaching by Dean Newlund https://mfileadership.com/2021/01/27/the-neuroscience-of-influence/
 
[xiv] Monica Gilfillan https://www.linkedin.com/in/monicagilfillan/
 
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick "Emotion Regulation: The Neuroscience Behind Staying Strong and Clear-Headed" Chapter 9

Welcome back to Season 11 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast! In episode 335, we delve into the neuroscience of emotion regulation, a crucial skill for personal and professional success. Host Andrea Samadi continues the 18-week self-leadership series inspired by Grant Bosnick’s book, focusing on strategies to enhance our ability to manage emotions effectively.
We explore practical tips from Bosnick, such as labeling emotions, creating distance from them, and reframing situations to view them more positively. Additionally, we highlight the importance of sleep for emotion regulation, drawing insights from experts like Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Matthew Walker. Discover how improving your sleep quality can lead to better emotional control and overall well-being.
Join us as we connect the dots between neuroscience, sleep, and emotional intelligence to help you achieve greater heights in 2024 and beyond.
On today's episode #335 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January.  The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024.
 
For Today, EPISODE #335, we are moving on to Chapter 9, covering “The Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation” which showed up on my leadership self-assessment as a low, RED score, of 20%, but again, not because it’s not something I don’t need to pay attention to, this is something I pay attention to daily, right up there with physical health that is listed in Pathway Four of Grant’s Self-Leadership Map.
If you’ve taken the leadership self-assessment[ii], look to see if Emotion Regulation is of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
Before looking at what Grant Bosnick has to say about Emotion Regulation in Chapter 9 of his book, I looked around to see what else I could find on this topic.
We actually have already covered this topic as one of the six social emotional learning competencies that we launched this podcast with, back in August, 2019[iii] and we called that episode “Self-Regulation: The Foundational Learning Skill for Future Success.”  In this early episode, we defined self-regulation as “the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance of the situation. It includes being able to resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli, to calm yourself down when you get upset, adjust to a change in expectations and (the ability) to handle frustration”[iv] In other words, it’s the ability to bounce back after a setback or disappointment, and the ability to stay in congruence with your inner value system. 
HOW TO HELP OUR CHILDREN WITH EMOTION REGULATION:
We covered some tips on this early episode to help our children to practice this skill, and strengthen their “self-regulation” muscles, beginning with:
Naming the emotion they are experiencing at a given moment, with a strategy (like stopping to take some deep breaths when something frustrates or overwhelms them) so they can keep working, and move forward.
Uncovering what motivates each of us to develop intrinsic motivation that can help propel us forward.
Taking brain breaks, or “unfocused moments” that allow for the brain to solve problems during these resting states.
WHAT GRANT BOSNICK SUGGESTS FOR EMOTION REGULATION:
Then we covered some tips to help us to continue to strengthen these self-regulation skills in the workplace, and I wondered what Grant Bosnick had to say in chapter 9 of his book on this topic. Within the second paragraph of this chapter, he explains the science behind emotion regulation when he outlines that “neuroscience has shown us that the exact same feelings we get from a physical threat also occur as social and emotional threats.” (Page 91, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick).  This took me back to working with children with this foundational learning skill, that determines future success, and the whole idea that “social and emotional threats” can impact us (stop us in our tracks) exactly as if there was a actual physical threat (like coming face to face with a bear in the forest).
In Chapter 9, Grant explains some different ways to regulate our emotions, and he uses a graphic to demonstrate how to move forward, while regulating our emotions, instead of spiraling out of control, downwards, and it begins with where we focus our attention. If we focus on the emotional aspects, he tells us “it will drive us into a downward spiral” but if we learn to “focus on the nonemotional aspects, or distance ourselves (from whatever it is that is bothering us) this is the start to creating an upward spiral.” (Page 94, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick).
  
IMAGE CREDIT: Image 9.2 from Grant Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership
TIP 1: LEARN TO LABEL OUR EMOTIONS:
Bosnick agrees with the steps we created to build emotion regulation in our children, as he also mentions the importance of being able to name or label the emotion that you are having first.
TIP 2: DISTANCE YOURSELF FROM EMOTIONS THAT ARE BOTHERING YOU TO PROVIDE TEMPORARY RELIEF: Then he suggests to find ways to distance yourself from the emotion (he calls this attentional deployment) to give you temporary relief from the situation. He mentions seeing the issue through someone else’s eyes, and I remember Dr. Maiysha Clairborne sharing this strategy back on EP 289[v] when she explained the importance of stepping into someone else’s shoes when you are in conflict with them, to feel what they feel, and even stepping back and looking at the entire problem from above (outside of anyone’s shoes) to gain a new perspective.
TIP 3: REFRAME THE CONFLICT: Next Bosnick suggests “reappraisal or reframing” the conflict, by looking at it in a more positive way. He mentions that mindfulness can help us to “take a step back, lower anxiety, bring attention to the moment, become less judgmental about what is happening, help the brain to not attach meaning to the emotions and be open to new meaning and new connections.” (Page 97, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick). He suggests looking at the situation from someone else’s point of view to reframe it.
TIP 4: LEARN TO REGULATE OUR EMOTIONS BY FINDING STRATEGIES THAT KEEP US STRONG, AND CLEAR HEADED: It’s his last technique of “response modulation” that caught my attention the most, because we’ve all experienced this. Once we are hit with an emotion about something, he asks “is it better to suppress it, or acknowledge it?” (Page 99, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick). He says “when we feel strong, clear-headed and have executive control, it is better to acknowledge the emotion so we can regulate it.” (Page 100, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick).
EMOTION REGULATION AND SLEEP:
So in a world where we are hit daily by external stimuli, how on the earth can we be proactive to stay mentally strong and clear-headed so we have improved executive control to manage our emotions and regulate them? This took me straight to the work of Dr. Andrew Huberman, and Dr. Matthew Walker who recently recorded an episode called “Improve Sleep to Boost Mood and Emotion Regulation.” [vi] It was here where I learned just how important sleep is for keeping a strong, clear mind, so we can use this strength to acknowledge and regulate our emotions, like Bosnick suggested.
Dr. Walker, a professor of neuroscience and psychology at the University of California, Berkeley and the host of The Matt Walker Podcast, gave example after example that proved that when you’ve NOT had a good night’s sleep, things that wouldn’t bother you (when you’ve slept well), begin to aggravate, or grate on you more.
Here’s what I found to be remarkable on this topic, something I had not ever heard before.
DID YOU KNOW that "The greater amount of REM sleep you are getting (where our dreams occur), the greater amount of emotional detox you will get the next day?" (Dr. Matthew Walker).
Dr. Walker went on to explain that “the brain chemical noradrenaline (that’s responsible for our stress reaction) completely shuts off during REM sleep, and serotonin (that plays a role with our mood) decreases, while acetyl choline (that carries messages from our brain to our body through nerve cells) increases by up to 30% in some parts of the brain (and can be even more active than when we were awake).  Dr. Walker concluded that the decrease of stress related brain chemicals is what makes “REM sleep was the perfect condition for overnight therapy.”
If we want to improve our emotion regulation, the science is pointing directly to improving our sleep.
Diving deep into the 4 stages of sleep and suggestions to improve our sleep is something I’ve been working on for the past 5 years. There is a lot to this, and I’m still working on improving ALL the macroingredients of a good sleep (suggested by Dr. Walker), that include QQRT, or knowing the quantity (amount of sleep), quality (fragmented vs continuous), regularity (sleeping/waking around the same time) and timing (sleeping in alignment with my chronotype).  Dr. Walker dives deep into all these areas with Dr. Huberman, and if you do wonder where you can improve, I highly suggest their 6-part series on sleep.
 TIPS FOR IMPROVING EMOTION REGULATION BY IMPROVING OUR SLEEP:
Here are three tips that I took away from the neuroscience of self-regulation, that I’ve been working on, to see if improving my sleep in these areas, could possibly improve emotion regulation.
KNOW HOW MUCH DEEP SLEEP WE ARE GETTING EACH NIGHT: We all know the importance of knowing how much sleep we are getting to be well-rested the next day, (how many hours or the quantity) but it’s also important to keep an eye on the QUALITY or amount of DEEP RESTORATIVE sleep we are getting each night.
 
Most of us could all sleep a bit longer (or I’ll speak for myself here) because this is one area that’s hard to do living in Arizona. If I want to beat the summer heat, we need to wake up early to exercise before the heat advisory warnings go off around 8am, and this means that to get one benefit, (daily exercise) it comes at the cost of losing some sleep. 
In addition to knowing I need to improve how long I’m sleeping, (and ways to offset waking up early for exercise) it’s also being sure that I’m getting quality sleep each night. This is my current area of focus that I’ve been tracking the past few months. You can see from the diagram in the show notes that there are some nights I went above my average of 2 hours 22 minutes of restorative sleep, measuring this using the Whoop wearable tracker, and other nights I was far below. When I looked at what was happening in my life on those days where restorative sleep was low, there wasn’t anything that stood out, other than when I began to pay attention to ALL areas of sleep (QQRT-quality, quantity, regularity and timing), restorative sleep improved. There are many type of trackers you can use to track restorative sleep. The tracker I use tells me how much deep sleep I’m getting (that’s physically restorative) and how much REM sleep (that’s mentally restorative).
KNOW HOW MUCH REM SLEEP WE ARE GETTING:
Keeping an eye on how much REM sleep we getting, is my next tip, since we know it’s important for consolidating new memories, learning and motor skills. We also just learned that the more REM sleep we are getting, we can say we are getting some good overnight therapy, restoring ourselves mentally. You can find sleep trackers that can help you to measure and track these important ingredients of a good sleep for yourself, and see how much REM sleep you are getting each night, while keeping in mind that “the greater amount of REM sleep you are getting, the greater amount of emotional detox you will get the next day.” (Dr. Walker)
I noticed this number improved just by forcing myself to stay in bed a little bit longer, even if it was only waking up, and saying “try to go back to sleep for another 15 or 20 minutes” and this improved REM sleep, since the REM sleep rich phase is at the end of the night. You can see the purple areas on the graph of my REM sleep in the show notes, right at the end of my sleep. If I had not pushed to stay asleep till after 5:00am (my internal clock would have me getting up at 4am) then I would have missed out on some valuable REM sleep here. If you can measure this for yourself, you can find ways to increase this valuable sleep stage for yourself. I’ll also add that if you can remember your dreams, especially the ones just before you wake up, you can learn a lot about yourself, increasing your self-awareness.
Remember, we are working on ways to help with our emotion regulation, and it seems to me, that an easy way to do this, would be to see how we can improve our REM sleep.  
APPLY THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP TO IMPROVE EMOTION REGULATION: Since “during REM sleep the stress chemicals are turned off” helping us to “strip away the emotion from the memory” we can take this understanding a step further, and see if we are able to solve any of our problems during sleep.
Dr. Huberman and Dr. Walker went into great detail about this concept[vii] that I’ve actually witnessed it first-hand. They described what happens in REM sleep to be like “Behavior-Desensitization” and I had the opportunity to see the stages of this process, done by someone skilled and trained in trauma and the brain, working with someone I know well, who has experiences significant trauma in their life, starting at an early age. Using a series of techniques, the trained therapist took the client safely from talking about a traumatic memory from their childhood, (with exteme emotion attached) to where they could say out loud that the memory had lost its emotional load and no longer gave them an emotional reaction. This is exactly what happens to our brain during REM sleep and why it’s mentally restorative.
Putting these tips all together, and knowing that improving the quality, and quantity of sleep is linked to improving emotion regulation, I’m working hard to improve restorative sleep and REM sleep, each month.  I hope these tips have given you some insight on NEW ways that sleep can improve our emotion regulation.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #335 on Chapter 9 on “The Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation”
We looked at where we covered self-regulation in our early days of this podcast back in August of 2019, with some tips for teaching this skill to our children or students. This skill is one of 6 social and emotional skills that are finally being taught in our schools today. This is a foundational skill for future success.
We looked at Grant Bosnick’s suggestion to regulate emotions in his book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership with his chart that suggests:
TIP 1: Labelling our emotions, and looking for a way to distract/create distance from them to provide temporary relief. If we focus on the emotional aspects, he tells us “it will drive us into a downward spiral”
TIP 2: If we learn to “focus on the non-emotional aspects, or distance ourselves (from whatever it is that is bothering us) this is the start to creating an upward spiral.”
TIP 3: Reframing the emotion, or changing the way we think about it, by looking at the problem from a different perspective, can help to see it in a more positive way.
TIP 4: In Bosnick’s last technique of “response modulation” he mentioned that once we are hit with an emotion about something, he asks “is it better to suppress it, or acknowledge it?” (Page 99, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick). He says “when we feel strong, clear-headed and have executive control, it is better to acknowledge the emotion so we can regulate it.” (Page 100, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick).
CONNECTING THE SCIENCE OF SLEEP TO IMPROVE EMOTION REGULATION:
This led us to dive deeper into the neuroscience of emotion regulation with the work of Dr. Andrew Huberman and Dr. Matthew Walker, known as The Sleep Diplomat.
“Sleep moves the needle on almost every aspect of brain and body health” Matt Walker
Before listening to Dr. Walker’s most recent episode with Dr. Huberman, I had no idea that the research would point to a direct correlation with a good night’s sleep and our emotion regulation.
DID YOU KNOW that “The greater amount of REM sleep we are getting, the greater amount of emotional detox we will get the next day?” (Dr. Matthew Walker).  
Grant Bosnick said that “when we feel strong, clear-headed and have executive control, it is better to acknowledge the emotion so we can regulate it.” (Page 100, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick).
It therefore makes sense to me that in order to strengthen emotion regulation, then we must therefore strengthen our sleep.
3 TIPS FOR IMPROVING EMOTION REGULATION BY MEASURING OUR SLEEP:
KNOW HOW MUCH DEEP SLEEP WE ARE GETTING EACH NIGHT
KNOW HOW MUCH REM SLEEP WE ARE GETTING
KNOW THAT INCREASING REM SLEEP= OVERNIGHT THERAPY
 Finally, how will we know if we are improving our emotion regulation by improving our sleep? Ask yourself how well you are doing with this. Remember: When we feel strong, clear-headed and have executive control, (it is better to acknowledge the emotion so) we will be able to better manage our emotions.  (Page 100, Chapter 9, Emotional Regulation, Bosnick).
This is a work in progress for me, but without asking anyone else, I know that the research is accurate when it shows that
“sleep deprivation increases reactivity in the amygdala by 60%.”[viii]
To best way to improve reactivity in the amygdala, is by getting sufficient sleep. Improving all the ingredients of sleep (quality, quantity, regularity and timing).
I also know that when I’m getting a good night sleep, my senses are more activated, and I can see more beauty in the world, especially with others around me.
I’m more accepting of myself, and know that I’m stronger and more peaceful, which is what Grant Bosnick suggested for being able to improve this foundational success skill.
This translates to the work I’m doing, looking at the world through a different lens where life becomes more joyful, creating hope that anything is possible (for myself and others).
And all of this came from connecting the science behind a good night’s sleep to emotion regulation.
I hope this episode has given you some helpful ideas, and we will see you next time, as we move to chapter 10 of Grant Boswick’s book on the Science Behind Persuading and Influencing.
REVIEW
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, (after I was inspired to cover Grant’s book after our interview the end of January) we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #14 “Self-Regulation: The Foundational Skill for Future Success” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-regulation-the-foundational-learning-skill-for-future-success/
 
[iv] How Can We Help Our Kids with Self-Regulation https://childmind.org/article/can-help-kids-self-regulation/amp/
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #289 with Dr. Maiysha Clairborne on “What Hold Us Back: Getting to the Roots of Our Doubts, Fears and Beliefs”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/maiysha-clairborne-md-on-what-holds-us-back-getting-to-the-root-of-our-doubts-fears-and-beliefs/
 
[vi] Dr. Matt Walker: Improve Sleep to Boost Mood & Emotional Regulation | Huberman Lab Guest Series
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_SrHS8FvMM
 
[vii] Dr. Matt Walker: Improve Sleep to Boost Mood & Emotional Regulation | Huberman Lab Guest Series
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_SrHS8FvMM
 
[viii] IBID
 
 
 

Diving into The Mindset of a Champion: Insights from Nigerian-American Basketball Player, Ike Diogu

Welcome back to Season 11 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast! In Episode #334, host Andrea Samadi reconnects with Ike Diogu, a former Division I college athlete turned pro, whose impressive mental mindset left a lasting impact on her over 20 years ago.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/hvBHF4ectQI
EPISODE #334 with Nigerian-American Basketball Player, Ike Diogu on "The Mindset of a Champion" we will cover:
✔ Ike's journey from ASU to the NBA and Beyond.
✔ How his upbringing, influenced by his family shaped his mental toughness
✔ How his coach, teammates and personal values played a role in his success in the NBA and as the captain of the Nigerian Basketball Team.
✔ How Ike inspired Andrea, over 20 years ago, to continue working with students and social and emotional learning skills.
Discover the story of Ike's journey from Arizona State University to the NBA, and how his upbringing, influenced by a deep-thinking father and supportive siblings, shaped his mental toughness. Learn how Ike's coach, teammates, and personal values played a role in his success, both in the NBA and as a captain of the Nigerian national basketball team.
Andrea and Ike delve into the importance of mental preparation, goal setting, and the power of a supportive environment. Ike shares his experiences from the Rio 2016 Olympics and his ongoing passion for basketball and mentoring others. This episode is a testament to the power of social and emotional learning, and the impact of mental mindset on achieving extraordinary results.
Don't miss this inspiring conversation that highlights the intersection of neuroscience, emotional intelligence, and athletic excellence.
On today's episode #334 we meet with someone who caught my eye, over 20 years ago when I worked with athletes at Arizona State University. Sitting in front of Ike Diogu, years before his exciting career would unfold, I just knew he would be successful. I was in my late 20s, and hadn’t published my first book yet, The Secret for Teens Revealed, that was written with the purpose to help our next generation sharpen the skills that were integral for achieving goals (in school and sports). It designed to develop certain ways of behaving and more importantly, thinking, that would enable young people to achieve whatever it is that they want in life.
Working with elite College athletes at ASU, I thought would be a great place to test out the chapters of this book (Chapter 1- Developing a Winning Attitude, Chapter 2- Developing Your Mind, Chapter 4-Goal-Setting and Persistence, Chapter 5-Building Your Confidence Formula for Predictable Results for Success). You get the point here. So, one day, I asked Ike a series of questions to “feel out” where his mindset was, and I’m not kidding, he almost knocked me out of my chair.
Whatever I asked Ike, he had a well-thought out answer, that told me for certain that he didn’t need the book I wanted to publish. He had already learned these skills at a young age, that I knew would skyrocket his future success. I just remember thinking “where will Ike Diogu end up?” and while I didn’t follow his career over the years, I did see his photo on the wall one day, going down to the baggage claim at Arizona’s Sky Harbor Airport, and it was then that I thought back to the moment I knew this young man had everything he needed, for an exciting and successful life.
Of course I was going to look for him, and see if he would be open to coming on the podcast. We’ve learned about the Daily Grind in the NHL on EP #38[i], Accelerating Leadership in the NFL on EP #166[ii] but I knew I’ve always been missing the Mindset of the Athlete.
I’m honored, and so excited to connect back with Ike Diogu,[iii] who I’ve not seen face to face for over 20 years, and dive into “The Mindset of a Division 1 College Athlete Turned Pro.”
Welcome Ike!
Thank you for agreeing to meet up with me here, and filling me and our listeners in to what you’ve been up to the past 20 years!!  I wonder, when I reached out to you, do you remember me from back at ASU? You wouldn’t know that that was my first official job in the US. I came from Toronto, Canada, with so many hopes and dreams for our next generation, and September 11th really made it difficult for me. Working with you gave me vision and hope during what I remember as my most difficult and challenging times in a new country. I used to look forward to those days at ASU, and knew you were helping me much more that I was helping you.  It does come full circle sometimes when we get to tell those people who helped to motivate and inspire us. I’m so grateful to have had the chance to work with you back then.
INTRO Q: Before we get to where you went after I met you at ASU, can you just orient our listeners to your background BEFORE you went to College at ASU? Where did you grow up, and I’m looking for where did your winning mindset come from? Was it your Dad with a doctorate degree in Philosophy do you think? Who taught you these skills (they are called SEL skills now)--I knew they were important, (had this book written but not yet published) and they hadn’t yet made it into our schools yet?
Q1: I mentioned that you made a memorable impression on me all those years ago. It was your mental mindset that stood out to me. So much so, that when I saw your photo on the wall at the Phoenix airport, going down to the baggage claim, I completely freaked out and said to my husband “I knew Ike Diogu was going places! I just knew it!” I’ve kind of got a 6th sense for seeing talent, and while I like to see the talent in EVERYONE, I notice that not everyone uses the gifts they’ve been given, but you were in full use of them all when I met you. I had to watch an incredible interview you did on “Pioneering the Golden Age of Nigerian Basketball” from 3 years ago to get up to speed with where I last saw you, but can we start with something I saw somewhere that you said in that interview? You said “throughout all the adversity that I had throughout my professional career, I think the mental toughness (Coach Evans) instilled helped me get through some of the really tough times I faced.” I remember your Coach walking around at ASU…he had quite the presence.  How did coach Evans help strengthen your mental toughness? I saw it as very strong already, back then. What did he teach you to set you up for success AFTER playing College Basketball?
Q2: I’ll credit the photos I’m using in this interview to the African in Sports interview you did 3 years ago. It did help me to accurately see where you went after ASU. I had no idea…I just knew you would do amazing things in the world. In this photo, the interviewer asked about your teammates at ASU and look at that smile. I knew ASU was special for you, but what do you think made it so special, enough that you would really have to think about leaving there, to go to the NBA?
Q3: Let’s go to when you were drafted to the NBA. You said yourself “I never would have imagined that I would have made the jump that I made.” I did…but 20 years ago, ( I saw you would have Quantum Leap success) I was just learning to trust things like heightened intuition that I never ignore anymore. Tell me about your mindset of “putting your name into the draft” and then playing at open gym in Garland, TX. In the back of your mind, what were you thinking?
Q4: So, back at ASU, I remember asking you questions about where your confidence levels were, or your attitude and mental mindset. Those are all pretty normal questions, but I knew they weren’t being taught in our schools. Now I’ve been researching the science behind high performance for 20 years, and working on bridging the gap with some things that might be considered spiritual in nature, but when I saw the #9 that you wore for when you were drafted into the NBA for the Golden State Warriors, I can’t help but ask “what does the number 9 mean to you? Anything? Or are you just assigned that number based on your pick? I ask this because the #9 is considered a lucky number in many cultures, and is associated with spiritual growth, selflessness and humanitarianism.
I had to look at the numbers you wore at ASU. #5-is known for freedom, curiosity and change, as well as a desire to have adventures and explore new possibilities (which I think is interesting that it’s here where you left College BB and leaped forward to the NBA).  Does this mean anything to you?
Then #6 is associated with responsibility, service and nurturing, that I saw you brought to the Nigerian Team with your background in the NBA. But I also saw a photo of you on your IG page, in front of Garland High School, that has the slogan “Enter to Learn, Go Forth to Serve.” I’m guessing this was your High School. Do you think your natural ability or drive to serve others began here, or before this?
There isn’t any science to the numbers, but I did notice the well-known numerology meanings coincided with each team, staring with #9 and I was curious if any of the numbers have meaning to you.
Q5: So, now take us to Nigeria where I saw you were the Captain of your team. What did you teach your team that you learned from the NBA about preparing to go against your opponent?
Q6: I heard you say “In order to get to the next level that we want to go, you need to do X, Y, and Z” and I wonder what were some of the important strategies you taught them? What was X, Y and Z?
 Q7: The Rio 2016 Olympics—What was that experience like?
Q8: Where are you now? Are you playing for Venezuela? What’s been your path since the Olympics? What is your vision for the next 5 years?
Ike, it’s been an honor to reconnect with you. I’m so grateful for this chance to have you on the podcast really just to let you know that you had these skills all along, and I hope other who tune in around the world can gain some inspiration and hope from your life experience. When I look back over the years, the people I’ve had on as guests have made an impact on me in some way (whether from their research in the scientific world, or in education, or those who just made me stop and think about how I can better serve the world). You definitely caught my attention 20 years ago, and watching the interview you did (African in Sports Interview)[iv] I was beyond moved from not only your mindset for excellence, but the desire to help others to reach their greatest heights. I look forward to following your work in the future, and know you will continue to stand out in your field.
Thanks for meeting with me today!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Some final thoughts. At the end of this interview, I thanked Ike for giving me such incredible hope at a time in my life when I didn’t have it all figured out. I remember having these huge visions for these important social and emotional learning skills that were not yet taught in our schools, and Ike’s grasp of these skills propelled me forward. This was years before we had the research behind these SEL Competencies that we now know skyrocket academic achievement, healthy relationships, mental wellness and so much more.[v] These SEL skills are integral in our classrooms today. I think it’s important to be open at all times to learn from others, as you never know what it is that might help you in the future, like Ike helped me to stay focused on this work. I do highly encourage watching the interview I mentioned, “Ike Diogu: Pioneering the Golden Age of Nigerian Basketball”[vi] if you want to learn all of the details of Ike’s Motivating Story “Diving into the Mindset of a D1 College Basketball Player, turned Pro.”
I’m grateful to have had the chance to reconnect with Ike, and do want to give a shout out to all the parents out there, like Ike’s Dad, who are raising their children to be mentally and physically strong. Also, the coaches, like coach Evans[vii], who took Ike to the heights he needed to be successful at the pro level, and taking his mental toughness to greater heights.
I believe we all have the ability to do just what Ike did, (maybe not with basketball, but I mean make Quantum Leaps with our results) and as Ike said himself, he “never would have imagined making the jump that (he) made.” But I did. I bet his Dad and family did as well. And Coach Evans did. Ike was surrounded by people who believed in him.
Which is a testament for all of us to keep learning, growing, and reaching for the next level in whatever it is that we want in our lives, and encourage others to do the same.
I’ll end with a quote from Thomas Edison:
See you next week as we continue with our Self-Leadership Series, and chapter 9, on Self-Regulation.
RESOURCES AND MORE ABOUT IKE DIOGU
Ike Diogu | Pioneering the Golden Age of Nigerian Basketball | AIS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=OHb6W9TKzcs
Ike Diogu on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/blackcaesar01/
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/
 
[ii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/vice-president-executive-producer-of-the-new-york-jets-chris-gargano-on-accelerating-leadership-for-maximum-impact-and-results/
 
[iii] Ike Diogu https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ike_Diogu
 
[iv]Ike Diogu | Pioneering the Golden Age of Nigerian Basketball | AIS
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=OHb6W9TKzcs
 
[v] https://casel.org/
 
[vi] Ike Diogu | Pioneering the Golden Age of Nigerian Basketball | AIS
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=OHb6W9TKzcs
 
 
[vii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rob_Evans_(basketball)
 
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick: "The Neuroscience of Expectations" Chapter 8

Join us on episode 333 in the 11th season of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. Our mission, as always, is to equip you with actionable, scientifically supported methods to hone social-emotional learning skills, boost productivity and promote overall well-being. This episode continues our 18-week self-leadership series informed by Grant Bosnick's proven strategies. In this installment, we turn our attention to the crucial role of expectations in our lives.
Starting off the discussion in the engaging world of Grant Bosnick's book, we dissect the meaning and importance of expectations. We then explore the crucial aspects of emotion regulation, persuasive traits, effective time management, and the vast concept of change. This episode revisits key moments from our previous chapters, ranging from the neuroscience of goals to the significance of hydration on brain performance, AHA moments, creative insights, and more.
The highlight of the episode is an in-depth exploration of the science of expectations, underpinned by Grant Bosnick and David Robson's book, 'The Expectation Effect.' Here, we probe the profound influence of positive and negative expectations on our daily life, mindset, goal achievement, and even health. Inspired by teachings from luminary mentors like Bob Proctor, this illuminating exploration of expectations is designed to leave you with a fresh perspective.
Stories from an unforgettable seminar 20 years ago bring to life the immense power of expectations. Understanding the neuroscience connections, we further explore dopamine and its correlation with our level of expectations. Practical tips to apply these psychological insights in day-to-day life are provided as we take you on an intellectual journey from theory to practice.
Throughout the episode, you will discover how to better regulate your expectations to boost your happiness, productivity, and confidence. This intellectual journey will equip you with the tools to tap into the power of expectation and unlock a better version of yourself. Expect the best and join us to uncover the enormous potential within you.
Stay tuned for our next episode, 'The Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation', as we continue our intellectual journey.
Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #333 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] the end of January.  The goal was that each week, we focused on learning something new, (from Grant’s book) that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024. Today we cover Chapter 8, “The Neuroscience of Expectations” and l look at what Grant Bosnick covers on this topic, as well as a deeper dive into David Robson's book, The Expectation Effect.
 
We will cover: 
✔  What is the meaning and importance of expectations?
✔  An unforgettable moment when Andrea first encountered the power behind our expectations. 
✔  We will explore the science of expectations to boost your happiness, productivity, and confidence.
✔  3 TIPS for applying The Neuroscience of Expectation to your daily life.
✔  Ideas to trouble-shoot applying this concept, along with belief, to achieve your goals and dreams. 
I did need to take a short break from writing and recording since we last covered this book, the end of March, with new responsibilities in my work world. I’ve got my footing now, and missed researching, recording, and producing these episodes. The benefits that I personally receive from gathering this information, and sharing with it you, the listener, wherever you might be tuning in around the world, helps me in many different ways, but mostly, this work keeps me thinking, and making connections, neural connections, which we all know is important for cognition and learning. I did appreciate the notes from listeners of past episodes they have found helpful, and will continue to provide my best work here. We will resume the final 5 chapters of Grant’s book, based on Self-Leadership strategies, covering the topic of expectations today, then emotion regulation, persuade and influence, time management and ending the series with change.
Just a reminder that we left off with Chapter 7 on “AHA Moments and Creative Insight.[ii]” There is great power and immense self-awareness that comes along with mapping out a plan designed specifically for YOU and I do encourage everyone to take Grant Bosnick’s Leadership Self-Assessment[iii] so you can see the areas for you that score a high, medium or low level of importance for you to focus on this year.
REVIEW Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 7
Before we cover Chapter 8 today on Expectations, let’s review where we left off, since this is a good reminder for me, to make the connections from these prior episodes.
It’s here I’m hoping we will take the information we are learning, (from Grant Bosnick’s book) connect the dots to form knowledge and then apply this knowledge to our daily life. This is where we go from theory to practice with this podcast and it’s the application of what we are learning that contains the magic.
REFLECT Back to Chapter 2 on The Neuroscience of Goals (and Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Theory): What are we doing to gain the momentum needed to reach NEW and HEIGHTENED levels of performance this year? How are we improving our mental and physical health to gain the momentum we talked about in this chapter? Just the fact that you are here listening to this episode, and I’m writing it, is a good indication we are all building this skill. What have you noticed with the momentum you’ve built with your goals this year? Are you on track? How can you narrow your focus more?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 3 on The Neuroscience of Inspiration: How are we using people or places that inspire us, to take our results to greater heights? Think about this as it relates to our physical and mental health. What else can we all do to take more action in this area? I recently connected with someone who caught my attention over 20 years ago, when I worked with athletes at ASU. I remember sitting in front of this one athlete, and just knew he was going somewhere. We are working on the details to have him on the podcast right now, but stay tuned for a future episode on “Diving into the Mindset of a D1 College Athlete, Turned Pro” with Nigerian-American professional basketball player, Ike Diogu. Who are what is inspiring you these days?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 4 on The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: Think about where we are in our Mindfulness Journey? Mindfulness, and breathing was listed often in Chapter 4 of Grant Bosnick’s book.  How is mindfulness helping us with our physical health?
What’s interesting to me with this topic, is that the more I continue to study, and look to improve my own areas of weakness (right now I’m looking at how to optimize sleep which is currently my weakest link) and am diving deep into this topic with Dr. Matthew Walker’s most recent 6 PART podcast series with Dr. Andrew Huberman.[iv] Mindfulness is a topic that Dr. Walker lists as integral for improving sleep. I’m curious how you are implementing this skill to improve daily results.
REFLECT Back to Chapter 5 on The Neuroscience Behind Peak Performance: How are we practicing “getting into our flow?” When do we notice we are in flow the most?  Is it during physical exercise, or meditation? Are we practicing this state to gain 5x more productivity this year? This is a hard one, as getting into this flow state requires practice for me. A month and a half away from this podcast, really did take me out of my flow state here. After recording an interview, and editing, I made many mistakes, or flat out forgot what to do next on the production side. I was rusty, and not in flow. I’d been producing episodes for 5 years, without taking a break, and this break revealed that the skills I’d developed need to be practiced. Use them, or lose them type of idea. This is exactly how my daughters explain what happens to them when they take time away from their sport with an injury. I learned that when we lose this flow, the best way to get it back is to get back to work, as best as we can. One step at a time. What about you? How are you using flow in your daily life?
REFLECT BACK to Chapter 6 on The Science Behind our Physical Health:
Where we narrowed our focus from a wide and complex field, to something we can implement immediately with “The Hydrated Brain for Improving Our Cognitive Performance.” Midway through the year, I’m thinking “How am I keeping my brain hydrated?” Do I know how much water I’m drinking every day? This is something I’ve put more emphasis on recently, as we have now introduced an Infrared Sauna to our daily routine, and this requires more water to help eliminate toxins. They recommend drinking 20 ounces of water before using the sauna, since sweating can cause dehydration, and drinking at least a liter (or four 8 ounce glasses of water) afterwards. I did think it was interesting that one of the products I’ve also been wearing since our interview last year with Dmitri Leonov, who taught us about the Taopatch[v] nanotechnology that also requires an increase in water intake to eliminate toxins. Do you know about how much water you are drinking every day?
REFLECT BACK to Chapter 7 on “AHA Moments, Creative Insight and The Brain” where we looked at the book, The Eureka Factor: AHA Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain by John Kounios and Mark Beeman. They wrote this book to “explain how these Eureka experiences happen—and how to have more of them to enrich our lives and empower personal and professional success.” (The Eureka Factor).  We also went back to PART 4 of The Silva Method[vi] on “Improving Creativity and Innovation in our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces” where we tapped into (once again) to Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research on creativity here, thinking about how we can have more insight to solve problems in our personal and work lives. It’s definitely a balancing act, working on implementing ALL of these strategies for an improved 2024. Some of these I’ve got the hang of, and others (like sleep) are continual works of progress for me.
For Today, EPISODE #333, we are moving on to Chapter 8, covering “The Neuroscience Behind Expectations” where we will dive into a topic that I mark as high importance in my life, right up with breathing. When I took my self-assessment, the topic of expectations showed up as low priority for me to focus on this year. Not because it’s not important to me, but because I’ve already made this topic of high importance. Expectations came out for me in the RED category, with a low score of 8% along with goals and time management, that I also put high importance with on a daily basis. 
If you’ve taken the self-assessment, look to see if Expectations are of a low, medium or high priority for you to focus on this year.
Before looking at Grant Bosnick’s thoughts about the topic of expectations, where he begins chapter 8 by asking us “what did you expect?” I had to do some research first, to see what is already out in the world, and there was a lot out there, on the science behind expectations.
I first looked at the definition. What does it mean when someone has expectations? Collins Dictionary defined this term to mean “your strong hopes or beliefs that something will happen or that you will get something that you want.”[vii]
When I typed “expectations” into Pubmed.gov (a free database of more than 37 million research articles) I saw over 95,000 entries for how expectations can help a person to improve their health and behavioral outcomes, and noticed topics like “unmet expectations[viii]” or even “how expectations modulate pain.”[ix]
Before going down the rabbit hole looking to understand the science behind expectations, I found a book called The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World[x] by David Robson that I highly recommend. He covers a “journey through cutting-edge science of how our mindset shapes every facet of our lives, revealing how your brain holds the keys to unlocking a better version of you.”
It was in the first few pages of Robson’s Expectation Effect where I began to piece together past podcast episodes where we’ve talked about how “expectation hooks us up to what we want.”
I saw the word “expectation” then BOOM, I could hear my mentor, Bob Proctor talking about this exact topic, back in the late 1990s. Who knew there was a science to this! We will get there, but here’s what I remembered learning on this topic, 20 years ago. When Proctor talked about the importance of “expecting” what it is that we want, I remember highlighting it at the top of my notebook with an ORANGE highlighter, and never thought I would years later share these notes with anyone, (sorry they aren’t neater) but look what I wrote. “Expectation hooks you up to what you want, and brings it to you.” Then further down the page, wrote “you can be hooked up to what you want (you’ve read Think and Grow Rich a billion times, and even listened to our 6 PART Series Think and Grow Rich Series,[xi] and you know EXACTLY what you want) but you DON’T EXPECT to ever get it, for some reason, that only you would be aware of. If you don’t expect it, you won’t bring it to you.
I remember Proctor explaining this concept with goals, and he said it could also work with something we expect that we don’t want, like a winter cold when we say something like, “Oh, I usually get a cold right before Thanksgiving, so let’s not meet up until after this time.” Have you ever had someone tell you they were expecting to become ill? My mind goes straight back to the orange highlighter, and how I knew it was important to highlight that what we “expect” to happen, is brought right to us.
Robson writes in his book that:
Now I really did believe in these concepts I learned back in those seminar days, (because I saw first-hand how many people achieved results from this way of thinking) but I’m sure many others thought these ideas were superstitious or something. Fast forward 20 years, and now, I see this exact concept written in the 2022 book by David Robson, called The Expectation Effect, illustrating that what scientists are learning about the connections between the human brain and performance, are nothing short of amazing! Many of us have heard of these concepts, we might have even written them down, and highlighted them in orange, but now, science reveals something new about how our brain responds to the things we “expect” to happen.
David Robson shows us in his book exactly “how those beliefs, in themselves, shape your health and well-being in profound ways, and that learning to reset our expectations (about these issues) can have truly remarkable effects on our health, happiness and productivity.” (David Robson, The Expectation Effect).
So, I’m reading David Robson’s book, excited to make a scientific connection to the word I highlighted in ORANGE in those seminar days, and here I come across the author warning us about New Age self-help books, like Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret, that Bob Proctor starred in, saying these concepts to be pseudoscience.
I will say that many people misunderstand The Secret and Proctor[xii] himself said “You can’t just THINK and GROW RICH, you’ve got to DO SOMETHING with those thoughts.” So with an open mind, let’s see what Grant Bosnick has to say about The Neuroscience of Expectations.
I did mention that Grant opens up chapter 8 by saying “What did you expect?” and he gives examples in the beginning of this chapter ways that expectations are created in our minds whether it’s with an expensive glass of wine we taste, that we “expect” to taste good based on its price, or even the credibility that we “expect” from doctors verses the doctor’s assistant.
What Grant Bosnich Says About The Science of Expectations:
Grants explains that “in neuroscience, dopamine is the neurochemical in our brain that makes us feel good and is associated with feelings of euphoria, bliss, motivation, concentration and reward. If we meet our expectations, then it generates a slight increase in dopamine, and a slight reward response. If we exceed our expectations, it generates a strong increase in dopamine, and a strong reward response. And if our expectations are unmet, it generates a large drop in dopamine, and a strong threat response.” (Chapter 8, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, Page 84/85).
Grant explains that when our expectations are met or exceeded, this “increases our dopamine levels, which leads to increased happiness and well-being, which helps maximize our performance by setting up the conditions of flow and insight. This leads to more productivity and increased confidence.” (Chapter 8, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, Page 84/85).
But here’s the kicker! Grant shares that “if our expectations are not met, (however) that it dramatically decreases our dopamine levels, we feel disappointment and stress, resulting in poor performance and decreased confidence.” (Chapter 8, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, Page 84/85).
Grant asks us some questions around what we expect of ourselves and others, and it’s here that I thought about how I have high expectations for myself, and the goals I’m working on, but I’ve noticed that in order to avoid disappointment, I work on not having expectations of others. Except of when I go to the doctor for something important, I except that he will look after whatever it is that I’m there for to the best of their ability. There is this one doctor that I drive over an hour to see him, because his services exceeded my expectations. His office experience was not the best, but when I get to see him, I have a high level of care, that I expect, and I’ll look past the poor experience in his offices, to get to the high level of care when I reach him.
Grant addresses this by saying that we can influence our own, and other people’s expectations by “delivering higher than expected” (Chapter 8, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, Page 87) which is exactly what happened to me with that doctor. Grant explains the importance of “setting the expectation low, then delivering high” to avoid disappointment.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #333 on Chapter 8 on “The Neuroscience of Expectations”
DID YOU KNOW:
That when our expectations are met or exceeded, this “increases our dopamine levels, which leads to increased happiness and well-being, which helps maximize our performance by setting up the conditions of flow and insight, which leads to more productivity and increased confidence?” (Chapter 8, Grant Bosnick)
Conversely, did you know that “if our expectations are not met, that it dramatically decreases our dopamine levels, we feel disappointment and stress, resulting in poor performance and decreased confidence?” (Chapter 8, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, Page 84/85).
I go right back to Grant’s opening statement “What did you expect” and then my ORANGE highlighted notes from 20 years ago where I learned that “expectation hooks us up to what we want.”
HOW TO USE THE NEUROSCIENCE OF EXPECTATIONS IN OUR DAILY LIFE:
1. KNOW EXACTLY WHAT I’M EXPECTING (of myself and others): Understanding the science, helps me to keep my expectations tied to myself, and not others, to avoid disappointment and stress.  I expect to achieve my goals, (by putting in the necessary work) keep myself in good health (physical and mental) and will not just THINK about these expectations, but will do the hard work, take the action necessary to achieve them. This way, I’m not just “thinking” of what I expect to occur, I’m actually doing something with those thoughts, like the quote from Bob Proctor from the beginning of this episode. If I’m ever feeling “disappointed” with something in my life, a good question to ask is “what did you expect?” and see if I can backtrack to my thoughts. Was I using the science to flood my brain with dopamine, (with something within my control-that I could take action towards) or not.
2. USE A POSITIVE EXPECTATION TO BUILD RESILIENCE FOR A HEALTHIER VERSION OF ME: Understanding the science behind our expectations, and especially David Robson’s work, where I learned that “people with a more positive attitude towards their later years are less likely to develop hearing loss, frailty, and illness—and even Alzheimer’s disease—than people who associate aging with senility and disability” (David Robson, The Expectation Effect) marks a strong case for expecting exceptional mental and physical health in the future. Again, it goes without saying that we can’t just “think” ourselves into good health. We need to do the work here in order to expect results to occur.
3. CONTINUE TO EXPECT GOOD THINGS (for myself and others) AND DON’T WORRY ABOUT SUPERSTITIONS LIKE CREATING MY OWN LUCKY CHARM. Knowing that “expectations and beliefs can influence—indeed are already influencing your life in many other surprising and powerful ways. (David Robson, The Expectation Effect) makes me believe in some of the rituals I’ve heard of over the years, like lucky charms. I learned from David Robson’s The Expectation Effect, that “superstitions and rituals can boost perseverance and performance across a whole range of cognitive tasks, and (that) the advantages are often considerable.” (Page 198, The Expectation Effect). Whether you are a professional athlete, singer, public speaker, or someone like me who just wants improved results in your life, there is a science to having a lucky charm, or something that brings you the promise of success, to help you to create a feeling of control during high stress. Don’t dismiss the power of a lucky rock with a goal written on it, or whatever it is that holds significance to you with your future goals, or something that has meaning to you, that you expect to occur in your future.
FINAL THOUGHTS ON OUR EXPECTATIONS:
Some final thoughts, before closing out this episode, when we are working on our expectations, it’s highly important to be honest with whether you believe them to be possible, or not.
This is an important part of this. David Robson mentioned in his book, The Expectation Effect that:
THINK ABOUT HOW YOU RESPOND TO DIFFICULT LIFE CHALLENGES:
Imagine yourself going for a new position at work, and you are talking to your close family members about where you are in the interview process. They say to you “this sounds good, it looks like you are in the lead for this new position” and you reply “I’ll let know IF I get the job.” How you speak about your expectations (or as Robson said “our responses to difficult situations” (internally in your mind), or out loud to others, is extremely important. Keeping brain science in mind, the best way to talk about your expectations is with certainty and our reply with this brain science in mind could be along the lines of “I’ll let you know WHEN I get the new position” to keep the dopamine flowing to your brain. This response will help you to “feel good (and is associated) with feelings of euphoria, bliss, motivation, concentration and reward.” (Grant Bosnick). If for some reason, you don’t believe what you are expecting, or that the leap might be too far of a jump for you, you will feel what’s called cognitive dissonance, and you’ll need to do more internal work to get yourself to the place where you can think “truth rather than appearances”[xiii] and speak what you expect out loud, (or think it internally) and feel the alignment of this expectation in your life.
Only then will we get to this place where our expectations and beliefs can influence our life in many astonishing and powerful ways, leaving us mind-blown by our own potential for personal change.
We’ll see you next episode for The Neuroscience of Emotion Regulation.
 REVIEW
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, (after I was inspired to cover Grant’s book after our interview the end of January) we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #330 “Aha Moments and Creative Insight”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/understanding-self-leadership-and-the-neuroscience-of-goals/
 
[iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iv] 6 PART Series on Improving Sleep with Dr. Walker and Dr. Huberman https://www.hubermanlab.com/episode/guest-series-dr-matthew-walker-the-biology-of-sleep-your-unique-sleep-needs
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #318 with Dmitri Leonov on “Understanding Nanotechnology for Health and Wellness of the Future”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dmitri-leonov-on-taopatch-understanding-nanotechnology-for-health-and-wellness-of-the-future/
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 264 “The Neuroscience Behind The Silva Method: Improving Creativity and Innovation in our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
[vii] Expectations Definition https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/expectation#:~:text=Your%20expectations%20are%20your%20strong,get%20something%20that%20you%20want.
 
[viii] Unmet Expectations at Work at Age 62 and Depressive Symptioms https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34173825/
 
[ix] How Do Expectations Modulate Pain? https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37369088/
 
[x]The Expectation Effect: How Your Mindset Can Change Your World by David Robson Feb. 15, 2022  https://www.amazon.com/Expectation-Effect-Mindset-Change-World-ebook
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
[xii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 of our Think and Grow Rich Book Series https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
 
[xiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #315 and PART 2 of our REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich
 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
 
 
 

Dr. Wallace Panlilio and Dr. Artyom Zinchecko on "Unleashing The Wisest Learners in Our Next Generation"

In the 332nd episode of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, we have an informative discussion with the distinguished authors of the 'Wisest Learners' series, Dr. Wallace and Dr. Artyom. We delve deep into the intersection of neuroscience, social and emotional learning, and its implications for personal growth and productivity. Listeners will discover invaluable insights on learning strategies, the role of emotions in cognitive control, and how environmental regularities shape memory and attention.
See this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/lk7jJZDqrPo
Our conversation explores the significant developmental transitions children undergo around the age of 12 and the bewilderment many parents experience during this time. By discussing the principles laid out in their book, our guests illuminate the importance of a holistic approach to child development from an early age and its profound impact on academic performance and lifelong learning. Specific focus is given to the concept of 'automaticity', which simplifies complex cognitive functions in children.
Moving on to practical application, the discussion underscores the critical role of granting children autonomy in their learning journey. Real-life examples highlight how granting autonomy in choices, like book selection, can inculcate a lifelong love for reading and writing. However, an important balance is emphasized to avoid stifling a child's natural curiosity with excessive parental control.
A notable part of our conversation is an analogy comparing essential life skills to multivitamins, emphasizing the necessity for multiple principles in education rather than relying on single solutions. The role of parents in a child's education is underlined with varied involvement approaches and their effects. The interaction concludes with important practical suggestions for parents, emphasizing the importance of role-modelling and consistent communication with children.
This enlightening episode provides a unique fusion of theoretical understanding and practical guidance, making it essential listening for anyone seeking to better understand how to nurture resilient and joyful learners. Whether you're a parent, educator, or just interested in the fascinating world of cognitive neuroscience, buckle up for this insightful journey into the art and science of parenting based on neuroscience and social and emotional learning.
EPISODE #332 with Dr. Wallace Panlilio and Dr. Artyom Zinchenko “The Wisest Learners: Unleashing Neuroscience, Education, and Athletic Ability” we will cover:
✔ How a Cognitive Neuroscientist from Germany, met an experienced School Administrator in the Philippines, to create “The Wisest Learners” book series.
✔ How can we use an understanding of our brain, to bring the joy back into learning for our children and students?
✔ What KEY take-aways should we know about using our brain to be “wise” learners?
✔ How to apply these scientific principles in your school, workplace or sports environment to take your students/children to greater heights?
On today's episode #332, we meet Dr. Wallace Panlilio II and Dr. Artyom Zinchenko, the authors of the Wisest Learners[i] Book Series. Dr. Artyom Ph.D is an accomplished author and cognitive neuroscientist with extensive experience in the field. He earned his Doctorate in Cognitive Neuroscience from the Max Plank Institute for Cognitive Human and Brain Sciences in Germany and is now a researcher and a faculty member at LMU in Munich. He’s also a father of 2 children.
Dr. Wallace is an experienced educator and entrepreneur with a Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from the University of Philippines and has served as a headmaster (school administrator) for 14 years. He holds 2 master’s degrees in entrepreneurship and educational leadership and is always looking at ways to further optimize the results of the students in his schools. 
Without further ado, let’s meet the authors of The Wisest Learners and see how they connect the most current brain research to the future success of our next generation.
Welcome Dr. Wallace Panlilio and Dr. Zinchenko. Where have we reached you today? Thank you for meeting with me to share the vision of your Wisest Learners Book Series to help parents and teachers Unlock the Secrets for our next generation, using the most current neuroscience research.
Before we get to the questions, I wonder if you could tell me more about who you are, and where this vision for youth began…especially as helping our youth has also been my life’s mission.  
Can you describe the inspiration behind "The Wisest Learners: Parents Edition" and how did you intend this series to impact parents and educators?
Q1: How can we all use the principles from your book to help our children not just excel academically but also find joy in learning?
Q2: In a world filled with information, how does your holistic approach benefit parents/educators to nurture well-rounded learners who can thrive in diverse situations that we know (ad adults) they are going to face?
How does your research-based approach give your readers the confidence that the strategies you recommend are backed by science and can truly make a difference in their child’s education?
Could you discuss the long-term benefits of wise learning for children as they grow into adulthood, not just academically but in their careers and personal lives?
Q3: In terms of practical application, how can we begin implementing the book’s strategies with our everyday interactions with our children?
Can you share an anecdote from the book that illustrates the impact of unconventional connections in learning?
How does the book propose to challenge conventional wisdom in education and parenting?
The book discusses the integration of technology in learning. What are your views on balancing digital tools with traditional learning methods?
Q4: I’m interested in your forthcoming book, Wisest Learners to develop a child’s athletic potential. Can you tell me more about what you cover in this book?
Dr. Wallace, Dr. Artyom, I want to thank you both for your time and sharing your vision for your Wisest Learners Book series that I think is a critical tool for all of us to read, and implement.
For people to reach you, what is the best way? Through your website wisestlearners.com?
Q10: Finally, what is the one message you hope every reader takes away from “The Wisest Learners Series?
 
CONNECT WITH DR. WALLACE PANLILIO AND DR. ARTYOM ZINCHENKO
 
 
www.linkedin.com/in/artyom-zinchenko-417021170  
 
www.linkedin.com/in/dr-wallace-panlilio-77490649/ 
 
Official Site: www.wisestlearners.com 
Instagram: www.instagram.com/wisestlearners   
Facebook: www.facebook.com/wisestlearners 
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/wisest-learners 
 
RESOURCES:
"Wisest Learners (Parent Edition): Unlock the Secrets to Your Child’s Academic Success" is a Mom’s Choice Awards Gold Recipient and a winner of the National Parenting Product Awards (NAPPA) 2024. This book is available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats. Simply search for "Wisest Learners Parent Edition" or use the links provided below.🔗 Ebook: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CMQ7V69H🔗 Paperback: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRBBSXFZ2. "Wisest Learners (Teacher Edition): Unlock the Secrets to Your Students' Academic Resilience" is launched on Amazon in both ebook and paperback formats this month of May. Simply search for "Wisest Learners Teacher Edition" or use the links provided below.🔗 Ebook: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CW1JRPYM  🔗 Paperback: www.amazon.com/dp/B0CZKKVD5N  You can also get more information about the program by visiting www.wisestlearners.com. 
REFERENCES:
 [i] https://wisestlearners.com/
 
 
 

Transformative Strides "Connecting the Dots with Mindfulness, Neuroscience and SEL" with Allison Morgan, Founder of Zensational Kids

In this transformative episode, join us as we engage with renowned pediatric occupational therapist and founder of Zensational Kids, Allison Morgan. Learn how yoga and mindfulness integrated into her therapy sessions have improved her clients' physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral wellness. Discover her motivation for writing curriculums for pre-K through high school students and the unique challenges that come with it. Dive into the importance of balancing the human nervous system and its impact on children’s functionality.
Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/mtj4zuuirbc 
Uncover our conversation concerning the urgent need for increased mental health and social-emotional learning programs in schools, especially in light of the post-pandemic stress faced by many students. Learn about Allison’s incredible journey as a pediatric occupational therapist and her vision to alleviate the struggles of today's students, teachers, and parents through innovative solutions.
Delve into the profound significance of social and emotional learning in an educational setting. Gather valuable insights on the teaching and learning dynamics and the vital role educators play in creating their classroom's atmosphere. Learn how to utilize mindfulness and self-awareness strategies to revolutionize the classroom environment and the importance of educators' mental and emotional well-being. Discover practical ways you can begin incorporating these strategies into your classroom or homeschooling routine today with our plethora of free resources.
Subscribe to Allison's free video program for more resources, empowering discussions, and actionable strategies for your personal and professional growth.
On today's episode #331, we have our final interview before the summer months. Today we will be meeting with Allison Morgan, the Founder of Zensational Kids.[i] She is a pediatric occupational therapist, author, international public speaker, and educational trainer driven to empower youth and the adults that care and serve them. She is passionate about training educators, parents, mental health professionals, and allied health professionals, giving them effective techniques to develop skills such as self-awareness, management skills, compassion, and resilience so they can model and authentically teach these skills to children.
EPISODE #331 with Allison Morgan on “Making the Neuroscience, Mindfulness and SEL Connection” we will cover:
✔ Where Allison made the Mind, Body, Neuroscience Connection with her work as a pediatric occupational therapist.
✔ Allison’s Vision for the Schools of the Future. 
✔  Uncover the urgent need for increased mental health and social-emotional learning programs in schools.
✔  Learn how yoga and mindfulness integrated into her therapy sessions have improved her clients' physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral wellness.
✔ How to Access Allison’s work for a free to implement NEW strategies immediately.
Allison began integrating yoga and mindfulness into her therapy sessions with children in 2007. Discovering the multitude of physical, emotional, cognitive, and behavioral benefits these practices offered her occupational therapy clients and recognizing the need for more mental health and social-emotional learning programs in schools, Allison began writing curriculum and developing teacher training programs to help others share these practices. For those who have followed our work over the years, you’ll know that when I came across Allison, I was thinking I wish I had known Allison in 2014 when we launched our curriculum into the school market, and got to see first-hand just how difficult that would be.
She is the author of curriculums for pre-K through high school-age students: (which is not easy to be focused on both elementary and secondary students at the same time. They are both vastly different, requiring completely different strategies).
Young Explorers: Yoga and Mindfulness in Early Childhood Education
EDUCATE 2B: Mindfulness and Social-Emotional Learning for Educators and students in the K-5th grade Classroom
EVERYDAY Mindfulness: Techniques for Teens to Develop Compassion, Calm, Focus and Resilience
I had to be sure to connect with Allison before we take a break from interviews prior to the summer months, because of the importance of addressing the stress our kids are facing in the classrooms, especially post pandemic. I look forward to meeting Allison, and sharing her knowledge and expertise that this podcast was built around. Let’s meet the CEO of Zensational Kids, Allison Morgan!
Welcome Allison, it’s wonderful to meet with you after our email exchanges.  We do have a lot in common, don’t we? Gymnastics, SEL and Neuroscience! That’s quote the combo!
Can you walk us through your career as a pediatric occupational therapist, and orient us to your background?
Q1: I’ll never forget the moment I saw just how impactful these important SEL skills are for students (in school, sports and in life). It was like a brick hit me in the stomach. What was it for you that made you take notice of these important SEL skills, (That back in the day were called soft skills and not given the merit they deserve) for you to create your own curriculum for mental and emotional well-being in the classroom? What made you put your hat in this field?
Q1B: I loved to see Understanding the Brain AND Understanding the Nervous System in the beginning of your Educate 2B book. I can guess that it was your background as an occupational therapist that made you make the mind/brain/body connection, but tell me when this connection began for you?
Q2: Before you had your eye on releasing your own curriculum, especially on Mindfulness, did you look at what other Mindfulness Curriculum was out in our schools? What did you notice was missing perhaps from what you saw? When was it that you decided to put your work out into the world? How did you differentiate yourself? I ask this because I remember looking and seeing Goldie Hawn and Dr. Dan Siegel’s program[ii] that almost deterred me from trying.
Q3: When I was a teacher in the classroom in the late 1990s, we had zero training in working with behavioral students. It was the main reason I left the classroom. Now we look in our classrooms and especially since the Pandemic, we’ve got learning loss now to add to this equation. What should we know about the health and wellness of children today?
Q3B: What’s the difference between the feeling of anxiousness, and the feeling of excitement? How can we differentiate the two? 
Q4: I love your worksheets that have PBIS (Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports) and RTI (Response to Intervention-that aims to identify and support struggling students early on)! As someone who has worked from the publishing side of education, I always saw a need to integrate SEL skills into our classroom, starting with the day to day work we are doing with our students.
How do you integrate this important information into the day-to-day workings of a classroom?
What is your philosophy/approach around the fact that we cannot support the well-being of students without first addressing the well-being of educators?  I can go off on a tangent here with Dr. Bruce Perry’s work.
Q5: How are you identifying the major pain points that schools are facing right now (mental health, behavior, academic loss, teacher’s leaving at an extraordinary rate) and how shifting from typical top-down programs to  bottom up approaches that will actually address most of their issues?
Q6: What’s the difference between a “curriculum” and the development of daily habits/practices to create internal mind/body change. 
Q7: How have we adapted from requiring full-day and 3 day mindfulness trainings for educators to downloadable videos for direct student instruction where we lead all of the practices?
Q8: Where are you based out of, and what Districts are you currently working with? Any success stories to share?
Q9: What is your vision for your programs?
Q10: What have I missed?
Thank you, Allison, for reaching out to me, to share your vision for making a difference with mental health and resilience in our classrooms. This is important and critical work. If people want to learn more about you, is the best way through your website? https://zensationalkids.com/
RESOURCES:
Free Video Tools to Try https://zensationalkids.com/freestuff/
Best Practices for Yoga in School
  REFERENCES
[i] https://zensationalkids.com/
 
[ii] https://www.kidstherapyfinder.com/videos/brain-health-goldie-hawn-and-dan-siegel-at-tedmed-2009-58
 
 
 
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick and the Eureka Factor "AHA Moments, Creative Insight and The Brain" Chapter 7

Welcome to Episode 330 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, a part of our 18-week series on self-leadership. Join host Andrea Samadi and author Grant Bosnick as they explore the neuroscience theory behind creating solid health habits, establishing goals, and increasing productivity for greater achievement and well-being.
Tap into the power of the AHA moment, and learn how to foster these spontaneous occurrences for instant performance improvement. Bosnick shares insights from his book "Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership" and offers strategies for organizations to solve problems creatively using innovative thought processes.
Uncover the crucial role physical and mental health play, particularly the significance of adequate hydration for brain health and daily water intake recommendations. Learn about the concept of neuroplasticity and see examples of creative problem solving applied in real-life situations.
Listen as we bring to light interesting perspectives from Professor Hod Lipson from Columbia University on AI and innovation, discuss the Silva Method, and recall our first series on creativity and innovation. Take inspiration from figures like Albert Einstein and learn about hypnosis from the work of Dr. David Spiegel. Cultivate self-awareness and personally tailored plans using our practical five-step method to foster more 'aha' moments. Experience the magic of wisdom acquisitions drawn from a poignant poem by Stuart Edward White.
Ready to supercharge your personal and professional growth? Listen to our exciting and educational podcast that delves deep into the interaction of neuroscience and social and emotional learning. Don't forget to subscribe for more insightful episodes.
On today's episode #330 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] a few weeks ago.  Now that we have started this series, I hope you can see how practicing and strengthening the skills we are learning each week, is cumulative. Each week, we are learning something new, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024. We can even map out our “Journey of the Mind” as we go along the way.
REVIEW Chapters 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6
It’s here I’m hoping we will take the information we are learning, connect the dots to form knowledge and then apply this knowledge to our daily life. This is where we go from theory to practice with this podcast and it’s the application of what we are learning that contains the magic.
REFLECT Back to Chapter 2 on The Neuroscience of Goals (and Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Theory): What are you doing today to gain the momentum needed to reach NEW and HEIGHTENED levels of performance this year? How are you improving your mental and physical health to gain the momentum we talked about in this chapter?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 3 on The Neuroscience of Inspiration: How are you using people or places that inspire you, to take your results to greater heights? Think about this as it relates to your physical and mental health. What else can you do to take more action in this area?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 4 on The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: Where are you in your Mindfulness Journey? Mindfulness, and breathing was listed often in Chapter 4.  How is mindfulness helping you with your physical health?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 5 on The Neuroscience Behind Peak Performance: How are you practicing “getting into flow?” When do you notice it the most?  Is it during physical exercise, or meditation? Are you practicing this state to gain 5x more productivity in this state?
REFLECT BACK to Chapter 6 on The Science Behind our Physical Health:
Where we narrowed our focus from a wide and complex field, to something we can implement immediately with “The Hydrated Brain for Improving Our Cognitive Performance.” Are you keeping your brain hydrated? Do you know how much water you are drinking every day? Grant reminds us that “everyone is unique and needs different amounts of water per day (but suggests) an adequate intake for men is roughly around 3 liters (100 fluid ounces) a day, (and) for women it’s about 2.2 liters (74 fluid ounces) a day. This is one area I know I can do better with, especially living in the desert, I know I can improve this one with some focused effort.
We will cover the remaining 6 chapters (Agility, Resilience, Relationships and Authenticity, Biases, Trust and Presence) after we take a break for me to navigate a new work schedule in my personal life. As soon as I have my footing here, and Dr. Shane Creado from EP 72[ii] reminded me the other day of our brain’s neuroplasticity, so I should be able to find the balance in a few weeks, and once I’m in the groove, and I’ll be back to finish this series. In the meantime, this will be a perfect time to put some serious thought into where we began this year, and where we are going. Think about the areas where we know we can improve, and get to work on these areas.
I’ll be using this time to strengthen my own mindset and be sure I’m applying each of these episodes that guarantees the strongest version of myself this year.
REMINDER: In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
There is great power and self-awareness that comes along with mapping out a plan designed specifically for YOU and I do encourage everyone to take Grant Bosnick’s Leadership Self-Assessment[iii] so you can see the areas for you that score a high, medium of low level of importance for you to focus on this year.
For Today, EPISODE #330, we cover Chapter 7, “AHA Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain” we will look at what Grant Bosnick covers on this topic, as well as a deeper dive into John Kounios and Mark Beeman’s fascinating book The Eureka Factor[iv] so we can all have a clear understanding of how these AHA Moments occur in the brain, and how exactly we can foster our own creative insights for unique and immediate improved performance.
✔ Tap into the power of the AHA moment, and learn how to foster these spontaneous occurrences for instant performance improvement.
✔ 5 Simple Steps for Illuminating our Personal and Professional Life with AHA Moments of Creativity.
✔ What Does Neuroscience Say About These AHA Moments of Creativity?
Today we dive into Chapter 7 of Grant Bosnick’s book as we cover “The Science Behind Insight” which came out as MEDIUM importance (orange score) for me, alongside mindfulness and flow.  If you have taken the self-assessment, you’ll know it’s how you answer the questions, based on what’s of high priority for you, that determines the lessons that are important to begin now, or ones that you might think you have a handle on, so they show up as lower priority, or medium,  like this topic did for for me. I do block out time every day for mindfulness, and am working on getting into “flow” with my work, but insight is a new skill for me. I’ve never sat down to see “what insight” will come into my mind today, as these types of moments happen spontaneously, like Alexis Samuels mentioned on EP 328[v] when he made the connection with financial literacy and gamification, in the shower.
What I loved about Grant Bosnick’s book Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership is that he opens up chapter 7 with a story of how insight was used by an organization to help solve the problem with the high number of babies that die within a month of their birth, specifically in developing countries.  This organization solved this specific problem using a thought process that took insight using “materials and human resources that could be used to address this issue” (Chapter 7, Bosnick) by building incubators made out of Toyota cars that were readily available in these developing areas.
Instead of using their analytical mind and thinking “how do we get more incubators to these areas” someone on their team used insight and creativity to come up with the best solution.
So how do we think up these creative ideas? Grant asks us to ponder where we have our best ideas.
In the shower (like Alexis Samuels)?
While exercising?
At your desk while doing work?
Just before falling asleep or waking up?
While walking or hiking?
While taking with a friend?
Grant suggests that few people will come back with “at their desk while working” since this type of creativity involves breaking away from the analytical, thinking mind, and tapping into our “nonconscious” (Chapter 7, Bosnick) part of our brain.
It was here I had to look deeper into how this type of thinking happens, and I found the fascinating book, The Eureka Factor: AHA Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain by John Kounios and Mark Beeman that Alexis Samuels mentioned during our interview, and I mentioned I had just started to read it.
If you want to dive deeper into the science behind insight and creativity, I highly recommend this book. I wanted to know HOW to create these “AHA” Moments at will, not by chance and this is what these two cognitive neuroscientists who wrote this book, set out to do. Their goal of writing this book was to “explain how these Eureka experiences happen—and how to have more of them to enrich our lives and empower personal and professional success.” (The Eureka Factor).
In the very beginning pages of The Eureka Factor, we learn that “insight is creative” (Page 9, The Eureka Factor, Kounios and Beeman) and when the authors went on to define “what creativity is” they suggest to not define it (yet) since “everyone intuitively recognizes creativity when he or she sees it” (Page 9, The Eureka Factor, Kounios and Beeman).
I thought back to when we covered “Improving Creativity” on PART 4 of The Silva Method[vi] on “Improving Creativity and Innovation in our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces” and we tapped into Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research on creativity here. Dr. Huberman explains that “when we see something that’s truly creative, it reveals something to us about the natural world and about how our brains work….It must reveal something that surprises us” for it to be truly creative.
So, going back to The Eureka Factor, John Kounios suggests that “creative insight is not an exotic type of thought reserved for the few. In fact, (he says) it’s one of the few abilities that define our species….most humans—have insights. It’s a basic human ability.” (Page 11, The Eureka Factor, Kounios and Beeman).
HOW CAN WE BE MORE CREATIVE TO HAVE MORE INSIGHT?
So now I want to know how we can we all have MORE insight to solve problems in our personal and work lives? How can we be more creative on purpose?
Grant Bosnick has an exercise in his book to help foster this ability, and it begins with quieting the mind, and letting it drift.  Next, he suggests having a positive mood, and then be open to pattern completion, allowing new connections to form. Finally, he reminds us to NOT directly focus on the problem.
In The Eureka Factor, Kounios and Beeman cover this concept of “pattern completion” and explained that we be open to unique solutions to our problems, letting the brain do what it was designed to do. They reminded us with a few fascinating discoveries in health, as well as an Oscar Winning Character that was created while the film writer was at a baseball game, that sometimes the answer we are looking for is opposite to what we commonly think to be true.
I remember the advice that the Legendary speaker Bob Proctor[vii] would give to people every time they would have a problem they were looking to solve. He would say “go somewhere quiet and think” which covers Grant Bosnick’s first suggestion. I remember people coming to me when I worked with Proctor, saying “OK, I did that” I went somewhere quiet, and I’m still stuck” and I always wondered what else I could suggest to someone who really was stuck in this process. After reading Grant’s book, I can now connect the understanding of neuroscience to this equation. Having a positive mood is important, while you are quietly thinking, and also understanding that the brain doesn’t like incompleteness. When you are quiet, thinking of a solution, your brain will do the work to make the connections where you might never have thought before.  
While reading The Eureka Factor, I came across an image that helped to explain this idea so we can ALL improve our ability to generate new and creative insights that will empower our personal and professional lives.
IMAGE CREDIT: The Eureka Factor (Kounios, Beeman) Page 24
If someone were to ask me “Where do I begin to improve my ability to create NEW insights in my life?” I would say, start here:
STEP 1: Go somewhere quiet and think.  We’ve mentioned a few times on this podcast that “Every man has the natural and inherent power to think what he wants to think, but it requires more effort to do so”[viii] (Wallace D. Wattles). I recently heard Professor Hod Lipson[ix] from Columbia University, speaking about the future with AI, and while his whole presentation was forward-thinking, eye opening and brilliant, what caught my attention the most was when he mentioned that while working with students with AI and robotics, the hardest part for them was to come up with a name for their robot, because he said “it takes a lot of effort to be creative.” Take the time needed for this process.
STEP 2: You might think you are stuck, and might see a brick wall in front of you, metaphorically speaking, but know that there is always a solution to every problem. You just haven’t figured it out yet. It’s here that I share ways I’ve moved past where I’m stuck, and that’s by using The Silva Method. I’m reminded daily that many of our current listeners found us from the first episode we did in this 4-part series[x] that ended with an episode on “How to Be More Creative and Innovative”. I just heard from Fatima Kahedi this weekend that she found our podcast through Spotify, just by searching for The Silva Method.
Then, this weekend, I was listening to a recent episode Dr. Andrew Huberman did an “Ask Me Anything[xi]” Episode from Melbourne, Australia. On this episode he reminded us of the work of Dr. David Spiegl on Hypnosis[xii] saying that there is a simple way to tell if someone is hypnotizable or not. It has to do with what Dr. Spiegl called an “eye roll” at the beginning of the test where he asked Dr. Huberman to look up, and then close his eyes. If the whites of his eyes showed for a certain amount of time, as his eyes were closing, (which they did) he would score a 4/4 on this test and be highly hypnotizable.
I heard this and thought “That’s the Silva Method!” Jose Silva gets us to relax somewhere quiet by going to the alpha state (by counting backwards) and then by rolling our eyes upwards in our head while relaxed. It’s here he asks us to practice seeing things on the screen of our mind. Now that I’ve heard the science connected to this practice, I can see that by using The Silva Method, we are relaxing ourselves deeply enough to begin to “see” things more clearly. Or in essence, we are practicing self-hypnosis.
STEP 3: Keeping your mood positive, break away, and do something that makes you happy. It could be going for a walk, or a hike, or playing tennis like the image from The Eureka Factor. Just break away and divert your attention away from the problem. If you are in a meditative state, just be sure to have positive, elevated emotions flowing through you. Looking at the image in the show notes from The Eureka Factor, we see a person playing tennis. You can use whatever method you want here (The Silva Method of Meditation, your own mindfulness practice, going for a walk or hike) whatever it is for YOU where you feel calm, rested and at peace.
STEP 4: Be open to new ideas that might pop into your head. Be prepared for ideas that might be completely opposite to how you were originally thinking of solving the problem. We are all different here. Think back to the beginning of this episode, when Grant Bosnick asked us to consider where our creative ideas flow into our minds. Mine come in that time just before I go to sleep, or just before I wake up. Others might come in the shower, or while exercising. Be open to NEW ideas coming into your mind, and be ready to write them down.
STEP 5: Know that there is much work going on from your unconscious mind. You’ll will become more self-aware in this process.
Grant Bosnick lists a few inventions that were developed this way, in chapter 7 on Insight, and I found an article that lists “Great Eureka Moments in History: From Issac Netwon to Sir Paul McCartney, (where) inspiration arrived suddenly”[xiii] to help them with their famous AHA Moments.
DID YOU KNOW that when Albert Einstein created his masterwork on the theory of relativity that he was “taken aback” when his breakthrough came suddenly? His mind kept wandering as he pondered the thought “if a man falls freely, he would not feel his weight.” It was “by linking accelerated motion and gravity (where) Einstein eventually created his theory of relativity.” (Dan Falk)
John Kounios also lists some “concrete examples that illustrate the steps and features of the insight experience itself—in particular, their expanded perspective, sudden occurrence, reinterpretation of the familiar, awareness of the unforeseen relationships, subjective certainty, and emotional thrill.” (Page 18, The Eureka Factor).
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #330 on “The Neuroscience of Insight”
DID YOU KNOW that “the moment a solution pops into someone’s awareness as an insight, a sudden burst of high-frequency EEG activity known as “gamma waves” can be picked up by (EEG) electrodes just above the right ear?” (Page 70, The Eureka Factor).
“Gamma waves represent cognitive processing in the brain, such as paying attention to something or linking together different pieces of information.” (Page 70, The Eureka Factor).
John Kounios recalled in Chapter 5 of The Eureka Factor with excitement after years of work that they “had found a neural signature of the aha moment: a burst of activity in the brain’s right hemisphere. Almost literally (he says) this is the spark of insight” but he did add to this conclusion that “in the world outside the lab, insights may need to be evaluated, verified, refined and applied, and this requires contributions from the more analytic left hemisphere” (Page 82, The Eureka Factor).
Just like when Einstein came up with his famous AHA Moment of The Theory of Relativity, “it took him 8 years (using the analytical left hemisphere of his brain) to work through the mathematical details.”[xiv]
So while we need both the left and right hemispheres of our brain to come up with these insightful AHA moments, there was another important key finding that they discovered with a patient who had a stroke that damaged the right part of his brain more than the left. The stroke didn’t interfere with this particular patient’s ability to speak and understand the spoken language, but the patient himself knew he was missing something important. This discovery led to an important finding that takes place in the right hemisphere of the brain, and is important “for filling in the gaps to make sense of things” (page 75) and that is the ability to “read between the lines” (Page 76, The Eureka Factor).
Which is essentially what the brain is doing when it’s “filling in the gaps” and solving our problems with our AHA Moments.
We covered 5 STEPS for How to Have MORE AHA Moments to Enrich our Personal and Professional Lives:
STEP 1: RELAX: Go somewhere quiet and think. 
STEP 2: LOOK PAST THE BRICK WALL: You might think you are stuck, and might see a brick wall in front of you, but know that there is always a solution to every problem. You just haven’t figured it out yet.
STEP 3: KEEP POSITIVE: Keeping your mood positive, break away, and do something that makes you happy. It could be going for a walk, or a hike, sit somewhere quiet and meditate, or play tennis like the image in the show notes illustrates from The Eureka Factor. Just break away and divert your attention away from the problem.
STEP 4: THE MAGIC HAPPENS HERE!
Be open to new ideas that might pop into your head. Be prepared for NEW ideas that might be completely opposite to how you were originally thinking.
If you decide to read The Eureka Factor, on top of the suggestions that Grant Bosnick suggests, you will learn how the left hemisphere of your brain and right must work together to “fill in the gaps.” This is where we open up our minds to NEW creative ideas.
This concept is exactly like when someone tells you a joke, or uses sarcasm, or irony. Our brain that doesn’t like “gaps or incompleteness” taps into the right hemisphere to interpret language in this way. This is a prime example that demonstrates just as our “ability to use language requires two intact hemispheres, so does effective, practical, creative performance” (Page 82, The Eureka Factor) and it’s within “the right hemisphere (of our brain that) where the spark that ignites the creative fire” begins.  (Page 82, The Eureka Factor).  The magic happens when we can relax, with a positive mindset, close our eyes, and see what messages come “in-between” the lines.
STEP 5: Know that there is much work going on from your unconscious mind. EPISODE #295 on “Unleashing the Power of our Subconscious Mind” is a good place to revisit as we peel back the layers and uncover who we truly are.
Self-awareness is at the root of this process.
To close out this episode, I’ll end with a poem that reminds me of how the AHA Moment is formed that we covered recently.[xv]
 
Isn’t it amazing how we acquire wisdom? When we suddenly “see” something that escaped us for so long.
Stewart Edward White explains how AHA Moments of Learning can change us, in his poem where he writes:
“Curious how we acquire wisdom!Over and over again, the same truthis thrust under our very noses.We encounter it in action; we are admonished of it;we read it in the written word.We suffer the experience;we gradually assent to the advice;we approve, intellectually, the written word.But nothing happens inside us.Then, one day, some trivial experienceor word or encounter stops us short.A gleam of illumination penetrates thedepth of our consciousness.We see! Usually it is but a glimpse;but on rare occasions a brilliant flashreveals truth fully formed.And we marvel that this understandinghas escaped us so long.”
 
I hope you’ve enjoyed a deeper dive into the Neuroscience of Insights. We have one last interview to release this weekend, and we’ll see you in a few weeks (once I’ve got my footing) when we return to finish our review of the final chapters of Grants Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership.
 
 
 
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #72 with De. Shane Creado on “Sleep Strategies That Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-shane-creado-on-sleep-strategies-that-will-guarantee-a-competitive-advantage/
 
[iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iv] The Eureka Factor: AHA Moments, Creative Insight, and the Brain by John Kounios and Mark Beeman Published April 14, 2015 https://www.amazon.com/Eureka-Factor-Moments-Creative-Insight/dp/1400068541
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #328 with D. Alexis Samuels  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/exploring-neuroscience-and-gamification-in-financial-literacy-education-with-d-alexis-samuels/
 
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 264 “The Neuroscience Behind The Silva Method: Improving Creativity and Innovation in our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
[vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 66 with The Legendary Bob Proctor https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
 
[viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 315 “Thinking and Acting in This Certain Way PART 2 Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich book https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
[ix] https://www.me.columbia.edu/faculty/hod-lipson
 
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 261 PART 1 of our Deep Dive into Applying The Silva Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
[xi] Dr. Andrew Huberman “Ask Me Anything” Melbourne, Australia  https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/live-event-q-a-dr-andrew-huberman-question-answer/id1545953110?i=1000650096634
 
[xii] Dr. Andrew Huberman is Hynpotized by Dr. Spiegl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tlTzVB6TGT0
 
[xiii] “Great Eureka Moments in History: From Issac Netwon to Sir Paul McCartney, inspiration arrived suddenly” by Dan Falk, Published September 2, 2005 https://magazine.utoronto.ca/research-ideas/culture-society/great-eureka-moments-in-history-famous-inspirational-moments/
[xiv] IBID
[xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 314 PART 1 of our Review of The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
 

Exploring Neurotechnology with Nolan Beise "Measuring Changes in Brain Function Linked to Health"

Join us in the riveting Season 11 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast as we delve into the exciting world of neurotechnology. Our featured guest, Nolan Beise, is the CEO of Circl, a path-breaking Canadian neurotechnology company, whose pioneering strides in brain-computer interfaces and brainwave-sensing technology are reshaping our understanding of the human mind.
Raised in Toronto, Nolan’s academic pursuits led him from a secluded town in Northern Vancouver Island to become a top academic at the University of Toronto and later found companies like Suva Technology and Circl. In this episode, we discuss the scientific insights behind brain health, cognitive performance, and the possible applications of neurotech in various sectors from dementia care and first responder training to professional sports.
Watch our Interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/J78FZ9CTHTg
As mental health issues surge globally, innovative technological advances offer a new spotlight of hope. From detecting early signs of cognitive impairment to managing the brain's capacity for a 'mental garbage can', this episode touches upon personalized intervention strategies, monitoring brain health, and enhancing treatment efficacy. We also delve into the associated health risks that may arise from mental burnout, such as sleep disruption and reduced cognitive prowess.
With an aim to offer affordable and accessible brain health technology, Nolan envisions a future where tools akin to Fitbits for the brain can help people understand their brain's evolution and proactively tackle changes detrimental to their mental wellbeing. This episode is a must for anyone interested in exploring neuroscience, brain health, technology, and optimizing human potential.
 
EPISODE #329 with the CEO of Circl.com Nolan Beise, we will cover:
✔  Nolan Beise’s vision to help the world to improve their brain health and cognitive performance in the future.
✔ How his Circl Headset takes older brain scan tools to new heights with measuring our brain’s function as it relates to our health, detecting early signs of cognitive impairment. 
✔ Why we should be paying attention to our brain health TODAY to prevent major neurodegenerative diseases in the future and the health risks associated with burnout.
✔ Where Nolan’s focus is with this headset today, and his vision for this device in the next 5-10 years.
Today, we meet with someone who is from my hometown, Toronto, Canada, but now is in Victoria, British Columbia. Our next guest, Nolan Beise is the CEO of Circl[i], a Canadian neurotechnology company pioneering brain-computer interfaces designed to understand the human mind by producing research-grade brainwave-sensing headbands and related software applications. Before Circl, Nolan founded Suva Technology, a company specializing in mobile EEG research software. He also brings a wealth of experience from his time as a Senior Advisor at Mitacs. In addition to these, Nolan holds a Ph.D. in Biochemistry from the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biochemistry from the University of Victoria. With his extensive background in both science and business, Nolan is dedicated to advancing neurotechnology and shaping the future of brain-computer interfaces.
When I see someone like Nolan, dedicating his career to helping the world to improve brain performance using brain wave tracking technology that he has pioneered, I want to have a conversation with him. I have some questions for Nolan that I hope will spark some innovation in our thinking as it relates to the future of health and wellness. Let’s meet Nolan Beise and see what we can learn together about ways to improve our mind and brain health in the future.
Welcome Nolan! Was I correct that while you went to school at the University of Toronto, you are now in British Columbia?  
INTRO: I went to Teacher’s College in Toronto, at U of T back in the late 1990s. I remember all of dreams I had back then, of how I would change the world. Can you share where your mindset was when you were a student, walking around those streets in downtown Toronto? What was your vision for the world back then?
Q1: I’ve said this over and over again on this podcast, where our goal is to connect the most current brain research to our daily life (whether we work in our local schools, sports environments or modern workplaces). Back in the day, no one EVER asked me “what are you doing for your brain health.” When did you FIRST start to consider the importance of your brain, and think that the world needs help with optimizing this important, yet complex organ?
Q2: What have you invented, how does it work?
Q2B: How are regular people using this headset that measures brain performance? I can guess there would be an interest from the sports world? How does tracking how our brain processes visual stimuli help us?
Q2C: How would the headset help our first responders?
Q3: I became interested in Alzheimer’s Prevention strategies around the time of the Pandemic, and have focused a few episodes on this topic. I even took my husband to Dr. Daniel Amen’s clinics[ii] to get our brain scanned to see if either of us showed signs of any disease, since I know that our brain health is what would drive our future success. Not everyone can get a SPECT image brain scan, (they are expensive and not covered by insurance). Tell me how most people gain access to your headset. I know your headset costs significantly less than a SPECT image brain scan for those who also want to look at their brain.
Q4: I saw that your company was founded recently, in 2021, consisting of a team of neuroscientists, mathematicians, engineers, and designers. Who is your team, and tell me about this award you won for creating such innovative technology?
Q5: Why did you want to create something that allows us to see our brain performance? What’s YOUR WHY behind your work?
Q6: What makes your headset stand out from the crowd? What are you hearing from those who use it?
Q7: Where would you like to see this technology go in the next 5-10 years?
Q8: What stumbling blocks do you face with your goals?
Q9: What have I missed that’s important?
Nolan, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. Who knows, we could have walked past each other in the streets of Toronto back in the day. You never know. I’ve always got my eyes wide open to learn more about what’s innovative in the world, and I look forward to seeing more from you in the future. For people to learn more about you, is the best place https://circlbrain.com/?
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS: 
I learned so much for speaking with Nolan Beise! He emphasized that while people can go to his website and purchase a headset, that wasn’t his main motivation for meeting us today. His goal was just to let the world know about his vision, and let others know about him. I did connect him to Dr. Shane Creado, and think that when 2 powerful like minds come together, they form a third mind, with potential to take creativity and innovation to greater heights.
If you want to connect with Nolan, you can visit the Contact Us page of his website https://circlbrain.com/pages/contact
Most importantly today, I hope we all have a renewed vision for the importance of our brain health.
I’ll see you next week!
 
CONNECT WITH NOLAN BEISE
 
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/nolanbeise/
 
Website https://circlbrain.com/
 
Learn More About the Circl Headset https://circlbrain.com/products/circl-headset
 
REFERENCES:
[i] https://circlbrain.com/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EP #84 PART 3 “How a SPECT image Brain Scan Can Change Your Life” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/
 

Exploring Neuroscience and Gamification in Financial Literacy Education with D. Alexis Samuels

Join us in episode 328 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for an insightful discussion with D. Alexis Samuels, the founder of Brain Game Learning Systems, FineLitX, Global Corporation, and Prosperity Nation. Discover how he integrates neuroscience and gamification to educate and uplift underserved communities, with a special focus on financial literacy, socio-emotional learning, and legal and ethical understanding.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/R8FUuCR403o
Alexis Samuels uses game-based learning systems rooted in neuroscience to make complex topics accessible and enjoyable. Here, you will learn how his innovative approaches are not only educating but altering behaviours and perspectives, instilling hope and inspiring success in individuals and communities. You will get a glimpse into the founder's journey, from his humble beginnings to his endeavours to tackle financial illiteracy and fear, and why he believes financial literacy is vital for mental well-being and socio-emotional learning.
We delve deep into the workings of Brain Game Learning Systems, FinLitX, and Prosperity Nation, explaining how concepts from neuroscience are incorporated into games and curriculum. Hear how the companies collaboratively tackle challenges of poverty, targeting school systems and non-profits alike, and partnering with institutions like Notre Dame University on groundbreaking research studies.
This episode provides a unique look into the link between neuroscience and financial literacy, shedding light on the role of dopamine in learning and the effectiveness of rewards and affirming feedback in education. As a major takeaway, experience how the combination of neuroscience, gamification and financial literacy can create compelling, immersive, and educationally-rich experiences, with potential to greatly impact cognitive and social development in societies.
We also talk about real-life applications of these techniques through a credit score-based game, showing how such innovative approaches can reduce fear and anxiety towards adult responsibilities, and spark much-needed conversations. Get ready to transform the way you view education, financial literacy, and neuroscience, and begin to see the game-changing potential when these fields intersect.
Lastly, we touch on the broader societal relevance of neuroscience today, underlining its potential for personal improvement and the urgent need for more active discussions to raise awareness. Join us in unpacking how neuroscience can hold the key to unlocking a world of possibilities in cognitive and social development.
EPISODE #328 with D. Alexis Samuels on “Making the Neuroscience and Money Connection for our Next Generation” we will cover:
✔ Discover how Alexis integrates neuroscience and gamification to educate and uplift underserved communities, with a special focus on financial literacy, socio-emotional learning, and legal and ethical understanding.
✔ Learn about his game-based learning systems rooted in neuroscience to make complex topics accessible and enjoyable.
✔ What BIG NAMES have taken notice of Alexis Samuels and his work on ending generational poverty?
✔ Learn how his innovative approaches are not only educating but altering behaviours and perspectives, instilling hope and inspiring success in individuals and communities.
✔ Look closer into the link between neuroscience and financial literacy, shedding light on the role of dopamine in learning and the effectiveness of rewards and affirming feedback in education.
✔ How you can get involved with D. Alexis Samuels to help him reach more people with his noble mission
On today's episode #328 we meet with someone who caught my attention through LinkedIn. He sent me a direct message, like people do often (I do appreciate these messages), and he was letting me know he was enjoying the podcast, highlighting that his passion was to help bridge the gap with the latest discoveries in brain science and mental health interventions to underserved populations.
He went on to explain how he was doing this, and I was captivated. First because I still find it difficult to bridge this gap with science that we were not taught in schools, but come to find out it’s really important for us to understand. ALL of us, not just as teachers, educators and members of society, but this understanding is coming to be as close to what oxygen is for our survival.  It’s of critical importance that we understand this organ that controls everything that we are, and everything that we do.
And I know what it takes for me to work on grasping this knowledge, breaking it down so that I understand these concepts first, and then work on a way to explain it to others, so we can all work on implementing these powerful ideas for change in our lives. I find this difficult work, but something I’m dedicated to doing, and then while talking with our next guest, I come to find out that he has created something to help us with this understanding-- a game, curated in neuroscience, that educates and addresses mental wellness in a way that we all can understand, using gamification.  Our next guest has a vision of evening out the playing field, using neuroscience with a game, that teaches economic power, specifically towards our underserved populations.
I can’t wait to see what we can learn from our next guest, D. Alexis Samuels, the Founder of Brain Game Learning Systems, FinLitX (Fine-Lit-X) Global Corporation and Prosperity Nation to help us to all open our eyes to new ways we can bridge this gap with making neuroscience more applicable for all of us in our day to day lives, especially those in our underserved populations, who need it the most.  
Welcome Alexis, it’s wonderful to meet you!
Let’s start from the beginning, Who is D. Alexis Samuels?
You are the Founder of Brain Game Learning Systems, FinLitX Global Corporation, and Prosperity Nation. That’s a lot! What are these companies and what motivated you to found them?
Have you worked with any science or research institutions?
Tell me more about the societal issues that form your missions’ focus.
Specifically, what aspects of neuroscience do you incorporate in your service, and what results have you achieved?
Do you have case studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of introducing neuroscience in learning environments?
What do you feel is the future of neuroscience adapted curriculum in general education?
Others write books, but you create games. Is that intentional?
Speaking of neuroscience, what’s next for D. Alexis Samuels?
Where can we learn more about your games, online curriculum, and platform?
If someone wanted to speak with you, partner or collaborate, how can they reach you?
Thank you very much for reaching out to me. You did stand out from the crowd as you offered ways to make my understanding of this complex topic to greater heights. I’m grateful to have had this time with you.
CONNECT WITH Alexis Samuels
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/d-alexis-samuels/
Website https://finlitx.com/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/d.alexis.2330/?hl=en
Get on the Road to Prosperity Board Game https://youtu.be/2Dq88VoDlrk
 
REFERENCES
 
NBA Kenny Smith Endorsement https://youtu.be/YJjz7PsJvHk
 
John Kounios and Mark Beeman The Eureka Factor: AHA Moments, Creative Insight and the Brain Published 2015 https://www.amazon.com/Eureka-Factor-Moments-Creative-Insight/dp/1400068541
 
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick: "The Hydrated Brain for Improving Our Cognitive Performance" Chapter 6 on Physical Health

Join us as we revisit episode 327 of the "Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast", where we hone in on the critical relationship between hydration and brain health. Host Andrea Samadi delves into the sixth chapter of Grant Bosnick’s book during an 18-week self-leadership series, elucidating how focusing on our physical health can sharpen our cognitive performance. This episode is a paradigm shift, captivating listeners with the powerful impacts of nutrition and hydration on the brain. Andrea explores the benefits of water for our brain health and productivity, explaining how adequate hydration can improve concentration, cognition, mood and memory. The episode also explores other aspects of physical health like exercise, sleep and mindfulness, and how they contribute to overall wellness, well-being, achievement and productivity.
Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #327 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] just a few weeks ago.  Now that we have started this series, I hope you can see how practicing and strengthening the skills we are learning each week, is cumulative. Each week, we are learning something new, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024.
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
There is great power and self-awareness that comes along with mapping out a plan designed specifically for YOU and I do encourage everyone to take Grant Bosnick’s Leadership Self-Assessment[ii] so you can see the areas for you that score a high, medium of low level of importance for you to focus on this year.
For Today, EPISODE #327, Chapter 6, “The Science Behind our Physical Health” we narrow our focus from a wide and complex topic to something we can implement immediately: Today we will consider “The Hydrated Brain for Improving Our Cognitive Performance”
✔ A Review of the Top Health Staples that we have covered on this podcast over the years, specifically since the Pandemic.
✔ How Dehydration Affects Our Cognitive Performance
✔ Tips Grant Bosnick Suggests for Keeping Our Brain Hydrated
✔ Focusing on One Area of Your Physical Health at a Time
Today we dive into Chapter 6 of Grant Bosnick’s book as we cover “The Science Behind Our Physical Health” which came out as LOW importance (red score) for me, alongside emotion regulation.  If you have taken the self-assessment, you’ll know it’s how you answer the questions, based on what’s of high priority for you, that determines the lessons that are important to begin now, or ones that you might think you have a handle on, so they show up as lower priority like this topic did for for me. Not that physical health, or emotion regulation is of low priority for me, it’s quite the opposite, but I block out time in the day for both of these topics, and this time is non-negotiable.
I will say that while the broad term of physical health (that Grant covers in Pathway 4 of his book) is extremely important to me, it is a very complex topic and one we’ve been focused on since the pandemic geared us into looking closer at our physical and mental health.
We created the Top Health Staples[iii] That Are Scientifically Proven to Boost Our Physical and Mental Health where we’ve now added a 6th with stress reduction, for Podbean’s Wellness Week back in 2020, when I was asked to cover this topic. It was here where we shifted our attention to be equally as focused on the health of our mind (our mental health) in addition to our physical health. You can’t have one without the other.
When guests have approached me over the years to join us on the podcast, if they fall into these health staples with an angle I’ve not yet covered, it’s easy to say yes, so we can keep moving our physical and mental health forward. We are always looking for WHAT’S NEW and INNOVATIVE in this area.
How many times have we seen Dr. Gregory Kelly[iv] from Neurohacker.com who is focused on pioneering systems for human optimization and longevity? Twice so far and he’s on the schedule the middle of April to cover Qualia NAD+ where we will learn more about NAD+ that is often called the “aging” molecule due to its profound influence on how well (or how poorly) we will age.
We recently met Dimitri Leonov[v] with a new nanotechnology I’ve been wearing since our interview the end of this year, that’s been spotted on celebrities like Robert Downey Jr.
We are always looking for what’s new to take us to new heights with our physical and mental health, with some exciting and NEW innovators who we will be covering in the next few months.
So what does Grant Bosnick say about physical health is his book “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership?” He begins with the importance of looking at what we eat and asks “what is it doing to your brain?” (Chapter 6, Bosnick). What I like about Grant’s book, and why I wanted to cover EACH chapter over the next 18 weeks, is because it’s a paradigm shift for us to think about how ANYTHING we do impacts our brain.
THINK ABOUT THIS FOR A MINUTE:
25 years ago, when I was setting goals for my future, no one said to me “Hey Andrea, think about how your brain will tie into the goals you are setting” or “what foods are you eating for your brain health” or even “Did you know that exercise will build a stronger, more resilient brain?” I didn’t even begin to consider my brain until 2014 when Jeff Kleck, an Arizona School Administrator that we met on EP 246[vi] shared all his notes, books and resources with me, urging me that understanding how our brain operates, will be of critical importance in our future.
Boy was he ever right. I still keep in touch with him, and let him know all the time just how grateful I was for the time he spent explaining what he had learned about the brain with me.  
Grants goes over foods that are important for our brain health and productivity, specifically foods that have a low glycemic index “which means they release energy slowly into the bloodstream.” (Chapter 6, Bosnick).
We’ve covered this topic on various episodes, specifically with “The Damaging Impacts of Sugar on the Brain and Body”[vii] and we’ve even used a glucose monitor to test what happens to our body with too much sugar, and how it can tank our overall health and productivity.
While reading this chapter, Grant echoed many of the experts I’m sure you’ve heard us mention, like Dr. Daniel and Tana Amen, from their Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast who reminded us to always make decisions with our brain in mind by thinking or saying out loud with everything that we do “Is this decision GOOD for my brain, or NOT” Dr. Amen said many things that caught my attention while listening to his podcast years ago, and I often took his words of wisdom and created graphics to keep his thoughts close. While talking about our daily habits and aging (which I know we all want to do gracefully) he reminded us that “your everyday habits and decisions are either boosting or stealing your brain’s reserve and are either accelerating the aging the process (which none of us want to do on purpose) or rejuvenating your brain.”
It was Dr. Amen[viii] who first caught my attention with the importance of loving my brain, this organ that controls everything that I am and everything that I do.
Finally, it was when Dr. Amen mentioned that “Your competitive advantage or disadvantage is the actual physical functioning of your brain.” (Dr. Amen from The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast) This statement made me take a good look at whether I was boosting my brain reserve and rejuvenating the aging process, or accelerating it.
Grant covers many of the Top Health Staples in chapter 6, highlighting what many experts have been hitting home for us over the past few years, like the importance of sleep, taking power naps and adding in ideas for relaxation with mindfulness, and massage, but it was his focus on breathing that “helps with emotion regulation and memory recall” (Chapter 6, Bosnick) that caught my attention in Chapter 6.
I remember watching Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman demonstrate how to “Self-Regulate Your Brain in Less Than a Minute”[ix] on one of his podcast episodes and it was so impactful to me that I use his method all the time now. I love how Grant covers how to use pranayama breathing for “emotional recognition and memory” (Chapter 6, Bosnick) as well as for “increasing concentration.”
This topic of Physical Health is complex, and we can go into many different directions, which is why we created the Top 6 Health Staples to stay focused on moving the needle towards physical health with one idea at a time. I noticed that I would work on one area, like sleep for instance, and could see improvements here, but another area would suffer. It’s a balancing act for sure, requiring focused attention.
So today, to keep it simple, I want to focus on something that we might forget about our brain, and our physical health and that is that “our brain is 75% water. (And) When our brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, we will be able to think faster and be more focused and experience greater clarity and creativity.” (Chapter 6, Bosnick).
Grant reminds us in Chapter 6 of the importance of hydration, and says that “water is essential for delivering nutrients to our brain and for removing toxins. When our brain is fully hydrated, the exchange of nutrients and toxins will be more efficient—thus ensuring better concentration and mental alertness.”
Grant mentions that our brain is “75% water” (Chapter 6, Bosnick) and of the importance of hydration, and I remembered learning that “90 minutes of sweating can temporarily shrink the brain as much as one year of aging does.” From Deane Alban’s 72 Amazing Brain Facts. This brain fact brought home for me, just how important hydration is for our brain health.
You will need to read Chapter 6 of Grant’s book to receive all of his tips, but he does cover the many BENEFITS of drinking water.
He says that keeping our brain hydrated helps us with:
Improving concentration and cognition
Helping to balance our mood and emotions
Maintaining a good memory
Boosting our brain’s reaction time
Increasing blood flow and oxygen to the brain
Preventing and relieving headaches
Reducing stress
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #327 on Chapter 6 on Physcial Health, we narrow our focus to “Our Hydrated Brain.”
DID YOU KNOW:
“That our brain is 75% water and when our brain is functioning on a full reserve of water, we will be able to think faster, be more focused and experience greater clarity and creativity?” (Chapter 6, Bosnick).
Grant reminds us that “everyone is unique and needs different amounts of water per day (but suggests) an adequate intake for men is roughly around 3 liters (100 fluid ounces) a day, (and) for women it’s about 2.2 liters (74 fluid ounces) a day.
THINK ABOUT THIS?
Knowing how important water is for the brain, do you know how much water you drink?  I’ve definitely started paying more attention to this, especially knowing how “sweating can temporarily shrink the brain.” I’ve been using an infrared sauna, and another health device that calls for an increase in water intake, and I can tell with 100% certainty that when I’m not drinking enough water, it shows up with my ability to think with clarity.
What do you think? Could you improve your water intake? Just by thinking about ways to improve our brain health, we will over time begin to move the needle in the direction of physical health and wellness, which was the concept that Grant wanted us to uncover in Chapter 6. I hope you learned something new, perhaps a new angle for your physical health, as you think about ways to stay hydrated as we all look for new ideas to improve our health in 2024.
REVIEW Chapters 2, 3, 4 and 5
It’s here I’m hoping we will take the information we are learning, connect the dots to form knowledge and then apply this knowledge to become wise. This is where we go from theory to practice with this podcast.
REFLECT Back to Chapter 2 on The Neuroscience of Goals (and Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Theory): What are you doing today to gain the momentum needed to reach NEW and HEIGHTENED levels of performance this year? How are you improving your mental and physical health to gain the momentum we talked about in this chapter?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 3 on The Neuroscience of Inspiration: How are you using people or places that inspire you, to take your results to greater heights? Think about this as it relates to your physical and mental health. What inspiration do you need to take more action in this area?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 4 on The Neuroscience of Mindfulness: Where are you in your Mindfulness Journey? Mindfulness, and breathing was listed often in Chapter 6.  How is mindfulness helping you with your physical health?
REFLECT Back to Chapter 5 on The Neuroscience Behind Peak Performance: How are you practicing “getting into flow?” When do you notice it the most?  Is it during physical exercise, or meditation? Are you practicing this state to gain 5x more productivity in this state?
I’ll close out this episode with a quote that I’m hoping will urge all of us to grab a glass of water as we THINK about how we will implement this powerful concept into our week.
Loren Eisley said “If there is Magic on this planet, it is contained in water” and I’ll have to agree.  Grant taught us how drinking water helps us, improving our concentration, cognition, mood, emotions, memory, reaction time, increasing oxygen to our brain, preventing head aches and reducing stress.
So go grab a glass of water, and I’ll see you next week with Chapter 7 on Insight.
 REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE Recorded for Podbean’s Wellness Week “The Top 5 Health Staples” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #285 with Dr. Gregory Kelly on “How to Beat Aging and Stress with Qualia Senolytics”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-gregory-kelly-from-neurohacker-collective-on-how-to-beat-aging-and-stress-with-qualia-senolytics/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #305 with Dr. Gregory Kelly on Qualia Synbiotics https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/returning-guest-dr-gregory-kelly-on-qualia-synbiotic-optimizing-digestion-and-mood-with-prebiotics-probiotics-and-postbiotics/
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #318 with Dmitri Leonov on Taopatch, Nanotechnology for Health and Wellness of the Future https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dmitri-leonov-on-taopatch-understanding-nanotechnology-for-health-and-wellness-of-the-future/
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #246 with Jeff Kleck on “Using Neuroscience to Inspire Thinkers in our Schools, Sports and the Workplace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
 
[vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #275 “The Damaging Impacts of Sugar on the Brain and Body” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-the-damaging-impacts-of-sugar-on-the-brain-and-body/
 
[viii] The Daniel Plan by Dr. Amen https://www.danielplan.com/change-your-brain-change-your-life-2/
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #273 On Self-Regulation  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-self-regulation-using-neuroscience-to-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-emotions-and-behaviors/
 
Click here for more episodes of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick: The Neuroscience of Peak Performance and Happiness (Flow) Chapter 5

Welcome back to the 11th season of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast. In today's enlightening episode, we unfold the phenomenon of 'flow'—a state of profound immersion leading to peak performance. Our exploration is rooted in the teachings of Grant Bosnick and psychologist Mike Csikszentmihalyi, as we look at how strategies like rigorous self-awareness, customized planning, and potential improvement assessment contribute to achieving this state of blissful productivity.
We delve deeper into the neuroscience of flow by understanding the brain changes that occur during this state. This discussion is enriched with insights from neuroscientist Arne Dietrich. We learn about the shift from conscious to subconscious intrinsic system that results in heightened creativity and enhanced mood—making tasks appear effortless and enjoyable.
The episode also sheds light on the key neurochemicals responsible for inducing and sustaining the flow state - dopamine, noradrenaline, serotonin, and endorphins. This understanding paves the way to comprehend the ecstasy felt during flow, accompanied by an absence of pain and hunger, resulting in a beautifully enhanced mood.
Flow is reported to multiply productivity and happiness. It accelerates learning and creativity while improving problem-solving skills. We conclude the episode with practical tips to help you understand better, induce and maintain flow and thus multiply productivity, reach your goals, and experience profound joy in your efforts.
On today's episode #326 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321[i] just a few weeks ago.  Now that we have started this series, I hope you can see how practicing and strengthening the skills we are learning each week, is cumulative. Each week, we are learning something new, that builds off the prior week, to help take us to greater heights in 2024.
In this 18-week Series that we began in the beginning of February, we are covering:
✔ Powerful tactics from this Grant Bosnick’s award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success by applying the neuroscience Grant has uncovered in each chapter.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals.
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels while we map out our journey over this 18-week course.
There is great power and self-awareness that comes along with mapping out a plan designed specifically for YOU and I encourage everyone to take Grant Bosnick’s Leadership Self-Assessment[ii] so you can see the areas for you that score a high, medium of low level of importance for you to focus on this year.
EPISODE #326, Chapter 5, “The Neuroscience of Flow” we will cover:
✔ A Review of Peak Performance and Using Flow for Increased Productivity in the Workplace with EP 27 with Friederike Fabritius.
✔ What is the Flow State?
✔ How to prepare for the Flow State.
✔ What does the Flow State feel like?
✔ Getting into Flow
✔ The Neuroscience of Flow
✔ The Benefits of Flow in the Workplace and Beyond
✔ 4 TIPS for Getting into the Flow State to Increase Productivity    
Today we dive into Chapter 5 of Grant Bosnick’s book as we cover “The Neuroscience of Flow” which came out as MEDIUM importance (orange score) alongside the topics of Mindfulness[iii] that we covered last week.
Flashback to Friederike Fabritius on Peak Performance
What I loved about seeing this topic included in Grant’s 18 chapters was that I remember watching Pioneer in Neuorleadership, Friederike Fabritius presenting on “The Recipe of Peak Performance and Flow” that I shared on our first interview together back on EPISODE #27[iv] in October 2019.  When I watch some of these earlier interviews I remember what life what like before I had invested in a high-tech recording system. You will hear some bugs that today, AI can erase, taking our peak performance to new heights. Talking about Peak Performance, these days, I record as usual, (using a Rodecaster Pro Recording System) and then after production, AI cleans up every recorded for me. It’s new, and still ironing out some bugs with it, but mind-boggling to see where we started out, and where we are today. We can always strive forward and improve where we were yesterday.
What I remember loving the most about Friederike’s first talk that I found back in 2017 that she did for high level executives in Barcelona, Spain, was that she accurately described what the psychologist, researcher and “father of flow”[v] (known in his work environment as Mike C) that he devoted his entire lifetime to. And that is, what constitutes a happy life. “Mike C,” Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, (from Claremont Graduate University in CA) along with Professor Martin Seligman of the University of Pennsylvania (who we’ve mentioned before on this podcast “set out to develop a focus on happiness, well-being, and positivity with a goal to create a field focused on human well-being and the conditions that enable people to flourish and live satisfying lives.”[vi]
Friederike explained this concept of “flow” or “peak performance” as an optimal state that occurs when our brain releases three chemicals: noradrenaline (released with a challenge), dopamine (released with anything that gives you pleasure), and acetylcholine (released when you have focused attention).
She reminded us about learning to find our “optimal level” of performance by knowing thyself. Some people she says, need challenge to perform optimally (I’m like this for sure), and other people, you must take the challenge or pressure away for them to perform at their best.  One person performs better with an element of “threat” that they perceive as a “reward” and this motivates them, while another person shuts down with this “threat.” To reach peak performance levels with YOUR work, it helps to know how you reach your optimal levels best.
Take This Understanding to Create Flow in the Workplace
How can we create this “flow state” with our work? If you are working in an environment that’s too easy, or not challenging, you will be under challenged, and reaching peak performance in this scenario is difficult as you will be bored. Or, be careful if you are in a workplace with too much challenge, where you are over aroused, constantly putting out fires, and under high stress or pressure, all the time. Over time, without balance, this person will burn out. At the brain level, their amygdala grows bigger, and they will begin to see threats where there are none. Friederike reminds us to find a workplace where we can reach optimal levels of challenge, (if you look at the image in the show notes, it’s at the peak of the curve). Boredom or too easy on the left of the curve, and stress/anxiety at the right of the curve, with optimal levels, or our sweet spot for peak performance at the top.  It’s working here where we can access peak performance or flow where we are able to get into the zone with our work, and lose track of time. [vii]
(Image credit: Achieving a flow state)
You can see why it’s important to find your optimal level of performance for this magical brain state to occur.
THINK ABOUT THIS!
When have YOU accessed flow? What were you doing? Maybe you’ve lost track of time reading an enjoyable novel, or while writing, or running?
There are two activities where I’ve experienced this state: hiking in the mountains, or writing these podcast episodes. I can be running through the mountains, and hours can go by before I look at my watch and decide to turn back before darkness hits, or I run out of time, or I can sit down at my desk in the early morning, to write one of these episodes, and find myself still there, and the whole day has gone by. I can easily lose track of time in both these scenarios, and feel exactly what the research supports, that this state of mind “is accompanied with a sense of accomplishment, meaningfulness, and positive mood.”[viii]
So what does Grant Bosnick say about flow in his book “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership?” He mentions the “father of flow” in the second paragraph, and defines flow as “the mental state of being fully immersed in a feeling of energized focus, full involvement, and enjoyment in the process of an activity we are doing. In essence, it is characterized by complete absorption in what we do, performing at the edge of our capabilities, peak performance. In this state, it feels effortless, as if things are flowing together.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick). 
Grant mentions that “we are in micro flow all the time. When we look for it, we can ride it into jacked flow. We can train ourselves into flow. And heighten our performance.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).
Now we are talking. I’ve only noticed flow AFTER it has occurred, and have not been in the habit of training myself into flow, so this is going to be a new practice for me this year.
PREPARING FOR THE FLOW STATE:
Grant prepares us for flow, just like Friederike, who suggests that we find the right amount of challenge, and then says that “it’s something that we make happen; it is not something that happens to us.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).
“Flow depends on our ability to control what happens in our consciousness moment by moment. Each of us has to achieve it on the basis of our own individual efforts and creativity. We are in control of consciousness when we have the ability to focus attention at will, to be oblivious to distractions, and to concentrate for as long as it takes to achieve a goal, and not longer.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).
We have talked about ways to develop our higher faculties of our mind[ix], like our will, on recent episodes, which is one way to help us to focus our attention, moment by moment and block out distractions, and Grant brings us back to chapter 4 on Mindfulness that he mentions helps us to control our attention at will. See how all of these chapters work together? Developing Mindfulness, will help us to strengthen our ability to access the flow state.
HOW DOES THIS STATE FEEL?
Grant gives some examples from a dancer who describes flow as “your concentration is complete” or a rock climber who says “you are so involved in what you are doing that you aren’t thinking of yourself as separate from the immediate activity.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).  Grant shares that he feels this state while drumming, or designing a presentation saying that “his body and mind are one, working together.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick.
When I’m running in the mountains, in this state, it’s like me and the mountains are one. I don’t see what’s around me, just the small area of pathway right in front of me.  Or when I’m writing at my desk, it’s just me, the keyboard and the computer screen. All sounds are blocked out, and it’s difficult to break me away from the desk, mid-thought. I have to finish writing, or the flow is gone, and my family knows when I’m in this state, and not to knock on the door, which will break this state of deep focused concentration.
GETTING INTO FLOW:
Grant has a reflection activity to help us to practice getting into this flow state.  He suggests:
THINK: When have hours passed by without you realizing it?
THINK: When did things just click into place and felt effortless?
OBSERVE: Once you know what flow feels like for you, notice the type of activities you were doing to obtain this state in other areas of your life.
The Neuroscience of Flow
DID YOU KNOW that in flow “as our attention heightens, the slower and energy-intensive extrinsic system (conscious processing) is traded off for the far faster and more efficient processing of the subconscious, intrinsic system?” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).
Grant quotes Arne Dietrich, a neuroscientist from the American University of Beirut who says “It’s an efficiency exchange of the energy in our brain—trading the energy we normally use for resource-intensive conscious thinking activity for (resource-efficient) heightened attention and awareness. The technical term for this exchange is transient hypofrontality.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).
Grant also explains the changes in our brain waves. “When we are in flow, we transition from the faster-moving beta waves of normal waking consciousness to the slower, deeper alpha waves and even borderline theta waves. Alpha waves are like a day-dreaming mode…theta waves are the ones we experience during REM or just before we fall asleep, where ideas combine in amazing and unique ways.” (Chapter 5, Bosnick).
When I got to the part of this chapter where Grant wrote about the neurochemistry of flow, I stopped and remembered Friederike’s presentation from 2014 and the graphic I created with the three brain chemicals she listed that were important for getting into flow; noradrenaline, dopamine and aceylcholine.
Grant sited the research from Neuroscientists at Bonn University who determined 5 neurochemicals present during this flow state. They found that endorphins (that help with pain and stress relief), norepinephrine which is the same neurochemical Friederike mentioned, noradrenaline (not sure why scientists have two words that mean the same neurochemical…maybe they couldn’t agree on this name and so now we’ve got two words for the same thing (that’s released with a challenge), anandamide (that regulates pain, anxiety and hunger) and serotonin (that plays a key role in our mood) that are all present during the flow state. Understanding the functions of these neurochemicals helps me to understand why during this state of flow I don’t notice aches and pains I have, hunger and thirst disappears, and I’m happy for hours at a time.
 WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF FLOW?
When you are in flow, I’d say it feels almost dream-like, or trance-like as our brain waves slow down, allowing us to access higher levels of creativity.
In Chapter 5, Grant points out that
“In a ten-year study at McKinsey, top executives reported being five times more productive in flow.”
“Flow helps us to learn faster. Recent research says somewhere between 400% and 500% faster according to research by Advanced Brain Monitoring and DARPA, subjects had a 490% increase in skill acquisition in the state of flow.”
“Flow enhances creativity and problem solving. The University of Sydney tested flows impact on creative problem-solving abilities…in a flow state, creative problem-solving increases by 430%”
The father of flow, Mike C “Csikszentmihalyi also found, through his research, that the people on earth who have the most flow in their lives are the happiest people on Earth.”
“When we are in flow we forget the unpleasant aspects of life.”
 
I knew that the flow state was powerful, but until reading the research that Grant put into this chapter, I didn’t realize just how powerful the flow state really is. Now I’m thinking I want to use this state to make life more enjoyable and help me to develop new skills at a faster rate.
HOW TO GET INTO FLOW
You’ll have to read chapter 5 for all of Grant’s tips. I liked his tips on Getting into Flow Through Mental Stimulation, since this is what I’m doing while writing this episode. I’ve been sitting at my desk, writing this episode since early this morning, and I just looked at the time and it’s well into the afternoon. I’ve been in flow, writing for at least five hours.
How can I use Grant’s Tips to ride myself into what he calls “jacked flow” that will help me to 5x my productivity and accomplish more with less effort?
Grant suggests:
PICK A GOAL: Think of whatever it is you are working on a decide on the goal. Finish the presentation, or write the proposal or for me, finish writing this episode so I can record it tomorrow.
PRIME YOUR BRAIN FOR FLOW: Next he suggests bringing in mindfulness, that takes us back to our last episode where we learned about PQ reps. Use mindfulness to filter out your distractions and maintain control with your attention. I found it does help to let others around you know you’ve blocked off a time where you cannot be interrupted.
THINK ABOUT THE BENEFIT OF THE GOAL: Why do you want to complete the thing you are working on. For me, with each podcast episode I write, record and release, it helps me to not only implement these new ideas into my own life, but I know I’m gaining skills that help me far beyond the content. Hosting this podcast, writing and recording these episodes, helps me to improve my presentation skills, communication, which improves my overall levels of confidence, let along what I’m gaining from implementing these ideas myself. What benefits do YOU receive from whatever it is that YOU are working on?
PUT YOURSELF ON THE EDGE: Ask yourself, is this challenging me? If it’s not, it might not get you into the flow state. If it is, then keep working, and see how far you can get. How long can you stretch your flow state.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #326 on “The Neuroscience of Flow” we asked the question:
DID YOU KNOW THAT “When we are in flow, we transition from the faster-moving beta waves of normal waking consciousness to the slower, deeper alpha waves and even borderline theta waves” and “we are five times more productive in this state.” (Bosnick, Chapter 5). 
We reviewed an early episode with Friederike Fabritius where she taught us about Peak Performance and How to Create Flow in the Workplace.
We dove deep into how to prepare for the flow state, what it feels like, urging us all to think about WHEN we access this state ourselves.
We looked into The Neuroscience of Flow, the neurochemicals that are present in our brain during flow, with some additional ones that were new for me.
We covered the benefits of flow, that opened my eyes to how important this brain state is for workplace productivity, creativity and innovation. The research from McKinsey mentioned productivity soared by 5x while using the flow state, making me decide it was time to work on inducing flow more often in my work week.
We ended with 4 STEPS to getting into “jacked flow” as Grant calls it, to give ourselves 5x more productivity, with less effort.
Grant tells us to:
PICK A GOAL: With what we want to accomplish is this state.
PRIME YOUR BRAIN FOR FLOW: By using PQ reps from our episode on Mindfulness, and blocking out all distractions.
KNOW THE BENEFIT OF THE GOAL: Which takes us back to the deeper meaning of “why” we do what we do.
PUT YOURSELF ON THE EDGE: You must be challenging yourself. This made me think of something my mentor Bob Proctor would say all the time. He’d say “If you aren’t sitting on the edge, you’re taking up too much space” and I used to think about this. What exactly does he mean? Don’t slouch in our chairs? He meant always lean in, take on difficult, challenging work, or you are wasting valuable time.
 It’s here I want us to think back to where we began on the map of Grant’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership.
 REVIEW Chapters 2, 3, 4
EPISODE #323, Chapter 2, “Using Neuroscience to Level Up Your 2024 Goals”
✔ What is Kurt Lewin’s “Field Theory” and how can we use it to improve our performance towards our goals in 2024?
REFLECT: What are you doing today to gain the momentum needed to reach NEW and HEIGHTENED levels of performance?
EPISODE #324, Chapter 3, “The Neuroscience of Inspiration”
✔ Uncover WHO or WHAT inspires you.
✔ Learn what happens to our brain when we are inspired (by a person or a thing).
✔ Apply the Neuroscience of Inspiration to our life in 3 steps: WRITE, THINK and LEARN to Level Up Our Results in 2024.
REFLECT: How are you using people or places that inspire you, to take your results to greater heights?
EPISODE #325 Chapter 4 “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness”
✔ A review of our past episodes where we covered the topic of Mindfulness.
✔ Defining Mindfulness and where many people begin their practice.
✔ Putting Mindfulness into practice using PQ Reps, coined by Positive Intelligence Founder, Shirzad Chamine, to build our mental muscles over time.
✔ My challenge to you to keep working on Mindfulness for improved productivity in our personal and work lives.
REFLECT: Where are you in your Mindfulness Journey?
Which leads us to connect the dots to chapter 5 on The Neuroscience of Flow.
REFLECT: When do you experience this brain state, and how can you use it intentionally to reach 5x your usual levels of productivity in your work life?
With that thought, I’ll close out this episode, with a quote from the “Father of Flow” Mike C, who reminds us
The best moments usually occur when a person's body or mind is stretched to its limits in a voluntary effort to accomplish something difficult and worthwhile. Optimal experience is thus something that we make happen.
No one is going to do this work for us.
I’ll see you next week for our review of Chapter 6 on Physical Health.
See you next time.
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #325 on “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insight-from-grant-bosnicks-tailored-approaches-to-self-leadership/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Peak Performance”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/
 
[v] https://www.cgu.edu/people/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/
 
[vi] IBID
[vii] Achieving a flow state by Allaya Cooks-Campbell March 7, 2022 https://www.betterup.com/blog/flow-state
 
[viii] The Neuroscience of Flow: Involvement of the Locus Coeruleus Norepinephrine System by Dimitr van der Linden et al Published April 14, 2021 https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.645498/full
 
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #294 “Beyond our 5 Senses and Using the Six Higher Faculties of the Mind”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: The Neuroscience of Mindfulness (Chapter 4)

Dive into the deep corners of mindfulness and neuroscience in this captivating episode of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. Join us as we delve into Grant Bosnick's insightful book, 'Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership' while exploring the neuroscience of mindfulness. In episode 325, we introduce you to PQ Reps, a robust method to build mental muscles for better mental resilience and executive control over daily distractions.
Unpack how to effectively apply neuroscience to amp up your mindfulness practice and make noticeable progress over time. Learn about the impressive benefits of incorporating PQ Reps into your routine, from the perspective of Positive Intelligence founder Shirzad Chamine.
Enhance your understanding of concepts such as Lewin's field theory, the practice of setting concrete goals, and the neuroscience of inspiration. You will find out how to effectively use your mind to create your future by design instead of letting it happen by default.
Whether you're seeking to deepen your existing mindfulness practice or exploring ways to kick-start one, this episode offers practical guidance backed by science. Remember, every giant leap begins with a small step. Start today with the PQ Reps and set yourself up for a more mindful 2024.
In this 18-week Series, we will cover:
✔ Powerful tactics from this NEW award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels.
EPISODE #325 Chapter 4 “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness”
✔ A review of our past episodes where we covered the topic of Mindfulness.
✔ Defining Mindfulness and where many people begin their practice.
✔ Putting Mindfulness into practice using PQ Reps, coined by Positive Intelligence Founder, Shirzad Chamine, to build our mental muscles over time.
✔ My challenge to you to keep working on Mindfulness for improved productivity in our personal and work lives.
On today's episode #325 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321.[i]  During this interview, I told Grant that his book contained a thorough and deep overview of the Neuroscience of Self-Leadership, and I felt like each of the 18 chapters could be covered in 18 weeks, for all of us to gain a better understanding of the application of the science he picked out for each chapter. So I decided to cover EACH chapter here, with a map towards our progress over the next 18 weeks, and to set our season theme to the Neuroscience of Self-Leadership that will be our focus until June of this year.
Today we will be looking at Chapter 4 of this book on “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness.” This is a topic that scored on the MEDIUM side of urgency for me, (ORANGE) on the Leadership Self-Assessment.[ii]  I hope that you have taken your self-assessment[iii], so you can follow along with your most urgent to least urgent areas of importance with your year.
This area surprised me a bit, because I think Mindfulness is a huge part of my day. It’s something that I spend time doing every morning, or else it’s noticeable to me that I’ve missed it.
Then I looked back over all the episodes we covered starting with some of our early episodes when I was just learning the ropes with interviewing guests. We started covering mindfulness on EP #25[iv] with Mick Neustadt, a mindfulness expert, to EP #28[v] with Dr. Dan Siegel, the well-known clinical professor at the UCLA School of Medicine, on his concept of Mindsight that he said was the basis for social and emotional intelligence.  Then on EP #60[vi], we covered Dr. Siegel’s’ Wheel of Awareness Meditation, and the insights I gained from practicing the 3 segments he has created over a two-month period, and then into Dr. Dawson Church’s Bliss Brain Meditations[vii] that still sits as our MOST watched YouTube interview[viii] from December 2020 on The Science Behind Using a Meditation Practice. It feels like yesterday, but it was 2 years ago that we met with psychologist Darshan Pindoria for EP 266 on “Bringing Mindfulness and Meditation to Our Daily Lives.”
So what does Grant Bosnick say about mindfulness in his book “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership?” He opens up chapter four by talking about the benefits of mindfulness to help us to gain more “executive control” over our daily distractions.
I like how he asks “What is Mindfulness?” and lists the many definitions on the topic that talk about this practice as a “mental state achieved by concentrating in the present moment” to “creating a feeling of calm” to “a moment-to-moment awareness of one’s experience without judgement.”
Then he did not miss the father of mindfulness, who we’ve quoted often on this podcast, especially after I took his Masterclass, Jon Kabat-Zinn who gently reminds us that mindfulness is “an awareness that arises from paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.”
Bosnick shares that “it seems to be a mental state AND the practice of reaching that state” and he likens it to the Jedi’s Mind from the movie series Star Wars. He says “It’s like the force.” Now I think I saw Star Wars when I was a kid, and knew about “the force” but had to look up the meaning as it’s been a few years. Bosnick reminds us that in the original Star Wars, Obi-Wan Kenobi told Luke Skywalker “Well, the force is what gives a Jedi his power. It is an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us: it binds the galaxy together.” (Ch 4, Bosnick).
Now for someone who hasn’t watched Star Wars since childhood, this sounds a lot to me like content we cover on this podcast, specifically our Science of Getting Rich Series[ix] where we talk about the fact that “there is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the universe.” (Wallace D. Wattles, SGR, The Syllabus). Or, our interview with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, from EP 307[x] where we learned about the energy field that surrounds our body.
Bosnick reminds us that the movie warned us to “Remember, a Jedi’s strength flows from the Force. But beware: Anger, fear, aggression—the Dark Side, are there” so we learn to keep our emotions in check, by practicing mindfulness.
PUTTING MINDFULNESS INTO PRACTICE: BUILDING OUR MENTAL RESILIENCE OVER TIME
Bosnick tells us that “in order for us to be mindful, to focus and keep focus, we need to have “executive control” over our attention.” (Ch 4, Bosnick) and I’ll add that we will all be at different levels of being able to “block out” our distractions. I remember the first time I laid down, and tried to listen to a guided meditation in the early days of learning this practice, and is all I could hear was my kids running around, when they were little. There was no chance I was going to be able to focus back then, but I just kept trying. I can say that one day, I noticed, that I could be sitting somewhere busy, like an airport, and am now able to block all outside distractions in order to go within. Wearing certain headphones has definitely helped with this. But this didn’t come easily to me. I hear many people say “yeah, I gave up trying to meditate, it just doesn’t work for me.”
Other than telling you to sit there and listen to whatever meditation program you connect with, and keep trying, I don’t have a strategy for HOW to build your mental muscles either, or how to build the resilience that comes over time, or how to take your meditation practice from the comfort of your home, where you begin, to your busy work day, when you need it the most.
But Grant Bosnick does and he introduces us to New York Times Best Selling Author, Shirzad Chamine’s strategy[xi] that guarantees we will quiet our mind over time.
Bringing in the science to Mindfulness, DID YOU KNOW there is a concept called PQ Reps, coined by Positive Intelligence Founder, Shirzad Chamine[xii] that builds our mental muscles over time? PQ Reps stand for “positive intelligence quotient repetitions” (Ch 4, Bosnick) “and they are small, laser-focused exercises that consciously and purposely deploy our attention to one specific sensation.” These exercises are a way to train your brain in the same way that you would if you were meditating, giving you all of the benefits we are talking about with this practice.
Shirzad Chamine discovered PQ Reps when he was looking for a way to build mental resilience for people who struggled to begin a mediation practice. Through fMRI scans, he could see that by activating a certain part of the brain, the PQ Area, in 10 second intervals, by taking your index finger and rubbing it on your thumb, while focusing on the sensation of this feeling, they could see that this PQ area in the brain was slightly activated, while the survival part of the brain was slightly quieter.[xiii]
HOW DO WE PRACTICE PQ REPS?
By rubbing your finger and your thumb together, involving your any of your 5 senses for 10 seconds. I suggest involve the sensation of touch, and notice what it feels like to touch the top of one finger on the ridges of the other. By doing this, you are shifting your attention to your body and focusing on the sensation.
It’s a lot like Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness practice that has you focused on one body part at a time (from head to toe) and feeling the sensation of your thoughts as it goes from one body part to the next. Who knew I was practicing PQ Reps while doing Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation and improving my mental fitness?
It really does help to understand the science behind developing a mindfulness practice, so you can continue to strengthen yours. Shrizad Chamine recommends that if we want to use PQ Reps to build up this part of our brain, that we should do this practice for 12 minutes/day or 136 reps/day. To put this into perspective, Dan Siegel’s Full Wheel of Awareness practice[xiv], is 37 minutes in length. Visiting his website that I’ve linked in the show notes, you can see this one, as well as a shorter one, and a NEW one on the Plane of Possibility.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #325 on “The Neuroscience of Mindfulness” we asked the question:
DID YOU KNOW there is a concept called PQ Reps, coined by Positive Intelligence Founder, Shirzad Chamine[xv] who used fMRI scanners to discover that by doing these PQ Reps we can actually build our mental muscles by activating this PQ Region in the Brain?  For those who have a mindfulness practice in place, putting PQ Reps into practice helps to reaffirm the benefits that comes along with building your mental muscles, and for those who have found it difficult to begin a mindfulness practice, PQ Reps is a proven way to bridge the gap for you to begin.
HOW DO WE PRACTICE PQ REPS? By rubbing our finger and thumb together, and involving any of our 5 senses for 10 seconds. I suggest that we feel the touch of our fingers on each other. By doing this, we are shifting our attention to our body and focusing on the sensation. It is this activity, that build us the PQ Area of our brain, while the survival part goes quieter.
If you next listen to Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation you will see how Dr. Siegel’s Mindfulness Practice is essentially teaching you to do PQ Reps involving every part of your body and feeling the sensations from your head to toe. Start small, practicing PQ Reps one day at a time, and eventually you will learn to focus your attention for longer periods of time, building your mental muscles and resilience in the process.  
With each lesson we cover in this review of Grant Bosnick’s Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, I’m hoping to show us how we can gain the momentum needed to activate Lewin’s Field Theory, (remember from Chapter 2 on goals, EP 323[xvi] that place where we gain momentum and suddenly, life becomes easier. The resistances fades away, and our goals or whatever it is we are working on, are not far off in the distance, but they are within our reach.
Then I’m hoping that we have a clear understanding of Chapter 3, EP 324[xvii] on The Neuroscience of Inspiration where we became clear with WHO or WHAT inspires us.
This is when we know we can use our MINDS and understanding of our BRAIN, to turn MIND into MATTER, and create our own futures by design, rather than let them happen by default. I suggest using the MAP that Bosnick created to check off when you think you have integrated each skills into your daily life.
In Chapter 2 on Goals, do you see how to gain the momentum needed for your success this year?
In Chapter 3 on Inspiration, do you know WHO or WHAT inspires you, and are you using this knowledge for motivation?
And now in Chapter 4 on Mindfulness, where are YOU in your mindfulness practice? Does this understanding of PQ Reps help you to build up the PQ area of your brain? Can you do a few reps in the day, until you build up to 12 minutes a day like recommended for this part of the brain to see the changes we all seek?
I hope you have found this episode on Mindfulness helpful for sharpening your mindfulness practice, if you have one, or looking for alternative ways to build one, if you have found the process to be difficult. I can’t forget that I wondered how I could improve my own meditation practice early last year, so we dove deep into The Silva Method, covered in 4 PARTS, that we just reviewed on EP #322[xviii] as our most downloaded series in 2023.
The point of this episode today is that we learn to improve Mindfulness in our day to day life, not just for more “executive control” but to think beyond this.
Jose Silva reminds us that “Once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.”
Remember that some of the leading experts in the world have used Mindfulness (from The Silva Method) for outstanding results.  
✔ A marketing company used it to create 18 new products.
✔ 14 Chicago White Socks players used it to boost their scores.
✔  Celebrities have used it and credit Jose Silva for improving their focus and creativity.
✔  Colleges and universities have used it to help students study less, but learn more.
If you are not using your mind to its fullest potential, don’t worry, awareness is the first step.
Start small today, and you’ll be miles ahead in 2024, than you’ve ever been!
I’ll end with a quote to highlight the self-awareness we will build once we’ve implemented this lesson into our daily life, since our goal with this 18-week series is to help each of us to become more self-aware.
“To know yourself, you must sacrifice the illusion that you already do.” — Vironika Tugaleva
And I’ll see you next week for an interview, and the week after that with Chapter 5 on Flow.
REVIEW Chapters 2, 3
EPISODE #323, Chapter 2, “Using Neuroscience to Level Up Your 2024 Goals”
✔ What is Kurt Lewin’s “Field Theory” and how can we use it to improve our performance towards our goals in 2024?
✔ 3 STEPS for Applying Field Theory into our Daily Life to Reach Heightened Levels of Achievement in 2024.
EPISODE #324, Chapter 3, “The Neuroscience of Inspiration”
✔ Uncover WHO or WHAT inspires you.
✔ Learn what happens to our brain when we are inspired (by a person or a thing).
✔ Apply the Neuroscience of Inspiration to our life in 3 steps: WRITE, THINK and LEARN to Level Up Our Results in 2024.
RESOURCES and OTHER EPSIODES ON MINDFULNESS
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #154 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-and-film-producer-tom-cronin-on-the-portal-book-and-movie-how-meditation-can-save-the-world/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #170 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/cognitive-neuroscience-researcher-john-harmon-on-our-brain-and-mind-under-pressure/
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iii] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #25 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/mindfulness-and-meditation-expert-mick-neustadt-on-how-meditation-and-mindfulness-changes-your-life-results-and-potential/
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Dan Siegel   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #60 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #98 with Dr. Dawson Church  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-dawson-church-on-the-science-behind-using-meditation-rewiring-your-brain-for-happiness-resilience-and-joy/
 
[viii] Dr. Dawsom Church on “The Science Behind Using Meditation” https://youtu.be/bH8yVKHjFN4
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #314 PART 1 The Science of Getting Rich Book Review on Prosperity Consciousness  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #307 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
[xi] Shirzad Chamine Quieting the Mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDOqPrfNaq0
[xii] Shirzad Chamine https://www.positiveintelligence.com/about/
 
[xiii] Shirzad Chamine Quieting the Mind https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDOqPrfNaq0
 
[xiv] https://drdansiegel.com/wheel-of-awareness/
 
[xv] Shirzad Chamine https://www.positiveintelligence.com/about/
 
[xvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #323  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-season-11-of-the-neuroscience-meets-sel-podcast/
 
[xvii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #324 on “The Neuroscience of Inspiration”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-self-leadership-series/
 
[xviii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #322 with “Transforming Minds and Paving the Future: A Review of The Silva Method” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/transforming-minds-and-paving-the-future/
 
 
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: The Neuroscience of Inspiration (Chapter 3)

Welcome back to Season 11 of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast! Today we are diving into episode 324, where we continue our transformative 18-week Self-Leadership series. We explore the riveting application of practical neuroscience and uncover how it influences our daily life, productivity, and overall well-being.
In this episode, we delve into the third chapter of Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick's book, focusing on the Neuroscience of Inspiration and Motivation – a topic that scored highest in my self-assessment. Grant emphasizes the importance of self-motivation and inspiration in propelling us towards our goals, and we explore how these elements chemically affect our brains.
Discover the powerful role inspiring stories and images play in our lives, producing neurochemical oxytocin (facilitating feelings of trust) and dopamine (associated with motivation and reward). Learn how the individuals, places, or things that inspire us can connect, rewire our brains and form new ideas through the process of neuroplasticity.
This episode aims to provide listeners with practical steps to integrate the neuroscience of inspiration into their lives. Identify the individuals and factors that inspire and motivate you, visualize the chemical reactions occurring in your brain during moments of inspiration, and finally, understand the implication of this knowledge on a deeper level.
Join us as we continue our journey of self-discovery, blending neuroscience with everyday practices to reach unparalleled heights in productivity and performance, creating a future by design, not default.
EPISODE #323, Chapter 2, “Using Neuroscience to Level Up Your 2024 Goals”
✔ What is Kurt Lewin’s “Field Theory” and how can we use it to improve our performance towards our goals in 2024?
✔ 3 STEPS for Applying Field Theory into our Daily Life to Reach Heightened Levels of Achievement in 2024.
EPISODE #324, Chapter 3, “The Neuroscience of Inspiration”
✔ Uncover WHO or WHAT inspires you.
✔ Learn what happens to our brain when we are inspired (by a person or a thing).
✔ Apply the Neuroscience of Inspiration to our life in 3 steps: WRITE, THINK and LEARN to Level Up Our Results in 2024.
On today's episode #324 we continue with our 18-Week Self-Leadership Series based on Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321.[i] During this interview, I told Grant that his book contained a thorough and deep overview of the Neuroscience of Self-Leadership, and I felt like each of the 18 chapters could be covered in 18 weeks, so I decided to set our season theme to the Neuroscience of Self-Leadership that will be our focus until June of this year.
My goal with EACH of these next episodes, covered over the next 18 weeks, is that the application of the neuroscience within each lesson, will change us in some way, create new meaning, giving us NEW AHA Moments, open up NEW portals of creativity, that we can use to accelerate our results in 2024.
Before we do this, I highly encourage you to take your own Leadership Self-Assessment so you can see which chapters of Grant’s book come out for you as GREEN or important to focus on now, which chapters are ORANGE and not as important, and which ones for you, came out as RED, and lower priority. As we go through these lessons, just keep an open mind to what it is that you might learn from these three areas.
Take note of AHA Moments of learning- from each lesson.
Did something jump out at you as important in an area that was of lower priority? (RED)
Be sure to circle, or write out the NEW learnings from these lessons that you will put into action to improve your results this year. Remembering that it’s not just thinking in a certain way that will change our results, but we’ve also got to take action with what we learn.
Whatever concepts we learn within each chapter, I hope that the science gives you something NEW to help you to THINK DIFFERENTLY this year, and move you to greater heights with more momentum like we learned from Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory last week.
For today’s episode #324, we will be looking at Chapter 3, “The Neuroscience of Inspiration and Motivation” which came out as my highest scoring area on the Self-Assessment Quiz.
Grant opens up Chapter 3 by saying “we cannot motivate others; we can only inspire them. Motivation comes from within. Inspiration can come from anywhere—within us, around us and through us.” (Ch 3, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
Next, he says that “inspiration is moving people, or being moved ourselves, to be excited about achieving something. It’s about seeing or doing things differently, or changing our thinking, feeling or who we are, now and for the future.” Ch 3, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
I’m looking at this chapter, as one of the positive forces that can help us to gain momentum towards our goals, thinking about Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory from our last EP 233.[ii] Using motivation (that comes from within) and inspiration to drive us towards our goals, I’m hoping this chapter will help us to uncover some new ideas that we can use to push us forward, and help us to gain that feeling of momentum as we are in pursuit of our goals. Grant asks us to think about what inspires you? People or things? I find inspiration in both and use ideas from other people to help me to write these episodes, while also can gain inspiration from nature, or being near beautiful places, and buildings.
Who inspires you?
What inspires you?
Next, think about why this person or thing inspires you. Does it give you more hope for the future, or help you to see things differently? What else comes to your mind when you think about people or places that inspire you?
The Neuroscience of Inspiration
DID YOU KNOW “that inspiring stories and images produce oxytocin in our brain? Oxytocin is the neurochemical that facilitates feelings of trust. Inspiration also produces dopamine in our brains (Ashby et al., 1999, Depue and Collings, 1999) which is a neurochemical associated with motivation and reward.” Ch 3, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
Think about this for a minute.
Those people who inspire us, we will tend to trust more, because of the neurochemical oxytocin that was released into our brain. We covered the Neuroscience of Trust on EP #206[iii] right before our interview with Greg Link, who wrote a book on this topic with Stephen M.R. Covey (the son of the late Dr. Stephen R. Covey) called Smart Trust: The Defining Skill That Transforms Managers into Leaders.[iv] Dr. Stephen Covey would say that “Trust in the highest form of human motivation. It brings out the very best in people. But it takes time and patience.”
We also learned that trust “frees up the brain for other activities like creativity, planning and decision-making”[v] which to me shows on a brain level why “the act of extending trust is an act of leadership.” (Stephen M.R. Covey).
Then we can look at inspiration that produces dopamine in our brain, and is associated with motivation and reward, so people and places that inspire us, can also motivate us, magnifying the trust we feel, and lead us forward.
AHA Moment of Learning!
Does the Neuroscience of Inspiration give you a whole new outlook on certain people and places in your life? Does it help you to understand yourself on a deeper level? Maybe you wondered “what about this person or place motivates me?” or “Why do I feel trust towards one person, and not another?” I do believe that trust is a feeling that can be felt, since everything going on inside is expressed on the outside. You can see and feel these vibrations and frequencies that we covered in depth with David Wong[vi], and frequencies don’t lie. I agree with Dr. Stephen Covey that this trust we feel through inspiration is “a performance multiplier which takes your trajectory upwards, for every action you engage in, from strategy to execution.”
I think it’s interesting to see how the chemicals in our brain draw us towards certain people or places, connected to whatever it is that inspires us.
Wait there’s more!
Grant goes on to explain that “the concept of neuroplasticity underpins inspiration” and that “Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to form new connections and reorganize itself as a result. Through inspiration, our brain is literally restructuring itself as we connect ideas together to form new ideas. The process of inspiration carves our new pathways inside the brain.” Ch 3, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
Our brains are literally being changed by people or places that inspire us. They are not only motivating us, but these people and things (like places, or artwork, or nature) rewire our brain, helping us to form new ideas.  If you ask me, this is a key piece of information for us to understand if we want to be more innovative and creative this year, and take our results to new heights.
Grant’s book, and chapter 3, dives deeper into motivation and inspiration, and crosses into later chapters of the book, but for now, we will end here, as we take The Neuroscience of Inspiration, and see how we can apply it in our own life, to help us to overcome negative challenges, and create the momentum needed to reach heightened levels of performance towards our goals this year.
PUTTING THE NEUROSCIENCE OF INSPIRATION INTO PRACTICE:
WRITE:
Write a list of:
Who inspires you, and why?
Do you feel trust with this person that could be a performance multiplier? Think about this. Why, or why not?
What inspires you, and why?
Do you feel motivation from places that we know can rewire our brain and make new neural connections?
THINK:
Think of your brain being bombarded by oxytocin (the neurochemical that facilitates the feelings of trust) and then dopamine (the neurochemical associated with motivation and reward) and then the NEW neural pathways that are being rewired into your brain with whatever it is that you are drawing inspiration from.
LEARN:
What does this mean to you? Does it help you to make sense of your world in a new way?  Does this connection to science help to motivate you in a NEW way, perhaps pushing you past some of the obstacles that once held you back? Does this NEW understanding energize you in some way, or give you more self-awareness towards your goals?
My goal with these bite-sized chapters connecting Neuroscience and Self-Leadership to our daily practice, is that we begin to see how simple it is to connect an understanding of how our brain works, to our best practices, that we tap into daily, taking us to new heights.
Applying the Neuroscience of Inspiration to my life, I can clearly see what’s most important to me, why I’m drawn to certain people or places, and how important it is for me to keep learning, and applying what we uncover together on these episodes.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #324 on “The Neuroscience of Inspiration” we asked the question:
DID YOU KNOW: “that inspiring stories and images produce oxytocin in our brain? Oxytocin is the neurochemical that facilitates feelings of trust. Inspiration also produces dopamine in our brains which is a neurochemical associated with motivation and reward.” Ch 3, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership).
Next, we put The Neuroscience of Inspiration into action in our daily life with 3 steps:
STEP 1 WRITE: A list of who or what inspires you, and why.
STEP 2 THINK: Of what is happening to your brain when it’s being inspired (by a person or thing). It’s being bombarded by oxytocin, which is why you will feel trust, and dopamine is released which will motivate you in a new way.
STEP 3 LEARN: What does the Neuroscience of Inspiration mean to you? How can you use this understanding to help you to gain momentum towards your 2024 goals, and push you towards higher levels of achievement?
Once we have our list of who or what inspires us, and we can imagine the neural pathways in our brain making NEW connections, we just keep learning, growing and moving forward, with NEW momentum, in the direction of our goals. With each lesson we cover, I’m hoping to show us how we can gain the momentum needed to activate Lewin’s Field Theory, and suddenly, life becomes easy. The resistances fade away, and our goals or whatever it is we are working on, are not far off in the distance, but they are within our reach.
This is when we know we can use our MINDS and understanding of our BRAIN, to turn MIND into MATTER, and create our own futures by design, rather than let them happen by default.
I’ll end with a quote to highlight the self-awareness we will build once we’ve implemented this lesson into our daily life, since our goal with this 18-week series is to help each of us to become more self-aware.
“The first and best victory is to conquer self” – Plato
I hope the Neuroscience of Inspiration has helped you in some way, to move closer to whatever it is you are working on this year.
I’ll see you next week with Chapter 4 on Mindfulness.  
 
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #321 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #323 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-season-11-of-the-neuroscience-meets-sel-podcast/
 
[iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 Brain Fact Friday on The Neuroscience of Trust  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-trust/
 
[iv] Smart Trust: The Defining Skill That Transforms Managers into Leaders by Stephen M.R. Covey and Greg Link Published September 3, 2013 https://www.amazon.com/Smart-Trust-Defining-Transforms-Managers/dp/1451652178
 
[v] The Neuroscience of Trust https://headheartbrain.com/brain-savvy-hr/the-neuroscience-oftrust/#:~:text=High%20levels%20of%20trust%20are,amygdala%20and%20trust%20decreases%20activation.
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #312 with David Wong on Mastering Your Frequency  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-frequency-expert-david-wong-on-master-your-frequency-and-take-control-of-your-personal-professional-life-and-health/
 

Insights from Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick's Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: Using Neuroscience to Level Up Your Goals (Chapter 2)

Welcome back to Season 11 of the "Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning" podcast. Our host, Andrea Samadi, an author and an educator, introduces a compelling 18-week series devoted to self-leadership, drawing on insights from Grant Bosnick's book on the subject. The series, framed through the lens of neuroscience and psychology, aims to empower listeners onto individual pathways of self-discovery. By building stronger and more resilient versions of oneself, we anticipate a transformation in well-being, achievement, productivity, and success. We lay the foundation of this self-discovery journey by looking within – nurturing self-awareness. It is a revisiting of ancient wisdom, as we echo Aristotle's words, "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom."
In conversation with Grant Bosnick, we ponder upon multiple facets of neuroscience and self-leadership. We hope this series evokes new revelations about our neural circuits, catalyzed by the application of neuroscience embedded in each lesson. Being self-aware, acknowledging and overcoming obstacles, and utilizing the forces that propel us, can transform our performance towards our goals in 2024. To fully grasp these concepts and apply them meaningfully, we highly recommend taking your own leadership self-assessment. Equipped with a nuanced understanding of personal strengths and areas of improvement, we hope to inspire a fresh, empowered approach to thinking and leading in 2024. Concluding with a powerful sentiment from Peter Drucker, "Being a self-leader is to serve as chief, captain, president, or CEO of one's own life"—we welcome you to join us in this journey of self-discovery and self-leadership, underpinned by the magnificent world of neuroscience.
On today's episode #323 we will begin our Self-Leadership Series based on Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick’s “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” that we first dove into with our interview on EP #321.[i] During this interview, I told Grant that his book contained a thorough and deep overview of the Neuroscience of Self-Leadership, that I felt like each of the 18 chapters could be covered in 18 weeks, so I decided to set our season theme to the Neuroscience of Self-Leadership that will be our focus until June of this year.
This series will help each of us on our pathways of self-discovery….to get to know ourselves on a deeper level as we build stronger more resilient versions of ourselves in 2024. Since we know that “Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom” Aristotle
This is where our podcast began back on episode #2[ii] on Self-Awareness: Know Thyself where we covered 6 Steps for Becoming More Self-Aware back in July of 2019.
Remember:
Mastering others is strength; mastering oneself is true power” - Lao Tsu
While speaking with Grant Bosnick on our recent interview, I let him know that I took his Self-Assessment to leadership that I’ve linked in the resource section below, and that when I was given my results, I scored very low on some areas where I think I might have answered the questions thinking “I’ve got this” (in my head) until I actually read his book, and realized there was much more to some of these areas than I thought. So, for the next 18 weeks, we are going to work through the science in Grant’s book, and see if we can together, apply the research he’s uncovered in his timeless self-leadership principles, to learn something NEW with ourselves, building stronger, more improved 2.0 versions of ourselves with whatever it is we are working on this year.
I’m hoping that the science reveals something NEW that you might not have thought of in the past, like we mentioned on PART 4[iii] of our Review of The Silva Method, Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research taught us that “when we see something that’s truly creative, it reveals something to us about the natural world and about how our brains work. It must reveal something that surprises us” for it to be truly creative.
Dr. Huberman explains that “something pops out at us…we see something, feel, or experience something...this reveals something about our brain/our auditory system, creating NEW meaning for us.” AND “when we see, hear, feel or experience something that’s truly creative, the way our neural circuits function is changed. When our neural circuits are changed simply by what comes into our eyes, ears, or the way we experience our feelings, there’s a release of chemicals like dopamine that make us feel surprised, delighted or excited in anticipation that we will see it again.” (Dr. Huberman)
This is my goal with EACH of these next episodes, covered over the next 18 weeks, with the goal that the application of the neuroscience in each lesson, will change us in some way, create new meaning, giving us NEW AHA Moments, that we can use to accelerate our results in 2024.
Before we do this, I highly encourage you to take your own Leadership Self-Assessment so you can see which chapters of Grant’s book come out for you as GREEN or important to focus on now, which chapters are ORANGE and not as important, and which ones for you, came out as RED, and low priority.
Whatever concepts we learn with each chapter, I hope that the science gives you something NEW to help you to THINK DIFFERENTLY in 2024, and move you to greater heights this year. I’m currently in the middle of studying Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book, with Paul Martinelli who I’ve be studying this book every year with since 2019, and he is reminding us on a daily basis that in order to change our results, we must learn to think differently. We opened up our review of our 6 PART Series on Think and Grow Rich back in 2022[iv] with a quote from author Grant Cardone that said:
 “In order to get to the next level of whatever you’re doing, you must think and act in a wildly different way than you previously have been. You cannot get to the next phase of a project without a grander mind-set, more acceleration, and extra horsepower.” Grant Cardone, author of the 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure[v]
This reminds me of Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, the World’s #1 Leadership Thinker, who wrote the foreword to Grant’s book, of his best-selling book, What Got You Here, Won’t Get You There.[vi]  I hope this 18-week series will help us to all THINK and ACT differently in 2024, so we can all break through to new heights this year.
In this 18-week Series, we will cover:
✔ Powerful tactics from this NEW award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation and the impact of a self-assessment system.
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels.
For today’s episode #323, we will be looking at Chapter 2, “Using Neuroscience to Level Up Your 2024 Goals”
✔ What is Kurt Lewin’s “Field Theory” and how can we use it to improve our performance towards our goals in 2024?
✔ 3 STEPS for Applying Field Theory into our Daily Life to Reach Heightened Levels of Achievement in 2024.
DID YOU KNOW: there is a force that drives us towards our goals?
On page 20 of Grant’s book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, he mentions that “according to Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory[vii], a goal is embedded not only in the individual but also exists within the field around the individual. Between us and the target, there is a “drive force” or “drive field” and as we get closer to the target (or the perception of being closer), the strength of the force increases.”
When I read this part of the book, I almost fell off my chair. I’m always looking for ways to connect science to age-old principles, and Grant explained something we’ve been looking at the past year. 
We know that our energy field matters whether by the thoughts we are thinking, or the actions that we are taking. We covered this in depth with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov’s EP 307[viii] where we bridged the spiritual world with rigorous scientific method.
So how can we improve our performance towards a goal, using German-born American social psychologist, Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory[ix] that Grant Boswick wrote about in his chapter on Goals?
IMAGE: Hand drawn from Kurt Lewin’s Force Field Change Explanation[x]
I’ve got 3 STEPS to do this, that go along with an image I hand drew in the show notes.
STEP 1 RECOGNIZE THE NEGATIVE FORCES THAT PUSH US AWAY FROM OUR GOALS: Know that whenever we are moving towards a goal, there will be a force that pushes us down from our current state of attaining our goal, (a negative force) and there’s also a force that helps us to change (a positive force). Identify the forces that are pushing you down as you move towards your desired end result.
In our schools: it could be limited time to study for a test.
In our sports environments: it could be our competition, or whoever is at the top of the league.
Finally, in our workplaces: it could be a competitor charging lower pricing, and taking all the business in your area.
STEP 2 RECOGNIZE THE POSITIVE FORCES THAT PUSH US TOWARDS OUR GOALS: Recognize that just as there is a negative force pushing us down, there are also positive forces that pushes us up, and can assist us to change. It’s this force pushing us up that Grant talks about in his chapter on goals. He says that “the closer we get to our target (or perception of being closer to the target) the strength of the force increases.” (Page 20, Grant Bosnick, Tailored Approaches to Leadership).
STEP 3 FIND THE MOMENTUM THAT TAKES YOU TO A NEW LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE:  
It’s here in the diagram where I drew a RED arrow, showing a person moving from their current state, leveling up to a new, heightened level of performance, when there are MORE positive forces pushing us up, than negative pushing us down.
BEFORE we can get to our new heightened level of performance, we must overcome the forces against whatever it is we are moving towards, (like by overcoming our competition) and create as many positive forces to help us to move towards our NEW end result.
Create a plan for how you will overcome your resistances, while building up positive forces for change (like through study, identifying ways you can improve your mental and physical health so you can use these forces to push up against the negatives, or from understanding your “why” so this internal force drives you when times are difficult.                                                                                          
PUT KURT LEWIN’S FIELD THEORY INTO ACTION INTO YOUR LIFE:
So how can we use Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory to improve our level of performance towards our goals in 2024? We can create our own, built in weapons that will reduce our known resistances (negative forces) and create new habits that will strengthen the positive forces.
Grant had us thinking about this “driving force” as we move towards our goals in Chapter 2 of his book. But right now, we are starting a new year, and many of us will be feeling the resistances that comes along with a New Year. What can we do to get to the point where Grant mentions this “powerful feeling” or excitement as our goals can be seen and felt on the horizon? How can we level ourselves up to the RED arrow I drew in the diagram?
If we want to DRIVE change in our organization, (in our schools, sports environments, or workplaces) then our driving force for change will need to be stronger than the resistance to change.
 
IMAGE CREDIT: Force Field Examples[xi]
TO APPLY KURT LEWIN’S FORCE FIELD THEORY:
Write out the negative forces that impact your work on a daily basis.
Write out the positive forces you have in place.
Are there MORE positive driving forces than negative?
Where can YOU or YOUR organization improve?
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude this week’s episode #323 on “Using Neuroscience to Level Up Your 2024 Goals” we asked the question “DID YOU KNOW: there is a force that drives us towards our goals?” With this understanding we also looked at the forces that drive us away from our goals.
We broke down Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory into 3 steps.
STEP 1 RECOGNIZE THE NEGATIVE FORCES THAT PUSH US AWAY FROM OUR GOALS
Like our competition or whatever it is that’s causing us grief on a daily basis as we are working on our goals. Use the diagram in the show notes to list out what forces hold you back from your goals on a daily basis, so you can see them clearly.
STEP 2 RECOGNIZE THE POSITIVE FORCES THAT PUSH US TOWARDS OUR GOALS
Like knowing our “why” that Simon Sinek[xii] is famous for teaching, that will help us through difficult times, and then think about the weapons we will build into our day to improve our mental and physical health, giving us more capacity towards our goals. We created our TOP 5 Health Staples[xiii] to move us to heightened levels of performance on a Bonus Episode in 2022, and I’m always looking to improve these. While speaking with Dr. Gregory Kelly, I added a 6th Health Staple for Stress Reduction, and am always looking at what else I can add to build a stronger, more resilient version of myself.
STEP 3 FIND THE MOMENTUM THAT TAKES YOU TO A NEW LEVEL OF PERFORMANCE:  
Once we are clear on the forces that are pushing against us, we can create our own WEAPONS to combat these resistances, helping us to gain that momentum that Grant Bosnick mentioned in his 2nd chapter on Goals.
Grant asks us in Chapter 2 to “think about a big goal that you had from the past. When you first started it, how much pull did you feel towards it? Then, as you got closer to achieving it, how much pull did you feel toward it? We can use this pull of “drive force” to propel us as we get (or perceive ourselves getting) closer to our goals. It’s a powerful feeling” Grant tells us.
I hope that by breaking down Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory, it helped to reveal something NEW for all of us that can help all of us to find that RED arrow of heightened achievement, that once we have arrived there, it will be easier for us to keep the momentum going with our 2024 goals.
I’ll end with a quote to highlight the self-awareness we will build with this lesson.
“Being a self-leader is to serve as chief, captain, president, or CEO of one’s own life” – Peter Drucker an Austrian American consultant and educator.
See you next week for Chapter 3 on Inspiration and Motivation.
RESOURCES:
Self-Assessment http://www.selfleadershipassessment.com
CONTACT
grant@grantbosnick.com
Website: https://grantbosnick.com/
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantbosnick/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrantBosnick
Learn more about The Tailored Approach to Leadership Book https://grantbosnick.com/books/
Signature Keynotes and Solutions https://grantbosnick.com/signature-solutions/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #323 with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/insights-from-grant-upbeat-bosnick/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #2 Self-Awareness: Know Thyself https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-awareness-know-thyself/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 4 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 1 of our Think and Grow Rich Book Study https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
[v] Grant Cardone, The 10XRule https://www.amazon.com/10X-Rule-Difference-Between-Success/dp/0470627603
 
[vi] Marshall Goldsmith https://marshallgoldsmith.com/book-page-what-got-you-here/
 
[vii]  German American Psychologist Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory “Field theory and experiment in social psychology” American Journal of Sociology, 44 (6), 858-96, May 1939
 
[viii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
 
[ix] Kurt Lewin’s Field Theory https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HERRi8SktJo
 
[x] IBID
 
[xi] https://www.edrawsoft.com/force-field-analysis-examples.html
 
[xii] Simon Sinek https://simonsinek.com/books/start-with-why/
 
[xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE on “The Top 5 Health Staples” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
 
 

The Silva Method: Transforming Minds and Paving the Future with the Most Downloaded Series from 2023

In this masterly episode of the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning podcast, host Andrea Samadi offers an enlightening retrospective view of the year 2023's most impactful episodes, focusing primarily on the critically-acclaimed four-part series about The Silva Method. Dive into the archives with Andrea as she revisits this profound exploration of the mind, emphasizing the power of a winning attitude, visualization, and the transformative potential of the Silva Method.
The episode is a treasure trove of wisdom, insights, and powerful takeaways, offering listeners a unique blend of personal anecdotes, philosophy, and neuroscience, revolving around the theme of harnessing the mind for unparalleled progress. Tune in and join Andrea on this enriching journey as she uncovers the timeless principles that define success and looks forward to exciting developments on the horizon.
Learn the secret techniques of diving into various states of human brain - beta, alpha, theta, delta. The discussion digs deeper into the art of mental screening, visualization and dynamic meditation. Listen on as the Silva Method unfold its potential in transforming everyday lives, envisioning a promising future, and maximizing one's innate creativity.
This episode also shares the effective use of Dr. Joe Dispenza's meditations for chakra-opening and energy field-expansion through the studies of Dr. Konstantin Korotkov in conflating spirituality and scientific practices. More importantly, listeners are encouraged to appreciate the power of dreams and REM sleep in unlocking the subconscious and boosting creativity and intuition for problem-solving.
Regardless of whether you are a first-time listener just joining us in 2024, or a dedicated follower since the podcast's inception, this episode promises an invigorating learning experience, highlighting the role of the Silva Method in personal growth, and its potential for turning life's stumbling blocks into stepping stones for a brighter future.
“Before you look at your future, reflect on your past.” (Sam Ade, author of the book Wisdom Untold[i]). (From top 10 2023)
 
On today's episode #322 REVIEW of the TOP 4 Episodes from 2023” we will cover:
✔ PART 1: PRACTICING THE 3 STEPS TO ACCESSING THE ALPHA STATE, USING YOUR MENTAL SCREEN FOR HEIGHTENED VISUALIZATION AND MAKING USE OF WHAT YOU SEE.
✔ PART 2: PRACTICE THE 3-SCENES TECHNIQUE WITH A PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE
✔ PART 3: TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY AND SLEEP LONG ENOUGH TO LEARN FROM YOUR DREAMS.
✔ PART 4: USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE MIND.
Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #322 we will be taking a close look at the Top episodes of last year as we reflect on our past year.
While we are now in the middle of Q1 of 2024, I still think it’s important to “study the past, to define the future” like Confucius said. While thinking about this episode, my good friend and paranormal researcher Ryan O’Neill who we met on EP 203[i] tagged an image he created for me on Facebook, from 11 years ago, and reminded me of this concept when he said “it’s good to look back to see how far you travel.”[ii]
Ryan’s post helped me to stop, reflect on the past 11 years, and see that progress forward happens one step at a time. Imagine yourself at the top of a spiral staircase, looking down, and you’ll see how far you’ve come. Or like Steve Jobs said in his famous speech, it’s much easier to connect the dots looking backwards.
The graphic Ryan O’Neill created 11 years ago talks about the importance of “always maintaining a winning attitude” and I can say it’s not always easy to do this, when times are difficult, (thinking of the stairs we must climb, the barriers or obstacles to break through on the way). We might trip, and it feels like we are going backwards, but maintaining a winning attitude along the way is one of those timeless principles that I know has shaped where I’ve ended up.
IMAGE: The beautiful Bramante Staircase[iii] from the Vatican Museum.
What about you, the listener? Take a look at the image in the show notes of the beautiful Bramante Staircase from the Vatican Museum. Imagine yourself at the top, and then reflect back on the past 10 or 11 years of your life, (like looking down a spiral staircase) and think about what do you notice. What timeless principles have kept you on track over the years? Looking backwards, what do you see?
This episode is definitely written with you, the listener in mind. Looking back at the past year and the episodes that you were drawn to the most, at the end of 2023, I was initially surprised to see all 4-PARTS of The Silva Method hitting the top of the list. I wanted to Dive Deeper into The Silva Method to see how I could improve my own meditation practice, and I had no idea how impactful this episode series would be. It was actually a video series created by Spotify of my Year in Review that caught my eye.
It told me that:
PART 1 of The Silva Method was our most downloaded episode ever. I could see that with over 6,000 downloads.
Spotify shared this episode was streamed 999% more than our average episode telling me that the topic of improving intuition, creativity and focus is of high interest to the world.
That 95 % of our listeners discovered our podcast in 2023. Thank you for tuning in.
And 46% of our listeners started listening to us with PART 1 of The Silva Method. Now I’m so glad that I took the time to study and learn The Silva Method alongside our new listeners.
For this recap of our TOP episodes from 2023, I decided to review the Top 4 episodes from our Deep Dive into The Silva Method, since they were downloaded significantly more than others, and I’ve got to say that they are thorough, they require deep thought and effort for the results we are all seeking to be revealed. And only with the application of these episodes, we will learn to “use our mind in a special manner to do astounding things for us, as we’ll soon see.” (Jose Silva).
What we are talking about in this 4 PART SERIES is The Creative Process. The series was designed to walk us through the steps to take, to turn MIND into MATTER. I’m studying this concept deeply right now, this month with Paul Martinelli with his Think and Grow Rich book study, but this is essentially what this 4 PART series was about. We’ve all heard of MIND OVER MATTER, but this is not the same. We are not using force here to coerce others to do anything, or to use our will power to urge other people (or ourselves) to do something we want to occur. We are using our MIND (working from the inside-out, rather than using anything or anyone from the outside-in), allowing our MIND to work by DESIGN not DEFAULT. We are teaching ourselves to see the possibility that exists in the world, around us, and show us ALL that we can CREATE whatever it is that we want, using these timeless principles.
Before I go on, just look around you right now, and take inventory of what you see. I’m sitting at my desk, in my home office, writing this episode, and I see a few pens, a highlighter, some fancy water to help me to focus while writing, my Rodecaster Pro microphone and audio equipment to the right of my desk. Now look at what you see, and take inventory of where you are right now.
Now think, every single thing that you see, was created twice, as it was someone’s dream to create the things we see and use in our everyday world. Someone dreamed up the fancy water I’m drinking, or the yellow highlighter, or the high-tech mic that I record these episodes with.
My message here is “Don’t ever wonder if your idea will work, (there’s a market for everything in this world) and think of the opportunity that surrounds you, every day, and with the development of our MIND, we can say for certain that FAILURE is impossible.” We’ll cover this closer at the end, but what I’m saying here is not that things will go smoothly for you, with whatever it is that YOU want to create, and that by studying this 4-part series, you’ll be able to make all your dreams come true.  This we know isn’t how the story goes. There will be ups and downs, twists and turns, and times you will feel defeated. But Napoleon Hill would say this is “temporary defeat” which is not at all a failure.
Before seeing the results from Spotify about this 4-PART Series, and even before I decided to cover The Silva Method, I had no idea just how deep the book and program would go, and mentioned that we’ll review the online course at a later time, but for now, this review will give us all plenty of new ideas for how to improve our visualization/mental screen method to help skyrocket our short term and long term goals for 2024, and solidify the fact that failure is impossible.
I’d love to hear from you what you have thought of this 4-part series, where we tied in the most current brain research to Jose Silva’s work, reminding me that “once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.”[iv]
On today’s episode #322, we’ll review the 4 parts of The Silva Method and see what else we can add to the strategies learned, keeping in mind that I’m learning and implementing these ideas alongside you, wherever you are listening in the world. 
Before we look at The Silva Method, there’s something important to think about first, to orient this study in our current year.  It’s now the beginning of February, and you’ve probably already got 2024 planned out already, but before we leap into the actions we are taking in this New Year, if you haven’t reflected on the wins you’ve attained in the past year, this is probably the most important step of closing out an old year, and moving into a new one, and it’s never too late for this reflection.
I learned this year-end ritual from Jim Bunch[v], who has been walking me through this year-end wrap up for the past 9 years at least, preparing those who tune in all over the world to his method, for a fresh mind moving into the New Year. We did cover his process of creating energy from your 9 environments on EPISODE #103[vi] that launched our year back in 2021, with “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain.” 
On this episode recorded 3 years ago, we reviewed the process of self-reflection, to evaluate the areas of your life (your 9 environments) to notice where energy might be leaking, that you could direct somewhere else in the New Year.
This self-reflection activity is a good way to close out an old year, and move into a new one, as it allows you to put some thought into your WINS, and what worked well for you in the past year. He has a printable download that goes with this activity, and what’s interesting, is that without looking at your calendar, just by going off the top of your head, see if you can write out some of your wins. Without some deep reflection, you will notice that it’s EASY to see the things that went wrong last year (the losses) but to see the WINS, it takes serious thought, because of our built-in negativity bias, that Dr. Rick Hanson tells us to remember--“our brain is like Velcro for negative experiences (we are attracted to the negative experiences) but our positive experiences, slide off like Teflon.” We must be intentional about reflecting on the positives that we incurred, and integrate these wins into our identity, before moving into a New Year. Let the losses roll off us. This practice will guarantee that you are building a stronger, better, more resilient, and improved version of you, each year.  
Now for the TOP 4/10 most listened to episodes of 2023-as voted by you, the listener!
#1 The Silva Method- Part 1[vii]
 This episode opened up with a quote that we went back to often in the year. 
“Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method.
This episode launched a series taking us on a deep dive into the benefits of developing a meditation practice. 
This was before we dove deep into Joe Dispenza’s meditations, and a good place to begin to look closer into the depths of our mind. 
The goal of this series initially, was to help all of us to reduce stress with this deep mind practice, but also to see if we can learn something new, and refine our practice for those who work in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved focus and concentration towards a specific goal, and in the corporate workplace for ideas to improve creativity and focus. We began this series reviewing Jose Silva and Philip Miele’s The Silva Mind Control Method[i] that’s based on the Revolutionary Program by the Founder of the World’s Most Famous Mind Control Course.
On PART 1 of this book review covered: 
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method
✔ What this program has done for others (in business, the sports world, or just regular people looking to improve their life in some way). 
✔ Ch 2- We met Jose Silva
✔ Ch 3- We looked at How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA).
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition.
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization (how to access this screen) and finally 
✔ How to Help Ourselves and Others With this Practice
How Do We Use the Silva Method to Access the Alpha State Where All the Magic Begins?
STEP 1: HOW TO ACCESS THE ALPHA STATE:
YOU CAN ACCES THE ALPHA STATE WHEN YOU FIRST WAKE UP, BEFORE BED, and ANY OTHER TIME YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO RELAX YOUR MIND. The Alpha State is the easiest state to access as we will already be in this state the first 5 minutes after we wake up.
Jose Silva suggests the 40 Day Technique to guarantee you are at the Alpha Level where you begin by counting backwards from 100 to 1 for 10 mornings, then you can count from 50-1 for the next 10 mornings, then from 20-1 for 10 mornings, and then 10-1 until you get to 5 to 1. 
PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE: Begin using the 100-1 countdown at night, in the morning, or whenever you plan to access the alpha level to begin to improve your current practice.
In my first few days of practicing this method before sleep, and the first couple of nights, I fell asleep before I could get to 1. Keep trying. After 10 days, you can progress to the next step, until you are able to access the alpha state from counting from 5-1. Eventually you can access this state quickly, and even while walking around as Dr. Dispenza teaches us. 
STEP 2: ONCE YOU REACH THE ALPHA STATE, THEN WHAT?
Next, you will learn to use a Mental Screen for Heightened Visualization
Once you have accessed the Alpha State, Silva reminds us:  “right from the beginning, from the very moment you reach your meditative level (what he calls accessing the Alpha State), you must learn to practice visualization. 
The better you learn to visualize, the more powerful will be your experience with Mind Control.”
There’s an important part to this visualization process that I have to add here.  I actually started writing this review over the Christmas holiday break, and I’m always looking around for what I can “see” that will add to what I’m writing and then I saw it. In the lobby of a hotel I was staying in, I saw a sand timer sitting on the counter reminding me of this exact concept from a lesson that Brian Proctor shared with us on EP 292[viii]. I thought it was really weird to see a sand timer sitting in the middle of a hotel lobby, but when you pay attention to what you are seeing, there are messages everywhere.
Here’s what I saw with the sand timer that ties into this lesson. Let go of the past, (the sand that’s sitting in the bottom of the timer) it’s gone. Next, don’t worry about the future, it hasn’t happened yet, but what’s important is for us to do every day, is to stay focused on the present moment, just like what we learned from Dr. Joe Dispenza.
How do we learn to drop into the present moment? 
THE SILVA METHOD:
With the Silva Method. And we may all be at different stages of our journey here, and we’ll have all learned from many different teachers. But for this review, will we be putting Jose Silva’s Meditation INTO PRACTICE:
When you close your eyes, what do you see? Raise your eyes up a bit (about 20% upwards above the horizon of what you see). Is it black on your mental screen, or can you use your mind to “see” things? Begin with simple things like an orange or an apple. This takes time and practice. This mental screen will help you in many ways as we move through different lessons, and is important, but don’t be tied to what you think you should see. We are all at different stages of learning. I started seeing things on the screen of my mind starting in my late 20s, and things would flash sometimes when I was relaxed. I never did have control over what I was seeing. It just happened, and I would either know what I was seeing, or be wondering “what on the earth is that” and with time, effort and practice, I have gained more control over what I’m able to visualize, or “see” on this mental screen, so I can put it to better use.
Looking back at this step now, a year after putting it into practice, I noticed if I want to “see” something on the screen of my mind, it helped to say what I wanted to see in thought, and then patiently wait. When I’m relaxed, without trying to force anything, I could then “see” the world on this mental screen.  
This is an extraordinary practice to experience. You can be in one part of the world, and running through the mountains in another, all on your mental screen. What you see and feel in your mind can be used to enhance whatever you are working on when you open your eyes, in the “real” world. Isn’t this astounding?
STEP 3: Now Utilize This Power
With time and practice, it will be this screen that you will learn to use, to help yourself and others. You begin with creating simple things, until you are ready to solve small problems in your daily life, from work, to health, and improve learning/creativity. This is the power of putting The Silva Method into practice and it just takes a bit of patience. 
PUTTING PART 1 INTO PRACTICE:
Just begin here with playing around with what you can create on the screen of your mind in the Alpha State. If you do nothing else, other than these 3 steps, you will experience what William Wordsworth called “a happy stillness of mind.” (Page 27, The Silva Method).
Think of this as a journey within your mind.
Each day you will be getting better and better, mentally stronger, and remember the quote we opened this episode with?
“Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, you will soon see.” (Jose Silva)
TO REVIEW PART 1 of THE SILVA METHOD:
We covered:
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method
✔ What this program has done for others.
✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva and learned about his passion for helping others to improve their ability to learn.
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA).
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition  using the countdown Method.
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization
✔ It Will Be This Screen That We Will Use to Help Yourself and Others in Future Chapters.
#2 The Silva Method-Part 2[ix]
TO REVIEW PART 2 OF THE SILVA METHOD: 
We covered:
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation
✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE you visualize something.
✔ We Solved a Problem with 3 STEPS (Problem, Action, Solution) with ideas to use this method for schools, sports or the workplace.
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
✔ The 3 Finger Technique
If you want to review all of these topics, I’ll link each of these episodes in the show notes. 
Chapter 3 on Dynamic Meditation involves “training your mind for organized, dynamic activities” that Jose Silva thinks is what our mind was designed for.  He says “once you have reached the meditative level, to simply stay there and wait for something to happen is not enough. It is beautiful and calming and it does contribute to your good health, but these are modest accomplishments compared with what is possible.”
This is where The Silva program gets exciting as we step past passive meditation techniques, to use it dynamically to solve problems. Now we’ll see why it’s so important to perfect what we see on the Screen of our Mind, and why daily practice of these skills is crucial.
Let’s use our mind for something that’s useful for us—something of value. It all begins with our imagination, on this screen of our mind, but Silva says there are 4 important laws we must follow next.
The Silva Program says that --Whatever it is that you want, you must:
Law 1: You must desire that the event take place. (just like Napoloeon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book. His chapter 2 dove deep into the concept of Desire.
Law 2: You must believe the event can take place. We have covered the topic of belief so often on this podcast. When someone has the belief in what they are moving towards, this belief goes deep into their identity, and changes the person so much, that we could look at a photograph of that same person without the belief, and see a completely NEW and changed person, once the belief has been instilled deep within them.
Law 3: You must expect the event to take place. Expectation hooks you up to your source, and with action, faith develops as you draw yourself closer to whatever it is you are working on.  
Law 4: You cannot create a problem.
How Do We Use the Silva Method to Solve a Problem We Are Facing?
STEP 1: PICK A PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE
Follow the steps that will get you into the Alpha Brain State, (counting backwards from 100-1) and then lift your eyes upwards, and with your mind, create a mental screen where you will re-create the problem you want to solve. Relive the problem by seeing it and feeling it.
For Schools: A problem could be a poor grade on a test, resulting in a low overall grade.
For Sports: The problem could be a losing streak, or poor performance leading to a loss.
For the Workplace: The problem could be a lack of sales in your organization, or poor performance somewhere.
Pick the problem you want to solve, and visualize it on the screen of your mind.
STEP 2: TAKE SOME SORT OF ACTION IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
Next, in you mind, you will gently push the problem scene off to the right which Silva explains in his book will represent the PAST. The past is now over, so push the problem aside. Just like the sand timer example in the hour glass from our episode with Brian Proctor. The past is now gone. We are now focused on the PRESENT moment.
To the left of the problem, (that represents the PRESENT MOMENT), create a NEW mental screen with the SOLUTION. Whatever you imagine will require ACTION showing you solving the problem.
Most of us don’t spend time thinking about the present moment or the future. We can easily get bogged down in what happened in the past. This is what I love about Silva’s Method. The past is over, moved off to the side and we now focus ONLY on the present (taking action to solve the problem) and the FUTURE, which will highlight the changed outcome.
For Schools: A solution could involve a student studying with more focus.
For Sports: A solution could involve practicing a skill that is known for needed improvement.
For the Workplace: A solution could involve presenting your product to a group of people who see its value, and decide they will purchase a large order.
STEP 3: THE SOLUTION
Finally, the action you have taken pays off, and you will envision the solution on the screen of your mind. Everything here is positive, and all of the feelings associated with the problem have been resolved. You celebrate the WIN here in as much detail as you can. What does this win feel like? Who’s there watching you? What do you hear? What do you see? Involve all of your senses.
For Schools: Picture the student celebrating when they see their efforts were rewarded with an A+ grade. This A+ will lead to many more, eventually allowing the student to receive an honor roll award at the end of the year.
For Sports: You’ll picture your team celebrating when the practice pays off with a WIN that eventually leads to a trophy or award at the end of the season.
For the Workplace: You’ll picture your team celebrating when they receive the large order that came from the hard work from the recent presentation. The team celebrates by hosting a lunch where all those involved are recognized for their efforts.
It’s here that you can look back to the past, like through the rear-view mirror we have in our car, and it should look different to you now that you’ve created a NEW future. You might still be able to “see” and remember things from those days when you had a problem to solve, but now, looking back, my hopes are that the vision of the future changes whatever it was that you didn’t like in the past.  The past is over. Now we are living in the present moment, building a new future.
These are some examples of using The Silva Method to train our brain towards our desired outcome. Does it always work? No, Silva says, but with time and practice, we’ll start to see improvements that we might chalk up to be coincidences. He suggests stopping this practice altogether, and the coincidences will also stop. Start back up again, and they will reappear.
You’ll see…just practice this, and let me know what YOU see.
With practice, the results you will see will be more and more astounding.
This entire exercise, with practice, can be done with just 15 minute blocks of time, once you’ve got the hang of it.
#3 The Silva Method- Part 3[x]
In Part 3 we covered:
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA, ALPHA, THETA, DELTA).
 
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition.
 
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization
 
✔ How to Help Yourself and Others Using a Mental Screen in Our Mind
 
Before writing this episode, I wondered how exactly could our mind be trained...
Was daily meditation not enough?
If it was, how do I even know if I’m meditating the right way?
What was I missing from my current practice?
What can we learn from the years of research behind Jose Silva’s popular program that could help all of us to refine our current meditation practice?
A year later, Dr. Joe Dispenza’s meditations helped me to understand why meditation helps to train our mind, especially with the concept that it opens up our chakras, and expands our energy field, allowing us to have more capacity. Our interview #307[xi] Dr. Konstantin Korotkov on “Bridging the Spiritual World with Rigorous Scientific Method” gave us the science behind this practice.
The quote I chose for PART 3 makes more sense to me today, with a year of practice behind me.  
A genius is a man who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to a point when he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought.” –Napoleon Hill, author of the Best Selling Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich.
This ability is available to all of us. Practice each of these parts of the Silva Method and take your time. 
In PART 3, we were reminded that Jose Silva took the dream world very seriously, and he was interested in using dreams to solve problems. His programs teach us to first of all remember your dreams and suggests writing them down as soon as we wake up.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLEEPING LONG ENOUGH TO ACCESS YOUR REM SLEEP:
Author Stephanie Gailing reported in her Complete Book of Dreams[xii] that “since dreams that arrive in the early morning are thought to be more vivid and complex” to be sure you are sleeping long enough that you don’t miss out on this last REM stage of sleep. How would you know WHEN your REM sleep is? You can use a sleep tracker to measure this. You can see an example below where my sleep was logged with the wearable tracker called Whoop, showing my REM sleep as 53% than my 30-day average. Whoop reminded me that “REM sleep is key to processing new memories, learnings and motor skills.”
When I saw this, I immediately wrote down the dream that I had (that I could remember) to see what I could learn from this dream. We’ve covered dreams on this podcast with EPISODE #224[xiii] with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions” or EPISODE #104[xiv] with Antonio Zadra and his book “When Brains Dream” and I even took a stab at explaining “Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten” on EPISODE #226[xv] as I’ve personally been interested in deciphering the messages that come through in our dream state.
To find answers in your dreams, first of all, have the intention that you will remember them. Then pay to attention to:
-who was in my dream?
-what did they say?
-what can I learn from this?
Like Jose Silva, I take the dream world seriously and find tremendous value from consolidating new learnings and then being open to discovering valuable insights that could possibly help me, or others close to me. 
TO PUT PART 3 INTO ACTION:
WRITE DOWN YOUR DREAMS as soon as you wake up
TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY
MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLEEPING LONG ENOUGH TO ACCESS ALL OF YOUR REM SLEEP
HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS
WRITE DOWN ANY INSIGHTS FROM YOUR DREAMS THAT COULD HELP YOU OR OTHERS CLOSE TO YOU.
#4 The Silva Method- Part 4[xvi]
For PART 4 we covered:
✔ Ch 8-Your Words Have Power
✔ Ch 9-The Power of Imagination
✔ Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health
✔  We will connect the most current neuroscience research to Jose Silva’s program, using Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast on "The Science of Creativity"
✔  The 3 Parts to Your Creative Brain (Central Executive Network, Default Mode Network, Salience Network).
✔ 2 Types of Thinking Involved with Creativity (Divergent and Convergent)
✔ Putting Creativity to Practice with an example from our schools, sports and modern workplace environments. 
with some clear examples and next steps for all of us to APPLY the Silva Method for improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus…right in time for a New Year.
This part opened up with the importance of the power of our imagination. This is really what Jose Silva is encouraging us to do with his Method. Open up our creative minds, through the use of our imagination, and CREATE.
We talked about it in the beginning of this review, that we ALL have the ability to create something new and that temporary defeat is not the same things as failure. If you are working on something, and it’s been a difficult treck from your starting point, to where you’d like to go, take a look back over the past 10 years, from where you are standing now (like you are at the top of a spiral staircase) and see how far you have come.
What you do with the Silva Method is up to you. You can practice and refine each part until you’re ready for more, and then look up The Silva Ultramind Program. This is when you’ll now be taking these concepts and bending your mind in ways I never could have imagined on my own. It’s here that I highly suggest looking into Mind Valley[xvii], where Vishen Lakhiani recreated Joe Silva’s program with The Silva Ultramind system. NOTE- I’m not affiliated with MindValley in any way. I’ve just taken this course to keep learning and applying The Silva Method.
 
You can look through the 30-day curriculum and see how this system was designed to help the learner to “develop their mind …”
I don’t think reviewing this course on this podcast in words could ever do it justice. You’ve just got to experience it for yourself and notice what you learn from the meditations tied to each of the lessons.
If you got to PART 4 of this program, and nothing creative is jumping out at you yet, keep going.
This is what I learned from Ultramind Program:
Day 1-5 the program helps you to develop and use the mental screen in your mind. I love the activity on Day 5, “projection into your home” because it taught me to become familiar with my own home, a place I see every day, in a whole new way, helping me to open my eyes to the beauty not just in front of me every day, but in the rest of the world.
Days 10-15 the program helps us to perfect the “3 scenes technique” and create whatever it is that our heart desires. We learn about psychometry, clairvoyance, clairaudience, and clairsentience.
That’s all it I’m going to say about this program other than how it’s something that has to be experienced.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude EP 322 and our review of the 4 PARTS of the Silva Method, I’ve got to say that the goal of this 4 PART review of Jose Silva’s Program, was to encourage all of us to see if we could learn something new, to take our results to new heights in 2024. Before I began this review, I had no idea just how deep the book and program would go, or how much our listeners would be drawn to these lessons.
If you are one of the 46% of our new listeners who found our podcast from PART 1 of The Silva Method, I want to welcome you, and thank you for tuning in this year.
Our past listeners will know that we cover topics to help us to take our results to new heights tying the most current neuroscience research to improve productivity and results in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces, and The Silva Method is about self-mastery, self-awareness and learning to look within for answers.
I’d love to know what you have learning from implementing The Silva Method in your life. Send me a message and let me know.
THEN PRACTICE: And keep refining each part.
PART 1: PRACTICING THE 3 STEPS TO ACCESSING THE ALPHA STATE, USING YOUR MENTAL SCREEN FOR HEIGHTENED VISUALIZATION AND MAKING USE OF WHAT YOU SEE.
PART 2: PRACTICE THE 3-SCENES TECHNIQUE WITH A PROBLEM YOU WANT TO SOLVE
PART 3: TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY AND SLEEP LONG ENOUGH TO LEARN FROM YOUR DREAMS.
PART 4: USE YOUR IMAGINATION TO TAP INTO YOUR CREATIVE MIND.
Remember that if you do nothing else than practice the 3 steps in PART 1, you will be experiencing what William Wordsworth called “a happy stillness of mind.” (Page 27, The Silva Method). If you want to go beyond PART 4, look up MindValley’s Ultramind Course.
And with that, I’ll close out this episode, and encourage all of us to keep learning, growing and practicing what we are learning. Like the quote we used for PART 4 of this review from Dr. Andrew Huberman, “The ability to be creative resides in everybody.” Keep working on looking how you can “reveal something new to the world, something entertaining, thrilling or useful) that changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.”  If you get stuck here, just look around you, at all the creative ideas you can see.
 
If you are still stuck, think about this. The oldest person alive today is 116 year old. Go back 116 years ago, and this is not far off from when The Wright Brothers discovered the ability to fly an airplane. (1903). Think of all the inventions made over the past 100 years, and then imagine someday, that something that YOU create, could possibly be sitting on my desk, used by the world like the fancy water I’m drinking, or the Rodecaster Pro microphone.
 
What will you create with The Silva Method?
 
If you are stuck in temporary defeat, find something that inspires you to get unstuck, and keep moving. I find inspiration and motivation in people who move quickly past difficult times and challenges, as well as in things. Look up some of the oldest Cathedrals in Europe and imagine the creativity behind these buildings. Then keep going.
 
Let me know what you create…and I’ll see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
RESOURCES:
 
MEDITATION  1: How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind, Step by Step Process, The Silva Method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMJWT6EsNs
MEDITATION 2: Jose Silva Method Alpha Exercises by Sommer Leigh Published on YouTube June 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SY0kajVITA
MEDITATION 3: 20 Minute Silva Centering Exercise with Vishen Lakhiani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4GDXWBPCk
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #262 PART 2 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #263 PART 3 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 4 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#203 with Ryan O’Neill  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
 
[ii] Ryan O’Neill Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SuccessCoachRyan/posts/pfbid013GKasSayhQPi28Qui7rhUZiyFnvVdhHJgApfrHjANM6CXzFbkYCTYa12Z6PmTsXl?comment_id=697035065922357&reply_comment_id=7281858451877023&notif_id=1706773747021477&notif_t=comment_mention&ref=notif
 
[iii] https://www.cnn.com/style/article/spiral-staircases/index.html
 
[iv] Email Andrea Andrea@achieveit360.com
 
[v] https://jimbunch.com/
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#103 The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Our Best Year Ever  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-leadership-3-ways-to-reset-recharge-and-refuel-your-brain-for-your-best-year-ever/
 
[vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus. https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
[viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #292 with Brian Proctor on “My Father Knew the Secret”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-proctor-on-my-father-knew-the-secretgrowing-up-with-bob-proctor/
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #262 PART 2 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus.  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #263 PART 3 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/
 
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov on “Bridging the Spiritual World with Rigorous Scientific Method” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
 
[xii] Stephanie Gailing Complete Book of Dreams Published October 20, 2020  https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Dreams-Illustrated-Encyclopedia/dp/1577152131
 
[xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #224 with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal who Explains “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions: Expanding Our Awareness into the Mysteries of Our Brain During Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/
 
[xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/
 
[xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#226 “Using Neuroscience to Explain Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-neuroscience-to-explain-why-our-dreams-are-so-weird-highly-emotional-and-often-forgotten/
 
[xvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast PART 4 of Apply the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
[xvii] www.mindvalley.com
 
 
 

Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick on "Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience"

Don't miss this comprehensive episode of the "Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning" podcast, where leadership guru and bestselling author, Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick, discusses powerful tactics from his latest book for mastering self-awareness and personal transformation. Bosnick, recognized by reputable figures such as Scott Friedman and Marshall Goldsmith, presents his unique combination of neuroscience research and practical wisdom with a focus on self-improvement and growth.
Watch on YouTube here https://youtu.be/vGweJ0sCJ14
The episode dissects the concepts of his award-winning book "Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership," illustrating how change and improvement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives. Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success.
Explore practical strategies for habit formation, the significance of sequentially reading chapters, and the impact of a self-assessment system. Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals. Dive into the information-rich conversation that uncovers the art of learning and the fascinating intricacies of engaging the mind with real-time applications of knowledge. Ultimately, embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels.
Round-off this enlightening experience with the rich resources that Grant provides, from beautifully illustrated maps to enhance tracking of personal growth, to video series and companion workbooks designed for tailoring self-leadership strategies. So, ready yourself for a transformative journey of the mind into the world of self-leadership with this gripping episode.
On today's episode #321 with Guest: Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick “Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership: A Bite Size Approach Using Psychology and Neuroscience” we will cover:
✔ Powerful tactics from this NEW award-winning book that illustrates how change and achievement are truly achievable both from internal ('inside out') and external ('outside in') perspectives.
✔Listeners will grasp the immense power of self-leadership and its transformative effect on personal growth and success.
✔Explore practical strategies for habit formation, the significance of sequentially reading chapters, and the impact of a self-assessment system
✔Gain insights from Grant's expert advice on maintaining a balance between strengths and weaknesses while chasing after your goals
✔Embark on an intellectual journey that has the power to elevate personal achievement and self-awareness to uncharted levels.
✔Round-off this enlightening experience with the rich resources that Grant provides, from beautifully illustrated maps to enhance tracking of personal growth, to video series and companion workbooks designed for tailoring self-leadership strategies.
Another example that shows us that failure is not an option. Here’s what Scott Friedman, the author of Celebrate! Lessons Learned from the World’s Most Admired Organizations has to say about the book we are going to cover today:
Today’s episode really is going to be a journey of the mind…
Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #321, we will be speaking with Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick[i], the Managing Director of YES (Your Empowering Solutions), author, consultant, keynote speaker and executive coach. He has worked with 100+ Fortune 500 and FTSE 100 companies to co-create people strategies to help organizations build a trusting, collaborative culture and develop leaders to transform their behavior to lead themselves, others and perform at a higher level. Originally from Toronto (where I grew up) and now based in Singapore, he has lived in Asia Pacific for over 20 years.
When Grant reached out to me, earlier this month, it was not WHAT he said to me that caught my eye, but HOW he said it. Maybe because I was in the middle of writing the final part of our Science of Getting Rich book study, that’s all about Thinking AND Acting in This Certain Way. Grant said that he uses “psychology and neuroscience, (and works) with Leaders and Teams in great organizations to go from human to superhuman, by tapping into the more resource-efficient parts of their brains, achieving more and being happier.”
This sounds exactly like what I am trying to do for our listeners on this podcast, helping us to build stronger 2.0 versions of ourselves, and if Grant has some knowledge about how to do this, I want to know what he suggests, especially after all the high-level companies he has been working with over the past 20 years.
I kept on reading what he had written in an email to me, and next I learned about his award-winning book, Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership, that was published last year by Routledge, with a Foreword by Marshall Goldsmith. 
“Marshall Goldsmith[ii] wrote the Foreword to his book?” I’m reading with a different lens now.  I don’t know anyone in the field of leadership/coaching who doesn’t know Marshall Goldsmith. He’s known as the “World’s #1 Leadership Thinker” with an unusual ability to help other people succeed. His mission in life to help successful leaders to get even better, so now I know the level that Grant Upbeat Bosnick has attained, before I’ve even read his book!
Let’s meet the author of Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership and see if we can learn how to use this book as our guide in 2024, to apply neuroscience and psychology is a whole NEW way, taking us to the high levels of achievement expected by those who work with him, and those who work with those who he learned from like Marshall Goldsmith and the late Dr. Covey.
Welcome Grant 'Upbeat' Bosnick! I’m looking forward to speaking with you today, and learning
Intro Q:
A book on leadership with a foreword written by Marshall Goldsmith! Before I ask you about your book, that’s masterfully written, I wonder how did you cross paths with Marshall Goldsmith, “World’s #1 Leadership Thinker” and how did he influence your work? The Foreword itself tells me about you before I’ve even read your book! 
Q1: Then I read on to see all the others who have influenced you along the way, a couple of your influencers are mine (Dr. Stephen Covey) who we spoke about when we interviewed Greg Link, the co-founder of Covey Link, and Dr. Covey’s long-time business partner from EP 207[iii]
Can you share how Dr. Covey and others you mention have influenced your leadership journey? 
((This book is dedicated to all those who have influenced me to navigate my self-leadership journey: Marshall Goldsmith, Dr. Stephen R. Covey, Ken Blanchard, people close to me, among others; and to all of you reading this, to chart and navigate your personal self-leadership journey. May you choose your own leadership venture and transform your self.))
Q2: There’s 18 chapters in the book, with each one exploring a different theme related to self-leadership and are written in such a way that we can read them in any order. 
Q3: Can you explain how you picked the 18 leadership principles, and how do we now create change from the inside-out (using neuroscience/how our brain works) and outside-in (how we understand others and how others see us)? 
How do you use practical activities, reflective questions personal anecdotes and Illustrations to help us to create change?
Q3B: How did you create a map for this self-leadership journey?
Q4: I think I’m answering my own questions here, but with the choose your own adventure theme, does it begin with the Self-Assessment[iv]?
Q4A: Before we look at the tailored approach that was designed for me, I wonder if you can tell me off the top of your head, what areas YOU are focused on this year, and why?
Q4B: Can we look at my Tailored Approach to Leadership to help others who listen, to know where they begin with their journey?
Based on how I filled out the self-assessment, it pinpointed to me that Pathways 1 (goals/time management), 4 (physical health/emotion regulation) and 5 (change/resilience) are my lowest priorities.  I can tell you for sure these are carved into my daily habits (the highest importance for me with time management, health and pathway 5 seems to be hardwired into me, but these 3, I think I’ve got, so probably why they are showing up low.
Pathway 2 (inspiration/motivation/influence/presence) is a high priority (100%) especially with the podcast, always looking for WHAT’S NEW and innovative that I can share/learn from and help others with, and Pathway 6 (relationships/authenticity, biases, trust, empathy) I know is also a high priority for me, with wanting to keep learning, interviewing high level guests, and helping us to take our results to the highest levels possible.
Pathway 3, Mindfulness, Flow and Insight is of MEDIUM priority for me from the assessment. Like my low priority areas, I do think this one is important, and I also have time carved out daily for these, but I think the more interviews I’m doing, the more this leads to enhancing this area.
Q4C: Once someone completes the self-assessment, how do they know which of the 18 chapters they should begin with? Just from lining up the chapters? For me, I skip Ch 2 (goals), and go straight to Ch 3 (inspiration and motivation?)
Q4D: Before I even get to the book, how would you suggest I use this beautiful map you’ve drawn for me? It looks like the map outlines the book from Ch 1-18 starting with goals, and ending with resilience?  I like checking off things I’ve worked on…how do YOU use this colorful map?
Q4E: I know I’m going to be focused on Pathway 2 (Motivation and Inspiration) but as I read Chapter 1 on goals, that was low priority for me, the science revealed something I’ve always wondered about. It was about the Force Field Driving Us according to Kurt Lewins Field Theory you mention in Chapter 2 on Goals. I’m always looking to connect science to some of the well-known books we’ve grown up studying (like Wallace D Wattles The Science of Getting Rich) who talks about taking action in our present environment.  As you take this action, you begin to change and will outgrow your present environment, preparing you for the NEW environment you will be moving towards.  Can you explain the science in the chapter on goals?
How do we now create change from the inside-out (using neuroscience/how our brain works) and outside-in (how we understand others and how others see us) within each chapter? Do you think it’s because you are making us think with the questions you ask us, and then point us in the direction of neuroscience? How do I know I’ve met with the change I set out to attain?
Q5: For those out there who want to discover their own tailored approaches to leadership, (for themselves or their teams) what is the best route for them to take?
Q6: Is there anything important Grant, that I’ve missed today? This book was much deeper than I realized when I started to see the neuroscience you’ve included, along with the activities included.
For those who want to reach you, is the best place your website? I’ve listed your email, website, LinkedIn and YouTube below for people to find you.
I want to thank you for the time you’ve taken to walk me through a very thorough Tailored Approaches to Self-Leadership that you’ve created in your book. I’m going to take the time to learn and implement each chapter, and am grateful to have had this opportunity to learn directly from you.
Grant ‘Upbeat’ Bosnick
CONTACT
grant@grantbosnick.com
Website: https://grantbosnick.com/
LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/grantbosnick/
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@GrantBosnick
Learn more about The Tailored Approach to Leadership Book https://grantbosnick.com/books/
Signature Keynotes and Solutions https://grantbosnick.com/signature-solutions/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
RESOURCES:
Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #68 “The Neuroscience of Personal Change with Stephen R. Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-personal-change/
REFERENCES:
 
[i] http://grantbosnick.com/
 
[ii] https://marshallgoldsmith.com/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP 207 with Greg Link https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/co-founder-of-coveylink-greg-link-on-unleashing-greatness-with-neuroscience-sel-trust-and-the-7-habits/
 
[iv] Self-Assessment for Grant Bosnick’s book https://www.selfleadershipassessment.com/
 
 
 
 
 

PART 7 Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich on " Acting in A Certain Way" Chapters 11-17

Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning and emotional intelligence training for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to help us to APPLY this research in our daily lives.
On today's episode #320 and PART 7 of our REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich, we will cover “How to Act in This Certain Way” with Chapters 11-17.
✔ Chapter 11: ACTING IN THE CERTAIN WAY A PERSON MUST ACT, AS WELL AS THINK
✔ CHAPTER 12: EFFECTIVE ACTION
Just as there is an effective and ineffective way to THINK, there is also an effective and ineffective way to ACT.
✔ CHAPTER 13: GETTING INTO THE RIGHT BUSINESS
✔ CHAPTER 14: THE IMPRESSION OF INCREASE
We covered Chapter 14 on The Impression of Increase on EP 316 in PART 3 of our review.  We started this review with Chapters 4/14/7 in this order, because this was the order that was recommended to me to study this book for maximum results.
✔ CHAPTER 15: THE ADVANCING MAN
✔ CHAPTER 16: SOME CAUTIONS
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SPEAK ABOUT
NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL DISAPPOINTED
KEEP STUDYING THIS BOOK
✔ CHAPTER 17: REVIEW
Putting PART 1 into ACTION: Finding the Joy in Lean or Difficult Times
Putting PART 2 into ACTION: Getting Comfortable with Money
Putting PART 3 into ACTION: Living the Impression of Increase
Putting PART 4 into ACTION: Practicing Gratitude or Faith in Action
Putting PART 5 into ACTION: Developing a Rock Solid Mental Mindset
Putting PART 6 into ACTION: Uncovering What You Really Want
Putting PART 7 into ACTION: Review each part and APPLY IT!
Welcome back to PART 7, of our review of Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich. In this classic book on thinking, this book describes how each of us shapes the events around us, creating much of the positive riches in our own personal and professional lives. Rhonda Byrne, creator of the movie The Secret[i], said she stumbled across The Science of Getting Rich and has "never been the same." This was one of the first seminars I sold when I worked with Bob Proctor back in the late 1990s, and he mentioned to me in our interview on EP 66[ii] that his business took off after Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret took off. There is true magic within the words written within these pages, and like all of the books we dive deep into, it’s the application of what we read here that has the potential to change our life forever.
If you enjoyed our Deep Dive into Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich[iii] book, or the 4 Part Series of The Silva Method,[iv] (that I’m going to revisit after this study is complete) the concepts we will cover in this review go hand in hand with those Deep Dives. I’m currently studying Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” with Paul Martinelli[v], who teaches this book like no one else and I’m constantly reminded of how important our ability to “think” really is. Napoleon Hill titled his book with four simple words. He picked “think and grow” as the first three, and we covered in this series the power of our thoughts. Now, we are learning through the words of Wallace D. Wattles, that once we know how to think and grow, we can next add the rich part, and he shows us there is a science to this.
I always add that it’s not just rich financially, but we grow rich in our knowledge, rich in our potential, and we need money to keep learning, and growing, so yes, rich financially.
Bringing us to Chapter 11: ACTING IN THE CERTAIN WAY
Have you noticed that up until now, we have been focused on THINKING in a CERTAIN way in this book study? Now we are at a pivotal part of the book where we must shift from thinking, to now ACTING IN A CERTAIN WAY.
This chapter caught me off guard while writing this review and was a huge AHA Moment of learning for me. I’ve been studying this book since June of 1999 when I attended my first live seminar with Bob Proctor on this book, and I sold this event over a span of 6 years, meaning that I had to convey to others what this seminar was about, in order for them to attend.
It hit me when I got to this chapter, on “Acting in the Certain Way”, that up until NOW, 25 years later, I realized I wasn’t thinking at all while reading, studying and learning this book. You know when you read something quickly, you can miss the meaning? Granted, this isn’t the easiest book to read, written in 1910 with abstract concepts on thinking in a certain way that I didn’t really understand. I thought this was ANOTHER chapter on “Thinking AND Acting” in this certain way and wondered why he wrote the book with ANOTHER chapter like Chapter 4, where he already covered “The First Principle in the Science of Getting Rich” that was about the power of our thoughts.  I misread the title that says “Acting in This Certain Way” and I MISSED the point that Wattles was making. This is why it’s important to study these classic books on success, year after year, revealing new truths of understanding for us. Wattles spent the FIRST 10 chapters of the book talking about the importance of our thinking, and only now, at Chapter 11, did he approaching the Acting part of the syllabus.
Another part of this book that I missed is that Wattles repeats the syllabus over and over again the book, but he doesn’t read the whole syllabus at once. He adds the parts he is covering in each chapter, revealing a bit more of the syllabus for us, as we progress through the book. He only reveals the part of the syllabus on Acting in the Certain way at the END of this chapter when he adds the lines “That they may receive what he wants when it comes, a person must now ACT upon the people and things in his environment.” (Ch 11, SGR, Wattles). 
A PERSON MUST ACT, AS WELL AS THINK:
Wattles opens up Chapter 11 by bridging the first 10 chapters we’ve just read when he says “Thought is the impelling force that causes the creative power to act; thinking in a Certain Way will bring riches to you, but you must not rely on thought alone, paying no attention to personal action.” (Ch 11, SGR, Wattles).
Once we perfect Thinking in This Certain Way, it’s time to move onto Acting in This Certain Way.
When I read the line “A person must act as well as think” (on line 10 of Chapter 11) I know it means taking action on whatever it was that we want, but I couldn’t help but think of Stella Adler’s The Art of Acting here, that we covered on EP 288[vi] last May. It was TODAY, January 15th, 2016, 8 years ago, that I attended my last live seminar with Proctor where I wrote about him talking on stage with Oscar Award Winner Phil Goldfine. Phil was a master at “Acting” in this Certain Way and I mean taking action, that would lead him to WHATEVER goal he had, whether it was what he did to become an Oscar Award winner, or the daily training he endured. In an article written about him in 2019, “Oscar and Emmy winner Phil Goldfine shares the five things you need to know to succeed in show business”[vii]  his first tip is to take “Action, action, action….every day to get things done.”
It’s this chapter of the book that I think can change a person’s ENTIRE life, if they read this early in their lives. The action that we take, on a daily basis really matters.
There’s many layers of meaning in this chapter, and I hope to unravel them all in this review, tying together many of our recent episodes, like Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, that jumps out at me while reading this chapter.
On line 19 of Chapter 11, Wattles says “By thought you can cause the gold in the hearts of the mountains to be impelled towards you. But it will not mine itself, refine itself, coin itself into double eagles, and come rolling along the roads into your pockets.”  Like Phil Goldfine said “It takes action, action, action.”
Next Wattles reviews ALL concepts in prior chapters by saying “You must give each person more in use value than he gives you in cash value (and that) you must use your faith and purpose to positively impress your vision upon the formless substance, which has the same desire for more life than you have. And, this vision, received from you, sets all the creative forces at work in and through their regular channels of action, but directed toward you…(and) All you have to do is retain your vision, stick to your purpose, and maintain your faith and gratitude.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
Then he says it.
“You must act in this certain way” and if you can hear what “this certain way” is especially for young adults, this concept is worth all the gold in the mountains that Wattles was describing.
I’m so grateful to have started to read this book in my late 20s, but I’m 52 now, and still “sharpening” these ideas.
Wattles gives us what I think is one of the “key secrets” to Thinking AND Acting in This Certain Way here when he says “By thought, the thing you want is brought to you. By action, you receive it.”
If I was to write ANYTHING down, or highlight anything, it’s where Wattles bridges the concept of Thinking and Acting in This Certain Way.
Next he warns us that “if you act in the present with your mind in the future, present action will be with a divided mind and it will not be effective. Put your whole mind into present action.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
Isn’t that what Dr. Joe Dispenza taught us with his “Predictable Timeline” where we must learn to focus on the present moment? Wattles describes this similarly, but adds an important angle by saying “You cannot act where you are not. You cannot act where you have been (the past), and you cannot act where you are going to be (in the future). You can only act where you are.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea hand drew the image from Chapter 2 Becoming Superhuman
This is what I think changed everything I do in all areas of my life. Even though I missed the title of Chapter 11, these next three words come into my head over and over again over the years. He says, “Do not dwell on whether yesterday’s work was well or poorly done. Do today’s work well. Do not try to do tomorrow’s work now, there will be plenty of time to do that when tomorrow comes.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
Then he reminds us “Do not wait for a change of environment before you act. Cause a change of environment through action.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles). Whenever you are unhappy in your present environment, Wattles suggests to “act on your present environment with all your heart and with all your strength and with all your mind. Hold the vision of yourself in the right business –with the purpose to get into it and the faith that you will get into it. But, act in your present business.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
I’ve been in exactly this spot, where I’ve known I’m in the wrong place of work, and the natural urge is to stop working hard, and focus on the place of work that you desire to be in, but Wattles would say this is not going to get you there according to his “Science.” He would suggest that you “hold the vision of yourself in the job you want, while you act with faith and purpose on the job you have, and you will certainly get the job you want.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
“You vision and faith will set the creative forces in motion to bring it towards you. And, your action will cause the forces in your own environment to move you towards the place you want.” (Chapter 11, SGR, Wattles).
As you take action in your present environment, you will begin to change, and will outgrow your present environment, preparing you for the NEW environment you will be moving towards. As you move towards it, it also begins to move towards you. How does this happen?
This is where Wattles timeless book, connects back to what we covered in such depth with Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich.
By “Thinking” and “Acting” in this certain way, we change our frequency or vibration, until we are on the same frequency as whatever it is that we want.
Wattles ends this chapter, by revealing the last part of the syllabus on Acting in the Certain way when he adds the lines “That he may receive what he wants when it comes, a person must ACT now upon the people and things in his present environment.” (Ch 11, SGR, Wattles). 
Not past environment, and not future environment.
ACT NOW.
ACTIVITY TO PUT CHAPTER 11 into PRACTICE:
Write out in clear detail what it is that you WANT. I remember the first time I did this activity, I sketched a house that I wanted to live in (that looks a lot like the house I’m currently living in), and see if you can strengthen how you see what you want on the screen of your mind.
Next, write out some next steps, or actions you can take, to bring what you want closer to you.
This is where I always will say to “DREAM BIG” or be careful what you wish for, or dream about, because you may just end up one day living the dream in reality, that you shaped so carefully on the screen of your mind.
CHAPTER 12: EFFECTIVE ACTION
Just as there is an effective and ineffective way to THINK, there is also an effective and ineffective way to ACT.
What is effective action?
When we take any productivity course, we learn how to plan our day the night before, so we can make use of the time in our day. Time wasting is one of my biggest pet peeves. I don’t like wasting my time, or other people’s time and it’s probably because I can see how detrimental it can be for my own goals as well as other people’s.
Wattles believes in not just taking action in the present moment, but by making sure it’s EFFECTIVE action with EVERYTHING that you do.  This is why I like interviewing others, especially those who are high performing, to see how they THINK and ACT, every day, to hit such high levels of achievement. While writing these episodes, I do like to go back and look at past interviews to see how connections can be made, and revisiting EP 38[viii] and EP 166[ix] makes sense here, to see how pro athletes and their coaches THINK and ACT in this certain way to attain such high levels of achievement. When you watch a professional at work, you’ll see it. They are involved in effective action.
Wattles brings our attention to the fact that every day is either a SUCCESS or a FAILURE and it matters what ACTION we take every day.
Funny thing, while writing this episode, my oldest daughter came to me with something I had to sign for her school work (high school level) with any suggestions I might have for her to improve on.  She passed me this sheet of paper and said “just sign it and say you agree with it” and I read what she had written and she hasn’t even completed the sentences on the page she asked me to sign. She was not taking effective action, and was asking me to sign and say I was ok with her putting in half the effort. You’d better believe this led to a discussion on doing your best with EVERYTHING you do.
Taking EFFECTIVE ACTION is not just for our work, it’s for how we live our life. Do we make our bed with half the effort? Do we wash up half the dishes? Do we clean half of our house, or keep only half of the interiors of our cars clean?
If we can teach this concept to our children when they are young, they will be living one of the most important and timeless lessons I’ve seen in all my years studying the characteristics of high performers.
Wattles reminds us in this chapter that “the world is advanced only by those who more than fill their present places.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles) and that “every day is either a successful day or a day of failure.”
This sentence almost haunts me with my daily work when he says “if there is something that must be done today and you do NOT do it, you have failed insofar as that thing is concerned.” (Chapter 12, SGR Wattles).
Have you ever said you will do something, like go to the post office to mail something for an example, and the day gets away, and you have not done the things that you said you would do, Wattles would say that you have FAILED with that action. When you fail to take action, you mess up all of the future possibility associated with the action you were supposed to take.
He says “You cannot foresee the results of even the most trivial act. You do not know the workings of all forces that have been set moving on your behalf.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles).
THINK to all the times when massive change happened in your life. I bet it was because you were taking efficient action and it was not by chance or luck.
So, if I write down I’m going to the Post Office tomorrow, I will be haunted by Wattles words, until I have done what I said I was going to do.
“Do, every day, all that can be done that day.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles).
He does remind us that we are “not to overwork or to rush blindly into our business in the effort to do the greatest possible number of things in the shortest possible time.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles).
 “Do every day, all that can be done today.” to live with EFFICIENT ACTION consistently every day.
But, if for some reason something does not get completed, it goes at the TOP of the list to be completed tomorrow and I remember “It’s not the number of things that I do, but the efficiency of each separate action that counts.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles).
He also says that “every action is either weak or strong. When every one is strong, you are activating in the certain way that will make you rich. Every act can be made strong by holding your vision while you are doing it and by putting the whole power of your faith and purpose in it.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles)
Aim to do everything with strength and he says that “every success (you encounter) opens up the way to other successes. Successful action is cumulative in its results.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles).
This is incentive enough to always do our very best.
“Do every day, all that you can do that day, and do each act in an efficient manner” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles) and you will find the right balance for you.
Wattles ends this chapter by slightly changing the closing statements on the syllabus to bring us to where we are now in our study, by reading the syllabus as we know it, and adding “He must form a clear mental picture of the thing he wants. And, he must do with faith and purpose all that can be done each day—doing each separate thing in an efficient manner.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles).
If you do what Wattles suggests here, and turn The Science of Getting Rich into a habit, I can guarantee that:
“When riches begin to come, they come so quickly, in such great abundance, that one wonders where they have been hiding all those lean years.” (Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
ACTIVITY TO PUT CHAPTER 12 into PRACTICE:
Write out the list of what you intend to accomplish the night before your work day, and while going about your day, ask yourself “did I execute that task with effective action?” Next to each of your daily tasks, put a check mark if you think you accomplished this. If not, work on doing all you can, effectively, every day, until you can honestly put a check mark next to everything that you do.
EXTEND THIS ACTIVITY
Once you have begun to execute every task effectively, and it becomes a habit, keep your eyes open for doors that open up to because of this. This is what I would like to know. If you have noticed that you were able to advance yourself forward in this way, using these principles, please send me a message.[x] I’m always looking for people who THINK and ACT in this Certain Way.
CHAPTER 13: GETTING INTO THE RIGHT BUSINESS
I always remember LOVING this chapter because it separates those who will work hard for what they want, from those who won’t.
Wattles says “success in any particular business depends for one thing upon you possessing in a well-developed state the faculties required in that business.” (Chapter 13, Wattles)
He reminds us that “Without good musical faculty no one can succeed as a teacher of music” and he goes on to explain that many people can be working in a certain field (he gives examples like blacksmiths and carpenters who have excellent mechanical ability) “but they do not get rich.” (Chapter 13, SGR, Wattles).
It’s here that Wattles talks about the “various faculties of your mind” that are the “tools with which you must do the work which is to make you rich.” (Chapter 13, SGR, Wattles). He says “it will be easier for you to success if you get into a business you are well-equipped with mental tools.”
He’s talking BEYOND our God-given talents and abilities. It will be with the use of our “mental tools” or the “Faculties of our Mind” that will bring us riches. We covered going beyond our five senses, developing the Six Higher Faculties of the Mind on EP 294.[xi]
Have you ever wondered “where am I best fitted?” in your career?
It’s here we must do some soul searching and answer the question we asked in PART 6 of this series.
What is YOUR desire that’s seeking expression with and through you?
This desire in you is “the urge of the Original Substance, containing all the possibilities of life.”
Listen to the quiet voice within you to know for certain that you are working in the right business because that “desire” seeking expression with and through you has tremendous power. “Where there is a strong desire to do a thing, it is proof that the power to do it is strong and only needs to be developed and applied in the right way.” (Chapter 13, SGR, Wattles).
It’s this desire, with this power attached to it, that will keep you working and applying effort during difficult times.
He says “ Do not be afraid to make a sudden or radical change if the opportunity is presented and if you feel, after careful consideration, that it is the right opportunity” and don’t worry you will end up in the wrong place, or miss the boat for the right place, because “as you go on in the certain way, opportunities will come to you in increasing numbers.” (Chapter 13, SGR, Wattles).
ACTIVITY TO PUT CHAPTER 13 into PRACTICE:
Chapter 13 ends with a reminder of the syllabus to “do all you can in a perfect manner every day, but do it without haste, worry, or fear. Go as fast as you can, but never in a hurry. When you see yourself hurrying, stop. Fix your attention on the mental image of what you want and begin to give thanks that you are getting it. This exercises of gratitude will never fail to strengthen your faith and renew your purpose.” (Chapter 13, SGR, Wattles).
He’s asking us in Chapter 13 to make sure we are living Chapters 4 (thinking in the certain way) 14 (the impression of increase) by reaching for more of what you want, and 7 (by connecting ourselves to our source with a deep feeling of gratitude).
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude PART 7 of our review of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, we covered:
Chapter 11: ACTING IN THE CERTAIN WAY
Where we looked at the importance of how “A person must act as well as think.” We spent some time on separating THINKING in a CERTAIN way (that Wattles covered in the first 10 chapters of the book) to “Acting in the Certain Way” that he covers in Chapters 11-17.
We did an activity at the end of this chapter where we sketched out what we WANT on the screen of our mind (Thinking in this Certain Way) with action steps to take by (Acting in this Certain Way) to bring whatever it is towards us.
CHAPTER 12: EFFECTIVE ACTION
Where Wattles reminded us to “Do, every day, all that can be done that day.” (Chapter 12, SGR, Wattles) and of the importance of being effective with our daily actions. The activity we did at the end of this chapter was for us to self-evaluate whether we think we were effective with our daily tasks by putting a check mark next to our daily tasks if we thought that we performed them effectively.
We extended this activity by making it a habit, to always execute our daily tasks effectively. Don’t do anything half-way. Do all that you can effectively, in one day, without rushing.
CHAPTER 13: GETTING INTO THE RIGHT BUSINESS
It’s here we revisit the question:
What is YOUR desire that’s seeking expression with and through you? And we make sure that we are doing everything we can every day, efficiently, while holding the image of what we want, and being grateful for every single good thing that comes our way.
While writing these steps, it feels a bit like juggling. We started this book study by juggling the concepts of chapters 4, 14 and 7, (and were urged to read these chapters for 90 days so we can solidify the ideas into our mind), and then we started to work through the chapters of the book with the first 10 chapters being about Thinking in a Certain Way, and the last 7 are about Acting in a Certain Way.
And if we can learn to juggle the chapters of this book, with accuracy, and not drop any concepts, we will meet with riches that will come so quickly and  “in such great abundance, that (we will wonder) where they have been hiding all those lean years.” (Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
It’s here that I can go back to PART 5 of our review, where we started into the chapters of this book and I’ll read this again. At this point of our review, I look at what Wattles wrote here, and I don’t think he’s far off. He says:
We have learned specific ways to THINK and ACT, that make sense to me that when we sharpen about mental abilities, and follow the formula that Wattles suggests, that Failure of What You Want, is Impossible.
What do you think?
Do you think that there is a Science of Getting Rich?
CHAPTER 14: THE IMPRESSION OF INCREASE
We covered Chapter 14 on The Impression of Increase on EP 316[xii] in PART 3 of our review.  We started this review with Chapters 4/14/7 in this order, because this was the order that was recommended to me to study this book for maximum results.
CHAPTER 15: THE ADVANCING MAN
I love this chapter!  Especially when I see this in others. This is not as easy to see in ourselves, since it takes time for us to see our own advancements, until one day, we look back, and BAM, we see it. Then we wonder, “How on the earth did we get to where we ended up?” or as Hill says, that one day, when we least expect it “we will meet with riches that will come so quickly and  in such great abundance, that (we will wonder) where they have been hiding all those lean years.” (Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill).
Like Ryan O’Neill, from EP 203[xiii] who I watched over time, completely transform his career, reading this book. It’s actually Ryan’s copy of the book that I used in every graphic for each of these sessions.
 
Wattles says that “the advancing man who holds to a clear mental image of himself as successful and who obeys the laws of faith, purpose and gratitude—will cure every curable case he undertakes, no matter what remedies he many use.” (Chapter 15, SGR, Wattles).
CHAPTER 16: SOME CAUTIONS
This chapter is important to read to see what Wattles believes we should be “cautious” about.
BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SPEAK ABOUT: I’ll never forget this line where he says “Never speak of times as being hard or of business conditions as being doubtful. Times may be hard and business doubtful for those on the competitive plane, but they can never be so for you. You can create what you want to create and you are above fear. When others are having hard times and poor business, you will find your greatest opportunities.” (Chapter 16, Wattles).
This one is essential for anyone and everyone to practice. I remember in my early days of sales, that when someone would ask “how’s business?” and it was difficult (it was never easy) I would say “BOOMING!” regardless of how it really was going. This is a habit that will get you through the rough snowstorms, and blizzards of life.
I remember this caution now without even trying. Things were not easy for me in my early days of living in the US, but I knew they would be what would give me my character, backbone and determination to get me through the difficult times that are a natural part of this thing called life. You’ll never hear me complaining of those days when money was tight, because looking back now, there was so much to be grateful for in those lean years.
NEVER ALLOW YOURSELF TO FEEL DISAPPOINTED: This one is valuable. You will save yourself so much heart ache if when something doesn’t work out the way you want, that you grab hold of the lessons learned and keep moving. Wattles suggests “You may expect to have a certain thing at a certain time and not get it at that time. This will seem to be a failure. But, if you hold to your faith, you will find that failure is only apparent. Go on in a certain way, and if you do not receive that thing, you will receive something so much better that you will see that the seeming failure was a prelude to a great success.” (Chapter 16, Wattles, SGR).
Practice this one. I can only say from experience that this one ALWAYS works. I rarely quote my Dad, but I will here. He used to always say “Andrea, what’s for you, won’t go by you” and this is true. You will never miss the boat for something that is meant for you. I’ve heard this said another way that if you miss the boat at some point, and the opportunity was meant for you, don’t worry, keep working, and the boat will come back for you, time and time again, until you jump on it.
STUDY THIS BOOK: He suggests to “make it your constant companion until you have mastered the ideas contained in it.” (Chapter 16, Wattles).
Isn’t this the truth. While you may come across some parts of the book that you disagree with, find out dated, or old fashioned, if you can get the main points of the book where he teaches us to THINK in a Certain way (Chapters 1-10) and then how to ACT in a Certain Way (Chapters 11-17) I’m certain your life will change.
When we can make these concepts a habit, we will certainly notice that money flows easily to us and like I mentioned in the beginning of this study, once we have mastered these principles ourselves, our next course of action it to go out and see how we can help others.
CHAPTER 17: REVIEW
Wattles writes his review of this book in just over 2 pages. For those people closest to me, they know that I have a really hard time saying anything I think is important, in just a few words.
To close out this book study, I can see that by far, the most important part of this review is The Syllabus. Maybe this is a lesson for me to learn. The Science of Getting Rich is ALL about the Syllabus. This  whole book can be summed up in 5 paragraphs, not 17! I have this Syllabus laminated so I can pin it up on my office wall to be read next to my goals. It’s easy to look back now that we’ve reached the end of this study, and I can tell you that I sold this seminar without truly understanding the contents of this book, until now, 25 years later. I mentioned that I missed the fact that the first 10 chapters were about Thinking in this Certain Way, and the last 7 were about Acting in this Certain Way, and I wonder what else could I have missed, which is why Wattles suggests keeping this book as your Companion until you achieve the results you are looking for.
So, if I read the book, without completely understanding it, implementing SOME, not ALL of Wattles concepts, and STILL created everything I’ve ever wanted over the years, (all the goals I’ve ever written out I’ve attained so I keep adding new ones each year for continual growth) then I can say to you, the listener, to just read the book, begin your study, and let me know where it takes you. You don’t need to understand or implement EVERY chapter, but just begin.  I know there is so much more for me to learn, but what a life we can create, when we think it’s IMPOSSIBLE to fail.
I just saw that Lewis Howes, the podcaster who runs The School of Greatness Podcast, just covered Rhonda Byrnes[xiv], who read this book, was never the same, and used the concepts she learned from this book to form the ideas you see in the movie, The Secret[xv]. If you want to hear Rhonda Byrne’s thoughts on this subject, I’ll link this episode with her and Lewis in the show notes. She has some incredible tools that can help people to create prosperity thinking, which I thought is the MOST important part of this book study.
To review and conclude this book study, I thought a good way to end this study would be with a practical real-life lesson learned attached to each of the 7 PARTS of this study, so we can begin to think about applying these concepts in our own daily lives.
Putting PART 1 into ACTION: Prosperity Consciousness
FINDING THE JOY IN LEAN OR DIFFICULT TIMES
 “Money doesn’t bring you happiness, but happiness brings you money.” (Lewis Howes, The School of Greatness).
If any of you are listening to this series, and think you have a poverty mindset, join the club. This is where I was BEFORE studying this material, and it’s been a process for me along the way.
I told my story of running out of gas when I only had $16 in my bank account, but I knew in those early days (around 2001) how important prosperity thinking was and being truly happy, even in those lean times, since I was still selling this seminar back then.
I look back now to those early days, and those difficult times hold such joy for me. It sounds odd to say this, but they really do. I remember working as a nanny at one of Arizona’s most beautiful resorts, and I could hear the birds singing, while walking with someone’s youngster, trying to create mystery and intrigue for them walking through the resort. I knew all of the “secret” passageways and would take young kids through these passage ways telling them the stories that only the walls could tell. They listened to my stories, and scavenger hunts with their eyes open wide.
Prosperity thinking took me some time, but the key to all of it was to find the “joy” when times were difficult, and then be open to what I would discover.  Where would these lean times lead me? While experiencing those moments of “joy” I know I felt it from the inside out, and gave my best to each family I worked and interacted with. At the end of providing the best service, giving them more in “use” value with each family, I often received very large tips. Back then, a large tip for me was over $100. I’ll never forget the families who gave back to me when I most needed this money, allowing me to remember when I was able to, I would do the same.
“Every person naturally wants to become all they are capable of becoming...Success in life is becoming what you want to be.” Wallace D. Wattles
Putting PART 2 into ACTION: The First Principle of the Science of Getting Rich: Getting Comfortable with Money
This is a hard one to do when money is lean. How do you hold it, feel it, and get comfortable with it, when you haven’t got it?
In this chapter, I showed a photo of Grant Cardone and his children playing a game where they were fishing for $100 bills. If you can play games with money, even Monopoly money, teaching our children what it looks and feels like to touch it, hand it out, have a lot of it, throw it up in the air, you will be teaching them to become comfortable with money.
Money is not to be feared. We can ALL earn it. It’s given to us in exchange for services rendered.
So how do I teach my children to become comfortable with money? When money was tight, (before I had my own kids) I showed children I worked with to see the natural beauty around them. We didn’t spend any money on our nature walks, talking of the past history of some of Arizona’s most precious landmarks, opening their eyes to ways they could create an innovate in their futures. These nature walks were behind the books I would write in the future.
Now I have my own children, and want to teach them to be comfortable with money, and not fear it, so once in a blue moon, I will say when I have set aside some extra money, we will go to the shopping mall, and find something that we REALLY love. The important part with this shopping spree is that we DO NOT look at the price on the label of what we find. This is difficult, because we WANT to, but I instruct them to pick something, and they must not know the price.
Not being afraid to spend money, if you have it, is important for getting comfortable with money. Also, not being afraid it will be spent, and you won’t
have any more.  We were at the mall, and our oldest daughter needed a pair of sunglasses. She had a concussion in the summer, and she was still sensitive to sunlight, and needed a pair. Instead of looking at the $20 glasses in one of the stores, I said to her “why don’t you try on a pair of those sunglasses” as we walked passed some beautiful glasses all in cases. These were designer glasses and not something a teenager would usually buy, but for the point of learning this lesson (it was once in a blue moon) so she agreed to try on some glasses from this section she would normally not be looking in.
She found 2 pairs. One was much cheaper than the first pair. I told her to NOT look at the price, but she did, and then the sales clerk came by and spoiled my plan when she said “oh these ones are double the price of those.” I knew she loved the expensive pair. I could just tell.
When I asked her which pair she wanted, she picked the cheaper pair, and I asked her if she picked the cheaper pair to save us money, and she said “yes.” So, I said, “she would like this pair” and handed her the pair that was double the price. Now I can’t make this up, but this is the whole reason why it’s important to not look at pricing and pick what you love, if you have the money and not be afraid that you’ll spend it all, never to have any more again.
When the sales clerk rang up the expensive pair of glasses, she got this weird look on her face. She kept typing in numbers, and then she said “I don’t know what’s happening, but this pair, that should be double to price, is ringing up much less than the other pair you were looking at.” She knew what the price was, but there was a glitch in her system that she said would be more work to fix, so she charged us much less, for the expensive pair of glasses.
#Mindset #Thinking #Thoughts #TheScienceofGettingRich #WallaceDWattles #Prosperity #WaltDisney #ArtLinkeletter #Abundance 
Putting PART 3 into ACTION: Living the Impression of Increase
So how do we take this concept and put it into action in our daily lives? It’s all about taking the focus off ourselves, and directing it towards others. Since all people seek this increase, if we become someone who inherently gives this to others, we will become in demand.
The example I wanted to share here is that we can all give increase to others, even if we are living in lean or difficult times ourselves, we just need to be aware, so we can act quickly.
This is where I’ve got to say that I am guilty of sometimes not being aware. Sometimes I’m standing in line at a grocery store, and just zoning out, thinking of all the things on my plate. Go back 20 years, when I was in my lean times, and I was exactly the same.
If we want to LIVE the impression of increase every day, we’ve got to be aware.
One day, I was standing in line to pay for groceries, and this was a time when I had to make the money I was earning stretch far. I was tired, and was not paying attention to the fact that the guy ahead of me was trying to buy diapers for his family. He was trying to pay with some sort of voucher that this store didn’t take. Now fast forward to when I had my kids, diapers were really expensive. This was something he needed, and I missed the opportunity to offer to help him. I had enough money that day to pay for my food and his diapers, but he was sent away. I remember trying to run after this young guy in the parking lot, to say I could help, but he was gone. Not a fun experience standing at the cash register and you can’t pay for something.
For this lesson, I would say, be aware of where you can help others, and if you can, lend a hand. I always regretted not paying attention, and missing an opportunity to help someone.
“Increase is what all men and women are seeking: it is the urge of the Formless Intelligence within them, seeking fuller expression…All human activities are based on this desire for increase; people are seeking more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty, more knowledge, more pleasure—increase in something, more in life.” Wallace D. Wattles
#mindset #Thinking #thoughts #TheScienceofGettingRich #Prosperity #Neuroscience #TheImpressionofIncrease #abundance 
Putting PART 4 into ACTION: GRATITUDE IS FAITH In ACTION
Read chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days, paying attention to each chapter and this alone will change your world.
I challenge YOU to read chapter 4/14/7 of this book for 90 days, and let me know what happens. 
"Gratitude is an attitude that hooks us up to our source of supply. And the more grateful you are, the closer you become to the architect of the universe, to the spiritual core of your being." Bob Proctor on Chapter 7 of Wallace D. Wattles' SGR book. 
#TheScienceofGettingRich #BobProctor #WallaceDWattles #gratitude #gratitudepractice #gratitudechallenge #gratitudejourney #thinking #thoughts #mindset 
Putting PART 5 into ACTION: DEVELOPING A ROCK SOLID MENTAL MINDSET
Reading chapters 1 (The Right to be Rich), 2 (There is a Science of Getting Rich), 3 (Is Opportunity Monopolized) and 5 (Increasing Life) we are working on our mental faculties.
The first part of this book, or Thinking in a Certain Way, takes time.
If you want to know how you are thinking, look at the results you are achieving. This is a clear sign.
If you like the results that someone else is achieving, ASK them, “What is your mental mindset as it relates to your work” and you’ll learn something new that you can apply to strengthen your own.
Rome wasn’t built in one day, and our mindset and ability to THINK in THIS CERTAIN WAY takes time and practice, but this is the foundation for what we are building here.
Putting PART 6 into ACTION: UNCOVERING WHAT YOU REALLY WANT.
"Never think or speak of what you want without feeling confident that it will arrive." Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich
In part 6 we are still working through how to THINK in This Certain Way covering Chapters 6 (How Riches Come to You), 8 (Thinking in the Certain Way), 9 (How to Use the Will) 10 (Further Use of the Will).
We looked at ideas for creating Multiple Sources of Income here, and ways to further strengthen our mental abilities by referring back to the Think and Grow Rich study, or The Silva Method.
This whole time we are letting the Syllabus sink into our daily life, and becoming familiar with Chapters 4, 14 and 7.
#TheScienceofGettingRich #WallaceDWattles #Mindset #Prosperity #2024Goals #TheWill #Thinking 
Putting PART 7 into ACTION:
Here we covered Chapters 11-17, the final chapters of the book that are focused around ACTING in THIS CERTAIN WAY.
We are reminded that “A person must act as well as think” and how important our daily actions are.
It’s here that productivity courses come to mind, to sharpen our daily routines.
Wattles believes in not just taking action in the present moment, but by making sure it’s EFFECTIVE action with EVERYTHING that you do. 
FINAL THOUGHTS:
For a book that I was hesitant to cover, I’m so glad I did. It was a mindset shift for me to pick the Science of Getting Rich notes, study guides and worksheets out of the back of my closet, and begin this study the end of last year.
I hope that you’ve enjoyed looking at the deeper meaning behind the words of Wallace D. Wattles, with me, where he shows us that there is a Science of Getting Rich, and it’s all about Thinking AND Acting, in This Certain Way.
PART 1: Prosperity Consciousness
FINDING THE JOY IN LEAN OR DIFFICULT TIMES
What’s YOUR story for this example?
PART 2: The First Principle of the Science of Getting Rich: Getting Comfortable with Money
What’s YOUR story for this example? How have your worked on your own prosperity consciousness?
PART 3: Living the Impression of Increase
How do YOU live the impression of increase?
PART 4: GRATITUDE (FAITH In ACTION)
How do YOU put faith into action in your life?
PART 5: DEVELOPING A ROCK SOLID MENTAL MINDSET
How do YOU strengthen YOUR mental mindset?
PART 6: UNCOVERING WHAT YOU REALLY WANT
Are you aware of what is seeking expression with and through you? What are you doing to develop your talents and abilities? What multiple sources of income can you set up with these talents?
PART 7: REVIEW COMPLETE THESE 4 ACTION STEPS:
CLOSING ACTION STEPS:
I do encourage everyone to read Chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days as an action item to studying this book.
Print a copy of the Syllabus, and put it somewhere you will be able to see it, and read it.
Read the Syllabus every day, for 90 days, along with chapters 4/14/7.
Finally, come up with your own examples that go with the 7 PARTS of the book. I had to THINK to create mine, and when you can see these principles in ACTION, along with a change in your THINKING, this is when the magic will happen. You will begin to ACT in this CERTAIN WAY.
My goal for the END of this review, is to show that without a shadow of a doubt, we ALL have the ability to “Think and Grow Rich” like we learned from Napoleon Hill’s study (with our potential as well as our finances) and That there is a Science to Doing This, using Wallace D. Wattles principles.  If we can do the hard work involved (using persistence like we did while reading chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days) sharpen our ability to think, make connections grow from what we’ve learned, and then finally, APPLY what we’ve learned, we will see that failure impossible.
We just need to keep “thinking and growing” and then “Acting in This Certain Way.”
RESOURCES:
How to Manifest and Attract Financial Abundance w/ Rhonda Byrne (Creator of "The Secret") Lewis Howes: The School of Greatness with Rhonda ByrneIn today's episode of The School of Greatness, we're diving into a topic that's close to my heart and likely yours too - the journey of manifesting money. I had the pleasure of sitting down with none other than Rhonda Byrne, the mastermind behind “The Secret.” Our conversation was nothing short of enlightening. As Rhonda shared her insights, I couldn't help but reflect on my own financial journey, from times of struggle to moments of abundance. This episode isn't just about money; it's about transforming your life through the principles that Rhonda and I have lived and tested. Whether you're just starting out or looking to deepen your understanding of financial abundance, this is a conversation you won't want to miss.
Listen on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-school-of-greatness/id596047499?i=1000641351452
REFERENCES:
 
[i] Rhonda Byrne 2006 The Secret https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0846789/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #66 with The Legendary Bob Proctor https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
 
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast PART 1 Think and Grow Rich Series https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast PART 1 of The Silva Method  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
 
[v] Join Paul Martinelli’s Study of Think and Grow Rich for FREE https://www.freeprogram.yourempoweredlife.com/
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #288 on “What Does Acting Have to Do With Our Self-Belief and Identity?” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-what-does-acting-have-to-do-with-self-belief-and-our-identity/
 
[vii]“Oscar and Emmy winner Phil Goldfine shares the five things you need to know to succeed in show business” Feb. 25, 2019 by Yitzi Weiner  https://medium.com/authority-magazine/oscar-and-emmy-winner-phil-goldfine-shares-the-five-things-you-need-to-know-to-succeed-in-show-b3152bbf985e
 
[viii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #38 with Todd Woodcroft  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #166 with Chris Gargano https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/vice-president-executive-producer-of-the-new-york-jets-chris-gargano-on-accelerating-leadership-for-maximum-impact-and-results/
 
[x] Andrea@Achieveit360.com
 
[xi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #294 on “Beyond Our Five Senses: Using the 6 Faculties of the Mind.”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/
 
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE 316 PART 3 REVIEW of The Science of Getting Rich https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-3-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-14-the-neuroscience-behind-the-impression-of-increase/
 
[xiii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #203 with Paranormal Researcher Ryan O’Neill  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
 
[xiv] Lewis Howes with Rhonda Byrnes How to Manifest and Attract Financial Abundance w/ Rhonda Byrne (Creator of "The Secret")The School of Greatness
 https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-school-of-greatness/id596047499?i=1000641351452
 
[xv] The Movie, The Secret https://www.thesecret.tv/
 

PART 6 Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich on ”How to Think in This Certain Way” Chapters 6, 8, 9, 10.

Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how our brain learns best.
On today's episode #319 we will cover:
Chapter 6: HOW RICHES COME TO YOU
✔ Where we learned to listen to the desire that’s seeking expression with and through you and think “how can you create something that give others more USE value than you are taking from them in cash value.”
✔ Ideas for creating Multiple Sources of Income in your life.
CHAPTER 8 THINKING IN THE CERTAIN WAY
✔ Where we learned "You must have a clear and definite mental picture of what you want. You cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself.” (Ch 8, SGR, Wattles).
✔ Reminders to go back and PRACTICE the skill of putting the image of what you want on the screen of your mind, by reviewing The Silva Method (our most downloaded series from 2023).
CHAPTER 9 HOW TO USE THE WILL
CHAPTER 10 FURTHER USE OF THE WILL
✔ Reminders to keep developing our WILL to eliminate doubts and fears, and stay focused on whatever it is that we are working towards.
Welcome back to PART 6 of our review of Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich. In this classic book on thinking, this book describes how each of us shapes the events around us, creating much of the positive riches in our own personal and professional lives. Rhonda Byrne, creator of the movie The Secret[i], said she stumbled across The Science of Getting Rich and has "never been the same." This was one of the first seminars I sold when I worked with Bob Proctor back in the late 1990s, and he mentioned to me in our interview on EP 66[ii] that his business took off after Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret took off. There is true magic within the words written within these pages, and like all of the books we dive deep into, it’s the application of what we read here that has the potential to change our life forever.
If you enjoyed our Deep Dive into Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich[iii] book, or the 4 Part Series of The Silva Method,[iv] (that I’m going to revisit after this study is complete) the concepts we will cover in this review go hand in hand with those Deep Dives. I’m currently studying Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich” with Paul Martinelli[v], who teaches this book like no one else and I’m constantly reminded of how important our ability to “think” really is. Napoleon Hill titled his book with four simple words. He picked “think and grow” as the first three, and we covered in this series the power of our thoughts. Now, we are learning through the words of Wallace D. Wattles, that once we know how to think and grow, we can next add the rich part, and he shows us there is a science to this.
I always add that it’s not just rich financially, but we grow rich in our knowledge, rich in our potential, and we need money to keep learning, and growing, so yes, rich financially.
Bringing us to Chapter 6: HOW RICHES COME TO YOU
How do riches come to you? My goal for the END of this review, (after our next episode) is to show that without a shadow of a doubt, we ALL have the ability to “Think and Grow Rich” and That there is a Science to Doing This.  If we can do the hard work involved (using persistence like while reading chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days) we will sharpen our ability to think, make connections and grow from what we’ve learned. Once we APPLY what we’ve learned, we will see that failure is not possible. We just need to keep “thinking and growing” and then “Acting in This Certain Way.”
Chapter 6 opens up with Wattles urging us to “Give people more in use value than cash value of the thing you take from them” explaining:
“The paper, ink and other material in this book may not be worth the money you pay for it, but if the ideas suggested by it bring you thousands of dollars, you have not been wronged by those who have sold it to you. They have given you great use value for small cash value” (Ch 6, SGR, Wattles) “especially if the ideas in this book brings you thousands of dollars.” (Ch 6, SGR, Wattles).
So, while acting in this “Certain Way” that Wattles describes, now add, that you must give every others more in use value than you take from them in cash value. In doing so, you are adding to the life of the world.
This is why I give my best work away for free on this podcast. I’m putting this chapter into practice by giving more in “use value than I expect back in cash value.” This is also the value behind volunteering our time. Give more in use value to others, than we expect back in cash value.
This is the part in this book that dates it back to the early 1900s. He says next that:
“If you want a sewing machine (he would) suggest that before you impress the thought of a sewing machine in the thinking substance that you first make sure the image of the machine is clearly formed in your mind.” (Ch 6, SGR, Wattles). This to me is where this book aligns directly with what we learned from Think and Grow Rich, as well as The Silva Method.
“After you form the thought, you must have the most and unquestioning faith that the sewing machine is coming.” (Ch 6, SGR, Wattles).
This is important. How many times have you heard someone going for something they really want (a sewing machine in Wattles’ time or something else in our time- a new job, or something) and they speak about it showing they aren’t confident in their attainment of whatever it is they are going for.
Wattles says “NEVER think or speak of (what you want) without feeling confident that it will arrive.” (Ch 6, SGR, Wattles).
“It will be brought to you by the power of the supreme intelligence.” (Ch 6, SGR, Wattles) who insists that we must not “forget for a moment that the thinking substance is everything” (Ch 6, SGR) and that “you can have anything you want, as long as you use it for the advancement of your life and the lives of others.” (Ch 6, SGR).
Next, Wattles talks about a boy who said to him while sitting at a piano “I can feel the music in me but I can’t make my hands go right.”
He’s explaining the boys’ desire seeking expression with and through him. The boy knows and feels what he’s meant to do, but it’s going to take PRACTICE and the right mindset (Thinking in this certain way) to develop this talent in him that could by all means lead him to riches if he works diligently at his skill.
We asked this question at the end of our last EPISODE 319, PART 5[vi] of this review.
What is YOUR desire that’s seeking expression with and through you?
This desire in you is “the urge of the Original Substance, containing all the possibilities of life.” I’m not going to skip this part, or leave it out. I will say that Wattles is telling us that it is God who seeks expression with and through us.
So, it’s TRULY impossible to fail when you feel this desire within you.  But it is up to each one of us to fully develop these God-given talents and abilities within us.
It’s in Chapter 6 that in the seminar industry, while studying this book, Bob Proctor would always teach the importance of having income from multiple sources, to create wealth. It’s not another job, but just adding another income stream to what you’ve already got. While working in the seminar industry I met many people from all walks of life, and they ALL understood this principle. I talked about what a paradigm shift this concept was for me when I first started to see different ways I could earn money, that were outside of working a job, that runs 9-5 hours on EP 67.[vii]  
Putting Chapter 6 into Practice:
Listen to The Desire That’s Seeking Expression with and Through You and think “how can you create something that give others more USE value than you are taking from them in cash value.”
Multiples Sources of Income Ideas Using This Principle:
If you want to build income outside of what you do fulltime, Russell Brunson[viii], the co-founder and owner of Clickfunnels is a master as teaching The Value Ladder, that’s based on offering people products with high use value, and low cost, to bring them into your “funnel” and offer them more and more cost as they progress along the way. See if any of the ideas I’ve written below are of interest to YOU to create multiple sources of income over time.
Writing a Book: (is one way) to create another source of income, but anyone who has written a book will tell you that the book itself won’t make you a lot of money unless you sell thousands of copies. A book can lead you to earn income from other sources like speaking engagements, workshops and courses where you share your knowledge with others, and they would gratefully give you’re their money, to learn more. Looking at Brunsons Value Ladder, you can give away a book, or offer it for a low price (have you ever noticed some books are FREE, but you just need to pay for shipping)? This is a common strategy that can lead you into the author’s “funnel” where they will upsell you other programs and services.
 
Online Courses: When I first started putting some of my old courses online, I was amazed when I would receive money into my bank account from people who purchased those courses. The more people want to learn what you are teaching, the more they will purchase the course you have created.
 
Mastermind Groups: You can now take people who come your way from your training, and offer specialized training for smaller groups. The more people are interested in learning what you “know” they will be happy pay you to be “trained” by you in smaller groups.
 
Monetizing YouTube: As more and more people want to learn from you, you will have more followers on social media. Once you have 1,000 followers on YouTube, you can begin to earn money for ads that show up during your videos. To earn a lot of money this way, you do need to have a lot (meaning thousands of views of your videos). This one took me some time to build, but since building this one since 2019, I now receive ad funds directly to my business bank account, allowing me to put those funds towards research and development. You can see the progression of our interviews since 2019[ix]
Monetize a Podcast: I did try this one out, but stopped, as it’s important to me that I’m giving the best content I have, for free on this podcast. In the future, I’ll consider putting ads on this podcast (that make sense to my brand), but for now, I’m not using this option. It’s much like the money sent to you via YouTube.
 
OTHER IDEAS: These ideas show that when you provide value (or something that’s greater in use value than what you pay for it) that can build you towards significant income over time. I’m sure there are many more ideas that you can come up with. Take out a piece of paper and draw a circle in the middle called MSIs (for multiple sources of income) and brainstorm how many ideas YOU can come up. Off the top of my head, I can think of one of my friends who was a child actor in the movie A Christmas Story. Every year, she receives a royalty check for appearing in that movie, with a speaking role. What other ideas can YOU think of?
Find your MSIs, and get to work!
Then, Think and Grow…Rich.
CHAPTER 7 GRATITUDE 
We covered this chapter on EP #317.[x]
CHAPTER 8 THINKING IN THE CERTAIN WAY
Wattles opens up this next chapter by telling us to “go back to chapter 6 and re-read the story of the man who formed the mental image of his house, and this is the initial step towards getting rich.” (Ch 8, SGR, Wattles). He affirms,
“You must have a clear and definite mental picture of what you want. You cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself.” (Ch 8, SGR, Wattles).
Which is Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich in action, and the whole concept behind The Silva Method.
Before this month ends, I’ll be covering a review of our Top 10 episodes of 2023 that had The Silva Method in the top 4 spots, just blowing my mind when I saw the numbers and how many people around the world were interested in learning The Silva Method.
I’ve not yet covered a review of The Silva Ultramind System, that’s a step beyond what we covered in that 4-part series but have to mention that there are parts of this program that will expand your thinking, specifically with your ability to create images on your mental screen. No one covers this program like Vishen Lakhiani from Mind Valley[xi]. 
 
It’s here I learned how to build my mental screen (day 3), solve problems on this screen (day 4), and day 5 I learned to walk through my home, (and anywhere else I’d love to see) through a unique process that projects my mind wherever I’d like to go. 
Putting Chapter 8 into Practice:
RE-READ CHAPTER 6: Do what Wattles says and go back and re-read the story of the person in Chapter 6 who formed the mental image of building a house in his mind, before he moved towards what he wanted.
LOOK AT THE SILVA ULTRA MIND SYSTEM: Look through the 30-day curriculum and see if you’d like to experience it. I’m not affiliated with Mind Valley, but after my friend Hans Ajay told me “this program would change me forever” I’ve got to agree. There’s nothing out there that I’ve seen so far that teaches Joe Silva’s Method, better than this program. 
PRACTICE! Pick a time of day that you will practice ‘building images” on the screen of your mind. Whether you use The Silva Method, and just plain old visualization, practicing this skill will help you to Think and Grow…
Then it’s up to you to apply what you are learning to Grow Rich in potential and Grow Rich financially with your skills and talents.
This is a program you can study, and learn from, for many years to come.
CHAPTER 9 HOW TO USE THE WILL
CHAPTER 10 FURTHER USE OF THE WILL
I thought it was interesting that Wattles picked the use of the Will, for chapters 9 and again in 10, with further uses of The Will. This shows me that he recognized that we can work hard, visualizing what we want, and take action with our goals, Thinking and Acting, but if we don’t know how to execute the proper use of our will, we will struggle with doing things “The Certain Way” that he suggests.
The Will is one of our higher faculties that we covered on EP #294[xii] “Beyond Our Five Senses: Using the 6 Faculties of the Mind” and the Will, gives us the ability to concentrate.  When reviewing the Will on this episode, I mentioned that meditation was one way to strengthen this faculty, along with an exercise of staring at a candle flame until you and the flame become one.
Wattles takes the use of the will a step further saying “it’s as wrong to coerce people by mental powers as it is by physical power” (Ch 9, SGR, Wattles) so you must only use your Will for yourself, and not to will others to do things for you. You must use your Will “to keep yourself thinking and acting in a certain way.”
“Use your mind to form a mental image of what you want and hold this vision with faith and purpose. Use your will to keep your mind working the right way.” (Ch 9, SGR, Wattles).
Also, use your Will to prevent yourself from thinking thoughts of doubt and disbelief as “doubt and disbelief is as certain to start a movement away from you as faith and purpose are to start one towards you.” (Ch 9, SGR, Wattles).
There are definitely some parts of this book, written in 1910 that you might disagree with, especially when it comes to not talking about poverty, or disease. For those involved heavily in charitable organizations, I do believe that we can all help support organizations, instead of doing what Wattles suggests, and that’s to not think about them at all. Or with health, I believe that studying and learning about health has helped me to become healthier, so some parts of this book, I just don’t agree with, but I can also see what Wattles was intending when he was writing this book.
In chapter 10, The further use of the will, Wattles expands on more uses of the Will to help us to “make the most of ourselves” which is my goal with this podcast.
He ends Chapter 10 by reading the syllabus again.
Remember:
“There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, penetrates, permeates and fills the interspaces of the universe. 
A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. 
You can form things in your thought, and by impressing your thought upon the formless substance, can cause the thing you think about to be created.”
“In order to do this, a person must pass from the competitive to the creative mind. They must form a clear mental picture in their thoughts with the fixed purpose to get what they want, and the unwavering faith that they will get what they want—closing their mind to all that may tend to dim their vision, or quench their faith. “
 We now see that we must live and act in this Certain Way.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude PART 6 of our review of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, we covered:
Chapter 6: HOW RICHES COME TO YOU
Where we learned to listen to the desire that’s seeking expression with and through you and think “how can you create something that give others more USE value than you are taking from them in cash value.”
We brainstormed ideas for creating multiple sources of income in our life, so that money can begin to come our way even while we are sleeping at night.
We learned to THINK and GROW…first, preparing ourselves to be rich in potential and financially second.
CHAPTER 8 THINKING IN THE CERTAIN WAY
Remembering “You must have a clear and definite mental picture of what you want. You cannot transmit an idea unless you have it yourself.” (Ch 8, SGR, Wattles).
We talked about different programs we can use to further develop whatever it is that we imagine on the mental screen of our minds, (The Silva Ultra Mind Course) or by going back to read Chapter 6 on the importance of building the image of what we want on the screen of our minds first.
CHAPTER 9 HOW TO USE THE WILL
CHAPTER 10 FURTHER USE OF THE WILL
Finally, we looked at the importance of developing the higher faculty of our will, to prevent us from focusing on our doubts and fears, while keeping us focused on improving ourselves for the better,
I hope that by diving into the 17 Chapters of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, you are making connections with how you can do things in this Certain Way, building faith in the fact that
NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE when follow the principles Wattles outlines in this classic book on thinking.
See you next with the final chapters of this book, and conclusion of our DEEP Dive into The Science of Getting Rich.
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] Rhonda Byrne 2006 The Secret https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0846789/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #66 with The Legendary Bob Proctor https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
 
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast PART 1 Think and Grow Rich Series https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast PART 1 of The Silva Method  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
 
[v] Join Paul Martinelli’s Study of Think and Grow Rich for FREE https://www.freeprogram.yourempoweredlife.com/
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #319 PART 5 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-5-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-revealing-the-secret-within-the-syllabus-chapters-1-2-3-and-5/
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #67  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/
 
[viii] https://www.russellbrunson.com/
 
[ix] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Interviews https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb5Z3cA_mnKhiYc5glhacO9k9WTrSgjzW
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #317 PART 4 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-4-review-of-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-gratitude-through-the-eyes-of-wallace-d-wattles/
 
[xi] https://www.mindvalley.com/
 
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #294 on “Beyond Our Five Senses: Using the 6 Faculties of the Mind.”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/
 

PART 5 Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich on ” Revealing The Secret Within the Syllabus” Chapters 1, 2, 3 and 5

PART 5 REVIEW of The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D Wattles
Welcome back to PART 5 of our review of Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich. In this classic book on thinking, this book describes how each of us shapes the events around us, creating much of the positive riches in our own lives.
Rhonda Byrne, creator of the movie The Secret[i], said she stumbled across The Science of Getting Rich and has "never been the same." This was one of the first seminars I sold when I worked with Bob Proctor back in the late 1990s, and he mentioned to me in our interview on EP 66[ii] that his business took off after Rhonda Byrne’s The Secret took off. There is true magic within the words written within these pages, and like all of the books we dive deep into, it’s the application of what we read here that has the potential to change our life forever.
It took me some time to review this book, honestly, because many of the concepts I didn’t fully understand myself. It’s taken me over 25 years to finally grasp the meaning behind the timeless concepts that Wattles wrote about in 1910, and writing this series has helped me to refine my own thinking, in addition to sharing what I’m learning here with you, wherever you might be listening in the world.
If you enjoyed our Deep Dive into Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich[iii] book, or the 4 Part Series of The Silva Method,[iv] the concepts we will cover in this review go hand in hand with those Deep Dives.
I read this review about this book and it caught my eye.
 
No student of thought should be without this historic book. Think about this for a minute.
Read this book and do it exactly as written and you will see HOW failure is impossible.
This is the PERFECT book and series to launch 2024 with.
On today's episode #319 we will cover:
✔ CHAPTER 1: THE RIGHT TO BE RICH 
“There is nothing wrong with wanting more in life. No man is to be happy with little.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles)
✔ CHAPTER 2 THERE IS A SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH
With some thoughts on what the title of this book makes you think about.
✔ CHAPTER 3 IS OPPORTUNITY MONOPOLIZED?
What is it that YOU really want? Do you think you can achieve it?
✔ CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH
We covered this chapter on EP 315 in PART 2[v] of this REVIEW where I challenged everyone to read chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days. Keep reading.
✔ CHAPTER 5: INCREASING LIFE
Why must we develop our Mind, Body and Spirit?
Welcome back to SEASON 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how our brain learns best.
At the end of each year, we review timeless and important books that were recommended to me when I worked in the motivational speaking industry in the late 1990s, and my goal is to see how science can inform us as we move towards our goals in 2024, (whether it with the interviews we will host) or by diving into what I saw working over and over again in the speaking industry, so we can all be the most improved, 2.0 version of ourselves.
This year, we are reviewing Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich book that was written in 1910. I’ve set the stage for the application of this book by asking us to begin or end our study by reading chapters 4/14/7 in this order for 90 days. The order is important. This is where our review began. If you can do this one activity, I promise you that the magical words that Wattles wrote on the pages of this book, will begin to have significant meaning to you.
In PART 1[vi] we saw the importance of opening up our minds to prosperity thinking, (that there is more than enough for all of us vs poverty consciousness that there is not enough) and PART 2[vii] we focused on the power of our thoughts, specifically with how to “think and act in this certain way” to achieve the results we are talking about here. We gave examples of two distinct types of thinkers, encouraging all of us to open the keyhole in the door (or kick down the door) and expand of level of awareness in this process. With PART 3[viii] of our review, we explored Chapter 14, on The Impression of Increase, with two suggestions for Acting in this Certain Way with everyone we interact with. Look to where you can give others genuine compliments, pointing out their accomplishments and efforts, and always look for where you can assist others with your resources. Then on PART 4, we covered Chapter 7 on Gratitude that connected us directly with our source of supply.
Let’s now dive into the rest of the chapters of this timeless book, keeping in mind where the heart of this book exists. We must understand the syllabus. I’ll read it here, and again at the end, and my hope is that the secret that Wattles intends us to “see” will reveal itself to you, and like Rhonda Byrnes, who read this book, and was never the same, I hope that something new is revealed to you, changing your thinking in some way, and helping you to see if you can do things in this Certain Way, that failure is impossible. 
Remember: Getting Rich is the result of doing things in a certain way. We help ourselves first, then we look for ways to help others do the same.
Before we begin, do you have questions about this syllabus like I did when I first read this book? Here’s mine:
Q1: What is this thinking stuff from which all things are made that fills the inter spaces of the universe? Wattles says, it’s everywhere, but what is it?
My Answer: It is formless, supremely intelligent and permeates everything around us—including organic and inorganic things and the spaces between them. Wattles uses many terms interchangeably to describe this substance. After reading and studying this book for over 2 decades, I came to see this “thinking stuff” as my Source, which I call God. You might call it something else, but naming it while reading this book can help to see its power and why “a thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.” This essentially is what prayer is. “A person can form things in their thoughts (or like through prayer) and by impressing their thoughts upon the formless substance (your source of Supply or God), can cause the thing they think about to be created.” When you break this syllabus down a bit, it doesn’t seem so “far out there.” 
I am certain that Wattles is describing the power of prayer.
To put the syllabus into practice, think about where you feel the most connected to this source.  It is everywhere, but some of us might feel this connection in nature, like I’ve described while hiking in the mountains, near water (or the Ocean) like scientist and activist Dr. Wallace J Nichols talked about on EP 297[ix] this past summer. Wherever you feel the most connected, just trust that there is something bigger than you, that will help you to produce whatever it is that you “image” in your thoughts.
Let’s look at the remaining chapters of the book.
CHAPTER 1 THE RIGHT TO BE RICH 
Wattles says that “No man can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development (our fullest) potential without money.” 
In the pages of my notebook, I wrote “thought always proceeds the action” or “what’s coming, we think about.”
I don’t need to look far to say this isn’t so, as we witness this with our two girls and competitive gymnastics. As with any sport or skill, it takes money to learn these skills, and it was a good year that our oldest daughter would ask to join the competitive team at her gym before we agreed to it. Later, she let me know that she used to watch YouTube videos of gymnasts training, and she knew this is what she wanted to do with all of her heart. There was much thought in her mind that happened a good year BEFORE she even tried out to be a part of this team.
The same goes with the material you are studying now. I watched people pay thousands of dollars to attend each seminar to learn this information from the best teachers in the world. Many who wanted to attend, couldn’t not pay the tuition. You can always read this book on your own, or watch videos to learn new skills, but to immerse yourself with the best teachers in the world, the easiest way is to pay for an exchange of their knowledge for your money. 
“To unfold the soul and develop talent” we cannot do these things unless you have the money to pay for them. 
Which leads me back to why I’m giving away everything I’ve learned over the years, for FREE, on this podcast. I know this is what I am meant to do. I was fortunate enough to learn directly from some of the best teachers in the world, and now, I am meant to give back in this way. For now, this podcast remains ad free for this reason. It has always been important to me that I put the best work I’ve got, out to the world, for free, because of the principles within the pages of this book.  What I want for myself, I want for others.
When you find your place, you will know where you have room to give back. I do think that Wattles intends us to all get to this place where we shift our thinking from “what can I get” to “how can I help others” with my talents and abilities.
Part 1 of this series we spent on prosperity consciousness vs poverty for this reason. If you’re listening and are struggling with this concept, go back and listen to Part 1 where we dove into two ways of thinking about money. 
This is an important lesson because we will need it to “reach our fullest mental, spiritual and physical unfoldment.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles).
“Success in life is becoming what you want to be” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles) so for my daughter who begged us to join competitive gymnastics, it was her desire seeking expression with and through her, (to do this sport) but it takes money to do this. 
I think back to my early days, when I wanted to become a teacher it took money to pay for my teacher training. If you want to learn business strategies, same idea. Whatever we want, it begins with a desire in our thoughts, and what’s coming our way, we will think about, usually long before we take action towards it.
What about you? Whenever we have wanted to learn, grow and advance ourselves in our lives and careers, it takes money to do this.
Remember: “There is nothing wrong with wanting more in life. No man is to be happy with little.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles).
What do you think when you hear this? Do you agree with Wattles? Over the years I became more comfortable with “wanting more in life” and when I was living my most lean years, I made sure to spend my leisure time in places that made me “feel” the abundance that Wattles was describing when he said “there is nothing wrong with wanting.”  I often sat writing in the lobby of the most beautiful resorts I could find to keep my thinking away from poverty and more towards prosperity thinking.
Wattles writes that “No man can rise to his greatest possible height in talent or soul development unless he has plenty of money; for to unfold the soul and to develop talent he must have many things to use, and he cannot have these things unless he has the money to buy them with.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles).
Like my daughter’s gymnastics training, or what we must do to pay for new skills we want to acquire.
Wattles writes that “Man’s right to life means his right to have free and unrestricted use of the things which may be necessary to his fullest mental, spiritual and physical unfoldment.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles).
“No man can be really happy or satisfied unless his body is living fully in every function, and unless the same is true of his mind and soul.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles).
Be sure to develop all three parts of us (our body, mind and soul).
“Wherever there is unexpressed possibility, or function not performed, there is unsatisfied desire. Desire is possibility seeking expression, or function seeking performance.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles).
Think about this for a minute. What is it in you that is “unexpressed possibility” that you could nurture and grow in 2024? For me, it’s clear and obvious. If I was unable to research, read books, and then work on integrating this new information in my life, and then share what I’m learning with you, I would not be truly happy. Hosting this podcast (is my desire seeking expression) is driven by an unrelentless desire for me to keep researching, learning, and sharing anything that can help us to all improve our productivity and results.
What about you? What is it that you must do? What is your desire that is “possibility seeking expression” in you? This is a good thing to know for ourselves, and then look at see if you can notice it in others.
Before moving to chapter 2, I think we have given some good examples as to why there is nothing wrong with wanting to have enough money to develop our body, mind and soul, to nurture our “desires” or our “possibility seeking expression” or “function seeking performance” so we can be truly happy ourselves, before we begin to think of how we can extend our hand outwards, to help others.
CHAPTER 2 THERE IS A SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH
Before we go any further, I wonder, what comes up for you when you saw the title of this book? 
Do you think of the TV show Lifestyles of the Rich and the famous, like me?
The title of this book is one of the reasons I didn’t want to cover it on this podcast in the first place. While I see the importance of earning money, I’m not one to want to “be rich” and when multi-million-dollar yachts sail past me, they don’t catch my eye. I’ve never been drawn to anything excessive so covering a book about “getting rich” was not on the top of my list.
I can recognize others like me while I’m interviewing them. The inventor of GDV technology, Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, from EP 307[x] mentioned that while he enjoys inventing, he’s not as good with the business side of things. He writes in his books that when he went on some of his exciting trips around the world, he just took his sandals, and a hat to keep the sun off his face.
So, if you are like me, not very interested in “Getting Rich” and the title of this book deterred you a bit, just see if there is something we can learn together. It’s here my mentor, Bob Proctor, would send me back to PART 1[xi] of this series, and work on my prosperity thinking. He would remind me that “nobody can have all he wants without plenty of money.” (Chapter 1, SGR, Wattles).
And I would come back to Chapter 2 with an expanded and open mind. This Certain Way has to do with Prosperity Thinking vs Poverty.
REMEMBER: “There is a Science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic.” (Chapter 2, SGR, Wattles) and we have discovered that it’s about thinking and acting in a certain way.
“There are certain laws which govern the process of acquiring riches and when these laws are learned and obeyed by any man, he will get rich with mathematical certainty.” (Ch 2, SGR, Wattles). If you were to study this book through Bob Proctor’s Seminars, it’s here that he would cover the 7 Laws of the Universe, where he would say that doing things in this “certain way” would be according to these Natural Laws that Wattles mentions in Chapter 2.
We were not taught these laws in school, and I’m not going to cover them here, but I will say that “it doesn’t matter WHAT we’re doing, it matters HOW we are doing it.” We will cover “this certain way” in this book study, so at the end of these chapters, we will have a clear strategy on HOW to THINK AND ACT in this certain way, that Wattles describes and “those who do things in this Certain Way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich; while those who do not do things in this Certain Way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor.”
And “nobody can have all he wants without plenty of money.” (Chapter 1, SGR, Wattles).
Here’s An Example:
Have you ever seen two businesses on the same side of the road, and one is thriving while the other is not? Wattles addresses this when he says that Getting Rich is “not a matter of environment” (Ch 2, SGR, Wattles) even though “some environments may be more favorable than others” but the success one person experiences is a result of “Doing Things in This Certain Way.”
Wattles also says that “the ability to do things in this certain way is not due solely to the possession of talent, for many people who have great talent, remain poor, while others who have very little talent get rich.”  He says that “if you study people who have gotten rich, we find they are an average lot in all respects, having no greater talents and abilities than other men.” (Ch 2, SGR, Wattles). They got rich by “Doing Things in This Certain Way.”
We covered this concept in PART 1[xii] of this review, as “Doing Things in This Certain Way” begins with prosperity thinking versus poverty mindset.
Let’s keep going and see what else we can add to open up our understanding in this timeless book and of Doing Things in This Certain Way that Wattles describes.
CHAPTER 3 IS OPPORTUNITY MONOPOLIZED?
Chapter 3 is a good chapter for anyone who is worried that an opportunity that they really want, will pass them by.
Wattles explains that “No man is kept poor because opportunity has been taken away from him; because other people have monopolized the wealth, and have put a fence around it.” (Ch 3, SGR, Wattles).
This is where the “thinking stuff” comes into play. It matters what thoughts we think, and put out into the world.
When we think “oh, there’s no way I will ever do xyz” then that’s the message you’ve sent out to the formless substance. It might sound crazy, but just stay with me here. If Wallace D. Wattles wrote these principles in 1910, and they closely match Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich, and Jose Silva’s The Silva Method, then why not just test this out for yourself for some time.
The only thing we lack is awareness…and in order to open up our awareness, we must kick down the door, and look at the opportunity that’s available to all of us. 
Wattles explains that “The visible supply is practically inexhaustible; and the invisible supply really IS inexhaustible. (Economics teaches us there is a limited supply but Wattles is telling us that human attention is the only thing that is scarce). Everything you see on earth is made of one substance, out of which all things proceed. New Forms are constantly being made, and older ones are dissolving; but all shapes are assumed by One Thing. There is no limit to the supply of the Formless Stuff, or Original Substance.” (Ch 3, SGR, Wattles).
Abundance is here, we just might not be able to “see” it if it’s on a different level of vibration than our current level of thinking.
This is where we come to understand that “the resources of the formless supply are at the command of any man or woman who will act and think in a certain way” then “the Secret to Life” (Ch 3, SGR, Wattles) is available to all of us.
Whatever it is that you desire, (that possibility that seeks expression with and through you) it is possible to achieve, with time, effort, hard work and focus. Like our daughters who begged us to join gymnastics, they were both willing to put in the hard work to develop the skills needed to push them both through difficult times to bring their visions into form) or for me, to know that I can never sit somewhere and not be reading a book, or writing an episode, that I’ll record and put out into the world. I’m willing to put in the time and effort to make sure these episodes are my best work, offering our listeners something unique, something they couldn’t just get from the internet, or from Google, which puts this show at the top of the charts (in Neuroscience[xiii] and SEL[xiv]) each year.
What is it for you? What is it that’s seeking expression through you? It might be a book you want to write, and you think, “Oh that book’s already been written” or you think someone else might be better at what you want to do. Until you step forward and try, you’ll be holding yourself back from expressing the possibility that wants to be expressed within you.
Remember: The invisible supply is inexhaustible. The supply will never run short. If you come to this chapter, and are aware of something that might be holding you back from something you desire, it’s here that you can look at your paradigms, or beliefs that we covered in depth of EP 67.[xv]
If you are with me here, and know what it is that is seeking expression with and through you, (whatever it is that you desire) and you are not worried that someone else will take your place, keep reading this book.
CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH
We covered this chapter on EP 315 in PART 2[xvi] of this REVIEW where I challenged everyone to read chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days. Keep reading.
CHAPTER 5: INCREASING LIFE
Wattles explains that “Every living thing must continually seek for the enlargement of its life, because life, in the mere act of living, must increase itself.” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles).
There is nothing wrong for wanting to be/do/have more in our lives.
Wattles says that “We want to get rich in order that you may eat, drink, and be merry when it’s time to do these things, see distant lands, feed your mind and develop your intellect; in order that you may love men and do kind things, and be able to play a good part in helping the world find truth.” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles).
Brian Proctor talked about this concept on our interview EP 292[xvii] this past summer because this is one chapter that Bob Proctor lived every day. He gave the impression of increase to EVERYONE. I remember when I was moving from Toronto to the US in 2001, with barely any money in my pocket, but an incredible vision for where I was going, and Bob said to me “Andrea, are you flying first class to Arizona?” I almost fell off the chair I was sitting on. Of course, I wasn’t flying first class! It would be a few years before I sat in first class on an airplane, but Bob wanted me to see that sitting in first class was definitely an option. It was just an option that took me a few years to grasp.
Wattles says it this way.
“A seed, dropped into the ground, springs into activity, and in the act of living produces a hundred more seeds; life, by living, multiplies itself. It is forever Becoming More; it must do so, if it continues to be at all. Intelligence is under this same necessity for continuous increase. Every thought we think makes it necessary for us to think another thought; consciousness is continually expanding. Every fact we learn leads us to the learning of another fact; knowledge is continually increasing. Every talent we cultivate brings to the mind the desire to cultivate another talent; we are subject to the urge of life, seeking expression, which ever drives us on to know more, to do more, and to be more.” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles).
It’s here that learning to live beyond our 5 senses, what our senses pick up, and develop the 6 faculties of our mind: our perception, reason, will, memory, imagination and intuition that we covered on EP 294[xviii] come into play. When Proctor asked me if I was flying first class to Arizona, he planted the seed in my mind that flying first class was a great way to travel. Proctor planted many seeds in my mind in the 6 years I worked in the seminar industry. Now, I feel like it’s my obligation to share what I learned, to help others.
Wattles reminds us to “make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others; and you can help others more by making the most of yourself than in any other way” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles.)
You must live for yourself, (finding the right balance with just enough) for yourself first, and then help look for how you can help others.
If you come from the competitive mindset, (if you’ve been conditioned to either WIN or LOSE) this next concept might take some additional effort. Wattles reminds us to “get rid of the thought of competition. You are to create, not to compete for what is already created. You do not have to take anything away from from anyone.” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles).
“Riches secured on the competitive plane are never satisfactory and permanent” Wattles says. They are yours today and another’s tomorrow. 
Remember if you are to become rich in a scientific and certain way, you must rise entirely out of competitive thought. You must never think for a moment that the supply is limited. This will drop you into the competitive mind the moment you begin to think that all the money is being cornered and controlled by the bankers and others…Know that the money you need will come when you need it.
Live by this absolute truth. 
“There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, penetrates, permeates and fills the interspaces of the universe. 
A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. 
You can form things in your thought, and by impressing your thought upon the formless substance, can cause the thing you think about to be created.”
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude PART 5 of our review of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, we covered:
CHAPTER 1: THE RIGHT TO BE RICH 
“There is nothing wrong with wanting more in life. No man is to be happy with little.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles)
“To unfold the soul and develop talent” we cannot do these things unless you have the money to pay for them.” (Ch 1, SGR, Wattles)
Then we talked about how our desire is “possibility seeking expression” with and through us, and we can look within ourselves to discover what our true desires are that we must express.
My daughter, wanted to train in competitive gymnastics, which requires money “to unfold her soul and develop her talent.”
I know that to unfold my soul, I must spend my leisure time studying, learning, and then sharing what I am learning to help others.
Money is required for both of these examples.
What is YOUR desire that’s seeking expression with and through you?
CHAPTER 2 THERE IS A SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH
There is a Science of getting rich, and it is an exact science, like algebra or arithmetic.” (Chapter 2, SGR, Wattles) and we have discovered that it’s about thinking and acting in a certain way.
Wattles describes that “those who do things in this Certain Way, whether on purpose or accidentally, get rich; while those who do not do things in this Certain Way, no matter how hard they work or how able they are, remain poor.”
My goal with this review of Wattles’ SGR book is to show us that we ALL have the same ability, the ability to “think” and “act” in a certain way, (with prosperity thinking vs poverty thinking) and that once we have learned to think and act this way for ourselves, we can then turn our focus onto others and add tremendous value and abundance to someone else’s life.
CHAPTER 3 IS OPPORTUNITY MONOPOLIZED?
In this chapter, we come to understand that “the resources of the formless supply are at the command of any man or woman who will act and think in a certain way” and that “the Secret to Life” (Ch 3, SGR, Wattles) is available to all of us.
It’s here that we see that there is something that’s seeking expression with and through you, (whatever it is that you desire) and you are not worried that someone else will take your place. Nothing is impossible.
CHAPTER 4: THE FIRST PRINCIPLE OF THE SCIENCE OF GETTING RICH
We covered The First Principle of “thinking and acting in this certain way” on EP 315 in PART 2[xix] of this REVIEW where I challenged everyone to read chapters 4/14/7 for 90 days. When reading Chapter 4, every day, the words will begin to have meaning to you, and your thinking will change, I promise you.
In this chapter, I began to think:
What do I really want?
How am I thinking?
Thinking is difficult!
And slowly, with time, I began to see that nothing is impossible.
CHAPTER 5: INCREASING LIFE
We learned that it’s important to “make the most of yourself, for yourself, and for others; and you can help others more by making the most of yourself than in any other way” and that “we are impelled to know more, be more and do more.” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles.)
We want to get rich in order that you may eat, drink, and be merry when it’s time to do these things, see distant lands, feed your mind and develop your intellect; in order that you may love men and do kind things, and be able to play a good part in helping the world find truth.” (Ch 5, SGR, Wattles).
There is nothing wrong with wanting to develop our mind/body and spirit. In doing so, we uncover whatever it is that’s seeking expression in ourselves, that we want to develop in ourselves. Once we have developed ourselves, we can figure out ways to help others to do the same.
Each chapter in The Science of Getting Rich helps to build our understanding of what it is that we are meant to do in this world, with an unwavering belief that we cannot fail. Once we have done this, we lend our hand to help others.
Remember:
“There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, penetrates, permeates and fills the interspaces of the universe. 
A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. 
You can form things in your thought, and by impressing your thought upon the formless substance, can cause the thing you think about to be created.”
“In order to do this, a person must pass from the competitive to the creative mind. They must form a clear mental picture in their thoughts with the fixed purpose to get what they want, and the unwavering faith that they will get what they want—closing their mind to all that may tend to dim their vision, or quench their faith. “
Can you see how Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich goes hand in hand with Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich and The Silva Method?
How NOTHING is impossible?
How we are the product of our thoughts. What we think, we become?
Next episode, we will cover chapters 6, 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12 that will lead us all to Chapters 13, 15, 16, 17 and the conclusion of this book review.
See you next time.
REFERENCES:
 
[i] Rhonda Byrne 2006 The Secret https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0846789/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #66 with The Legendary Bob Proctor https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
 
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast PART 1 Think and Grow Rich Series https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast PART 1 of The Silva Method  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #314 PART 1 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
[vii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
 
[viii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #316 PART 3 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-3-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-14-the-neuroscience-behind-the-impression-of-increase/
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #297 with Scientist and Activist Dr Wallace J Nichols on “Blue Mind”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-scientist-and-activistdrwallace-jnichols-on-blue-mind-the-surprising-science-that-shows-how-beingnear-inonor-underwatercanmakeyourhappier-h/
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
 
[xi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #314 PART 1 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
 
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #314 PART 1 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
[xiii] Top 17 Best Podcasts in Neuroscience in 2023 https://geniuslabgear.com/blogs/for-scientists/17-best-neuroscience-podcasts
 
[xiv] Top 20 Best SEL Podcasts in 2023 https://podcasts.feedspot.com/social_emotional_learning_podcasts/
 
[xv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #67 “Expanding Our Awareness” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/
 
[xvi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
[xvii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #292 with Brian Proctor on “My Father Knew the Secret”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-proctor-on-my-father-knew-the-secretgrowing-up-with-bob-proctor/
 
[xviii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #294 “Beyond Our 5 Senses”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/
 
[xix] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 

Dmitri Leonov on ”Taopatch: Understanding Nanotechnology for Health and Wellness of The Future”

Are wearable devices the future of health and wellness? Today’s episode we will take our first step towards a NEW technology, called TAOPATCH that’s been making inroads in the health and wellness industry over the years, and this is just the beginning.
Watch this interview here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cEquCWcnx9A 
On today’s episode #318 we speak with the CEO of Taopatch USA, Dimiti Leonov.
We will cover:
✔ What is Taopatch nanotechnology and how can it impact our health and wellness in 2024?
✔ What systems in the body are impacted with Taopatch?
✔ How can wearing Taopatch impact our focus, emotions and even our spiritual side?
✔ What are world-class athletes saying about Taopatch?
✔ What does the most current research say about this nanotechnology?
✔ How can you try Taopatch?
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
On today’s episode #318, we have Dmitri Leonov, the founder of TAOPATCH USA[i].  Taopatch the nanotechnology device using light therapy with acupuncture. When I see a product that’s NEW, nicknamed The Human Upgrade Device, that addresses health and wellness, enhances physical performance, boosts energy levels, relieves pain, while being used by TOP WORLD-CLASS athletes and kept a secret for a competitive advantage, I want to know what it is.
Dmitri reached out to me and offered to share what’s they have discovered with the intersection of technology, wellness and spirituality and how they are combining traditional methods like acupuncture with modern technology like light therapy and nanotechnology. I can’t even tell you how much I’m interested in learning more, especially as I’m personally exploring NEW technologies on this podcast, so when something innovative comes my way, there’s no hesitation to make this interview happen.
Let’s meet the CEO of TAOPATCH USA, Dmitri Leonov, and see if he will reveal the secrets from the athletes he has seen using TAOPATCH as one of their best kept secrets in their careers, and what results they are attaining this this NEW Nanotechnology for health and wellness.
Welcome Dmitri Leonov. Where have we reached you today?
Dmitri, this whole podcast is designed to help all who tune in to find ways to improve ourselves (health, wellness, and even look at our spiritual side) so when I saw TAOPATCH, I knew I had to speak with you. Thanks so much for making this happen!
Before we get to this fascinating health and wellness product, I wonder with your background as an entrepreneur, what drew you towards TAOPATCH with your entrepreneurial past?
Q1: What is TAOPATCH, how does it work, where is it worn on the body, and who is using it for outstanding results?
Q2: What systems in the body are impacted with TAOPATCH?
Q3: How does it impact our emotions, focus and even our spirituality?
Q4: I’ve been using magnet therapy for years, and even some technology that added far infrared tech (Nikken products). I have seen the power from products like these over the years. What would you say is different, better or more advanced about TAOPATCH than magnet therapy that many of us would be aware of? What’s missing if I’m only using magnets?
Q4B: Can you explain what the material that TAOPATCH is made out of (Quantum Dots) and what did the recent Nobel Prize[ii] winners discover with this technology?
Q4C: I know this patch uses light therapy[iii], that on PUBMED has over 9K studies of this technology on our health and wellness. What are some of the benefits that a healthy athlete would notice using TAOPATCH? (vs maybe someone with a neurological disorder like Parkinson’s or MS).
Q5: Let’s talk about pain management and injury recovery. When we first corresponded, I told you I was not a stranger to taping things on my body, especially through this podcast. I’ve got a magnet taped on my shoulder and a new Qicoil Rife machine (using PEMF therapy) that I’ve just started using after I interviewed the founder, David Wong on EP 312.[iv] If I’ve got an area on my body that hurts, (let’s say muscles knots) will it stop the pain and help the injury to heal in or does it just mask the pain?
Q6: I’ve been trying wellness products on this podcast (ranging from the Fisher Wallace Brain stimulator, to the WHOOP wearable fitness tracker, to the Lief HRV device, (that taught me how to breath throughout my day) and most recently the QiCoil Rife Machine), and I use the device and after time, will record the results I’ve attained. I’d like to do something like this with TAOPATCH, since I already have something taped on by neck/upper back to relieve pain. I also am always looking for NEW ways to improve mental focus. I did fill out a questionnaire a few weeks ago, and was recommended I begin with the START PACK and THE EMOTION. What would you say to someone like me who is just starting out to learn more about TAOPATCH? How do we begin?>
Q6B: If I was to get 1 pack (3 patches) how long would this last me? How do you recommend the patches are used?
Q7: What else should we all know about this NEW and ADVANCED health and wellness technology? Is there anything important about the TAOPATCH that I’ve missed?
Dmitri, I want to thank you for your time meeting with me today.
For people to learn more about the TAOPATCH, is the best way to go to your website, see the testimonials, and then purchase directly from your website?
What is the best way to learn more, and follow you?
I will be looking into this for myself, and will record an update once I have tried it for some time.
Thank you!
FINAL THOUGHTS:
There’s always so much more than our eyes can see, or our ears can hear with each guest we interview. After this interview, Dmitri and I chatted about what they are developing NEXT and I’ve got to say, they are on the cutting edge of accessing information to help the world.
While I’m editing this episode, I’m also working on our TOP EPISODES from 2023 that included The Silva Method at the top, and in PART 4 of this series, we quoted Napoleon Hill who said “A genius is a man who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to a point where he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought” The future is here, and this is being done to advance the world forward.
If you want to try Taopatch along with me, go to their website and you can browse through the testimonials, case studies and research. https://taopatch.co/pages/shop-your-taopatch
Be sure to use the CODE: NEUROSCIENCE at check out.
Since I’m currently using the Qualia Mind product for focus, I decided to begin with Taopatch start and see what I notice. Stay tuned for this update.
What I think is interesting is that as we are learning from each episode (together) the knowledge we are gaining is all connected. We just covered the importance of opening up our Heart Chakra with Dr. Joe Dispenza’s meditations, and now, we learn that the Taopatch Start product emits light the green light frequency, which is the color of the heart chakra.
Everything we are learning here is helping us to build a stronger, 2.0 version of ourselves, and knowledge really is power, when it’s put into use.
This is our last episode of Season 10 of the podcast and of 2023. I’ll see you next week as we come back with an overview of the TOP 10 episodes from 2023, as chosen by you, and PART 5 of our review of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich.
Have a safe and Happy New Year, and I’ll see you in 2024 with Season 11 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast.
CONNECT WITH DMITRY LEONOV
Website https://taopatch.co/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/dmitrileonov/?originalSubdomain=de
RESOURCES:
Research https://taopatch.co/pages/research
Djokovic Wins French Open—After Claiming Nanotechnology TaoPatch on his chest Boosts On-Court Performance Article by Siladitya Ray Forbes Magazine Published June 11, 2023 https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/06/11/djokovic-wins-french-open-after-claiming-nanotechnology-taopatch-on-his-chest-boosts-on-court-performance/?sh=31491bf7f7cd
Press Release Nobel Prize in Chemistry Awarded in October 2023 for the development of Quantum Dots  https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2023/press-release/
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] https://taopatch.co/
 
 
[ii] The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences Nobel Prize 2023 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2023/press-release/
 
[iii] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31574513/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #312 with David Wong https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-frequency-expert-david-wong-on-master-your-frequency-and-take-control-of-your-personal-professional-life-and-health/
 

PART 4 Review of The Science of Getting Rich on ”Gratitude: Through the Eyes of Wallace D. Wattles” Chapter 7

“Gratitude is an attitude that hooks us up to our source of supply. And the more grateful you are, the closer you become to your maker, to the architect of the universe, to the spiritual core of your being.” That’s from Bob Proctor, who writes that Chapter 7 on “Gratitude” from The Science of Getting Rich is “a phenomenal lesson.”
Welcome to our review of chapter 7 of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, published in 1910.
On today's episode #317 and PART 4 of our REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich, we will cover:
✔ REVIEW PART 1: Prosperity Thinking vs Poverty Thinking.✔ Why are our thoughts so important for our results?✔ Why are Chapters 4/14/7 important chapters for unlocking the "secrets" for wealth and abundance?✔ Why must we THINK and ACT in a Certain Way to achieve certain results in our life?✔ Why did Wallace D. Wattles see GRATITUDE as an important component for Wealth and Success in 1910?✔ 4 STEPS for practicing Gratitude in our Daily Life.
 
What’s UNIQUE with How to Think and Act in this Certain Way with Gratitude?
What’s new, different and unique about this chapter that unlocks the combination to wealth and abundance within the pages of this book, when we read chapters 4/14 and 7 in this order, for 90 days? It’s within this chapter, on Gratitude, a topic that many of us already know about but I’m going to suggest there’s a much deeper way to look at Gratitude, through the eyes of Wallace D. Wattles.   For today’s episode, I hope to tap us into how Wattles thought about Gratitude so we can see, feel and experience this word, gratitude, in a deeper, and more meaningful way.
We covered this topic already on EP 181 on “The Ingredients of an Effective Gratitude Practice” where we connected the most current brain research to this widely used success principle.  But what we have NOT covered yet, is how on the earth did Wallace D. Wattles think of this practice as important and then tie it to wealth and abundance in 1910? What did he suggest that we have NOT discussed yet on this podcast? What have we missed, that’s REALLY important? This is the question I ask EVERYONE at the end of an interview. I don’t want to leave any stones unturned.
I’m going to suggest that what we have missed will be revealed when we put these three chapters together, bringing out the “secret within the syllabus of this book” where we learn to THINK AND ACT in this “certain way.” From experience, I can tell you if you follow this activity for 90 days, you will witness strange and marvelous things occur in your world, with constant regularity.  You just need to READ and APPLY these 3 chapters, in this order practicing things in this CERTAIN WAY, as Wallace D. Wattles suggests. Then I’m hoping that this review will help you to shorten the time it takes you to experience these AHA moments of learning that took me over 25 years to finally understand and move you quicker towards whatever it is that you want. As I’m writing this episode, I’m STILL uncovering truths that have escaped me previously.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain
This brings us to chapter 7 of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, published in 1910 on “Gratitude.”
When I look in my notebook, the first line I highlighted was line 13 that reads “the whole process of mental adjustment and attunement can be summed up in one word, gratitude.”
Next, I highlighted
There’s a lot more than meets the eye when we read these two important sections of Chapter 7. We could spend the whole episode just talking about this word gratitude, through the eyes of Wallace D. Wattles.
What does he mean by mental adjustment and attunement?
I will explain this in a way I learned it from all the seminars where this point was hammered home. Let’s say we have a problem that’s weighing us down. It could be a work problem, a relationship problem, a financial problem, or anything that’s on our mind and really messing with us.
We all have been here, and we would have the tendency to want to focus on the problem right? Call up our friends and tell them about it, and say “Hey, what do you think about this?” looking for some sort of comradery from our peers.
Wattles would warn us against this and say that “the moment you permit your mind to dwell with dissatisfaction with things as they are, you begin to lose ground. You fix your mind upon the common, the ordinary, the poor, and the squalid and mean; and your mind takes the form of these things.”
Now reading this passage for 90 days, if you read it out loud, you won’t miss this part. When times are difficult, NEVER talk about them, as this gives them more energy and the problems you are having will grow. Wattles says you must get “involved with this process of mental adjustment” (where you learn to SWITCH your thinking from dwelling on what’s going wrong, to focusing everything you’ve got on what’s going right).
I mentioned this in PART 2[i] of this series that I’m fully aware that Wattles would not want me talking about the difficult times in my past when money was tight, as this would be letting my mind focus on the “common, and the poor” and he warns us against “dwelling on the inferior.” (Chapter 7, Gratitude, SGR). It matters what we think about, and if you think that your thoughts do not affect others, think again. Have you ever heard the idea “before you speak, I’ll hear you?” Our thoughts have a tremendous impact on others, especially those closest to us, so keep them positive and work on strategies to overcome negative thinking when you notice these thoughts creeping in. We dove deep into this on EP 273.[ii]
Over time, if you can develop a habit with this, it will make your life much easier. This is learning the process of “mental adjustment” and making it a habit.  Then “attunement” will be to live your life “This Certain Way” where you “attune” yourself to whatever it is that you want. We’ve talked about this concept often on this podcast, where we acknowledge that we are Spiritual Beings, living in a Physical Body, with an Intellect, and everything that exists, is joined together (these levels of vibration) like the colors of the rainbow. Reaching our goals is about “attuning” to the level of vibration or frequency that they sit on.
Wattles mentions these laws starting in Chapter 2 of his book, so he is saying that once we have mentally adjusted our mind (away from what we don’t want, and towards what we do want) that we next need to “attune” ourselves to whatever it is that we want. How do we do this?
With Gratitude
When I ever hear, anyone mention they are grateful for something, it stops me in my tracks. It might sound like a trivial thing to say, but to me, especially after studying this chapter for over 25 years, it’s deeply meaningful.
Dr. Joe Dispenza knows the power of the words “Be grateful for it” as he’s put it in his Courageous Heart Meditation. We know the power of this meditation as he measures his seminar attendees BEFORE and AFTER listening to this, and it has a profound impact on a person’s state of well-being.
Gratitude and Being Grateful for something…is powerful.
Why? Because being grateful connects you directly to your source of supply. The more grateful you are, the closer you become to your maker, to the architect of the universe, to the spiritual core of your being.” (This is the quote we opened up this episode with from Bob Proctor).
Now we are talking.  Real Gratitude can be felt, and I don’t know about you, but I’m drawn to those who have a grateful heart. You just want to be near people like this. So how do we become more grateful?
4 STEPS for Putting Gratitude into Practice
When times are difficult, whatever it might be (your health, your work, your relationship, or finances) the minute you find your mind dwelling on the negatives, and catch yourself from feeling sorry for yourself in some way, STOP right there, and practice these 3 steps.
STEP 1: PRACTICE MENTAL ADJUSTMENT
Think about what you are grateful for.
Put the focus on what’s working in your life, instead of what’s going wrong. This might take some time to get your mind past the negatives, but with time, it will become a habit. This is the “mental adjustment” part.  I created notepads years ago that I would hand out whoever took my workshops so they could write out what they are grateful for on a list. I first saw this idea used in the seminars.[iii] You can also find Gratitude books, like Jack Canfield’s[iv] so you can create this habit and make it a part of your day. ONCE we’ve practiced, MENTAL ADJUSTMENT:
STEP 2: ATTUNE OURSELVES TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD: Here is where we implement Gratitude through the eyes of Wallace D. Wattles. We have already mentally adjusted our mind from thinking away from what we do not want, to what we DO want, and created our list of what we are grateful for. This itself (having a grateful heart) hooks us up to our source of supply. We have not ever mentioned God on this podcast (yet) but this is what I could call my maker, or the architect of the universe that Gratitude connects me to. You might call it something else, but it’s here that we acknowledge there’s something bigger than ourselves. Dr. Andrew Huberman recently said on a podcast with Lex Fridman that he has recently started to use prayer in the morning when “there’s something he cannot resolve on his own.” He acknowledges that “prayer is powerful” and “gets you outside of yourself” and that “there’s something bigger than me, bigger than nature, that I can’t understand or control to give over to it.”[v] (talking about his problems).
Wattles explains it this way when he says “First, you believe there is one Intelligent Substance, from which all things proceed; (what is this substance-call it what you will, I call it God) second, you believe this substance gives you everything you desire; and third, you relate yourself to it by a feeling of deep and profound gratitude.”
I don’t ever want to push my beliefs on others, but there are just some things that we cannot explain. I spend my spare time hiking in the mountains in Arizona, and I can’t put into words what I feel at certain parts of the hiking trail. There is a definite connection to the spiritual world, (that I feel) and I don’t know when I started doing this, but I throw out anything I want solved off the edge of the mountain, and wait to see what answers come to me.” Sounds incredibly strange, (to say this out loud, or maybe not if you do something similar) but when I heard that Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman uses prayer every morning, and then I made the connection that “a grateful heart” connects us to our source of supply, I started to see this practice as more magical than strange. I just cannot explain anything I see, or feel as I’m going outside of myself for answers or solutions, but it all begins with a grateful heart.
I just know that whatever it is that I see and feel, that when I say “thank you” after whatever it is that I’ve asked for, it feels like magic. I hear an imaginary “your welcome” as I know that I’m connected to the world is a way that I’ll never be able to explain with neuroscience.
STEP 3: GUARD OUR THINKING: “Do not permit your mind to dwell on the inferior” (Wattles, Chapter 7, Gratitude) but “surround yourself with the best to become the best.” It matters who you hang out with as the thoughts that you think, the words that you speak, all matter.
STEP 4: EXPECT GOOD THINGS TO HAPPEN
“The grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith. The reaction of gratitude upon one’s own mind produces faith. “It is necessary, then, to cultivate the habit of being grateful for every good thing that comes to you; and give thanks continuously.” (Chapter 7, Wattles, SGR).
 REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude PART 4 of our Deep Dive of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, we covered Chapter 7, on Gratitude.
REMEMBER:
PART 1[vi] of our review, we’ve seen the importance of opening up our minds to prosperity thinking, (that there is more than enough for all of us vs poverty consciousness that there is not enough) and PART 2[vii] we focused on the power of our thoughts, specifically with how to “think and act in this certain way” to achieve the results we are talking about here. We gave examples of two distinct types of thinkers, encouraging all of us to open the keyhole in the door (or kick in the door) and expand of level of awareness in this process. Last week with PART 3[viii] of our review, we explored Chapter 14, on The Impression of Increase, with two suggestions for Acting in this Certain Way with everyone we interact with. Finally, today, on PART 4, we covered Chapter 7 on Gratitude that connected us directly with our source of supply.
We looked at 4 STEPS to practicing Gratitude through the eyes of Wallace D. Wattles:
STEP 1: PRACTICE MENTAL ADJUSTMENT
Think about what you are grateful for.
STEP 2: ATTUNE OURSELVES TO THE SPIRITUAL WORLD: Here is where we implement Gratitude through the eyes of Wallace D. Wattles. I’m starting to see the syllabus in a different way. What is this “thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which, in its original state, permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the universe?” This is definitely something much bigger than myself.
STEP 3: GUARD OUR THINKING: Be careful at the urge to want to talk about our problems with others. “The grateful mind is constantly fixed on the best.” (Chapter 7, Wattles, SGR).
STEP 4: EXPECT GOOD THINGS TO HAPPEN  since “a grateful mind continually expects good things, and expectation becomes faith.” (Chapter 7, Wattles, SGR).
If we were to read these 3 chapters, in this order, for 90 days, and implement these strategies, strange and marvelous things will occur and not only change YOUR life, but those around you.
I challenge you to read these 3 chapters, in this order, for 90 days, and let me know what you notice.
And with that, I’ll close out this episode and wish everyone Happy Holidays, wherever you tune in around the world. We will continue our review of this book in 2024, as well as will have an overview of the TOP 10 episodes from 2023. What surprised me when I looked at the past year (that The Silva Method, PARTS 1-4 were by far the most listened to episodes of the year. This shows me that you the listener, were interested in improving creativity, innovation and intuition, and gives me a roadmap for where to go as we move into Season 11 in 2024.
Happy Holidays!
REFERENCES:
Bob Proctor Fireside Chat on Think and Grow Rich Chapter 7 on Gratitude https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMCavk4icgM
Supercharge your gratitude with Bob Proctor https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcLwhWO1O6k
Gratitude to help you through difficult times with Bob Proctor
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrF6m0hCvQE
Gratitude a Daily Journal by Jack Canfield Published Dec. 4, 2007  https://www.amazon.com/Gratitude-Daily-Journal-Jack-Canfield/dp/0757307108
Gratitude Worksheet https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yrf55yv6q94hzbkyq67l3/PGI-Gratitude-Pad.pdf?rlkey=vfqbq5vykrikjznludkoe6qif&dl=0
 
REFERENCES:
 
 
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #273 on Self-Regulation: Using Neuroscience to Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts, Emotions and Behaviors  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-self-regulation-using-neuroscience-to-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-emotions-and-behaviors/
 
[iii] Gratitude List https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/yrf55yv6q94hzbkyq67l3/PGI-Gratitude-Pad.pdf?rlkey=vfqbq5vykrikjznludkoe6qif&dl=0
 
[iv] Jack Canfield Gratitude: A Daily Journal https://www.amazon.com/Gratitude-Daily-Journal-Jack-Canfield/dp/0757307108
 
[v] Andrew Huberman on Prayer and Faith in God https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivDqfmicrAI
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #314 PART 1 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
[vii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
 
[viii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #316 PART 3 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-3-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-14-the-neuroscience-behind-the-impression-of-increase/
 

PART 3: Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich on ”The Neuroscience Behind The Impression of Increase” Chapter 14

“We don’t have to engage in grand, heroic actions to participate in the process of change. Small acts, when multiplied by millions, can transform the world.” Howard Zinn
On today's episode #316 and PART 3 of our REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich, we will cover:
✔ REVIEW PART 1: Prosperity Thinking vs Poverty Thinking.
✔ Why are our thoughts so important for our results?
✔ Why are Chapters 4/14/7 important chapters for unlocking the "secrets" for wealth and abundance?
✔ Why must we THINK and ACT in a Certain Way to achieve certain results in our life?
✔ What is the Impression of Increase?
✔ What does Neuroscience have to do with this age-old success principle?
✔ 2 TIPS for practicing The Impression of Increase with EVERYONE you interact with.
“Increase is what all men and women are seeking: it is the urge of the Formless Intelligence within them, seeking fuller expression…All human activities are based on this desire for increase; people are seeking more food, more clothes, better shelter, more luxury, more beauty, more knowledge, more pleasure—increase in something, more in life.” Wallace D. Wattles, The Science of Getting Rich
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
Which brings us to chapter 14 of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, published in 1910 on “The Impression of Increase.” This is one of my favorite chapters, and one I know that my mentor Bob Proctor LOVED practicing The Impression of Increase. Brian Proctor talked about this on our recent interview EP 292[i] this past summer.  Brian covers this topic beautifully in his book, My Father Knew the Secret, in the 2nd last chapter on “Supporting Others.”
Bob Proctor would practice this principal from Chapter 14 and say to “leave everyone you meet with The Impression of Increase” and I remember when I first began to study this chapter, I wrote in BIG LETTERS at the top of the page to “take the focus off yourself and put it on other people.” Then I circled in the notes section “go out and LOOK for an opportunity to help others.”
Now this seems simple enough, right? We talked about the importance of understanding how Giver’s Gain in PART 1[ii] of this study.
While I can easily go off on tangents while writing these reviews, I want to stick to how Wallace D. Wattles wrote about this concept FIRST, and then add in ways that I’ve seen others implements this idea.
Wattles opens up Chapter 14 by saying “whether you change your vocation or not, you must direct your present actions to the business you are presently engaged” and he goes on to say that “you can get into the business you want by making constructive use of the business you are already established in—by doing your work in this certain way.”
The next few lines I highlighted. He says “And, in so far as your business consists in dealing with other people—whether directly, by telephone, or by letter (yes, this book was written in 1910!), the key thoughts to all your efforts must be to convey to their minds the impression of increase.” (Chapter 14, Wattles, SGR).
Remember there is an order to “unlocking the combination for success and wealth” in this book, and that’s to read Chapters 4/14 and 7 in this order for 90 days. I’m hoping to complete our review of these 3 chapters before the holidays here in the US, and will return in the New Year, adding in the final chapters of this book.  If you’ve listened to PART 1[iii] of our review, you’ve seen the importance of opening up our minds to prosperity thinking, (that there is more than enough for all of us vs poverty consciousness that there is not enough) and PART 2[iv] we focused on the power of our thoughts, specifically with how to “think and act in this certain way” to achieve the results we are talking about here. We gave examples of two distinct types of thinkers, encouraging all of us to open the keyhole in the door (or kick in the door) and expand of level of awareness in this process. Today, in PART 3 of our review, we will explore Chapter 14, on The Impression of Increase, and PART 4, will cover Chapter 7 on Gratitude. If we ONLY read these 3 chapters for 90 days, I can guarantee you would see incredible change in your daily life. Doing things in this certain way will not only change your day to day life, but will put all of us ALL in the right mindset for an incredible 2024. In the New Year, we will add in the final chapters to bring the complete meaning of this book to life.
PUTTING THE IMPRESSION OF INCREASE INTO ACTION:
So how do we take this concept and put it into action in our daily lives? It’s all about taking the focus off ourselves, and directing it towards others. Since all people seek this increase, if we become someone who inherently gives this to others, we will become in demand.
Wattles tells us to “Convey the impression of advancement with everything you do, so that all people will receive the impression that you are an advancing person and that you advance all who deal with you. Also, give people who you meet socially the thought of increase.”
What if we are completely unhappy with where we are currently (our work or our lives in some way) and it’s REALLY difficult to look outside of ourselves and put the focus onto others?
Wattles says this is the key to this chapter when he opens Chapter 14 up by saying “whether you change your vocation or not, you must direct your present actions to the business you are presently engaged.” The opening to Chapter 14 has helped me through many difficult work and life challenges. It’s always easy when you are unhappy with something to think that somewhere else will be better, (it’s possible it might be, since we all seek increase so don’t ignore that feeling of wanting more in life) but to get to this increase, we’ve got to work very hard in our current situation to convey this impression of increase and this begins with having this mental attitude, or living The Impression of Increase.
“Do everything that we do with with the firm conviction that you are an advancing personality, and that you are giving advancement to everybody.” (Wattles, Chapter 14, SGR).
Do your daily work in this CERTAIN way, giving The Impression of Increase to others with everything that you do.
Don’t give up with what you are doing (even if you are tempted to) but find the energy to give and do more in your line of work, and watch what happens.
If you are a student, study with everything that you’ve got. Study your mind first, then look to see who else you can assist.
If you are an athlete, train to perfect your skills. Train your body first, then look to your teammates to see how you can assist them.
If you are in sales, work hard to sell more. Fill your own pipeline first, then look to see who else needs your help.
Build your own skills first, and I’ve got to tie in what Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman would say on this topic to tie in the science here. He would encourage us to face “the initial stage of hard work that involves agitation, stress and confusion”[v] in the beginning of reaching for a new goal. Ask anyone who has started from the beginning, this is exactly what they must go through to hit their targets. Think of an athlete here who must do the hard training day in and day out, to hit their goals. During this process, be sure that you are “willing to set your goals a bit above what you believe at this time, that you can accomplish” (Dr. Huberman). 
Then take the focus off of yourself, and see who else you can help around you.  That’s Living the Impression of Increase, starting with yourself first, and then helping others to do the same.
 
IMPRESSION OF INCREASE ACTIVITY: RAISING UP OTHERS AND CHANGING THE WORLD IN THE PROCESS:
Remember that it takes just small actions to make a huge impact in the world. We don’t need to give large gifts, (you can but it’s not the size of the deed that matters).
TRY THIS ACTIVITY: Write down the names of 3 people you know who could use your help in some way, and reach out to them for a brainstorming session to see who you know that could help them with where they are going.
Ask them: What do you need? How can I help you?
Then think of who you know that can help them to get what they need.
With every person we interact with think about how we can assist them in some way. How can we put The Impression of Increase into action?
OTHER IDEAS: I learned these from working with Bob Proctor for 6 years. He undeniably practiced this concept with EVERY PERSON he interacted with, and after watching him to do over the years, and reading this book, I noticed that I do make an effort to live The Impression of Increase.
Here’s 2 TIPS to keep at the forefront of your mind in every interaction you have with someone to put The Impression of Increase into practice.
Give others genuine compliments and point out their accomplishments and efforts. You have to mean this, it can’t be false compliments or it will be obvious that you are not being sincere. You must REALLY want to see someone advance, believe and know that they can, and when you tell them what you see, it will encourage them want to strive for more. This is helping others to realize the impression of increase in themselves. Bob Proctor did this with me on EP 66 in our interview. He congratulated me on putting these principles to work in my life, pointing out how far I had come using them. He was right, he watched me go from being a teacher in Toronto, to cleaning houses in the United States, to living the life I pretty much drew out on paper in the late 90s 25 years later through many twists and turns. But you know, when he said that, I didn’t really believe him, as I was far off from where I wanted to be at the time he said that. I remember thinking, ahh Bob, you have no idea, the work I’m trying to do in the schools isn’t where I want it to be, (this was in 2020 just before the grant funding would end for the work I was doing in schools for social and emotional learning) but I just smiled and said “thank you.”  It took me some time to create PRAXIS with this idea, where I integrated my beliefs with my behavior, and I finally saw what he saw. It took me a few years AFTER he said that for me to believe what he saw, when I thought of how this podcast was able to carry the message for SEL into our schools, reaching more people that I could on my own. It’s all a process, but I never did forget that he saw more in me than I saw in myself first.
Think of how we can help others with what we know with our resources: Remember how something small you can do can make a huge impact for someone else. Resources doesn’t always mean something we can buy. Offering someone your time, or lending your hand in some way can change the world if you practice this over and over again. At the end of our interview together, Proctor offered something to me that had a tremendous impact for me with this podcast. He offered to send our interview out to ALL of his listeners around the world through his database. I knew at the moment he said that that I would expand my reach with our message, with Proctor’s help. I knew how many countries his message was already reaching, and with his help, so would mine. That’s the impression of increase.
Wattles would suggest to master this concept first, before going on to CHAPTER 12 on “Getting into the Right Business” which we will cover in the New Year. Mastering Chapters 4/14 and 7 are the keys to the combination lock of this book.
Why Does the Impression of Increase Work According to Neuroscience?
This is another age-old success principle that I’ve wondered about over the years. Why does this concept of “Doing Things in this Certain Way” bring results time and time again?
I had to look and see what Dr. Andrew Huberman says about this concept. Why would praising someone’s effort help to motivate them at the brain level? It all goes back to understanding the Dopamine System in the brain and what it really means.
Remember when I said that when Proctor first praised me for all the hard work and effort I’ve done over the years, I didn’t feel it. I said “thank you” but in my mind I was far off from the vision of where I wanted to be, so I almost felt like an imposter, saying “thank you” for something I had not really done. While I had a vision for making sure SEL went into all the schools in the World, it wasn’t my program that made it. But I was involved in this process with this podcast that many educators told me they listen to.
BELIEF is a process. One day, I looked back, and saw what Proctor saw. I mentioned this with a poem by Stewart Edward White who explains how AHA Moments of Learning can change us, in PART 1 of this series.
He wrote:
“Curious how we acquire wisdom!Over and over again, the same truthis thrust under our very noses.
(someone points out to you something you’ve accomplished-offering a compliment)
We encounter it in action; we are admonished of it;we read it in the written word.We suffer the experience;we gradually assent to the advice;
(and we say thank you, but we don’t REALLY see it)
we approve, intellectually, the written word. But nothing happens inside us.
(I felt like an imposter-Proctor’s got the wrong person. I’ll just smile and say thank you because he clearly thinks I’ve actually done something special here).
Then, one day, some trivial experienceor word or encounter stops us short. A gleam of illumination penetrates thedepth of our consciousness.We see! Usually it is but a glimpse;but on rare occasions a brilliant flashreveals truth fully formed.
(Like when I saw that it didn’t need to be my work that went into the schools, (the larger publishers did this heavy lifting) but as long as I was a part of the momentum of SEL[vi] and NS[vii] through this podcast, which sits at the top for those interested in learning more about SEL and Neuroscience, this was enough for me).
And we marvel that this understanding has escaped us so long.” I’m not sure why it took me so long to see this.
Do you know what I mean? Have you ever heard something you knew was important, (someone give you the impression of increase with a compliment) but it just didn’t click?” (The same truth is thrust under our very noses)…until “one day some trivial experience or word or encounter stops us short.” Why do we see something NEW in the words we’ve heard over and over again, and weren’t ready to hear them?  What is it that makes us “finally see…a brilliant flash…revealing truth fully formed?” What is this concept? Why does this happen? 
KEEP GOING WITH YOUR OWN INTERNAL SELF-REWARD SYSTEM:
It happens at the brain level, and has to do with our BELIEF first, and when the belief is there, and we can lean into what we are doing, we will “pass through the gate and get to the focus component.”[viii] (Dr. Andrew Huberman). Dr. Huberman reminds us that “Dopamine doesn’t just hit when we get a lot of likes on social media…the reward system is entirely internal. Dopamine comes from within” and “if we can reward the effort process” (create our own internal self-reward system where we acknowledge the hard work we’ve done to get to where we want to be) and think “I’m on the right path” and we “reward the effort process and feel joy” we will put ourselves on the right path to being more focused and productive with an “infinite amount of energy to pursue those goals.” (Dr. Huberman).
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude PART 3 of our Deep Dive of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, we covered Chapter 14, on The Impression of Increase.
REMEMBER:
I shared 2 tips for practicing The Impression of Increase with everyone we come into contact with:
Give others genuine compliments and point out their accomplishments and efforts.
Think of how we can help others with what we know with our resources.
If we can put this practice into our daily lives, and think of ways to help others, advancing others forward, this will help us to advance ourselves, in the process.
We tied in what happens at the brain level when someone compliments us on our hard work, and that belief in ourselves must be present in order for us to take this compliment to propel us forward, with our own dopamine system that’s released when “we achieve certain milestones, or believe we are on the right path, boosting our focus and attention.” (Dr. Huberman). We can also tie the idea of belief in ourselves back to our 6 PART[ix] Review of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book where we opened up with a quote from Grant Cardone who reminds us:
“In order to get to the next level of whatever we’re doing, we must think and act in a wildly different way than we previously have been. We cannot get to the next phase of a project without a grander mind-set, more acceleration, and extra horsepower.” Grant Cardone, author of the 10X Rule: The Only Difference Between Success and Failure[x]
If we can FIRST learn a self-reward system with ourselves, or some sort of internal system that helps us to keep moving forward, with whatever it is we are doing or working on, this kickstarts our brain chemistry (dopamine) to work for us, and keep us going.
Then, we can encourage others to do the same, with this Impression of Increase Concept, and genuinely lift others up. With belief, each person you touch in this way, will move faster and with more energy towards their goals.
Imagine a world where EVERYONE supported each other in this way.
That’s the power of reading The Science of Getting Rich, for 90 days, starting with chapter 4 (where we are careful what we think, speak about and pray about), moving onto chapter 14 on The Impression of Increase that we have covered today, making sure we are an advancing person, with belief in what we are doing, encouraging this in every person we interact with, and ending with Chapter 7 on Gratitude that we will cover next week.
I’ll be away from the internet this holiday season, so we will be back in The New Year with the conclusion of this review of Wattles D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich.
Wishing all our listeners a Healthy, Prosperous and Safe New Year. I’ll see you next week for PART 4 of this series.
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #292 with Brian Proctor  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-proctor-on-my-father-knew-the-secretgrowing-up-with-bob-proctor/
 
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #314 PART 1 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-1-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-prosperity-consciousness/
 
[iii] IBID
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #315 PART 2 REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/part-2-review-of-wallace-d-wattles-the-science-of-getting-rich-on-chapter-4-thinking-and-acting-in-a-certain-way/
 
[v] Achieving Goals with Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ae6DsJIz5xE
 
[vi] Top Social and Emotional Learning Podcasts in 2023 https://podcasts.feedspot.com/social_emotional_learning_podcasts/
 
[vii] Top Neuroscience Podcasts to Follow in 2023 https://podcasts.feedspot.com/neuroscience_podcasts/
 
[viii] How Rich People Think https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Ae6DsJIz5xE
 
[ix]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Think and Grow Rich Book Review PART 1/6 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
[x] Grant Cardone, The 10XRule https://www.amazon.com/10X-Rule-Difference-Between-Success/dp/0470627603
 

PART 2: Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich on ”Thinking and Acting in a Certain Way” Chapter 4

“A man’s mind may be likened to a garden, which may be intelligently cultivated or allowed to run wild: but whether cultivated or neglected, it must, and will, bring forth. If no useful seeds are put into it, then an abundance of useless weed-seeds will fall therein, and will continue to produce their kind. Just as a gardener cultivates his plot, keeping it free from weeds, and growing flowers and fruits which he requires, so may a man tend the garden of his mind, weeding out all the wrong, useless, and impure thoughts, and cultivating toward perfection the flowers and fruits of right, useful and pure thoughts. By pursuing this process, a man sooner or later discovers that he is the master-gardener of his soul, the director of his life.” (James Allen, As a Man Thinketh, 1902).[i]
On today's episode #315 and PART 2 of our REVIEW of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich, we will cover:
✔ REVIEW PART 1: Prosperity Thinking vs Poverty Thinking.
✔ Why are our thoughts so important for our results?
✔ Why are Chapters 4/14/7 important chapters for unlocking the "secrets" for wealth and abundance?
✔ Why must we THINK and ACT in a Certain Way to achieve certain results in our life?
✔ A look at 2 types of thinking with famous examples. 
✔ 3 STEPS for changing our Money Mindset.
Which brings us to chapter 4 of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, published in 1910.
“A man is but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.” Mahatma Ghandi (an Indian lawyer who inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world).
Bringing us to PART 2 of our Deep Dive into Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
On today’s episode #315 we launch into a Deep Dive of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich starting with Chapters 4/14/7.  If you look at the image in the show notes, you will see a TABBED and very well-read Science of Getting Rich book. This was the book I sent to Paranormal Researcher, Ryan O’Neill from Scotland, UK over 10 years ago, instructing him to read this book, starting with Chapters 4/14/7[ii] for 90 days. He sent me this image of his book, all these years later, well-read and marked up, and his results (that we cover on our interview with Ryan on EP #203[iii]) are a byproduct of him doing things in this certain way, beginning with Chapter 4, The First Principle in the Science of Getting Rich that we will cover today. Next, we’ll move onto chapter 14 on The Impression of Increase that is by far my favorite chapter in this book.  I love watching this principle in action in others, and then learning to practice this myself has been something that I think has given me some depth with my character over the years. We’ll move back to Chapter 7 on Gratitude, that ties all these chapters together, before reviewing the other chapters of this book, and coming up with some action steps for implementing these timeless principles in our own lives.
If you want a guide, I’ll link a YouTube audio version of these SPECIAL chapters 4/14/7) in the show notes for you and if you look in the comment section, someone knew the power of these chapters in this order revealing their awareness when they wrote “thanks for the combination to the safe.” It’s these three chapters that Bob Proctor would have EVERYONE study, in this order, and we would even form mastermind groups AFTER each seminar had concluded to ensure we read the book this way.  
I’m still in contact with the two others I was assigned to meet with (back in 1999) and we would meet once a week, for 90 days, and read the chapters in this order. Chapters 4, 14 and 7. This practice bound us together for life. Whoever commented that this was “the combination to the safe” got it right. With deep understanding, we read these chapters, word for word, together, once a week, and then discussed how we were implementing the ideas into our life, or not. I remember I was in my late 20s, and I would read this book before the sun had come up, with the others in my group, (over the telephone) and this practice didn’t just set me up for that year, but it set me up to Think and Act in this Certain Way, for the rest of my life.
When I cover a book on the podcast, taking a Deep Dive like this, I’m doing so because I watched the contents of these book we cover change my own results, and hundreds of others around me, over the years. If you look at the Table of Contents FIRST. There are 17 simple and short chapters in this book that are all about breaking through the mental barriers of success, and that moving from the competitive mind, to the creative mind is integral to our success. How do we do this? We spent the whole Introduction (PART 1) explaining that we must first learn the principles for ourselves, and THEN we extend our hand out to help others. This is the whole idea of this book. It’s a simple formula for success, that begins when we “think and act in this certain way.”
What is that certain way? This is what we will be diving into with our study of each chapter.
Chapter 4: The First Principle in the Science of Getting Rich.
Remember this book is all about the syllabus, and how important our thinking is (because there is this thinking stuff from which all things are made…that’s everywhere and a thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought.”
This chapter is about the importance of how we think. If we are going to “think and act” in a certain way, at the most fundamental level, it matters how and what we think about.   
This chapter opens up with line 1 saying “thought is the only power that can produce tangible riches from the formless substance.”  We opened up this episode with James Allen’s take on this, where he said by thinking in this certain way, we become “the master-gardener of our soul, the director of our life.”
Therefore, THE FIRST PRINCIPLE in The Science of Getting Rich is that we must “think” in this certain way.
What is this certain way, you ask?
I’ve been thinking about this since I first heard this idea in 1999. I wanted to say “oh yeah, I think in this certain way” and let the high paying positions come to me! But this isn’t how it happened for me. It seemed like this principle took me the longest time to actually implement. Knowing and Doing…are poles apart.
Here’s some clear examples:
Person 1:  Drives by a car dealership (I’m going to use this example because it was the first example I heard in 1999). This person looks at the cars on the lot and thinks “oh wow, I love that red car and I’d love to buy it” and they drive off, and start thinking of how they are going to save up to buy this red car they’ve just seen. They might create a plan, and come back and visit the lot, and sit in the car, and maybe even test drive the car. Got it? We see how PERSON 1 thinks.
Person 2: Drives by the car dealership and stops, takes out a notepad, and writes down some numbers. What’s he writing you ask? He’s taking note of how many cars fit on that specific lot, because he’s thinking “how can I buy this lot?” He writes down 50 cars, and he’s thinking about other ideas like, is there another lot nearby that I could buy if I eventually outgrow this lot? They write down some other things like “how much money can I also make from advertising” since there is a sign out front, and then they write down a number guessing at the cost of the land.
WHAT TYPE OF THINKER ARE YOU?
Can you see two distinct ways to think? How would YOU think if you drove past a car dealership today?  Are you PERSON 1 or PERSON 2? I know without a shadow of a doubt that I’m PERSON 1 and to get the details for PERSON 2, I had to ask someone who thinks in this way.
Let me put some faces to two different types of thinkers who we’ve mentioned before on this podcast.
DID YOU KNOW THAT: Walt Disney (who is kind of like Person 2 in our car dealership example) took his good friend Art Linkletter[iv] (a Canadian born radio and television personality) who surely had vision but his vision was different than Art’s). Walt took Art to an open field near Orange County, California and pointed to the land and then told Linkletter of his vision for building a park for children. I talked about this with Dr. John Medina all the way back on EP #42[v] and I asked Dr. Medina about this and oddly enough, Dr. Medina said that he has a large poster of Walt Disney hanging up in his office. It was from a time when there was only one theme park (Disneyland which came first in Anaheim, CA in 1955). Disney World near Orlando hadn’t been built yet (it opened in 1971) and it was a photo of a big swamp with Cinderella’s Castle in the background. You see Walt Disney with an entrepreneurial grin, and the caption on the poster says “It’s kinda fun, to do the impossible.”
How Do You Change Your Way of Thinking?
Isn’t this the point of why we all listen to podcasts in the first place? We are looking for new ideas or ways of thinking. Something to give us a different result, when we do something in a different way. This is how we change our PARADIGMS and it takes time. This doesn’t happen overnight.
We also were not taught “how to think in this certain way” in school. We have to learn to live from “inside” our minds first, and I can tell you that I’ve been working on this way of thinking for over 25 years, and the more I learn, the more I realize I know so very little. It’s a lifetime process, and involves dedication, time, effort and hard work.
This is one of the main reasons why I host this podcast. Each week, as I release something that you the listener downloads, it also helps me and those close to me, since I’m getting a refresher as I’m writing each episode, and thinking of ways that we can ALL put what we are learning into practice.
This is also why I chose the 6 Social and Emotional Learning Competencies to focus on for this podcast. 
It appears that Self-Awareness is the key to making any change in our lives. We’ve got to first of all “know thyself” before we can “change thyself.”
SELF-AWARENESS and THE 7 LEVELS OF AWARENESS
We covered this concept in depth in Sept. 2022 when we first started our review of our past episodes with the goal of building a stronger 2.0 version of ourselves. On EP #247 we dove deep into our interview with Greg Link, who intentionally created a legacy by reading a book a week.  Since “95% of the decisions we make take place in the subconscious mind” (Deane Alban) it’s crucial for our future results that we keep tending to the “garden of our mind” with continual study. This practice will keep us moving up the 7 Level of Awareness. We all begin at the same level, but it’s our ability to “think” that moves us up these 7 Levels, away from following what everyone else is doing (STEP 2), to aspiration (STEP 3) where we “think” we are doing something (we aspire to  BE/DO or HAVE more in our lives) but we must keep moving forward for REAL change to occur. At STEP 4 we step out and take action on idea (we actually DO something), which brings us to STEP 5 since we will need to apply DISCIPLINE to stay in the game. Over time, STEP 6 we gain experience, that eventually leads us to STEP 7 Mastery.
Going through these 7 Levels of Awareness requires that we THINK and ACT in a certain way, which is what Chapter 4 of The Science of Getting Rich is all about.
If you look at the graphic of these 7 Levels of Awareness, it was in Chapter 4 that Bob Proctor would cover these. At the very top of this worksheet is the quote “to look on the appearance of poverty will produce corresponding forms in your own mind.” (Wallace D. Wattles).
THINKING TRUTH REGARDLESS OF APPEARANCES
So to THINK and ACT in a CERTAIN way, requires that we “THINK truth regardless of appearances.” (page 58, Ch 4, Science of Getting Rich) Wallace Wattles tells us in this chapter. I could talk about this concept for weeks, because I have honestly been thinking about this since 1999.
We all have the ability to “think” we have already concluded, but some people “think” differently, or in a certain way, leading them to different results.
I told you that I was not always someone who had prosperity thinking. How could I when I was raised to be careful with money, since it was scarce, and had to stretch far. Thinking there is enough (or even abundance) was a complete stretch for me, but over time, and many years, my paradigms about money have changed.
HOW DO WE CHANGE OUR PROGRAMMING FROM POVERTY CONSCIOUSNESS TO PROSPERITY?
The key is in this chapter. We need to be able to “think truth” (that there is an abundance of what we need) “regardless of appearances” (or what we can see with our eyes). I remember reading this passage thousands of times in our study, in those early days, because this one took us all, a very long time to grasp.
My bank account is empty but you mean I should think there’s money in it?
There’s no food in the fridge but you mean I should think food will come?
They come when you learn to THINK AND ACT in this certain way. This isn’t easy. I know and I remember.
I remember when I first moved to the US (and I’m fully aware that we are not supposed to dwell on difficult times according to this book, but I will need to mention where I came from for you, the listener to understand). I came with an empty bank account, but a vision for what I would be doing. Of course the vision for what I wanted to do would take time, and we ALL start out in the same place which is LEVEL 1 on the 7 LEVELS of AWARENESS.
I remember running out of gas as my car was going up a hill, and I had to pray the car would start again as the road evened out so I could get to a gas station and fill up the car. I also remember that I had $20 in my bank account to spend on gas, so the idea of “thinking truth” that there was enough money to cover what I need was a far stretch. But I did it, because I had no other option.
I thought “truth regardless of appearance” and slowly, over time learned to THINK AND ACT in this certain way.
In those early days I worked as a nanny at local resorts in Arizona, and I remember walking around beautiful resorts would help my ability to “think” in this certain way. You can’t just “think” and not take action, so I worked hard, and looking back now, I had plenty of food in my fridge (always-it helped to shop at Costco where I could buy certain things in bulk), and was able to pay ALL of my bills. I used to line up the largest ones first in order on my desk, and when I had earned enough money to pay them, I moved onto the smaller, easier ones.
Eventually life became easier, as I worked Chapter 13, Getting into the Right Business, but I did it all one step at a time, and followed these principles, believing that if I were to THINK AND ACT in this certain way (which we know is prosperity thinking, that there would always be enough) and this required me to “think truth regardless of appearances” since I didn’t have money in my bank account at that time, but I’m sure we can all remember lean times like I’m talking about. We all experience them. I just want to show you how I turned it all around in my life, and it was a process, that occurred with time, but maybe if you are where I was right now, it might help you to think and act in a different way, to shorten the amount of time that you are here. The focus of this entire book is to expand our awareness, and open up the keyhole (or kick in the door) to reveal new possibilities on the other side.
PUTTING CHAPTER 4 INTO ACTION:
So how do we change our thinking and learn to “think truth (that there’s abundance) regardless of appearances (when there is not)?
I can only say that this chapter takes time. There is no way that anyone would have been able to convince me that my empty bank account would one day have plenty of money in it, (when I was down to my last $16 that would fill up my car with gas to get me home), or that I would have been able to see that paying my monthly bills (from working as a nanny) would be possible until I found a better way. I wouldn’t have believed it unless I had actually lived it.
Now, it’s important for me to share this knowledge, so that others can do the same. I learned from being a parent that this skill must be taught, and there is a fine line here as we do not want to raise our children to be pretentious, immodest or assuming in life. We want our children to be outward focused, humble, modest and polite.
It took me years to change my mindset (from poverty consciousness-that there is not enough to cover what I need to prosperity (that I have enough) expanding my level of awareness in this process.
So How Do We Change Our Money Mindset?
The late Doug Wead, presidential advisor, said it best when he said “We are not limited by money, but rather by the poverty of our own dreams.” Open up our minds to abundant thinking versus poverty. Here’s how I took the FIRST Principle in The Science of Getting Rich, and began to teach this to my own children.
The first time I heard one of my girls talking about money in terms of “what if we don’t have enough” I knew it was time to put some focus on the timeless principles in this book.
Here’s what I would suggest to expand anyone’s level of awareness around money.
STEP 1: Know money looks and feels like. When you can’t see or feel money, like when I only had $20 left in my bank account, it’s hard to imagine there being an abundance of it. This is something I notice happens EVERY TIME I play Monopoly. This game is really about prosperity thinking and putting it in action. No one wants to play this game with me because I win this game every time.
We must learn to Think and Act in a Certain way in REAL life, as well as in board games. It’s really the same idea.  This again takes time and practice. None of these steps are going to quickly change your money mindset. Play Monopoly like you would play “your life” and watch what happens. You’ll have more money than you know what to do with, and then you can share your wealth with others. In the beginning of the game, we all start out with the same amount of money, but the decisions we make throughout the game will determine who is able to earn more, and eventually wins the game, as they create an abundance. At the beginning of a Monopoly game, I’ve trained myself “to think truth regardless of appearances” I can “see” a vision of all the property I will buy (Park Place and Boardwalk will win the game for you) by earning you the rent from everyone who lands on the spaces you will buy and own.
This concept became much more interesting when money became available in cryptocurrency, showing us that money can exist outside of physical bills or coins. We can NOW pay for things electronically, quickly sending money to people and vendors via systems like Zell, or PayPal. What we “think” of money in 2023 is much different than 50 years ago, but the concept is the same. It’s an exchange for service rendered, and once you know what it looks like (whether it’s physical bills, or a number in an account) it’s much easier to be able to see it in your possession.
STEP 2: Know how to earn money.  I love the quote “never stand begging for that which you have the power to earn” by Miguel de Cervantes.  When times were difficult in my 20s, I figured out how to earn the money I needed to live the life I wanted, from cleaning houses and working as a nanny. Using this experience, I now instill the idea of “working” for money with our children by giving them money for things they can do to help around the house, or with their skills and talents. If they can help me to solve a computer issue, or something technology based (where their level of thinking far surpasses mine) I will pay them for their knowledge. This teaches our next generation that when you take the time to study and learn something new, you can earn money for your knowledge. This job in the real world is called Being a Consultant, and can earn someone money in addition to whatever job they choose to spend their days doing. This is where the concept of earning income from multiple sources comes in, that we will cover in more depth in Chapter 6 How Riches Come to You.
This concept that money circulates helps anyone to see how they can work for it, and rightfully have it.
STEP 3: Know how to THINK TRUTH regardless of APPEARANCES. Remember that “every man has the natural and inherent power to think what he wants to think, but it requires far more effort to do so than it does to think the thoughts which are suggested by appearances.”
I don’t know WHEN this principle switched in my head, and I began living it, but I do remember it being “laborious” and it required “the expenditure of more power than any other work” (Wattles, Chapter 4) than I’ve ever had to perform. To think according to appearances is easy.  My bank account has $20 left, my fridge is empty, or I have no sales in my pipeline. It’s easy to look at these things and think this is the way it’s going to be. OR, we can implement this first timeless principle and create something else (first of all on the screen of your mind) and then second with action that you will take.
Stop for a minute and look around. The clothes you are wearing were created in someone’s mind FIRST, before they created the pattern and manufactured them.
The car you are driving came first into the mind of Henry Ford, or if you are driving a Tesla, the mind of Elon Musk.
Once you’ve learned to do this, you can relate to Walt Disney’s entrepreneurial grin, as you begin to turn the impossible, into reality.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To review and conclude PART 2 of our Deep Dive of Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich, we covered Chapter 4, and the first principle of learning to think and act in a certain way, and that’s with prosperity thinking versus poverty thinking.
Since “thought is the only power that can produce tangible riches from the formless substance” it matters what we think about.
We looked at the importance of being able to Think Truth, regardless of appearance, even if this is the hardest work in the world. I gave the example of being able to think beyond what money I had in my bank account, and this concept can also be practiced with our health. Not at all to say we “think ” ourselves to health, but if we can learn to think and see ourselves as healthy, it’s the first step towards using our mind (instead of the outside world) to create and shape our results.
As we covered in PART 1 of our review, the message within the pages of The Science of Getting Rich is NOT to obtain money for ourselves, but to spend “money in meaningful ways—especially when it’s used to benefit others” (Chapter 1 Neurowisdom, Waldman and Manning) and this is known to increase our satisfaction in life.
As we are going through these chapters, my goal is to show us not how we can be good little go-getters, but how we use these principles to help ourselves first, and then, how to use them to benefit others.
This is the true meaning behind The Science of Getting Rich and we will go deeper into taking the focus off ourselves on our next episode with Chapter 14, The Impression of Increase.
Until then, I hope that you review how to change your money mindset, to improve your thinking first, and then help others you interact with.
STEP 1: Know money looks and feels like. It’s a different world in 2023 now that we have BitCoin and Cryptocurrency, but for this step, I like to grab a stack of bills (real or fake) and just know what it “feels like” to hold what I would consider to be “a lot” of money. The more I have practiced this concept, the easier it is for me to expand my thinking of what’s a lot of money to me. In my late 20s, when I was running out of gas, $20 was a lot of money. With experience, my number has changed, but this is the key, to always be opening up the doorway and expanding where our thinking currently sits. Whatever you think is “a lot of money” see how it feels to put that amount in your wallet. Carry it around for a while. Before you know it, your amount will change, and you’ll have expanded your thinking around money.  I saw an incredible example of this on Instagram with Grant Cardone who was teaching his children this concept with a game where he blind-folded his kids who were fishing for hundred dollar bills in a money-mindset game. I know that whatever money was “raised” with this game went to charity, but I know it also would have changed the money mindset of those kids. They will never look at a $100 bill the same way after seeing many of them on the table. There was plenty of them, and enough for all of them to gather them up, and give back to others.
IMAGE CREDIT: Grant Cardone on Instagram 
STEP 2: Know how to earn money. We will cover this one in more depth throughout this book study, but once we can see that money is an exchange for services rendered, we can open up to what services we can provide to help other people, that they would pay for. I remember paying a young high school kid (who was 17 at the time) how to code my first website. It was faster for me to work with him after school than it would have been for me to learn how to do this on my own, and this young man earned plenty of money with his knowledge and talents.
STEP 3: Know how to THINK TRUTH regardless of APPEARANCES.  This is the hardest part of implementing this chapter, especially if you are where I was when my car ran out of gas. I had to go home, go to sleep and think “tomorrow is a new day” and that tomorrow I had the ability to create something new, something that only existed on the screen of my mind.
And when tomorrow came, I always found work that I could do, that filled my bank account back up, (one check at a time) and kept me going. I remember at this specific time I was working as a nanny at a local resort in Arizona, and this was the BEST place for me to work on improving my money consciousness. I would walk around the resort, and see abundance everywhere. I would think “one day, I will have my own family and I’ll bring them to a resort like this, and I’ll relax in the lawn chairs and think of ways I can give back to others once I’ve done it myself.” This didn’t happen right away. I had to master how to THINK TRUTH regardless of APPEARANCES first, and then had to get to work on what we will cover next week, The Impression of Increase.
The Science of Getting Rich is a process. It is scientific and mathematical. It matters what we THINK about.
With that thought, I’ll close out PART 2 of our Deep Dive of Chapter 4 of The Science of Getting Rich, and will see you next week, with Chapter 14 on The Impression of Increase.
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] As a Man Thinketh, by James Allen, 1902 https://www.amazon.com/As-Man-Thinketh-James-Allen/dp/1503055361
 
[ii] The Science of Getting Rich Chapters 4/14/7 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EPBdjiFBrJg
 
[iii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #203 with Paranormal Researcher Ryan O’Neill https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
 
[iv] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Art_Linkletter
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #42 with Dr. John Medina https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-john-medina-on-implementing-brain-rules-in-the-schools-and-workplaces-of-the-future/
 

PART 1 Review of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich on ”Prosperity Consciousness” Introduction

“A person’s right to life means his right to have the free and unrestricted use of all the things which may be necessary to his fullest mental, spiritual and physical unfolding —in other words, his right to be rich.”Wallace D. Wattles
On today's episode #314 we will cover:
✔ The hidden meaning behind Wallace D. Wattles' The Science of Getting Rich
✔ What is Prosperity Consciousness vs Poverty Consciousness, and how do YOU think?
✔ Why do Giver's Gain?
✔ How Can We Best Prepare to Learn the Timeless Principles in this book that was published in 1910?
 
 “Wait a minute, are you telling me that we are going to cover the importance of developing a prosperity mindset on this podcast?” you ask? How is this related to neuroscience?
I’m going to say “yes, we are” and I’ll tie the importance of this to science with Mark Waldman and Chris Manning’s Book Neurowisdom: The New Brain Science of Money, Happiness and Success[i] that focuses on helping people create more “wealth” in their lives.  This book opens up in Chapter 1 by asking us to choose if we would pick happiness or wealth, and they said that 90% of the people they surveyed over the past decade actually picked happiness over wealth (Chapter 1, Neurowisdom) but the book goes on to explain that the newest economic research disagrees with this. They found that it’s really the other way around. “Wealth predicts happiness, and the more you make, the happier you actually become.” (Chapter 1, Neurowisdom).
This is not the main reason why I finally decided to cover Wallace D. Wattles’ The Science of Getting Rich on this podcast, but if the research says that “our wealth predicts our happiness” I thought that there is never a better time than now, to cover the seminar I sold in the late 1990s, that transformed my thinking from poverty consciousness, to prosperity. Now this didn’t happen overnight, or immediately. I’m going to share my journey over the past 25 years, along with all of the notes I took studying while this book, watching my own paradigms change slowly, and then watching how other people around me would use what they were learning for improved results in their life.  Here’s the important part that I don’t want any of us to miss. Once we have learned to successfully use the principles we will be studying in this book ourselves, we can then take the focus off ourselves, and look for ways to give back to others. You will see that there are many messages within the pages of this book, and this one, is what I think to be THE MOST IMPORTANT.
I’m hoping that studying these timeless principles in this manner will help you the listener to connect either to my way of thinking, (someone who was raised with one parent who might have instilled poverty consciousness in your mind-or said things to you like “money doesn’t grow on trees” over the years, or those people I’ll use as examples who grasped prosperity thinking with ease, so that you can take the principles and fine-tune your own way of thinking, and acting, to achieve the results I know are possible for all of us. Once we have applied them in our own life, it will be time to look outside of ourselves and give back.
The Shortest Summary of The Science of Getting Rich
What’s the message behind the Deep Dive we are going to take into Wallace D. Wattle’s classic book on thinking, the book that describes how each of us shapes the events around us, creating much of the positive riches in our own lives? The book that Rhonda Byrne, creator of The Secret, said she stumbled across and has "never been the same?"  The book that was behind one of the seminars I sold in the late 1990s when I worked in the motivational speaking industry with Bob Proctor from EP #66[ii]. I did see an article written by John Rogers[iii] that summarized the book and he got it right. 
He said “Here’s the shortest summary of The Science of Getting Rich you’ll ever read: Think and act creatively to add value to others.” I would agree, but might change it a bit to say that this book we will be covering this month is all about how to “think and act creatively in your life first, and then look outwards, and see how you can help others.”
It all begins with understanding the syllabus that echoes throughout ALL the chapters in the book about how getting rich is the result of doing things in a certain way.
If you look at the scroll in the show notes, of this important syllabus, this was handed out in every seminar Bob Proctor conducted of The Science of Getting Rich and I mentioned it when we covered PART 3[iv] of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work. Until this year, I would say that I had no idea what the syllabus meant.  While I read it over and over again, from 1999 to this year, 2023, I couldn’t explain it to anyone, until I understood the Quantum World connecting Dr. Dispenza’s work and Dr. Dan Siegel’s, to the “thinking space” that Wallace Wattles describes.
Isn’t it amazing how we acquire wisdom? I can easily look at the syllabus now and connect it to the Quantum World (where all possibility exists), where time and space collapses and you can literally BECOME your dream. But it took me some time to gain this understanding. Stewart Edward White explains how AHA Moments of Learning can change us, in his poem where he shares:
“Curious how we acquire wisdom!Over and over again, the same truthis thrust under our very noses.We encounter it in action; we are admonished of it;we read it in the written word.We suffer the experience;we gradually assent to the advice;we approve, intellectually, the written word.But nothing happens inside us.Then, one day, some trivial experienceor word or encounter stops us short.A gleam of illumination penetrates thedepth of our consciousness.We see! Usually it is but a glimpse;but on rare occasions a brilliant flashreveals truth fully formed.And we marvel that this understandinghas escaped us so long.”
Do you know what I mean? Have you ever heard something you knew was important, but it just didn’t click? (The same truth is thrust under our very noses)…until “one day some trivial experience or word or encounter stops us short.” You’ve got to know what I’m talking about here. Why do we see something NEW in the words we’ve heard over and over again, and weren’t ready to hear them?  What is it that makes us “finally see…a brilliant flash…revealing truth fully formed?” What is this concept? Why does this happen? Have you ever heard “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear?” Just be OPEN as we cover this book. You might hear something you’ve heard over and over again in the past, but you’ve missed its significance somehow. Something that can CHANGE your entire world, and then those around you, once you’ve grasped and implemented it.
I’m going to suggest it’s the understanding of this syllabus that holds the “secret” to implementing the principles outlined in The Science of Getting Rich. If we can understand this syllabus, enough that we can LIVE IT in our daily life, then strange and marvelous things will begin to occur in our lives, with constant regularity. It will only be when we are LIVING these words, or “doing things in a certain way” that we will know we’ve got the meaning of this book. And what’s crazy to me is that the meaning of this book has taken me 25 years to understand. I’m hoping that my AHA Moment will help YOU, where ever you are in the world, to “think” and “act” in this certain way, that Wallace D. Wattles wrote about in 1910.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
On today’s episode #314 we launch into a Deep Dive on Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich. This book was first published in 1910, and while you will notice some examples will date the book (like in Chapter 6 Wattles picks something he thinks we might all want in our lives) when he says “If you really want a sewing machine..” as an example. While I’m sure there is someone out there listening, who would LOVE a sewing machine, if this example from 1910 doesn’t resonate with you, then just pick something else that does to go in its place.
You can also scan The Table of Contents and pick out some other places his book is not with the times.  Chapter 15 is called “The Advancing Man” and can be changed by thinking of this chapter as “The Advancing Person” to show that in modern times, men and women are equally advancing in their fields of work.
While some of the examples Wattles picks will date the book to 1910, the main principles he writes about are timeless. What’s interesting to me is that The Science of Getting Rich preceded similar success books such like Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill (1937) that we covered in January of 2022[v]. In the 100 years since its publication, The Science of Getting Rich has gone through many editions, and remains in print from more than one publisher.
For today’s deep dive, I’m not going to cover the book chapter by chapter. You can pick up the book and read it yourself, or you can listen to the entire book on YouTube. I’ll connect these tools in the resource section. You can even buy the audio program of the seminar I used to sell, which is Bob Proctor’s[vi] version of the book, through his company’s website.
Or you can Google the book and find the audio online, or some other people’s versions and summaries of what the book is about. All of these ideas will get you the main concepts of this book, but for this deep dive, I’m going to cover the book the way Bob Proctor suggested we read it because it matters “how” we read The Science of Getting Rich for the principles to jump out at us in a way that we will NOT miss them.
I don’t want the ideas in these pages to escape you, as they have tremendous power. Not just for you, but for everyone YOU connect with in your future once you have begun to implement these ideas, and you are operating in “this certain way.”
Today I’m not going to just read through the chapters, but I’ll share the notes, insights and Aha moments I learned from selling this seminar (the first one was Denver in June 1999) with ideas, thoughts and suggestions to implement the timeless concepts in this book, into ALL OUR daily lives, so that these Success Principles can have the most impact on you and those you’ll interact with in your lifetime.
Let’s Begin Our Journey into the Pages of Wallace D. Wattles: The Science of Getting Rich.
I want to begin with the title…because the title alone could deter some of you who might think I’m going to cover a book that’s about creating wealth so that we can go out and buy more things that will make us happy. This isn’t at all what the book is about, nor what Wattles intended, but without an explanation, I’m sure many people would bypass this book and miss his intention.
Let’s Go Back to Denver, CO June 5th, 1999
This was the FIRST time I ever took this seminar, and thinking back, it was just 2 months after the Columbine Tragedy that shook our schools in the US to the core. I remember at this time I had just left the classroom, and wanted to find ways to help our next generation of students to “think” and “create” so after I had helped the attendees find their seats, I joined a table, opened up the pages the notebook that I’d carry with me 25 years later, and I began to study this “little green book” called The Science of Getting Rich.
What’s Your Money Mindset? Prosperity or Poverty?
I remember before we even got to chapter 1 of the book, or any of the words Wallace Wattles wrote about, we spent the WHOLE first evening on our Money Mindset, making sure we knew the difference between a Prosperity Consciousness, versus Poverty Consciousness.  If you go to Amazon and type “prosperity consciousness” into the search field, you will see book after book written on the importance of having a money mindset.
Now remember that many of our beliefs, biases and prejudices lie underneath the water in the iceberg analogy, so you might “think” you’ve got a prosperity consciousness, but deep down, under the water there, you’ve got someone else’s programming (like a well-meaning parent who told you hey, money doesn’t grow on trees) and it’s going to take you some time to change these paradigms before you’ll be able to see the results I’m promising are possible with this book.
It’s here we would cover the power of understanding our paradigms with Joel Barker’s famous quote. “To ignore the power of paradigms is to put yourself at risk when exploring the future. Your future will look much the same as the past until you understand the power of your paradigms and what it takes to change them.”
Sitting at the table at my FIRST SGR Seminar, in 1999, I knew I had a lot of work to do with my programming and thinking. The most money I had ever earned was my teaching salary, that was great money for someone in their early 20s just starting out, but here I began speaking and networking with others who had begun to put these principles into practice.
I met people from all over the world at this seminar, from all different walks of life, and I could tell that we were all at different levels of thinking when it came to our prosperity mindset. I met truck drivers, teachers like me, business owners, inventors, writers, athletes and even some well-known celebrities, and everyone I met spoke about how they had over time, learned to create multiple sources of income with their work. We will cover this more in depth later, but I started to notice my paradigms around earning money, and saw them changing with each person I met.  I talked about some of the lessons I learned from others during these seminars on EP67.[vii]
Once you have thought hard about your own money mindset, you will either resonate with me (someone who knew in those early days that I didn’t have a prosperity mindset) or you’ll connect more to others I’ll speak about who very clearly did.  We are ALL at different places, but just recognize where you are, BEFORE we read the chapters of this book.
WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT?
Easily put, it’s because Giver’s Gain. Our goal in life is to not be good little “go-getters” but see how we can go out and “give” back to others. We can’t give to others if we have nothing to give, so learning these principles for ourselves is the FIRST step towards being about to provide more for others in your life.  I remember one of the first events I attended where we were to meet as many people in the room, and we were to ask everyone we met first “how can I help YOU” before even once thinking about what I needed for myself. It was a powerful concept that Dr. Ivan Misner[viii] talks about in his book Infinite Giving.
I wonder, do you have a limit to what you would give someone else? Where is your money mindset when it comes to what you would give freely and openly to someone else? I’m sure we have all been conditioned by now to buy a coffee for someone in line behind you, and might even dish out $20 or $30 to give back to someone else. But would you give someone something really big, like a car? Now I’m not talking to Oprah here, as I’m sure we have all heard that she often gives away big presents to people. What about someone regular, like you and me? Or someone who’s not a celebrity as we’ve already determined that two people can have completely different levels of thinking here.
WOULD YOU GIVE SOMEONE A CAR?
Just think about this for a minute. There’s someone I know who owns a lot of cars. It’s just his thing. He has always loved cars. He loves buying them, fixing them, and just seems to have an eye for this type of thing. One day I said to him “why do you need so many cars? Would you ever consider giving one away to your good friend who I know would love one of these cars?” He didn’t say no, but looked at me with a strange look. Almost like he heard me, but didn’t know what to say. We talked about it for a bit and he said he would keep his eye open for something his friend might like. I know it sounds strange, hey, would you give someone you know a car? But I asked the question, and that was all I needed to do.
 A few months later, he came to me and said “hey, I entered a raffle, and the Grand Prize was a black Camaro Sports car.” I looked at him, and said “Don’t you already have a Camaro (in red)?” and he said “yes, it’s so weird, I won the exact same car I already own in black” and he showed me a photo of the car, and explained this wasn’t a scam, but he had won this car, with a cash value of $90,000. Then he said “When I entered the raffle, I said a prayer that if I won the car, I would give one of my cars that I don’t need to my good friend” (the one I had said would LOVE to have one of his cars). So he won the car, and was telling me that he was going to find a way to deliver one of his cars to his friend on Thanksgiving Day as a surprise.
He picked a black IROC car that had meaning to his friend, and here’s a photo of his friend with his new car over Thanksgiving weekend.
When you learn to “think and act” in a certain way, strange and marvelous things will occur in your life, with constant regularity. This is just one example of someone who implemented the principles of The Science of Getting Rich and was able to give back to someone else immediately.
Reminding us that:
“God’s gift to you is more talent and ability than you will ever use in one lifetime. Your gift to God is to develop and utilize as much of that talent and ability as you can, in this lifetime.   Steve Bow”
Whether you believe in God or not, I’m going to share the principles Wallace D. Wattles teaches in his book, The Science of Getting Rich to show all of us that there is tremendous value in the pages of this book, and on our next episode, we will dive into Chapters 4, 14 and 7 (in that order) as we begin to implement the concepts in this classic book of “thinking” and “acting” in a certain way, that has the potential to change your life and those around you.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude Part 1 of Wallace D. Wattles The Science of Getting Rich, we have not even opened the pages of the book yet.
We have started with a thorough review of our mindset. Do we have a prosperity consciousness where we could conceive of giving something (like a car) to someone else, or do we live in a world of lack and limitation where we couldn’t possibility see how to do this?
My goal with this review of Wattles’ SGR book is to show us that we ALL have the same ability, the ability to “think” and “act” in a certain way, and that once we have learned to think and act this way for ourselves, we can then turn our focus onto others and add tremendous value and abundance to someone else’s life.
This is what I think is the SECRET message held within the pages of this book, and I look forward to unravelling more secrets to “thinking” and “acting” in this certain way as we make our way through this book.
REMEMBER: “There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which is its original state, permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imagined by the thought. A person can form things in their thought, and by impressing their thoughts upon the formless substance, can cause the thing they think about to be created.” There was no accident that person won a car, after praying about it, with the goal of giving a gift to his friend. This happened exactly as Wattles describes it would in this book.
Remember: Be careful what you think about, speak about, and pray about.  Your thoughts hold more power than you might think.
I’ll see you next week for PART 2 of this series.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
RESOURCES:
YouTube Version of The Science of Getting Rich Audiobook https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VBGQERyTPWk
The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles https://www.amazon.com/Science-Getting-Rich-Wallace-Wattles/dp/1490471766
REFERENCES:
[i]Neurowisdom: The New Brain Science of Money, Happiness and Success by Mark Robert Waldman and Chris Manning Published Jan.17, 2017 https://www.amazon.com/NeuroWisdom-Brain-Science-Happiness-Success/dp/1682303055
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #66 with Bob Proctor  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
 
[iii] https://wealthcreationmastermind.com/blog/summary-the-science-of-getting-rich/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #310 PART 3 of our Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Work  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind-part-3-review-of-dr-joe-dispenza-s-work/
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 Think and Grow Rich DEEP DIVE  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
[vi] https://www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com/programs/science-of-getting-rich
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE 67 “Expanding our Awareness with a Deep Dive into Bob Proctor’s Most Powerful Seminars”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/
 
[viii] https://ivanmisner.com/tag/givers-gain/
 

”Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” PART 4 Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Work

“As the acceptance of expanded human potential gains mainstream momentum, the question has shifted from “What is possible in our lives?” to “How do we do it? How do we awaken our extraordinary potential in everyday life?” Welcome to PART 4 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work.
Review of Chapter 4 of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural on The Blessing of the Energy Centers that requires us to now implement everything that we’ve learned in his book.
✔ The Power of Our Energy and Understanding Frequency.
✔ Using Our Mind to Imagine Our Energy and Thoughts
✔ Using our Focus and Concentration to Create Stronger More Powerful Thoughts
✔ How Energy Flows in Our Body: A Look at the 8 Chakras in Our Body
✔ Why We Want to Move Our Energy to the Top 4 Chakras in Our Body to CREATE NEW Ideas in Our Life.
✔ 5 Steps for Putting Dr. Dispenza’s Blessing of the Energy Centers Meditation into Practice.
Today we will continue our exploration of how exactly we live up to the full potential we all have within us, or like the name of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon.
Today as we cover PART 4 of this exploration we will identify clear strategies to awaken the extraordinary potential in each of us, and these will be evidence-based strategies, that are backed by science.  We will do this by looking at CH 4 of Becoming Supernatural, a book that is the first-of-its-kind manual that does precisely this: it leads us on a step-by-step journey to achieving our greatest potential in body, health, relationships, and our life purpose and allows us to make that journey at our own pace. Today we will cover Chapter 4 of this book, called “Blessing of the Energy Centers” we will learn exactly HOW to use this powerful energy that we all have, to CREATE something new in our life, or to direct this energy towards healing our body, or tap into increased creativity using our intuitive factors. Today, we bring all PARTS of our study together, and make it all applicable. We will also connect the science to this practice, and places on past podcast episodes where we can strengthen our understanding of these concepts that are difficult to apply, since we were not taught about how to manage our energy in school, nor were we taught about how to harness the power of a meditation practice for healing our body, or creating new results.
But we will cover these fascinating topics on today’s episode.
I did want to mention how I love hearing from people from all over the world, with their experience of studying Dr. Dispenza’s work. For many who’ve been on this journey for years, this is just a review, and reminder of different ways we can all continue to build on the knowledge we’ve learned over the years. Even Dr. Dispenza himself has mentioned the immense learning that took place for him over the years, which is a good reminder for all of us that we are all on a journey, in this thing called life, and it takes time to unlock our greatest potential.
It Takes Time. Awareness. And Practice.
I do hope that our review today helps us to ALL unlock more of the mysteries within the unseen world, as we learn to put these concepts into practice into our daily lives. I’m sure we will return to this series in the future, but this is where we will start our journey today.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
For those tuning into this episode, and you’ve not listened to PART 1 EP 306[i] yet, PART 2 EP 310[ii]  or PART 3 EP 311[iii] I do encourage you to begin there. You will learn the background of where I first learned about Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, and see how he fits into what we’ve been covering on the podcast the past 10 seasons.
For today’s episode #313 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” and PART 4 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work we will look at Chapter 4 of Becoming Supernatural, called “The Blessing of the Energy Centers” where we will now see how to put ALL of what we’ve learned into practice.
Understanding the Power of Our Energy
Understanding Frequency: What We Can See, And What We Cannot See
The first part of understanding and using the potential that we each have within us, is with understanding Electromagnetic Frequencies, since we are all made of “either light and information” (Ch 4 Becoming Supernatural) or “energy and consciousness.” (Ch4 Becoming Supernatural).
This was what our whole episode #312 with David Wong[iv] was about. He taught us of the importance of keeping our energy or frequency high at all times, with some ideas on how to raise our frequency and “tap into” higher levels for improved health, wealth and success.
When we think of the unlimited power or potential that each of us holds within us, it’s helpful to think of The Light Spectrum of Electromagnetic Frequencies that shows that there are some things (or frequencies) we can see, like visible light, and but others that we cannot see (like x-rays or even radio waves).
This diagram clearly shows that “there’s a sea of invisible frequencies” (Ch 4, Becoming Supernatural) that all carry “encoded information.”
Just because we cannot see a certain frequency, it doesn’t mean it isn’t there. We ALL have access to this unlimited potential, or sea of possibility that we’ve talked about throughout this series that we know science has proven is there. Our body is made up of light/information and energy/consciousness and we are all conscious beings with a body that sends/receives frequencies just like a radio. Just like how we tune into a certain radio station and hear our favorite songs on that station. When we want to listen to different music, we change the station and tap into a different frequency.
What Radio Station Are YOU Projecting Out to the World?
We’ve talked about this before on the podcast, that it’s important what we think and feel, because others can tap into our energy or frequency. You’ll agree with me that some people project positive energy or vibes, while others, it’s just the opposite.
Remember that “ALL frequencies carry information.”
(Ch 3, Becoming Supernatural).
Using Our Mind to Image Our Energy
As our energy increases (or the frequency speeds up) the wavelength decreases (look how the waves are closer together at the left of the diagram).
As our energy decreases (or frequency slows down) the wavelength increases or the waves get longer and longer, at the right of the diagram.
What does this mean? Think about it…lots of energy, lots of shorter waves, less energy, less and longer waves. This makes sense to me as we build momentum while working, our energy increases, and so do the waves we create. We can get into a rhythm where our energy carries us forward (whether we are physically tired or not) because we’ve built momentum with our energy versus when our energy slows down, it takes more time to build momentum.
How to Use Our Mind to Increase the Amplitude of The Frequency of Our Thoughts
I first attempted to explain this in my first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed (2008, Samadi, Page 75) on the Lessons on the Mind. You can see the image I drew in this book in the show notes. If I had my powerful strong thoughts on the left side, and the weaker, slower thoughts on the right side, it would match identically with Dr. Dispenza’s diagram in Chapter 4 of his book on Electromagnetic Frequencies.
What I wanted to show with this diagram, was that we can use the power of our mind, or our will, to increase the amplitude of each frequency to increases the power of our thoughts.
What does this mean? Just put some effort into our thinking, (which is hard work to actually think a focused thought) but with practice, we can change weak thoughts, and turn them into more powerful and effective thoughts.
IMAGE SOURCE: The Secret for Teens Revealed by Andrea Samadi (Page 75).
I heard this quote the other day, which brings this image and idea to life. Henry Ford says that “Thinking is hard work. That’s why there are so few people doing it.” This rings true to me, especially writing this series on Dr. Dispenza’s work. I had to THINK hard while reading each chapter, and then take what I was learning, and see HOW exactly does this apply to our life. Thinking is hard work, and exhausting. This 4-part series spans over a 3-month period for exactly this reason, and we are only taking a shallow dive with this. When we are really using our mind to THINK new thoughts, it will take a lot of our energy to do this. Be sure that while you are applying the ideas in this 4-part series that you are getting plenty of rest while consolidating these ideas.
Let’s go back to understanding frequencies. I think by now you’ll agree with me that we’ve painted a clear picture of different kinds of frequencies that exist in the world, and how we can tune into different frequencies just like tuning into different radio stations, with the suggestion to make our thoughts more powerful by using our will to concentrate, and increase the amplitude of thoughts.
How Do We Learn To “Tune” Into Different Frequencies?
This is where Dr. Dispenza launches us into the world of his meditations. We don’t need to use his, we have mentioned many different meditations that you can use, and I’m sure that you will have your favorite. I wouldn’t have even known about Dr. Dispenza’s meditations[v] if that person hadn’t have commented on our episode for raising our HRV levels, letting me know about Dr. Dispenza’s Courageous Heart Meditation.
Dr. Dispenza actually has a meditation called Blessing the Energy Centers[vi] that helps us to put this chapter into practice and there are 5 of them, starting with Level 1, and progressing through to Level 5. Before I explain what we will learn to do with this meditation, I’ve got to say that I loved to see how he mentioned this specific meditation will help us to improve our Convergent (narrow) and Divergent (going from narrow to more broad) Focus.
Convergent and Divergent Thinking Revisited
We dove deep into these two types of thinking on our 4th PART of The Silva Method.[vii] We covered this final part of creating something CREATIVE and INNOVATIVE by going back and forth between two types of thinking:
Divergent Thinking: Where we take a known object in the world, and expand upon this idea, the more ideas the better, wandering through your ideas that you already know (from your memory bank) with the hopes that the connections you make reveals something new.
Convergent Thinking: That’s the opposite of divergent thinking, but it’s where we use focus and persistence to narrow in on an idea helping us to make sense of it in the real world.
We used Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research in PART 4 of The Silva Method. If you want to dive deeper into Dr. Andrew Huberman’s thorough explanation of Creativity and the Brain[viii], he takes things much deeper than we cover. He doesn’t miss anything and even goes on to show us the parts of the brain that light up when we are involved in divergent vs convergent thinking, and the 2 types of meditation that are proven to improve each of these ways of thinking. He says that “open monitored meditation” (like just closing your eyes and paying attention to your thoughts without judgement) is well documented to improve our divergent thinking capability, and focused attention meditation (like staring at a flame of light) or Dr. Dispenza’s Blessing of the Energy Centers that we are covering today is another way to improve our convergent thinking capabilities.
Dr. Dispenza explains that his Blessing of the Energy Center Meditation, that takes us through each of our energy centers (or chakras) helps us to strengthen our divergent thinking ability (narrow focus) as we put our attention on each of the chakras in our body. Then we strengthen our convergent thinking ability when we take our focus off something narrow (our chakras) and expand our thinking into the Quantum World from something to no-thing which we know is a sea of possibility for us all to access, tapping into unlimited potential, creativity and innovation.
How Does Energy Flow in the Body?
We heard it from Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, from EP #307[ix] that in order to create balance in our body, he suggests that we learn how to balance our chakras.
Dr. Dispenza explains in Chapter 4 of Becoming Supernatural that we have 8 chakras, and the first 3 (root, sacral and solar plexus) are the energy centers we use when we are in survival mode. The goal of his Blessing of the Energy Center Meditation is to learn how to open up each chakra, creating balance in our body, and open ourselves up to new ideas, and creativity as we move through all of our chakras, to the last one above our head.
He reminds us to “not get stuck in the first 3 energy centers” (Ch 4, Becoming Supernatural) which reminded me of the famous and most misunderstand chapter from Napoleon Hill’s famous Think and Grow Rich book, that was about The Transmutation of Sex Energy[x]. If you read this chapter, and wondered “how do we transmute our energy from a lower form to a higher” this chapter explains it. As we work on opening each chakra, moving past the first 3, and up to opening the heart, we will begin to feel more gratitude, and move into creative thinking, tapping into our subconscious mind. We will now be creating a coherent heart and brain, aligning our chakras, and NOW…the magic happens.
This is the power behind Dr. Dispenza’s Blessing of the Heart Meditations and this understanding can help us to apply this powerful technique of “blessing our energy center” opening up our heart and tapping into our subconscious mind to CREATE new ideas or opportunities in our future with this meditation (if we choose it) or another one that you might know of, that also allows you to open up your chakras.
PUTTING THIS MEDITATION INTO PRACTICE:
STEP 1: LISTEN to Dr. Dispenza’s Blessing of the Energy Center[xi] and see how he takes us through each of the chakras.
STEP 2: Notice when you are using Convergent (narrow focus) vs Divergent (opening your focus to the world) during this practice.
STEP 3: Start your own meditation practice Blessing YOUR energy centers and see what you notice.
STEP 4: Notice when you are stuck in the first 3 energy centers in survival mode. Work on moving to the heart chakra, opening up to more love and gratitude, which will take you towards more creativity and innovation in your daily life. While I know I’m not the best artist, I think you’ll get the idea from the image I attempted to sketch out in the show notes. Our goal is to balance all 8 of our chakras, that will keep our energy field strong. If you see the image I drew on the right, this person is only operating from their first 3 chakras, and their energy field is diminished. When we are operating in survival mode it is very difficult to think, create and innovate.
STEP 5: Write down any new insights that you gain from this practice. Over time you will be tapping into your subconscious mind where you will have access to the Quantum World we have been studying in the first 3 PARTS of this book study. This is where we will go to create something NEW and exciting in our future, with the power of our own mind. We will become Supernatural, and prove that common people, can truly do the uncommon.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude episode #313 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” and PART 4 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, we covered Chapter 4 of his book, with 5 TIPS for putting the Blessing of the Energy Centers into practice.
This is our final look at Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book where you will see now why it’s a shallow dive, not a deep one. This is just the beginning, and requires work from all of us to see the results from doing things a certain way.
Just a reminder, in this 4 PART SERIES we covered
PART 1:
✔ Chapter 1: Opening the Door to the Supernatural with some thoughts for you to put this chapter into practice in your daily life.
Do you know what you REALLY want?
Have you made a committed DECISION towards your goals?
Have you let go of what others think of you, and surrendered to doing what it takes to achieve your goals?
✔ Chapter 2: The Present Moment, with some thoughts for you to put this chapter into practice in your daily life.
Are you aware of the energy that you broadcast out into the world? (If not, have you asked others for feedback on how you show up in the workplace or family life?)
Are you doing everything possible to move the needle towards your goals (or whatever it is that you are working on)?
Have you made space for unknown events to occur in your life to move you forward?
 
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea hand drew the image from Chapter 2 Becoming Supernatural
While researching this book, we reached out to Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, for our insightful interview #307[xii] where we learned that we are “light beings, spiritual beings” and his advice to us was to be sure we find a way to balance the chakras in our body. His work with his GDV Technology that took Kirlian photography to new weights reminded me of what’s possible when we believe in ourselves, and use our mind to think creatively and then take action on the ideas that we create in our minds. There isn’t ANYTHING that we cannot accomplish. Or like the name of Dr. Dispenza’s book, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People Are Doing the Uncommon.
PART 2:
✔ 3 Important Concepts in Dr. Joe Dispenza's book, Becoming Supernatural that have the ability to change OUR life, when implemented.
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 1:  Accessing the Present Moment
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 2:  Mental Rehearsal: Priming Your Brain and Body for a New Future
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 3:  Elevated Emotion
✔ What science has to say about these timeless success principles?
✔ Strategies to IMPLEMENT these principles into our daily life for improved results.
✔ How to use our emotions FOR us, rather than AGAINST us.
✔ Why we must continue to learn more about WHO WE ARE for improved results
✔ How METACOGNITION (and our awareness of how we think, act and feel) creates AHA Moments of Learning in our daily life. 
PART 3:
Review Chapter 3 of Dr. Joe Dispenza's book, Becoming Supernatural on Accessing The Quantum World for improved results in our personal, professional life, or with our health and wellness. 
STEP 1: DROPPING INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT: OPENING THE DOORWAY TO THE QUANTUM WORLD
STEP 2: SETTING A CLEAR INTENTION OF WHAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE
STEP 3: HOW TO CHANGE YOUR ENERGY
STEP 4: UNCOVERING WHAT YOU LEARN in THE QUANTUM WORLD
STEP 5: RECORDING WHAT HAPPENS AND KEEP WORKING
PART 4:
Review of Chapter 4 of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural on The Blessing of the Energy Centers that requires us to now implement everything that we’ve learned in his book.
✔ The Power of Our Energy and Understanding Frequency.
✔ Using Our Mind to Imagine Our Energy and Thoughts
✔ Using our Focus and Concentration to Create Stronger More Powerful Thoughts
✔ How Energy Flows in Our Body: A Look at the 8 Chakras in Our Body
✔ Why We Want to Move Our Energy to the Top 4 Chakras in Our Body to CREATE NEW Ideas in Our Life.
✔ 5 Steps for Putting Dr. Dispenza’s Blessing of the Energy Centers Meditation into Practice.
Now the work begins. Like I said when we first started this review, this is a shallow dive. The work begins now as we work on ourselves daily to keep our chakras aligned and balanced, and finding ways that we can move our energy from the lower parts of our body, up to our heart, throat, head and beyond, where we can tap into creative and innovative forces of energy to help us with whatever it is we are working on. Our health. Our Personal Lives. Our Professional Lives. Our Wealth.
I hope you can see how to awaken our extraordinary potential in our everyday life and that you can see how you can become Supernatural, and achieve things that are not commonly seen.
And with that, I’ll close out this episode. For those in the US celebrating Thanksgiving, Happy Thanksgiving and for the rest of our listeners, sending love and gratitude to you all for tuning in each week.
We’ll see you when we return in December.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Blessing the Energy Meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzBTu7R3TSU&t=11s
 
 REFERENCES:
 
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #306 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with Power of Our Mind” PART 1  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #310 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with Power of Our Mind” PART 2   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind-part-2-review-of-dr-joe-dispenza-s-work/
 
[iii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #310 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with Power of Our Mind” PART 3  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind-part-3-review-of-dr-joe-dispenza-s-work/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE 312 with David Wong https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-frequency-expert-david-wong-on-master-your-frequency-and-take-control-of-your-personal-professional-life-and-health/
 
[v] https://drjoedispenza.com/shop/categories?shopSection=Meditations
 
[vi] https://drjoedispenza.com/shop/categories?shopSection=All%20Products&q=blessing%20
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 4 of The Silva Method on “Improving Creativity and Innovation in Our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
[viii] Dr. Andrew Huberman, “The Science of Creativity: How to Enhance Creative Innovation.”   https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-of-creativity-and-how-to-enhance-creative-innovation/
 
[ix] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 of Our Review of Think and Grow Rich “Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
 
[xi] Blessing of the Energy Center Meditation by Dr. Joe Dispenza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzBTu7R3TSU&t=11s
 
[xii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
 

The Frequency Expert, David Wong on ”Master Your Frequency and Take Control of Your Personal, Professional Life and Health”.

"The practice of Qigong combines concentration, meditation, visualization, movement, and biofeedback to command the flow of Qi and direct it where it needs to go to enable the best form of balance and harmony. This balance can be achieved in various forms: cognitive, physical, spiritual, moral, medical, and more." David Wong, The Frequency Expert, from Life of Qi: The Science of Life Force, Qi Gong, and Frequency Healing Technology for Health, and Longevity.
Watch this interview on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/bHBkVEmUiQ0
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
On today's episode #312 with David Wong we will cover:
✔  The importance of keeping our energy/frequency high at all times, especially while interacting with others in our personal and professional lives.
✔ What led David Wong to create the Qi Coil Technology to help raise a person's frequency, and improve their life?
✔ What are some other ways we can raise our frequency?
✔ Is there really a frequency for health, wealth and success? How can we "tap into it?"
✔ Where to learn more about David Wong's work, and his vision to raise the frequency of the world.
For today’s episode #312 we will be meeting with David Wong[i], also known as "The Qi Master" is a world-renowned Qi (Chee) Energy and Life Force expert. He is a best-selling author, visionary inventor, inspirational speaker, martial artist, qi gong practitioner and entrepreneur. He founded Qi Life, a company that develops cutting-edge technologies for personal wellness.
His passion for helping others unlock their human potential through ancient wisdom and modern science was ignited after he successfully self-healed from an incurable digestive disease he had for 10 years by using frequency and energy devices.
We are meeting David Wong just at the right time on our podcast. We have just taken a shallow dive into Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, that’s focused on the importance of maintaining balance with our energy, understanding that can access a Quantum World where anything is possible (healing our body, or improving our personal and professional life).
David reached out to me via social media a few months ago, and I knew he was someone I needed to interview. I hadn’t read his book yet, or spent the time researching what he has accomplished in the field to help others unlock their highest potential. I just knew. We found a date and time that seemed far off in the future, and now we are here.
Just keep an open mind as we learn from David today. If you look at his website, you see testimonials of his work from doctors and healers from all over the world. He’s followed and supported by Vishen Lakhiani, the CEO of MindValley who reinvented Jose Silva’s Program, as well as Jim Kwik, the World’s #1 Brain Coach. I know there was a time that meditation in the workplace was not an accepted stress reduction strategy, and today most workplaces promotes advanced wellness strategies like this for their employees. With an open mind, we can now learn what else could possibly do to take our results to new heights.
Let’s meet David Wong, and see how his work can help us to change our life (our body/mind and spirit) improve our results, our health, and even our wealth.
David, it’s wonderful to meet you. I know in our correspondence you mentioned you are in Canada. I grew up in Toronto. What part of Canada are you in? I’m going to guess Vancouver, since I know you are an hour behind me in Arizona?
INTRO Q: Before I even get to the questions that I sent you, I’ve got to start with what happened with us tonight because I think it’s vitally important for the work that you do. We could probably spend all of our time together talking about this and we could learn so much from your wisdom here. So, from the point of view of someone whose work is centered around energy and frequency, I wonder if you can explain from your perspective what happened to us tonight starting from the minute you sent me the message saying we would need to reschedule our interview?
What did you “feel” over our messages through social media? Can energy REALLY be felt from a distance?
What made you reschedule tonight with me instead of another day? Can our energy impact the way others interact with us?
What can we learn from this experience as it relates to the energy we put out into the world? What should we ALL understand about the importance of keeping a positive mindset, even when you receive news that might be disappointing?
Q1: So, I’ve got to start with your book, because it gives an overview of your life. Can you share what happened when you were 9 years old? How did this accident you have change you and put you on this life path you are on today?
Q2: I related to your experience you wrote about with church. Now my parents forced us to go to church. Every Sunday. My Mom taught Sunday school, and it was something I did because I know it’s what she wanted. My sister sang in the choir, and I played the bells, and loved performing and practicing. I just loved how going to church felt even though I was forced to go. Your connection to music and church made me remember how much peace I felt walking through the hallways there, and how renewed I felt for a long time after I returned. What do you think that was about?  I know that you felt this energy with church and music also.
Q3: I’ve covered often how we are all connected to spirit, like the colors of the rainbow, and how often our goals are on different vibrations. Can you explain how you came to understand this concept? Vibrations and Frequency and how you came to be known as the Frequency Expert? Also, how would you define Quantum Physics?
Q4: Where did martial arts come into the picture for you? How did martial arts increase your mental strength and stamina?
Q5: How did you take everything you were doing/learning and use it for building wealth? This is an area I plan on covering this topic the end of the year.
Q5B: Can I “tap into” someone else’s frequency that I resonate with, and use it for improved results?
Q6: What have you invented/created to help others to do the same in their personal/professional life as well as with their health?
Where can people learn more about you? What you have created? Your meditations? Your philosophy?
David, I want to thank you very much for meeting with me tonight after a long day of training for you. If we both weren’t tuned into the importance of keeping our energy levels high, I’m sure we never would have recorded this interview.  I think what you have created from ground up is inspiring. I 200% believe in what you are doing, in the tools you have created and the root of your work. This is just the beginning for me, but I’m grateful to have met you.
I think my next step is to learn more about what you have invented, and how it can help me, and others.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Before closing out this week’s episode, I did want to say that I knew David’s work was important, and I didn’t want to wait to reschedule our interview when I knew one of his trainings was running late. I was so grateful this worked out for myself as well as for those who tune in. I’m in the early stages of learning about David’s Qi Coils, but will invest in the starter coil, and will come back on to share what I notice. I don’t need him to convince me of the importance of keeping my frequency level high, it was the common thread of all of the seminars I sold in the late 1990s, in addition to magnets that were meant to keep us healthy. I actually still use this technology with strains, and injuries, and wonder how else I can improve my own mental/physical health and wellness.
If you are like me, and always want to learn more, I’d start with David’s book, and then look around his website. It was interesting for me to see how many people around the world he has been helping, as well as to see the CEO of MindValley, Vishen Lakhinani, following his work.
We’ll revisit David’s work after I’ve tested his Qi Coils, and other products and we’ll see you next week for PART 4 of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural, that’s all about our energy centers in our body.
See you next week!
CONNECT WITH DAVID WONG:
LEARN MORE ABOUT THE QI COIL™
 https://qilifestore.com/collections/qi-coils
Tik Tok https://www.tiktok.com/@qicoil
X https://twitter.com/QiLifeMastery
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/QiLifeMastery/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/davidwongmastery/?hl=en
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidwong/
LEARN MORE FROM DAVID WONG
Founder - Qi Life and Qi Life FoundationInventor of Qi Coil™ and QiEnergy.Ai
Starter Qi Coil https://qilifestore.com/collections/qi-coils/products/qi-coil-mini
FREE Luck Boost Frequency https://qilifestore.com/products/luck-boost-free?_pos=3&_sid=2a2b67b91&_ss=r
Webinars and Training https://qilifestore.com/pages/podcasts-webinars
Coaching Program https://www.qilifecoach.com/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Learn more about David Wong https://stan.store/davidwong
 

”Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” PART 3 Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Work

“As the acceptance of expanded human potential gains mainstream momentum, the question has shifted from “What is possible in our lives?” to “How do we do it? How do we awaken our extraordinary potential in everyday life?” Welcome to PART 3 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work.
On today's EPISODE #311 on "Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind" and PART 3 of our Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza's work, we will:
Review Chapter 3 of Dr. Joe Dispenza's book,  Becoming Supernatural on Accessing The Quantum World for improved results in our personal, professional life, or with our health and wellness. 
STEP 1: DROPPING INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT: OPENING THE DOORWAY TO THE QUANTUM WORLD
STEP 2: SETTING A CLEAR INTENTION OF WHAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE IN YOUR LIFE
STEP 3: HOW TO CHANGE YOUR ENERGY
STEP 4: UNCOVERING WHAT YOU LEARN in THE QUANTUM WORLD
STEP 5: RECORDING WHAT HAPPENS AND KEEP WORKING
✔ What science has to say about the Quantum World?
✔ Strategies on how to IMPLEMENT these 5 STEPS into our daily life for improved results (personally, professionally and with our health).
Today we will continue our exploration of how exactly we live up to the full potential we all have within us, or like the name of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon.
Today as we cover PART 3 of this exploration we will identify clear strategies to awaken the extraordinary potential in each of us, and these will be evidence-based strategies, that are backed by science.  We will do this by looking at CH 3 of Becoming Supernatural, a book that is the first-of-its-kind manual that does precisely this: it leads us on a step-by-step journey to achieving our greatest potential in body, health, relationships, and our life purpose and allows us to make that journey at our own pace.
This book study has taken me some time to think, and consolidate what I’m learning since we released PART 1 the end of September. I needed this time to put Dr. Dispenza’s ideas and meditations into practice, and have spent the past month and a half, immersed in his teachings, filling in the gaps of understanding I’ve had since I first began studying human potential in the late 1990s. As mentioned in the first part of this study, this is a shallow dive, and it’s just the beginning. I do hope that our review today helps us to ALL unlock more of the mysteries within the unseen world, as we learn to put these concepts into practice into our daily lives. I’m sure we will return to this episode in the future, but this is where we will start our journey today. We’ll review what we learned in PART1 and PART 2, preparing us for this exciting journey of our mind, with PART 3 today, where we’ll put it all into action, with something we want to achieve in our own life.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain.
For those tuning into this episode, and you’ve not listened to PART 1 EP 306[i] yet, or PART 2 EP 310[ii]  I do encourage you to begin there. You will learn the background of where I first learned about Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, and see how he fits into what we’ve been covering on the podcast the past 10 seasons.
For today’s episode #311 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” and PART 3 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work we’ll pick up where we left off with the importance of living in the present moment, mental rehearsal, and priming our brain AND body for a new future. We recall the importance of creating an elevated emotion that helps to develop a coherent heart, combined with a clear intention that develops a coherent brain, creating a magnetic field that projects beyond our body to be used for ourselves and others. And before you think I’m completely crazy, which I know is possible, as I’m reading what I’m writing, it does sound crazy, or a bit off the wall, but scientists like Dr. Konstantin Korotkov[iii] have been measuring these energy fields around the body with technology that can accurately pick up the physical health of our body and mind in an instant, pinpointing any areas of concern, and changing the way we approach our mental health and wellness in the future.
Next we will take all of this deep back knowledge and move into Chapter 3 of Becoming Supernatural, that he calls “Tuning into New Potentials in the Quantum” and see how we can all use it in our daily lives. I know we’ve talked about this Quantum World through Dr. Dispenza’s work that exists when “you take your attention off objects in your physical environment” and “take your attention off linear time (which has a past and a future) and “you are (now) in the present moment, in which all possibilities in the quantum field exist.” (Ch 3, Becoming Supernatural).  I hand drew what this looks like with the “Predictable Timeline” from Chapter 2 of Becoming Superhuman to show the importance of being in the present moment for accessing something NEW we want to create in our life.
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea hand drew the image from Chapter 2 Becoming Superhuman
WHAT IS QUANTUM THEORY?
Before I even start to explain this, I’ve got to say that explaining this concept has been on my mind since first launching this podcast back in 2019. Over the years I’ve heard of this idea in many different ways, so when interviewing certain speakers, my goal was always to connect the science to this concept of “another world” where ALL possibilities exit that just seems flat out crazy. But I heard it over and over again. The same idea, explained slightly differently in different books, through different people, in a slightly different way. Each person added to my understanding, but it’s been a process for me to connect each person’s definition, and put it into practice in my own life.
What IS the Quantum World?
2018 Dr. Daniel Siegel Aware[iv]: The Science and Practice of Presence
I went a very long time not completely understanding this idea of Quantum Theory or The Quantum World that Dr. Dispenza writes about beautifully in Chapter 3. Dr. Dispenza became well known with a movie he produced, explaining this concept in a unique way, in the early 2000s but the movie was labelled as pseudoscience because I don’t think that the science had caught up to his level of thinking. I admire Dr. Dispenza for pushing past this time, as the science eventually caught up to him and then he met Dr. Korotkov and was finally able to measure what he knew to be true with GDV technology, and with other tools, that he talks about in his book.
But over the years I wondered “What is this Quantum World and how can I access it to create these unforeseen events in my own life?” Then I heard it from someone who I knew had the scientific background to bring credibility to this idea!
I was on a webinar with Dr. Dan Siegel in 2018, and I heard him explaining this concept I knew to be called The Quantum Field or Quantum Theory through his Wheel of Awareness Meditation[v].  Right then and there, I knew I had to interview Dr. Siegel and learn more about what he was saying. I’m beyond grateful he said yes as one of our early interviews, episode #28[vi]. He could have looked at our episode count and think we weren’t a popular enough show (as we were in the beginning stages with this podcast) but not Dan Siegel. He’s connected to this plane of consciousness and brings credibility to anyone who talks about it with his background, research and deep knowledge of looking at the world through a scientific lens. I think he knew on some level that his work would unlock something for more than just my level of thinking, (but for all those who would tune in over the years) as this is how this World (or Plane) of Possibility really works.
He says…
 
Dr. Siegel says that “physics has demonstrated that we have 2 realms in the physical universe—and this is not commonly known” when he explains what happens to us at different parts of his Wheel of Awareness practice. We did a deep dive into this meditation practice, as it was the first time I saw something designed to help us to access and navigate into this 2nd world, using our mind on EP 60[vii] on “The Science Behind a Meditation Practice: A Deep Dive into Dr. Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation” where I focused on some of the benefits I noticed personally from practicing his meditation daily, like an increased focused attention, a stronger interoceptive sense, an increased connection to people around the world, and then I said “there is more we can say on this topic and that I know with time, practice and as my own awareness increases, I will have a deeper understanding of the Wheel of Awareness.”
I put an image of how Dr. Siegel would describe this State of Mind where we tap into this “other” plane of awareness, through meditation. I knew looking at this diagram in 2019 that Dr. Siegel was explaining something I was still trying to understand myself. During our interview, Dr. Siegel asked me “what have you noticed through practicing The Wheel of Awareness” and looking back now, I know what he was asking. He wrote his book Aware in 2018, a year before our interview. He wanted to know how aware I was. I answered from the point of view of someone who has been using his meditation, but with continued practice, this other world (a second world) opens up, and this is where the fun begins. My answer to him showed him I had not yet arrived at this new world of possibility.
When I interviewed my mentor, and speaker Bob Proctor, on EP 66[viii], and asked him if he knew of Dr. Dan Siegel’s work, I was trying to connect what I had heard Proctor say over and over again, to the world of science, but Proctor covered this answer by talking about how we all live in a physical body, and with the power of thought, we can “tap into” the spiritual world and create ideas (or beautiful castles) that he would almost pull from the sky. While watching Proctor speaking, I always wondered, where is his mind going? What is this “spiritual” world he is accessing, where anything we want is within our grasp? Proctor would ask you to tell him “what’s the MOST money you’ve ever earned in a year” to see how aware we were. He would say that there was no difference in earning $50,000/year vs $50 million, just the awareness of how to do it.
So since working with Proctor in the late 1990s, this question was always in the back of my mind. What is this world he’s going to where all possibilities exist? I could see him pulling ideas from the sky when he was speaking, and I knew it mattered what thoughts I was thinking, the actions I was taking. We heard about the principles from Napoleon Hill’s Classic Think and Grow Rich many times, especially this point that:
“Any idea that is held in the mind that is either feared or revered will, begin at once to clothe itself in the most convenient and appropriate physical forms available.” Andrew Carnegie
I knew it was important what we think and especially that we always keep a positive mindset but I couldn’t explain why this was true, scientifically to anyone, until I began to connect different people’s explanation of “Quantum Theory”, or “The Plane of Possibility”, or “The Sea of Potential” all in one place.
 WHAT IS THIS OTHER REALM?
Every year, I like to pick a well-known, popular book, preferably one that I have studied for years, and have years of notes taken that I can share on the podcast, like we did with the popular Think and Grow Rich[ix] series, or the most popular Silva Method[x] series. 
But I’ve held off covering the popular book The Science of Getting Rich by Wallace D. Wattles which was a seminar I sold in the late 1990s, because I knew I would have to explain Wattles’ version of Quantum Theory that’s in EVERY chapter of his book.  Wattles’ Science of Getting Rich book directly focused on using this space to earn money, and his work goes like this. He says:
“There is a thinking stuff from which all things are made, and which in its original state, permeates, penetrates and fills the interspaces of the universe. A thought in this substance produces the thing that is imaged by the thought. A person can form things in their thought, and by impressing their thoughts upon the formless substance, can cause the thing they think about to be created.” (Wallace D. Wattles).
I’m not kidding, we used to read this passage at seminars, out loud, and I would be thinking “what the heck is he talking about? What is this thinking stuff from which ALL things are made?” I sold this seminar, and had no idea what the main point of it was about.
While picking books to cover, this one (with a whole briefcase of notes attached to it) was thrown back into the back of my closet. I thought “there is no way I was ever going to cover this concept on a podcast designed to connect the most current brain research to help us to all improve our lives, with evidence-based strategies” until I started to see this concept show up in the work of reputable scientists like we’ve seen with Dr. Siegel. I’ve always had these concepts in the back of my mind, (that I saw working over and over again the seminar industry) or over the years since this time, that I wanted to connect science to, (like Dr. Dispenza ended up doing so well) so that we could ALL advance ourselves forward personally and professionally. These were age-old principles that I knew to be true, (I saw them working over and over again) but I just couldn’t explain WHY they were true.
Until I read Chapter 3 of Dr. Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural. It was within these pages that I learned that the best way to understand this “quantum” world was to experience it. We must now put chapters 1 and 2 into practice, and this takes time.
TUNING INTO NEW POTENTIALS IN THE QUANTUM
Dr. Dispenza reminds us to go back to the first two chapters where we practiced opening up to this idea of Becoming Supernatural, then learning to access the present moment, elevating our emotions, using mental rehearsal to prime our mind and body…and now we are ready to step into this Quantum World, where all possibilities exit, to create something new. An unknown event.
It’s here that we stay on the surface with our dive. If you want to go deeper, read Chapter 3 in detail. I’m not a neuroscientist, or scientist, so explaining the science behind this is not my strength. I just need to know it’s there. If you need more science before moving forward, it’s there in Chapter 3 of Dr. Dispenza’s book, as well, you can find it in Dr. Daniel Siegel’s book Aware. 
But if you are like me, and just want to practice this now, let’s do it.
PUTTING CH 3 INTO PRACTICE:
ACCESSING THE QUANTUM WORLD
Let’s walk into the Quantum World together, and see HOW we can create an unknown event in our future.  Something that you might want personally or professionally. Or even something with your health.
STEP 1: DROP INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT:
AND OPEN THE DOORWAY TO THE QUANTUM WORLD
Accessing the Quantum World begins the minute you STOP and get yourself into the present moment. You can do this sitting down, standing up, or any way you like, but just STOP. Accessing the present moment can occur from using Dr. Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation, or ANY of Dr. Dispenza’s. It’s also the whole point of Jose Silva’s Method, where he asks you to count backwards to access this world. Find what works best for you. I had to practice a few meditations over and over again in the early morning time before being able to access the present moment during the day when needed.
STEP 2: SET A CLEAR INTENTION
In order to use this Plane of Possibility to CREATE something NEW in your life, you first of all must know what it is that you want to create. If you aren’t sure what you want to change in your life (this might be clear to you, or it might not be) then I suggest going back to PART 1[xi] of our Think and Grow Rich book review where we looked at how to uncover what you REALLY want in your life.
I mentioned that when I was in my late 20s, and was asked “What do you REALLY want?” I didn’t have it all figured out back then. It’s taken me a lifetime to become crystal clear with what it is that I’m supposed to be doing with my time/work/career.
Take the time to figure out what it is that YOU really want, since you will trade your life for it.
STEP 3: CHANGE YOUR ENERGY:
ELEVATING YOUR EMOTIONS WITH YOUR CLEAR INTENTION
We went deep into this idea on our last episode, but this is important for being able to develop a coherent heart, and coherent brain. We know when our brain is working right, we work right. This is why we focus on health and wellness on this podcast. Everything ties in together. Dispenza now takes this idea to a new level. When we are under stress, we will not have a coherent brain. He explains this with a diagram in his book, but you’ll get the idea. In order to line up your heart and brain, you can do this by elevating your emotions.
This isn’t the first time I’ve heard of this concept. Paul Martinelli[xii] covered it in his Think and Grow Rich study when he added what he thought were two missing chapters to the book (Love and Forgiveness). He said “when you feel love, happiness, energy and clarity, you will feel your vibration shifting” which is another way of saying you are access a new level of creation, on a higher vibration. We covered this concept in depth on EP 67.[xiii]
Remember that we all have energy fields surrounding us, and this is one way to expand our energy field, helping us to “tune into” whatever it is that we want to create. The key to accessing whatever it is you want to create in this “World of Possibility” is to keep our energy level high throughout. During times of high stress, our energy field will start to shrink, so it’s important to stay rested, nourish our body and mind, and keep our balance (coherent brain and heart). Dr. Korotkov’s technology can measure this, and Dr. Dispenza has measured people’s energy fields for years. The only way I can put this idea into something visual is to think about this concept. Have you ever seen a bicycle that you must peddle in order for it to generate some other energy type (a light or a television or something?) This is the idea. In order to generate what you want in this unseen world, you must keep pedaling, keeping this energy field strong, healthy, and level of vibration high.
When I asked Bob Proctor about the quantum world that Dr. Dan Siegel talks about in our interview[xiv], where there is this plane of possibility where we can create anything, Bob answered with “I believe the physical realm that we live in and the spiritual world, are all connected, like the colors of the rainbow.” When we take an idea, it comes in from spirit, hits our intellectual mind, and it’s up to us whether we move it into form. 
Have you ever had an idea that you thought was brilliant, and you never did anything with it, and then suddenly you see someone else has created it? That’s because there is only one mind, and that we can all tap into these ideas.  
This is how ALL ideas happen. They start in the mind of the person who creates it, and then after dedicated work, they hit their target, and people watching might say “Oh wow, that person is so lucky” not realizing the work that went into the attainment of the goal. There are usually years of hard work, (pedaling the bicycle) with persistence, with failures, wrong turns, course corrections, but all starting with that clear vision or idea with an end goal or target.
STEP 4: BE OPEN TO WHAT YOU SEE, LEARN and UNCOVER in THE QUANTUM WORLD
This last step is where the magic happens. Just be open to what you could possibly create with this NEW energy. Be Patient. This Process Takes Time.
ACCESS THE PLANE OF POSSIBILITY
There is no right or wrong way to access this plane of possibility. Jose Silva’s program walks us through a specific method to use our mind for improving our health (or solve any problem) through a specific technique where we create three scenes.
You can see my notes walking through this process in the show notes. In the first scene, we think about the problem we want to solve, (I picked neck pain) the second, we take some sort of action towards solving the problem, (I picked using ice packs and a phrase I learned from hypnotherapy to help the pain to disappear, and then a symbol of the healing. For me all healing and progress takes place at a certain spot on this mountain I hike) and the with the third scene, we imagine our life with our problem solved. (I wrote how awesome it would feel to be free of this pain in my neck)! This is one example of using this Plane of Possibility to solve a problem you have.
For you:
What do YOU see when you access the plane of possibility?
Do you need more help getting here? Try Dr. Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation, or ANY of Dr. Dispenza’s meditations.
Are you beginning to gain some clarity towards whatever it is that you want to solve? (a personal problem, something with your work, or something with your health?)
FIND YOUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
If you still need more help here, I highly suggest bringing a team together to help you. This is not a usual team, but a team you gather when you are in your Plane of Possibility. It can be anyone but they are the people you pick to help move your intention forward.
This concept might sound strange, but even people like Greg Link[xv], who was the mastermind behind the late Dr. Stephen Covey’s 7 Habits of Highly Effective People that sold over 40 million copies worldwide (surpassing the popular Think and Grow Rich book) in 40 languages used this particular strategy.
A book doesn’t sell 40 million copies without a unique strategy behind it, and I heard it loud and clear in our interview last Spring. Greg mentioned that he had a “board of directors” that he asked questions to. Now this is not your typical board of directors. These are brilliant minds that you bring into your Quantum World of Possibility, and ask for help when you become stuck, to give you ideas to move you forward somehow.
STEP 5: TAKE NOTE OF WHAT HAPPENS AND KEEP WORKING
Getting to the stage when you can at will, create something out of nothing, takes time, focus, practice and dedication. Until I saw Chapter 3 of Becoming Supernatural, I was doing these steps without really knowing what the Quantum World was. Sometimes I would create what I wanted, but I knew there was something I was missing. If I was missing something, and I’ve been studying this for almost 30 years now, I figured I might as well put this on the podcast, as others might also have questions around the creative process.  
Sometimes you’ll notice you’ll be working, following these steps, and nothing happens and you might think “what a ridiculous idea this is” but when you get to this point, I suggest going back to the meditations (whether you pick Dr. Dispenza’s or Dr. Siegel’s, or someone else’s) and go back to STEP 1, practicing dropping into the present moment. When I’m stuck, I know this is the beginning step to return to.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude episode #311 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” and PART 3 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, we covered Chapter 3 of his book, and reviewed 5 IMPORTANT STEPS TO TAKE WHEN ACCESSING THE QUANTUM WORLD.
STEP 1: DROP INTO THE PRESENT MOMENT:
AND OPEN THE DOORWAY TO THE QUANTUM WORLD: Remember to keep an open mind here as the strategies we are covering, of Becoming Supernatural, and experiencing exceptional results, are not commonly known. Dr. Dan Siegel connects to the science to this plane of possibility in his book, Aware (2018) and says “physics has demonstrated that we have 2 realms in our physical universe—and this is not commonly known.”
STEP 2: SET A CLEAR INTENTION: Know what it is that you want to work on or solve. If you are not sure what this is, go back to PART 1 of our Think and Grow Rich book study where we cover this in depth.
STEP 3: CHANGE YOUR ENERGY:
ELEVATING YOUR EMOTIONS WITH YOUR CLEAR INTENTION: The key to accessing whatever it is you want to create in this “World of Possibility” is to keep our energy level high throughout. When we can feel love, joy, excitement or awe, we will be keeping our energy levels high. Remember the analogy of riding a bicycle that generates a television with the energy, signifying that in order to create something, we must keep our energy levels high.
STEP 4: BE OPEN TO WHAT YOU SEE, LEARN and UNCOVER:
What do you see in this Plane of Possibility?
Do you need more help getting here?
Take your time at this step. This is where you are using your mind to create whatever is that you want. If you need more time spent in daily meditation, take this time. If you need to journal or think about what you are learning here. Take this time.
STEP 5: TAKE NOTE OF WHAT HAPPENS AND KEEP WORKING
Once we can get to this place, (that Dan Siegel calls the Plane of Possibility, or Dr. Dispenza calls The Quantum World) from dropping into the present moment, we’ve mentally rehearsed the future we want to create, (or our intention) we’ve embraced emotions (like joy, peace, appreciation, awe and love) in our heart, and our heart and brain have now gained coherence, then we WATCH for it.
This is where it happens. WHAT you create here is entirely up to you.
We can ALL connect to this quantum field, where all possibility exists, where time and space collapses and we can literally BECOME our intention. Over time, and with practice, these steps become easier and easier, and we can work on ourselves to improve our personal lives, our health, our professional lives, and even expand our capacity to do this for others in the world.
I don’t know about you, but this is mind-boggling learning.
I’ll close with the quote I opened up our most downloaded episode with, The Silva Method, from Jose Silva who says that “once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method.
I’ll see you next week!
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 REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #306 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with Power of Our Mind” PART 1  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #310 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with Power of Our Mind” PART 2   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind-part-2-review-of-dr-joe-dispenza-s-work/
[iii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
[iv] Dr. Dan Siegel Aware: The Science and Practice of Presence August 21, 2018 https://www.amazon.com/Aware-Practice-Presence-Groundbreaking-Meditation/dp/1101993049
[v] https://www.drdansiegel.com/resources/wheel_of_awareness/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Dan Siegel on Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #60 on “The Science Behind a Meditation Practice: A Deep Dive into Dr. Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/
[viii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #66 The Legendary Bob Proctor on “Social and Emotional Learning: Where it All Started” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
[ix] Think and Grow Rich Book Review: A 6 PART SERIES
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #191 PART 2 on “Thinking Differently and Choosing Faith Over Fear”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-2-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever-by-thinking-differently-and-choosing-faith-over-fear/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #194 PART 4 on “Perfecting the Skills of Organized Planning, Decision-Making, and Persistence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-4-on-perfecting-the-skills-of-organized-planning-decision-making-and-persistence/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 on “The Power of the Mastermind, Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation, and Linking ALL Parts of the Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
[x] The Silva Method Book Review: A 4 PART SERIES
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #262 PART 2 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #264 PART 3 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #265 PART 4 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
[xii] https://paulmartinelli.net/
[xiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #67  on Expanding our Awareness https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/
[xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Daniel Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Learning” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
[xv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 with Greg Link, on Unleashing Gretness with Neuroscience, SEL, Trust and the 7 Habits” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/co-founder-of-coveylink-greg-link-on-unleashing-greatness-with-neuroscience-sel-trust-and-the-7-habits/
 

”Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” PART 2 Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Work

“As the acceptance of expanded human potential gains mainstream momentum, the question has shifted from “What is possible in our lives?” to “How do we do it? How do we awaken our extraordinary potential in everyday life?” Welcome to PART 2 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work.
On today's EPISODE #310 on "Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind" and PART 2 of our Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza's work, we will cover: 
✔ 3 Important Concepts in Dr. Joe Dispenza's book,  Becoming Supernatural that have the ability to change YOUR life, when implemented.
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 1:  Accessing the Present Moment
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 2:  Mental Rehearsal: Priming Your Brain and Body for a New Future
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 3:  Elevated Emotion
✔ What science has to say about these timeless success principles?
✔ Strategies to IMPLEMENT these principles into our daily life for improved results.
✔ How to use our emotions FOR us, rather than AGAINST us.
✔ Why we must continue to learn more about WHO WE ARE for improved results
✔ How METACOGNITION (and our awareness of how we think, act and feel) creates AHA Moments of Learning in our daily life. 
Today we will continue our exploration of how exactly we live up to the full potential we all have within us, or like the name of Joe Dispenza’s book, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon.
Today as we cover PART 2 of this exploration we will identify clear strategies to awaken the extraordinary potential in each of us, and these will be evidence-based strtegies, that are proven with science.  Becoming Supernatural, is the first-of-its-kind manual that does precisely this: it leads us on a step-by-step journey to achieving our greatest potential in body, health, relationships, and our life purpose and allows us to make that journey at our own pace.
We only cover ideas and concepts on this podcast that have the potential to change our lives, and I’m on a mission to connect the most current brain research to concepts that have been taught successfully to students for centuries, connecting the science to these age-old success principles.
This book study has taken me some time to think, and consolidate what I’m learning since we released PART 1 the end of September. I needed this time to put Dr. Dispenza’s ideas and meditations into practice, and have spent the past month immersed in his teachings. As mentioned in the first part of this study, this is a shallow dive, and is just the beginning. I do hope that our review today helps us to ALL unlock more of the mysteries within the unseen world, as we learn to put these concepts into practice in our daily life. I’m sure we will return to this episode in the future, but this is where we will start our journey today.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For those tuning into this episode, and you’ve not listened to EP 306[i] yet, I do encourage you to begin there. You will learn the background of where I first heard of Dr. Joe Dispenza, and how I was forbidden to cover his work on this podcast, since my neuroscience certification coach, researcher Mark Waldman, would consider his work pseudoscience.
We covered how even Dr. Joe Dispenza himself used to worry about what other people in the scientific community thought of him, until he stopped. He said this himself at the start of Becoming Supernatural[ii] reminding me of the importance of always being your true, authentic self, and NEVER worry about those who criticize your work. He said:
Until he saw how much of his “vital” energy he was wasting and went on to study with full force, a world that modern science hasn’t been able to explain, how regular “common” people, like you and me, are actually doing the “uncommon.”
Who is Dr. Dispenza?
He’s a doctor, a scientist, and a modern-day mystic who draws from diverse fields of rock-solid science, such as epigenetics, molecular biology, neurocardiology, and quantum physics, crossing the traditional boundaries that have separated scientific thinking and human experience in the past. In this process he opens the door to a new paradigm of empowerment—a new way of thinking and living based upon what we sense is possible in our lives, as well as what we accept as scientific fact.
In PART 1 of our review of Becoming Supernatural, I shared that I had my own questions about Dr. Dispenza’s work, especially after hearing about some of the results people were attaining during and after his seminars.
Over the years, I would stop and listen to Joe Dispenza’s work, remembering how he measured people’s brains BEFORE his events, and then AFTER, and while I would say that to all the questions I had about his work, I knew the answers were a solid “YES” I just wondered what the research said.
Can our current, present day thoughts impact our future?
Can we impact our own health (and results for that matter) purely by what we think?
Can my energy influence another person, and can someone else’s energy influence mine?
Can someone’s energy be felt?
Can our energy field be seen?
“YES,  was the answer to each question, but how” I always wondered.
While researching the tools that Dr. Dispenza used to measure participants’ brains at his seminars, I came across one tool he called Gas Discharge Visualization, that I had heard of from someone who works in Singapore, connected to Bruce Lipton Ph.D , who is a cell biologist and leading authority in epigenetics.[iii]
We’ll cover Bruce Lipton’s work at a later date, but it was this GDV tool that led me to the fascinating work of Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, that we covered on EP 307[iv], providing us with some answers to my questions of HOW and WHAT Dr. Dispenza was using to measure people’s brains with at his events.
As I said in PART 1 of this review of Dr. Dispenza’s work, this is a shallow dive, not a deep one, that will just begin to scratch the surface of what it means for us to become Superhuman, and stretch ourselves beyond where our minds may never have travelled to before. Dr. Dispenza has made scientific history[v] with his findings (measuring HRV, or the energy around people’s bodies) and his most recent breakthrough in scientific research includes his team’s research paper that shows Meditations Impact on Immunity.[vi] I want to focus today on this particular angle with this groundbreaking research because my work with neuroscience began looking at the impact of stress on our brain as it relates to learning. You can go through some of our earlier episodes with Dr. Bruce Perry, or Dr. Lori Desautels, but what I’m most interested in today, that you can see with the direction of our podcast episodes since the Pandemic, is what we can do to mitigate the impact of stress on our health, wellbeing and longevity, in addition to creating the highest performing, 2.0 versions of ourselves.
So for today’s episode #310 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” and PART 2 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, we will pick up where we left off with Chapter 2 of Becoming Supernatural and look at how exactly a stressful situation can hurt us (mentally, physically and emotionally) or NOT.
Chapter 2: The Present Moment
We know that the way a person thinks and feels creates a person’s state of well-being. We know this can be scientifically proven by Dr. Korotkov’s GDV technology just by measuring the energy field of our finger tips and he can with accuracy, tell us what’s going on inside that person’s body (emotionally, psychologically) and then determine our relationship with this inner state to the outer world. Or in other words, what we THINK, on the inside, will show up on the outside. Dr. Korotkov explained that even animals respond to our thoughts, and know when we are approachable, or not, the minute we walk in through the front door of our homes.
Why Do Our Emotions and Our Thoughts Matter?
What exactly is it that our pets are sensing? This is where the iceberg model comes back into play. We could be consciously walking through the doorway, with the 5% of what’s going on in our conscious mind radiating out to the world, but the 95% of what’s going on under the iceberg, our unconscious habits, hardwired attitudes, behaviors, beliefs, perceptions, all functioning automatically, and that’s what our pets are picking up.
We dove deep into our conscious mind and our five senses on EP 293[vii] (looking the 5% of ourselves that can be seen and felt with our senses, and then what’s beyond our five senses on EP #294[viii] looking into the faculties of our mind, and what’s beneath the surface of the iceberg, or what’s going on beyond our 5 senses.
The difficult part, or the part where most of us become stuck, is HOW on the earth do we see what’s happening in our subconscious mind, the part of us that’s controlling 95% of who we are and what we do, if it’s ALL under water, so to speak?
LISTEN HERE…THIS IS THE KEY TO THIS WHOLE EPISODE
Dr. Dispenza explains how an emotion hits our body (through our life situations-call whatever it may be), and causes some sort of emotional reaction. Maybe something happens to you in your personal life, and you hold negative emotions towards your ex-relationship, or it could be something in your work life, or it something random happens to you that changes your personality (puts you in a mood first, and over time changes your personality).  He says that we must learn to “shorten the refractory period of an emotional reaction” which is really where the work starts.
What does this mean?
So something happens to us, (and it will, no one is immune from life’s situations unless we live and a cave) and we want to complain about it to everyone we know. We were wronged in some way. It feels horrible, trust me, I know!
BUT resist doing this. Since we know from Dr. Korotkov’s GDV tool, that our thoughts matter, we must be VERY careful about the thoughts we think. I’m not saying that we pretend something doesn’t bother us, but listen to what Dr. Dispenza says. We must learn to “shorten the refractory period of our emotional reactions” because otherwise, we will repeat that same story over and over again in our head, and every time we do this, we flood our body with the same chemicals that were flooding our body when this event occurred, and since our body “is the unconscious mind, and doesn’t know the difference between the experience that’s creating the emotion (from the past) and the emotion you are creating through thought alone (in the present)”[ix] so in order to change our FUTURE results, we must to break this hard-wired programming.
This is not easy, but it’s the SECRET to changing your results in the future. If we look at the image in the show notes that I hand drew from Chapter 2 of Becoming Supernatural, you will see that if we cannot change, and break our hard-wired programming, we will re-create our past experiences into our future, and prevent us from EVER hitting that unknown event (whatever it might be-a new job, or unexpected experience) or something that could possibly take us to new heights.
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea hand drew the image from Chapter 2 Becoming Superhuman
WHY IS CHANGE SO DIFFICULT?
It’s because it’s uncomfortable and unfamiliar. It’s always easy to blame someone else for your results, or a situation, but to take responsibility for it, let it go, and move forward, well that’s not as easy. We are working with the 95% of us that’s hidden under water here. These patterns and beliefs are hard-wired into our brain, so they are not easy to break.
HOW EXACTLY DO WE STOP OUR PATTERNS AND PAST BEHAVIORS?
We do this by staying in the present moment (which is the whole idea of Chapter 2) and STOP the thoughts and emotions that went along with whatever it was that happened to us. That emotional event that changed you somehow.
This will stop your pattern of thinking.
It’s here that I bring in a diagram on Metacognition that I created in 2014 adapted from Dr. Newberg and Mark Waldman’s “Spectrum of Human Consciousness Model.”  When we become consciously aware of how we think, act and feel, this is Metacognition and where we create AHA Moments of learning in our lives.
Start at the bottom of the diagram:
Instinctive Learning: Do you know yourself? Are you aware of the thoughts, feelings and actions you are having that might be keeping you stuck somewhere? If you’ve never explored this area, Hazel Gale’s work from EP #308[x] is a good place to begin.
Habitual Learning: Can you CHANGE the way you are used to thinking and feeling? Do something differently? Move forward instead of getting stuck?
Intentional Learning: Can you set a goal to CHANGE something, and make this change stick? Instead of blaming someone for your results, take responsibility and move forward somehow?
Creative Learning: Can you use meditation (which actually means to become familiar with thyself) to find some answers, learn something new, give you a new angle of outlook on your life?
AHA Moment: What knowledge about yourself can you glean here? Did you see something NEW? Learn a new idea? Did you write it down and take action on it?  Jack Canfield would call this taking “inspired” action.
This is METACOGNITION and is the key to peeling back the onion layers of yourself, and help you to deepen your understanding of who you are.
 
PUTTING THIS INTO ACTION: Chapter 2 Living in the Present Moment
Remember it’s not going to be easy.
START WITH INSTINCTIVE LEARNING: THE FIRST STEP IN THE METACOGNITION DIAGRAM
KNOW THYSELF: What happened to you?
So something happened to us in our life (some sort of event) that caused an emotional reaction within us. This can be ANYTHING. If I think back to past guests, I know that my colleague Grace Reynolds[xi] experienced significant trauma in her life as a child (an event) that changed her life, until she did the hard work to heal herself from her traumatic life experiences.  This is now her life’s work. I also can never forget Hans Appel[xii], a school counselor whose book, Award Winning Culture took off in schools across the country.  I remember while reading Hans’ book, it was in the first few pages that he mentioned how he had a difficult childhood, and he talked about how the sound of his back door opening after school would make his skin crawl as he remembered the trauma that would occur for him in his life after school, urging him to spend more and more time at school, away from home. This is also now Hans’ life’s work to help others through traumatic events.
These are two extreme cases an event that caused trauma, but an event could be anything that takes you from a positive, creative state of being (where our immune system functions well) to a stressful state of being, that we know scientifically down regulates certain genes and creates disease in our body.
PRACTICE STAYING IN THE PRESENT MOMENT
This will prevent us from unconsciously slipping back into our OLD self. Dr. Dispenza does have meditations[xiii] that can assist with staying present, and with time, helping us to automatically live in the present moment, and shortening that “refractive period” of the emotional experiences that happen to us.
BEFORE I sent ANY of you to Dr. Dispenza’s website, I have to say that I first found out about his meditations by chance. After our episode of HRV[xiv], someone (a male) wrote to me on social media that he had raised his HRV significantly with Dr. Dispenza’s “Courageous Heart Meditation.” We will talk about the benefits of this meditation a bit later, but I have to tell you here that I looked up this meditation, and listened to it, and thought “there is NO way I could ever listen to that!” It was so far away from what I was used to with Vishen Lakiani’s calm and quiet voice, or Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness. This meditation opens up like a lion roaring, with this voice, (Joe Dispenza) yelling at me to “sit down, and open my heart.” The first time I listened to it, I turned it off after probably 30 seconds. This would not relax me, but stress me out. It wasn’t until I understood the purpose of the meditation and what it was actually designed for (to help men to open their hearts that I was finally open enough to begin listening to this meditation, and some others, every day, to finally see their benefits that has to do with developing a coherent heart and brain.
Go to Joe Dispenza’s website and check out his mediations for yourself. https://drjoedispenza.com/
Over time, and some introspection, I promise you will begin to see yourself in a whole new light which is the meaning behind the word “meditation” which means to “know thyself.”
This brings us to the next concept I think is important to note with Becoming Supernatural.
Chapter 2:  Mental Rehearsal: Priming Your Body for a New Future
So what happens to the health of our body if we have an “event” in our life that causes us to have some sort of negative, emotional charge? Dr. Dispenza explains the need of “staying in the present moment” and recognizing when something could possibly impact our future (health or results) with his interview with Tom Bilyeu[xv].
If our thinking creates our environment (Bob Proctor would say “our thoughts, feelings and actions would determine our results or our conditions, circumstances and environments.”) then in order to change something we don’t like, we have to either change our thinking, or change our environment, to get new results.
Wayne Dyer would say “if you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.”
MENTAL REHEARSAL:
There are many examples in Dr. Dispenza’s book of people who changed their health, purely by changing their thoughts. I’ve heard of many people over the years who have used “mental rehearsal” to heal their bodies and keep them strong in the future. My Mom shared with me that she did this when she was diagnosed with Uterine Cancer, we talked about this in our Review of The Silva Method, and I heard woman’s story[xvi] that I’ll link in the show notes that’s by far the most compelling story I’ve ever heard. She healed her body from watching Dr. Dispenza on Tom Bilyeu’s interview we mentioned above.
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea hand drew the image from Chapter 2 Becoming Superhuman
PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE:
I asked Dr. Korotkov at the end of EP 307 what he thinks we should all be doing, every day, to raise our own vibration/consciousness as well as the collective consciousness of those around the world, and I’ll never forget his answer. He said that we should find a way to balance our chakras, and said there are many meditations out there (Joe Dispenza, or search on the internet).  This is the very first step towards balancing our mind, body and spirit and move towards to the many known benefits that daily meditation provides.
START WITH INSTINCTIVE LEARNING: THE FIRST STEP IN THE METACOGNTION DIAGRAM
Do you know yourself? When you are meditating are you learning something about yourself? Do you notice anything happening? Can you notice ANY benefits from your practice? This was the reason why I decided to cover The Silva Method[xvii] on our podcast, because I wanted to take my meditation practice to new heights.
Then learn from the work that Dr. Dispenza has done over the years. He reminds us:
Protect yourself from the harmful effects of stress on your body.
Imagine your energy field shrinking when you are living in survival mode, and find a way to the other side.
Meditation alone can be the answer to helping you back towards health. Since Dr. Dispenza has measured so many participants with the effects of his meditations, I would have to say that I highly recommend them, especially after noticing what they have done to help me personally while listening to them.
All Chapters: Elevated Emotion
This last concept I noticed the most after listening to Dr. Dispenza’s meditations for some time. He says that “they recorded amazing changes in HRV (heart rate variability) which is what that person told me on social media. Dispenza says “this is when we know a student is opening their heart and maintaining elevated emotions like gratitude, inspiration, joy, kindness, appreciation and compassion, which cause the heart to beat in a coherent fashion—that is with rhythm, order and balance.”  This is the important part. I think we can all say it’s important to be happy, and joyful (rather than dwelling on the negative parts of our day) but it also “takes a clear intention, (a coherent brain) AND an elevated emotion (a coherent heart) to begin to change a person’s biology from living in the past to living in the future.” There is clear evidence that we are “bound by an invisible field of light” (Dispenza) and have tremendous power that can influence ourselves and others.
Dr. Dispenza was measuring the internal changes with his tools and this “feedback” was letting that person know they were on the right track and should keep doing what they were doing.  We learned all about neurofeedback on our last episode with Dianne Kosto.
When you create heart coherence, your heart (he says) “creates a magnetic field that projects beyond your body.” What you DO with this energy is important. You can use it for yourself (whatever it is you are working on) or you can project it out in the world to help others.
PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE:
I wouldn’t go anywhere other than the Courageous Heart Meditation[xviii] to elevate your emotions. You can find this meditation on YouTube, but if you find the ads distracting, just buy it for $25 from Dr. Dispenza’s website. You’ll access 37 minutes of pure bliss every day, that will help you to tune into love, joy, kindness and compassion. You’ll change your world, as well as add to the collective consciousness of the rest of the world.
START WITH INSTINCTIVE LEARNING: THE FIRST STEP IN THE METACOGNITION DIAGRAM
Do you know yourself? As you begin to find ways to open your heart, just be open. I didn’t think it would be possible to open my heart up more but I was open to what I would notice, and I know since listening to this meditation my heart has now open up to a whole new level.  Once we can get to this place, where we are in the present moment, we’ve mentally rehearsed the future we want to create, we’ve embraced emotions (like joy, peace, appreciation, and love) in our heart, our heart and brain now gain coherence, and this is where it happens, we can connect to the quantum field (where all possibility exists), where time and space collapses and you can literally BECOME your dream.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude episode #310 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” and PART 2 of our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, we covered 3 topics and used the METACOGNITION diagram as a guide to deepen our understanding of who we are in this process.
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 1: Was About Accessing the Present Moment
I said that this was the most important part of this episode. We learned how an emotion hits our body (through our life situations-call it whatever it may be), and this causes some sort of emotional reaction. Maybe something happens to you in your personal life, and you hold negative emotions towards your ex-relationship, or it could be something in your work life, or something random happens to you that changes your personality (puts you in a mood first, and over time changes your personality).  We learned of the importance of shortening “the refractory period of an emotional reaction” which is really where the work starts.
If we don’t do this, holding in this negative emotion can impact our physical and mental health, and we know this to be scientifically true, with Dr. Korotkov’s GDV technology.
We learned how to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of stress on our body and imagining our energy field shrinking when we are living in survival mode. Meditation alone can be the answer to helping you back towards health and even Dr. Andrew Huberman[xix] talks about this important strategy from a purely scientific angle. We can go back to our early episode with Dr. Daniel Siegel[xx] where he talks about the healing benefits of his Wheel of Awareness Meditation that we also covered in depth on a later EP 60[xxi], The Science and Benefits Behind Dr. Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation.  Just a reminder of some of the health benefits Dr. Siegel mentioned, they are RIGHT on track with Dr. Dispenza’s findings.
There’s an integration of structure and function of the brain (integration means well-being).
There’s a reduction of the stress hormone cortisol.
There’s an enhancement of immune function.
Improvement in cardiovascular risk factors.
Reduction in inflammation via epigenetic changes.
An optimization of telomerase—which is fascinating as it repairs and maintains the ends of chromosomes and slows aging.
I’ll leave it up to you with WHAT meditation tool you use, but I do highly encourage trying Dr. Dispenza’s meditations, in additions to the ones I talk about often on this podcast.  
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 2:  Mental Rehearsal: Priming Your Body for a New Future
We learned how to protect ourselves from the harmful effects of stress on our body with the importance of being able to use mental rehearsals by imagining our energy field shrinking when we are living in survival mode, and finding a way to the other side, creating a NEW future in our mind first.
We reviewed how meditation alone could be the answer to helping us back towards health, and creating a new future.
We don’t need to look far for the research behind this concept as it’s been used for decades in the sports industry. Dr. Andrew Huberman covered it on an episode called Science-Based Mental Training and Visualization for Improved Learning[xxii] as well as his episode on How to Learn Skills Faster[xxiii] that we have covered in the past.
IMPORTANT CONCEPT 3:  Elevated Emotion
We learned from Dr. Dispenza, who is by far the leading expert on this concept, that a student who is opening their heart and maintaining elevated emotions like gratitude, inspiration, joy, kindness, appreciation and compassion, which causes the heart to beat in a coherent fashion creating order and balance” can take themselves to the quantum field, where ALL possibilities exist. Remember that diagram with the unforeseen event that happens in the future, it’s not happening by chance or luck.
I know we all know on some level that it’s important to be happy, and joyful (rather than dwelling on the negative parts of our day) but it also “takes a clear intention, (a coherent brain-or the idea that if our brain is working right, then we will work right) AND an elevated emotion (a coherent heart) to begin to change a person from living in the past to living in that place where ALL possibilities exist.
This is the way to create a beautiful future, and we can ALL do this, when we can learn to live these 3 important concepts on a daily basis.
This last one, the only way I know how to do this, or explain this with the highest level of confidence, is through Dr. Dispenza’s Courageous Heart Meditation. He explains How to Feel Elevated Emotions You’ve Never Felt Before[xxiv] by learning to set a clear intention (of what you want) with a heart centered emotion (gratitude, love, or joy) and know that you can CAUSE an effect in the FUTURE with the power of your intention, connected to the positive emotion you have created.  I can say that nothing I have ever experienced is like the minute I turned on the Courageous Heart Meditation. I mentioned it wasn’t the first time I listened to it. It took me some time from reading Becoming Supernatural to trust that Dr. Dispenza has created something that I’ve never seen or felt before, and was open to trying it out.  Learning what it feels like to have a coherent heart and brain. To feel his music pulsating through me as he reminds me to “sit down” and open my heart. The love I feel while listening to this meditation is beautiful as I learn to feel with an open heart, and trust/balance my heart and brain.
Only now, that I’ve truly started on the pathway to implementing these 3 important concepts in my daily life, am I confident that the future I envision on the screen of my mind is not only possible, but it’s probable, as I watch events occur daily that most people would say are impossible, or that they are happening by chance or luck.
We know this is not the case.
It starts with living in the present moment (not the past) or worrying about the future but just living, mentally rehearsing the future, with elevated emotion…
And then watch the magic happen. 
With 100% certainty I can tell you if you can master these 3 principles on a daily basis, it will change your life, literally! 
I’ll close with the quote I opened up our most downloaded episode with, The Silva Method, from Jose Silva that “once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Being in the Present Moment Tools from Dr. Andrew Huberman https://dexa.ai/huberman?q=Present+Moment&type=example
Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Meditations https://drjoedispenza.com/meditations
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #306 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with Power of Our Mind”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/decoding-our-thoughts-how-to-build-a-better-future-with-the-power-of-our-mind/
[ii] Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon by Dr. Joe Dispenza published March 5, 2019 https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0TKnILrcoq8owYPSSSkpNzs_NzEtXKC4tSC3KSywpLUrMUUjKz88GAEIPD3c&q=becoming+supernatural+book&oq=becooming+supernatueral+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j46i13i433i512j0i13i512l7.7875j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[iii] Bruce Lipton https://www.brucelipton.com/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #307 “Dr. Konstantin Korotkov on Bridging the Spiritual World with Rigorous Scientfic Method”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-konstantinkorotkov-on-bridging-thespiritualworld-with-rigorousscientific-method-methodtappingintothe-powerof-our-thoughtsenergy-fieldsandlimitless/
[v] Becoming Supernatural Dr. Joe Dispenza https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y5ICgkDPTns
[vi] Dr. Dispenza’s Research Meditations Impact on Immunity Published August 2023 https://drjoedispenza.com/scientific-research
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISOD# #293  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-our-conscious-mind-and-the-five-senses/
[viii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISOD# #294   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/beyond-our-5-senses-understanding-and-using-the-six-higher-faculties-of-our-mind/
[ix] How to Brainwash Yourself for Success and Destroy Negative Thoughts with Dr. Joe Dispenza (Tom Bilyeu Interview) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La9oLLoI5Rc&t=6s
[x] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-story-of-elite-fighter-hazel-gale-from-confident-champion-to-burnout-are-you-ready-to-rebuild-yourself-from-the-inside-out/
[xi]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISOD# #298 with Grace Reynolds  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/grace-reynolds-on-mindfulness-neurocoaching-the-quickest-and-easiest-path-to-post-traumatic-growth/
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #63 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-hans-appel-on-building-award-winning-culture-in-your-school-or-organization/
[xiii] Dr. Joe Dispenza Present Moment Meditation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0-fXn1ot51s
[xiv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast on Heart Rate Variability The Most Important Biomarker for Tracking Health and Recovery  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-review-of-heart-rate-variability-the-most-important-biomarker-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience/
[xv] How to Brainwash Yourself for Success and Destroy Negative Thoughts with Dr. Joe Dispenza (Tom Bilyeu Interview) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La9oLLoI5Rc&t=6s
[xvi] Case Study of Becoming Supernatural https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7wBJ7JIQKI
[xvii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast on The Silva Mind Control Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[xviii] The Courageous Heart Meditation https://drjoedispenza.com/product-details/The%20Courageous%20Heart
[xix] How to be in the moment with mindful meditation Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrT17yQKhb4
[xx]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast with Dr. Daniel J Siegel  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
[xxi]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Review of Dr. Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/
[xxii]Science-Based Mental Training and Visualization for Improved Learning by Dr. Andrew Huberman  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0RYyQRQFgFk
[xxiii] How to Learn Skills Faster by Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0IBzCjEPk
[xxiv]How to Feel Elevated Emotions You’ve Never Felt Before https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kxmd7d6GPE
 

Dianne Kosto ”From Trauma to Triumph: A Mom’s Mission With Neurofeedback”

“Your brain is the organ of your personality, character and intelligence and is heavily involved in making you who you are.” Dr. Daniel Amen
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/H8miiiqugDs
On today's episode #309 with Dianne Kosto we will cover:
✔  What is neurofeedback, and how it can help someone struggling with anxiety, depression, brain fog, or mental health issues.
✔ Dianne Kosto's story "From Trauma to Triumph." What's the story of her son? What did she do to help him? Where is he TODAY?
✔ How does neurofeedback change the structure and function of the brain?
✔ Dianne's journey and when she first noticed the importance of a healthy brain, for a happy life.
✔ How to reach Dianne and her team to learn more.
So if we notice something is not right with our ability to think clearly (brain fog) or our decision-making ability, or our ability to focus and concentrate, it would make sense that we begin with looking at this organ that controls everything that we are, and everything that we do.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #309 we will be speaking with Dianne Kosto, the CEO and founder of Symmetry Neuro PT. Dianne is a Mom on a Mission to make neurofeedback (to help the brain learn to better regulate) accessible and easy, with a global vision for improving the lives and brains for families who have a member struggling with physical or emotional pain, that we all know disrupts everything in our day-to-day life.
I wanted to cover Dianne’s work on the podcast because while I have heard about neurofeedback as a brain-based therapy to improve brain function without medication, I don’t know much about it.
Let’s meet Dianne Kosto, and see what she has created with Symmetry PT to help all of us to live happier, and healthier lives, with our brain health and function in mind.
Welcome Dianne, it’s wonderful to meet you. Where are we reaching you today?
Q1: I want to dive right in here, as I think the company that you have founded solves a critical need in the world today. I don’t think I know anyone who has not seen the effects of high stress in our daily lives. Can you start out with why you founded Symmetry NeuroPathway Training?
What’s the story of your son? What did you notice he needed support with?
What gaps did you see with our current healthcare system that caused you to take action?
Where did you first begin to connect the brain to our mental health?
What changed did you see with your son?
HOW did these changes take place?
Q2: For those of us who might have heard of this type of treatment, but like me, if I’ve not used something, it’s not easy to explain it. Can you give us an overview? What is Neurofeedback? (alters the structure and function and brain). EEG biofeedback?
Q3: How does neuroplasticity occur with neurofeedback? Why do think this brain-based therapy is so successful with making long-term changes in someone who might be struggling in some way?
Q4: What are some of the most common issues that are improved with neurofeedback?
Q5: The whole reason I do this podcast, connecting the brain to our schools, sports and workplaces, is that we were never taught about the importance of a healthy brain when we were growing up. When did you first notice that a healthy brain could change a person’s life? Dr. Daniel Amen “When your brain works right, you work right.”
Q6: Why does this work? Can you review the research? I also find this fascinating that when we can improve the structure and function of our brain, it changes our results significantly.
Q6B: How can we change our brain waves at will? We have explored this from meditation, but I wonder what you would say?
Q6C: Cats can change their brain waves? If cats can, why not humans? What happened with the NASA study? How did the cats change the structure and function of their brain?
Q7: How exactly do our brain waves work? We have covered brain waves on past episodes[i], working on ways to go from the BETA state, to ALPHA for more creativity.  How does neurofeedback change our brain waves?
Q7B: What should we all understand about our brain waves? What impacts neurological dysregulation and changes brain wave patterns?
Q7C: How does Neuropathway Symmetry work? Does someone need to come into your offices for this? Is there any way to change the pattern in our brain remotely/from home?
Q8: Where would someone begin?
Q9: What results do people typically see?
Dianne, I want to thank you for sharing your story as a Mom on a mission to help others who might have a child, or another family member who is struggling somehow, and could be helped by Symmetry Neuro-PT. If someone wants to learn more, is the best way to schedule an appointment with your team?
Thank you for your time today, and for your vision to make this world a better place, by helping us to understand what’s available to help us to improve our self-regulation skills, and take control of our brain health. No one else will do this for us.
Get Dianne’s NEW book, From Trauma to Triumph: A Mom’s Mission with Neurofeedback here https://symmetryneuropt.com/from-trauma-to-triumph-a-moms-mission-with-neurofeedback/
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS:
I always miss something important in the interview process. Something about listening, and asking questions at the same time, I usually catch what I missed while editing, and I missed the MOST important part of this interview.
Dianne is a Mom on a mission for a reason. It started when he son was struggling, and his pathway wasn’t looking bright. Dianne did not leave any rocks unturned. She found a way that helped her son, find his way in life, and now she helps others to do the same.
What I missed is that Dianne’s son is now a US Army Special Forces Green Beret.
That’s why I do this podcast. We ALL have something important we are meant to do while we are here living life, on this place called earth. We will come up with challenges along the way, and some may take us off course.  But there is a bright future for ALL of us. Everyone has the same opportunity to live a healthy and successful life, it’s just knowing the resources that are available to us, to help us when we become stuck, that will move the needle for us.
If you saw something in this interview that could help you, a family member, or someone you know, please do reach out to Dianne and book an appointment with her and her team to discuss your situation. I am not affiliated with her business, just here to share what she has created, with the hope that it unlocks someone else potential, someone who might have been stuck, to reach NEW heights.
And with that, I’ll close out this episode, and see you next week, for PART 2 of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s book review. See you next week.
FOLLOW DIANNE KOSTO CEO and FOUNDER of SYMMETRY Neuro-PT
https://linktr.ee/symmetryneuropt
Schedule an Appointment with Dianne’s Team https://go.oncehub.com/symmetry
Can Neurofeedback Help with Brain Fog? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WI-79DupIs0
Brain Fog Quiz https://symmetryneuropt.com/brain-fog/
Symmetry Website: https://symmetryneuropt.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SymmetryNeuroPT
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/symmetryneuropt/
Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/SYMMETRYNeuroPT
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/company/symmetryneuropt/
Where to Begin to Integrate Neurofeedback into a Facility? https://symmetryneuropt.com/why-should-i-incorporate-neurofeedback-into-my-facility/
Blog https://symmetryneuropt.com/blog/
FREE Webinar to LEARN MORE https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=1717895994980318
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
International Society for Neuroregulation and Research https://isnr.org/
Barry Sterman The Beginning of Neurofeedback https://braintrainuk.com/the-story-of-neurofeedback/
REFERENCES
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE 261 PART 1 of The Silva Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/

The Story of Elite Fighter, Hazel Gale ”From Confident Champion to Burnout: Are YOU Ready to Rebuild Yourself From the Inside Out?”

Whenever elite fighter Hazel Gale entered the ring, she felt fear. Not just the rational fear of being knocked out. But something deeper as well. The fear that she didn't deserve success, and that she would let everyone - especially herself - down.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/1VDpu_KfZwk
On today's episode #308 we will cover: 
✔ The story of elite fighter, Hazel Gale, that took her from confident champion, to burnout.
✔ How she now helps others with what she discovered from her life's journey.
✔ What is the research-based BETWIXT (story-based wellness app) and how does it help take us to new heights?
✔ Where can we ALL begin in our own personal "Journey of Our Mind?"
✔ How can we identify behaviors that self-sabotage our results?
✔ What are some common "monsters" and what can we learn from them to take us to new heights (personally and professionally).
✔ Where can we begin our own transformational journey of The Mind?
While others saw a confident world champion athlete, Hazel was plagued by anxiety, self-doubt and depression. It was these things - the monsters of her mind - that she felt were her most dangerous opponents, and she waged a war. It was that hard-fought internal battle that ultimately led her to burn out.
Now the founder of the story-based wellness app, Betwixt[i], Hazel is pioneering a new approach to digital mental health that she calls mindful entertainment. A sought-after London therapist, Hazel has created a revolutionary system for overcoming fear, underperformance, and self-sabotage.
There is never a good time to confront the monsters that hold us back, but if we truly want to be our best selves, our highest performing, it begins with a deep level of self-awareness that our next guest has discovered through her own journey of life experience, and now helps others to do the same in the most captivating and unique way, that I’ve ever seen.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #308, we will be speaking with Hazel Gale, she’s a former kickboxer and boxer with multiple World, European and National titles. Her outward success, however, had a dark side: the stress of competition and relentless self-doubt drove her into an emotional and physical burnout that led to years of chronic illness.
Hazel’s eventual recovery inspired her to qualify as a therapist and coach, and for over a decade she worked with high-level athletes, business executives and others as a master practitioner of cognitive hypnotherapy – an evidence-based approach that combines elements of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) and traditional hypnotherapy with theories of modern neuroscience.
Hazel’s 2018 book "The Mind Monster Solution" was published internationally and became an Amazon bestseller in both mental health and psychology.
Currently, Hazel is the co-founder and the chief creative officer of Betwixt – an award-winning app that blends psychology with interactive storytelling to make wellness feel like an adventure instead of a chore. I downloaded this app, and was blown away with what she has created here. If you want to learn more about who you are, at the deepest levels, I highly recommend this app. I downloaded it for free, and was able to go through the first interactive story, and experience the app, before deciding to purchase it. You can continue your journey for free, or for $19.49 you gain lifetime access. I did purchase the app, as I liked what I saw, and am curious what else I will learn from Hazel’s “Journey of her Mind.”
So How Did I Meet this Inspiring Author, World Class Athlete and Wellness App Creator?
When I was introduced to Hazel, I was drawn to learn more from her story from the mental resilience side of her work. While we know that mental resilience is critical in the sports world, it’s equally as important in most people’s day to day life. Mental resilience is as crucial to my day as brushing my teeth, and when I’m struck with difficult situations, I feel like I have a lot of tools available already to me, just from hosting this podcast. We were introduced to the Fisher Wallace[ii] brain stimulator that was once our most listened to episode, that helps keep anxiety at bay, while also improving sleep. I’m clear about the benefits of daily exercise to combat stress, improve a student’s academic achievement and help keep our focus in the workplace from our interview with Dr. Ratey and his book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain[iii].  I’ve bought myself a Whoop device when I turned 50 to measure and track my sleep and recovery for our interview with Whoop’s VP of Performance Science, Kristen Holmes[iv],  I’ve got a clear understanding of how to eat the right foods, and nourish my gut-brain axis  after our recent interview with Neurohacker’s Dr. Kelly[v], and a few episodes where we’ve looked at building our mental resiliency with Horacio Sanchez[vi].
We’ve built a great list of tools and resources that go deep into combatting stress, as this has been one our main focal points for improving productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. While we did meet with Erika Ferszt and discussed work burnout, on EP 198[vii], but what were we missing I wondered when I saw her work?
Here’s what it was: I’ve never met with a world class athlete who had to rebuild themselves and overcome the physical and emotional burnout that led her body to break down in the first place. What she has done to rebuild herself shows the high level of mental and physical strength that she holds within herself, that can help anyone who needs to find a new pathway in life, towards health and wellness, with her model. She is the real deal. I only wish we could be in the same room with her for this interview, because she’s has some talents that she knows she has, that have taken her years to develop, but these talents are what she will help us all bring out in ourselves.
I do have some questions for Hazel, that I’d like to know myself around building up my own mental strength, and I hope you find this interview helpful with Hazel’s high level of understanding of what’s needed to create the mental mindset needed at the highest level of sport that we can transfer into our own personal life experience for heightened success. I know that this is just the beginning of the journey, but am grateful to have this chance to open up the doorway of possibility that maybe we could ALL be much more than we are today.
Let’s meet this elite world class athlete, Hazel Gale, and see what we can learn from her story that takes us from confident champion, to burnout, and see how we can all rebuild ourselves from the inside out.
Welcome Hazel Gale, thank you for joining us on the podcast today. Where exactly are you located in the UK?
Intro Q: Before creating your questions for today, I listened to the podcast episode you did with The Mind Muscle Project[viii] and at the end of this episode, you had me thinking about your book, (that we will get to) and what my monsters are (or subconscious programs that hold me back). I had no idea that I would be thinking and writing notes, and talking over with my husband about “who” I really am because I’ve been on this quest for over 25 years. Before we talk about this launching point--which is what I want us to uncover at the end, can you begin with an overview of your life, and what happened to get you to where you are today, with the focus on this story-based wellness app that you’ve created?
Q1: I have over 13 pages of notes from that podcast episode we mentioned. It’s all about your life’s journey. We all have a life and a journey, and it really is neat to connect all the dots as we look back, and think “Oh wow, if I didn’t do that, I’d never have ended up here!” Looking back now, what were some of those pivotal moments for you? What would you say would be that first AHA moment of “this is where it all began for you?”
Q2: While this was a “Moment of Truth” for you, when you fell in love with kickboxing, and it might have been the beginning, looking back now, and seeing where this moment took you, and how have you designed your app to help others to pause, think, and understand about their own personal “moments of truth” isn’t life an incredible journey? Your story is especially inspiring to share.
Q2B: How did you tie the most current research into your app?
Q3: Your love of kickboxing was almost the end of you. While I’m not a pro athlete I completely understood your need to train and the strength you received from it. My Whoop device measured me at Too Much Strain, Not Enough Sleep for a good year before I stopped overtraining. I’m sure I could dive deep into that part of me, (that I connect to with you) and maybe others who connect with your story, it’s a good place to look at. At what point did you REALLY understand the MIND, the importance of looking at the stuff that underneath the surface with the iceberg analogy, getting closer to the truth of who we really are, and then uncovering this with your app?
(STORY 1: The In-Between: The Ice World, Exploring the Change You Want to See, STORY 2: The Game of Trust: Exploring the Things You Love, Appreciate and Value, STORY 3: The Power of Flaw: Your Journey Awaits).
Q3B: Where does hypnotherapy come in for you to digging deeper into the depths of our mind?
Q4: What inspired you to write The Mind Monster Solution: How to Overcome Self-Sabotage and Reclaim Your Life[ix] I wondered want it is that you’d like to open up for others with your book and life’s journey?
Q5: As we are all thinking about our purpose in life, and using our strengths, and getting through difficult times, I think that a lot of this we’ve got to discover on our own? I was listening to a recent podcast episode of Dr. Andrew Huberman[x], on self-awareness it’s tied to our mental health, and I rarely sit down and actively think “hey, that thing that happened yesterday made me defensive” and then sit down and get to the root of it before I do anything else in my day. This rarely happens unless I’m about to interview someone like you, who has made me think a bit deeper than usual. What’s so important about knowing the Monsters in Our Mind that hold us back, and becoming more self-aware in this process? What are some common monsters?
Q6: This is the same question again, just asked after I saw the artwork you have at https://www.mindmonsters.online/  and I was trying to figure out mine, or what I would draw and it wasn’t that easy. How can we figure out quickly what our monsters are, so we can draw them out, know them, and become more self-aware in this process to create change?
Q7: You said something about that if “I am the common denominator” and I keep having this issue, then there MUST be something about ME here that I’ve got to understand. I think this would be an incredible book to write…The Common Denominator of Me or something. How do we bring these things to surface so we can “see” them, and create change?
Q8: What superpowers do you think you’ve developed from understanding yourself (listening to your body) at this deep level?
I recognized one of your talents, and it had to do with being able to read someone who was sitting in front you. What goes on inside us, shows up loud and clear on the outside. I have this superpower as well. Put me in front of anyone and I can “feel” what they really are thinking.,
Q9: I absolutely LOVED your Betwixt App for mental health. I downloaded the app, and did “The In-Between” The Ice World, and for someone who moved from Toronto to AZ over 22 years ago, because I can’t handle snow/ice or the cold. The app brought back the memories of the cold for me, in a way that made me wonder…what about the cold weather drives me bananas? What should we be paying attention to with this app? Who is the narrator supposed to be? They say “you humans fascinate me” Who is talking to me? How is this app designed to help us to grow/improve/change?
Q9B: I know there is research behind the stories. Can you explain this?
Q10: Is there anything important that I’ve missed? I wanted to have us end this interview with a deeper level of self-awareness, or at least some steps to get there.
Hazel, I want to thank you for taking the time to meet with me, and sharing your fascinating story of rebuilding yourself from the inside out, with our audience. I knew there was a lot for me to learn from you, when I heard your interview, and story of strength where you rebuilt yourself, and now help others do the same, I really wanted to meet you. If people want to reach you, what’s the best way? Other than downloading the app, are there other services you offer?
Thank you!!
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS
When I said “may the journey of our minds begin” I really meant it. This is really important work that we are covering here on the podcast. If we truly want to be improved versions of ourselves, it begins by looking within, finding our truths, learning, changing and growing. These types of changes don’t happen overnight.
Look at how Hazel had to learn about who she was at the very core with years of thought and introspection, and then she created the BETWIXT app to help others to do the same.
This is where it all begins. I am going to take some time to go through the APP, thinking about my own Journey of the Mind, and we will have Hazel back on the podcast to discuss what I learn, on a future episode.
Until then, as you listen to this episode, I hope that you started to think:
Who are you?
How can you be an improved version of yourself?
What are your monsters that could possibly lead you to self-sabotage?
Could you possibly MAKE A CHANGE to change your own life?
These are difficult questions. Like we noticed, it took Hazel years to uncover the answers for herself.
I noticed my WHOOP device saying “hey, you aren’t getting enough sleep, and your strain is too high” before I thought “maybe I should do something differently.” It’s pretty obvious now looking back I needed to create more balance with my daily activities, but I missed the daily message until I noticed my feet and legs were hurting, prompting me to make some changes.
I hope this episode has made you think more  about who you are, in a deeper way than you would usually think, with some possible ways that you could me MORE than you are today for yourself and others.
And with that thought, I’ll see you next week with some NEW ideas to take our results to new heights.
CONNECT WITH HAZEL GALE
Website https://hazelgale.wixsite.com/hazel-gale
Buy Hazel’s Book on AMAZON https://www.amazon.com/Fight-Hazel-Gale/dp/147366246X/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=604569085381&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=17706718117481243741&hvtargid=kwd-757439751793&hydadcr=25775_13483905&keywords=the+mind+monster+solution&qid=1696379192&sr=8-1
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/hazel.gale.therapy/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/hazelgale/?originalSubdomain=uk
Medium https://hazelgale.medium.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/HazelGale
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/hazelgalehypnotherapy/
Download the Betwixt App https://www.betwixt.life/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Download the Betwixt App https://www.betwixt.life/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE on “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Brain Stimulator” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/
[iii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #116 with Dr. John Ratey  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #134 with Kristen Holmes VP of Performance Science from Whoop.com  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/
[v]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #305 with Dr. Gregory Kelly https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/returning-guest-dr-gregory-kelly-on-qualia-synbiotic-optimizing-digestion-and-mood-with-prebiotics-probiotics-and-postbiotics/
[vi]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #111 with Horacio Sanchez  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #198 with Erika Ferszt on Preventing Workplace Burnout  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/mood-and-stress-expert-erika-ferszt-on-using-your-brain-to-prevent-workplace-burnout/
[viii] The Mind Muscle Podcast with Hazel Gale https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/mind-muscle-project/930-tbt-hazel-gale-this-Uj-8PwxDV07/
[ix] The Mind Monster Solution by Hazel Gale https://hazelgale.wixsite.com/hazel-gale
[x] Dr. Andrew Huberman with Paul Conti on How to Understand and Assess Your Mental Health https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tLRCS48Ens4
 

Dr. Konstantin Korotkov on ”Bridging the Spiritual World With Science: Tapping into the Power of Our Thoughts, Energy Fields and Intention.”

“All you need is just a strong desire and you will bask in the sun in the courtyard of a French café, and in front of your eyes the icy peaks will be sparkling. You can reach this with the energy of your thoughts. “In a dream or what?”  –reader asks in surprise. “No, in reality, and achievement of the desired depends on you only.” Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, The Energy of Consciousness.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/nmvtN2uEvnE
 
 
On today's episode #307 with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, we will cover:
✔  A review of EPISODE #306 and why it's important that we understand how our thoughts CAN influence others.
✔ What is GDV (Gas Discharge Visualization) that takes the Kirlian Effect to new heights and how can this tool help us with our health, productivity and well-being?
✔  A look back at Russian Scientist Dr. Konstantin Korotkov's career, that led him to embrace the idea that we are spiritual beings, living a human experience first and foremost.
✔ An overview of the Bio-Well Congress Conference coming this November 10th-12 in Orlando, Florida. Who is attending and how is there work important in the world.
✔ How exactly does Dr. Korotkov's work bridge the unseen spiritual world, with the rigorous and rigid world of Science?
✔ How does mental telepathy work, and how can we use it?
✔ Some of the biggest mysteries of the world Dr. Korotkov has seen with his own eyes.
✔ How he suggests we can ALL raise the consciousness of the world and live happier, more productive lives. 
 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #307, I’m beyond excited to have the opportunity to speak with Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, for many reasons that started when I found him as one of the inventors of GDV (gas discharge visualization) while researching Dr. Joe Dispenza for our last episode. I had no idea what a trip I would go on, reading his books, that took me all over the world, and into many different exciting, and mind-boggling directions. My questions for Dr. Korotkov started with the fact that we all have an energy field, we are all connected and “can influence each other.”  Konstantin Korotkov calls this electrophonics and explains its origin that goes back to 1777 in Brazil and then Russia. While I had always wondered about the science behind this technology, I had no idea what else his work would open my mind to.
Here's a bit more about Dr. Korotkov’s background. He’s a doctor of Sciences and a Professor, working at the University of St. Petersburg, Russia. In over 40 years of scientific activity, he’s published more than 300 scientific articles, 12 books, (translated into many European languages), and he holds 9 patents. In his youth, he was actively engaged in mountaineering at the Championship level in the Soviet Union.
All his life, he’s had a passion for travel. In the last 25 years, he has been among those who have been designing devices for gas discharge visualization (GDV– development of Kirlian effect), which allows rapid analysis of the human health condition and, in many cases, identifies the hidden causes of diseases and specific systems while revealing organs that require special attention. This technology is widely used in the world today.
We briefly met Dr. Korotkov on our last episode, where I mentioned his hard work that has broken through many levels of achievements, and I can’t express enough just how lucky we are to have this opportunity to speak with him. I have been reading his books, to prepare for this interview, and the questions I originally wrote were scratched off the list, as I uncovered more and more about the work Dr. Korotkov has done, working to bridge the gap between the great mysteries of life that are in the unseen world, with the measurable world of science.
In our last episode, I put a video explanation from Dr. Korotkov in the show notes, where he explains the history of his invention (GDV) that began with what we know to be called Kurlian Photography, that was not embraced by the scientific community. I mentioned that I know this well, as this was one of the reasons my first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed[i] couldn’t be taught in our schools when I first began working with students with social and emotional learning and the importance of having a good attitude, that shows up on the outside. Jeff Kleck from EP 246[ii] circled Kirlian Photography in the second chapter of my book, and wrote “science can’t prove that!”
Well, with all due respect to those who think that are thoughts cannot influence our future, they can with GDV technology that we can find all over Pubmed articles, showing that we all have an energy field and we are all connected and “can influence each other.”  Konstantin Korotkov calls this electrophonics. This advanced GDV Technology shows “that we have energy fields…it can show physical energy distribution, emotional energy distribution, psychological energy distribution, and our relationship of our inner state to the outer world.”[iii]
I have many questions, stemming from all of the books, and articles I have read highlighting Dr. Korotkov’s work, and look forward to uncovering some of the mysteries of the world with this fascinating scientist who while he does live in Russia, he’ll be turning in from France today. He might as well be sitting right next to me here, as I do believe, like he does, that we are all connected.
Let’s meet Dr. Konstantin Korotkov and dive into some of the most fascinating topics that will challenge us to “think” deeply, before we make assumptions with anything in our life.
Privyet Dr. Korotkov, and bonjour mon ami, it’s incredible to meet you today. Are you still in France today?
Thank you for taking the time for to dive into some of the questions I’ve spend many years wondering about. I’m can’t even tell you how excited to learn from you, and share your knowledge with others who tune into the podcast around the world.
I would usually open up with a question about where you are, and what work you are focused on, but after reading a few of your books to prepare for this interview, I don’t even know how to begin.
Can you take us back maybe through a timeline that explains where you started in your career, highlighting some of the mysteries of the world you have been looking to solve (from taking Kirlian photography to the next level to these trips to caves around the world). Can you orient us with how far you’ve come professionally, and what you are working on now?
Q1: For listeners who want to tap into your work right now, you let me know that you will be hosting the Bio-Well Congress in Orlando, Florida November 10-12th at the Orlando Hilton Hotel. 
I’ve put a link to your conference in the show notes, and participants can attend virtually as well as in person in Orlando, Florida, but can you briefly explain what this event is, who should attend and what they will learn?
Q2: I’ve been looking for you for a long time. Someone who could help me to bridge the gap between the unknown maybe the world people would say is more spiritual (the dream it/believe it/achieve it) world…with a world where science must prove it before anyone will believe it. 
However, it is impossible to deny that there are phenomena that lie beyond the modern scientific paradigm. The famous slogan: “It cannot be, because this can never be so” has been transformed into a slogan: “It cannot be because it conflicts with science” (Energy of Consciousness)
What made you interested to learn more about this topic you’ve written many books on, the Consciousness of Health or the energy of health?
Q2B:  What about telepathy or using our energy fields to influence our outside world? I’ve always done this (call it prayer) with wanting to help/improve the world in some way, or send people around the world that are important to me “good thoughts” but how do you use this in your daily life Do we need to be connected somehow to those we connect with this way? Some sort of brain coherence?
Q2C: What about those people who we are not in resonance with? What happens here?
Q3: While I first discovered you through your work with GDV, (electrophonics you call it) I do have some questions around this, but while researching you further, and reading your books, I learned that there was much more to you than I first thought. It started when I googled your name and these images came up so I read your book about The Mysterious Mummies of Nazca leading me to think I could ask you a million questions and we’d not ever scratch the surface. But I have to ask-what was the purpose of that book and what do YOU think you discovered in Nazca?
Q4: I watched your podcast interview with Amrit Sandu[iv] where you explained the history/backstory of GDV. It was clear to me watching you speak that you are not on the business side of this invention, and you just want to help the world be a better place. I relate to this part of you (even though there’s got to be a business model behind a good idea to make it sustainable) I believe in doing good for the world. For all of us listening, what can we do to follow in your footsteps and raise the consciousness of the world a little bit more every day?  
Q5: Is there anything I have missed that’s important?
Dr. Korotkov, I want to thank you for the time you have spent with me today. I will read ALL of your books, and am grateful to have found someone who is opening my eyes to bridging the gap between the unseen world, and what we are truly capable of, with science.
For people who want to learn more about you, what is the best place? http://www.bio-well.store/about/konstantin
Final Thoughts to Close Out This Interview with Dr. Korotkov
To close out this episode, I do need to go back to our study of The Silva Program[v], that we covered to help us to all take our meditation practices to new heights. This 4 part series is by far the most listened to episode we’ve covered here on the podcast.
If you’ve listened to it, you will recall that we open up with a quote from Jose Silva that reminds us “Once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.”
Dr. Korotkov’s work is a clear example of what’s possible when you take a belief in yourself, use your mind to think creatively, and then take action on the ideas we create in our minds, that there is nothing we cannot accomplish.
Once we learn to use our mind in this way, it is important that we continue to put goodness out into the world and help others with the power of positive intention.
This way, together, we really can change the world.
And with that thought, I will close out this episode.
I’ll see you next week with an interview with elite champion Hazel Gale, and then we will continue with our review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s work, that really is the next step from here.
We can’t do this all at once, but one episode at a time, I do think that those of you who tune in regularly, will see that we are all connected to each other, and it matters what energy we are putting out into the world.
I hope this episode opened up your mind to how powerful each of us really is, and that once we believe in the power of our own mind, we can begin to enjoy life in a whole new way, far beyond what we may have imagined in the past.
I’ll see you next week!
 
RESOURCES AND FOLLOW DR. KOROTKOV
Bio-Well Mastermind Congress https://summit.gaiahealers.com/sales-page1679663859779 Nov 10-12 in Orlando, virtual or in person
 
Website: http://www.bio-well.store/about/konstantin
 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/biowellworldwide/
 
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/biowellcompany/
 
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkn4BbIHuAVJOB4ljEVT1yw
 
Publications https://iumab.club/gb/science/research
 
Dr. Rajan Narayanan Yoga Concepts for Global Application https://www.amazon.com/Yoga-Concepts-Global-Application-understanding/dp/B0C9SNKGBD
 
Dogs That Know When Their Owners Are Coming Home by Rupert Sheldrake https://www.amazon.com/Dogs-That-Their-Owners-Coming/dp/0307885968/ref=asc_df_0307885968/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312130957577&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=17987888797529566223&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030091&hvtargid=pla-490435213827&psc=1
 
Lynne McTaggart The Power of Intention Interview with Amrit Sandhu https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwA2Mt8q-rQ
 
Jaime Maussan Mexican Reporter https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaime_Maussan
 
The Jaime Maussan Show https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2041823/
 
Nazca Desert Mystery https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/nazca-desert-mystery/
 
In Search of Aliens: Nazca’s Ancient Geoglyphs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g34lDUxodZo
 
What is Hiding Under the World Famous Nazca Lines in Peru? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cWIYb5zd6p8
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i] The Secret for Teens Revealed Published by Andrea Samadi 2009 https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teens-Revealed-Teenagers-Leadership/dp/1604940336
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #246 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
 
[iii] What is Gas Discharge Visualization? Konstantin Korotkov Published in 2012 in YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhBYqkos-Xk
 
[iv] Top Secret Russian Scientist Reveals Quantum Secrets, The Power of Intention https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GRM2ETh5kdo
 
[v] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #261 The Silva Program PART 1-4 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/
 
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/
 
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
 
 
 

”Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” PART 1 Review of Dr. Joe Dispenza’s Work

“As the acceptance of expanded human potential gains mainstream momentum, the question has shifted from “What is possible in our lives?” to “How do we do it? How do we awaken our extraordinary potential in everyday life?” (Dr. Joe Dispenza).
Today we will look at these questions and take a shallow dive, not a deep one, as there are many layers to how exactly we live up to the full potential we all have within us, or like the name of Joe Dispenza’s book, Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon. Today we will begin this exploration and identify clear strategies to awaken the extraordinary potential in each of us.Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #306, we are going to look closely at the work of someone I have been forbidden by my mentor and neuroscience certification trainer, Mark Waldman, to EVER interview. When I first launched this podcast back in 2019, there were many reasons for WHY I wanted to bridge the gaps I saw in the field of education and the workplace, with practical neuroscience. To do this, I knew I needed training and obtained an Advanced Certification in Mindfulness-based Neurocoaching, where one of the MANY requirements for this Certification was that I had to show an application of practical neuroscience in the world, or just show that I was using what I was learning to help others. I told Mark Waldman about my podcast, and had him of for one of our early EP #30[i] in December of 2019 and shared with him my vision of who I would interview, and where I wanted to take this podcast. He told me he liked this idea, but since I was going to use this for his Certification requirement, he said “You must never interview anyone who covers pseudoscience” and said I must keep true evidence-based science (proven from articles on Pubmed) at the forefront. I thought, of course, why would I want to cover fake science and spread that into the world, and then he said it. “You must never interview Joe Dispenza!” And I thought “Oh no!”  I love that guy. His name was written on my wall as a potential future guest and while I agreed at the time to keep the podcast focused on science, I never did cross Dr. Dispenza off my list.
I first heard about Joe Dispenza when I worked in the motivational speaking industry and while I knew about his seminars, how crazy the results were that people obtained, and some of the advanced technologies he used like epigenetics testing, brain mapping with EEGs and gas discharge visualization technology (GDV). I also knew that some people, including Mark Waldman, would consider Joe Dispenza’s work to be pseudoscience, but I always put the results first in my mind, and hoped that one day, science could help prove what he has been teaching for years.
Joe Dispenza says it himself in the first few pages of his book, Becoming Supernatural. He writes:
Dr. Dispenza let go of his critics and decided to move forward with wanting to share his message with the world. He believes in a world where possibility exists, and he will challenge our thinking using his own personal experience of transformation, through meditation and his ability to change his health (which really could be applied to any area of your life-change your results, finances, whatever it is you want to change) purely by changing our thoughts.
This was one of the first concepts Bob Proctor from EP 66[ii] taught in his seminars. We had to change our thinking first in order to change our future results. We had Adele Spraggon on EP #184[iii] where she teaches about the importance of paying attention to our feelings before we think and act with her concept she writes about in her Shift book, so we can begin to make our habits work for us, instead of against us.
So here are some questions I’ve been looking for an answer to since I launched this podcast 5 years ago. I wonder:
Can our current, present day thoughts impact our future?
Can we impact our own health (and results for that matter) purely by what we think?
Can my energy influence another person, and can someone else’s energy influence mine?
Can someone’s energy be felt?
Can our energy field be seen?
This is what Joe Dispenza has been working on proving for years, and he’s been using the most forward thinking tools to do this, and one of them, GDV (gas discharge visualization) was developed by a brilliant Russian man, Konstantin Korotkov.[iv]
I put a video explanation from Physics Professor, Konstantin Korotkov in the show notes, where he explains the history of his invention (GDV) that began with what we know to be called Kurlian Photography, that was not embraced by the scientific community. I know this well, as this was one of the reasons my first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed[v] couldn’t be taught in our schools when I first began working with students. Jeff Kleck from EP 246[vi] circled Kirlian Photography in the second chapter of my book, and wrote “science can’t prove that!”
Well, with all due respect to those who think that are thoughts cannot influence our future, they can with GDV technology that we can find all over Pubmed articles, showing that we all have an energy field and we are all connected and “can influence each other.”  Konstantin Korotkov calls this electrophonics and explains it’s origin that goes back to 1777 in Brazil and then Russia. I typed Gas Discharge Photography into Pubmed, and found hundreds of articles, including one that showed “Applications of GDV Imaging in Health and Disease”[vii] and in the Journal of Education, Health and Sport, found an article “The Parameters of GDV (biophotonics) correlated with parameters of acupuncture points, EEG, HRV and hormones.”[viii] This advanced GDV Technology shows “that we have energy fields…it can show physical energy distribution, emotional energy distribution, psychological energy distribution, and our relationship of our inner state to the outer world.”[ix]
Of course, I jumped at the chance to find Dr. Korotkov, and asked if he would come on the podcast, so I could ask him some questions, and dive deeper into understanding how our thoughts, and energy fields can influence ourselves, others, our mental and physical health, and our futures. Stay tuned, he has agreed to an interview. In the meantime, he did let me know that he will be hosting the Bio-Well Congress in Orlando, Florida November 10-12th at the Orlando Hilton Hotel.
So it looks like the answers to all the questions that I asked above, that I’ve wondered over the years, would be a solid, scientifically proven YES, to all of them, and Dr. Joe Dispenza has been teaching this for years.
Before I share why I wanted to cover this topic today, I’ve got to begin with the fact that we are all connected, and have an energy field. Dr. Korotkov has been searching for ways to bridge the gap from the unseen world of energy, with scientific principles, and says “there is clear evidence that we influence each other.”[x]
This is something I always felt, but never really understood. I noticed certain things when I was in my late 20s, and thought they would be too “woo woo” to share on the podcast, and this is definitely one of them. I began to notice some people would have brighter lights around them, and appeared to me to be Supernatural like Dr. Dispenza would say. I could pick out people in the seminar room when I worked with Bob Proctor who I could see had this bright light around them, and when this light was paired with a belief for what they were doing, was the recipe for them to achieve outstanding results in the world. It happened time and time again. I remember the first person I saw shining brighter than all of us sitting at a table, and it just made me wonder
What’s different about that person than the rest of us?
How are they thinking and feeling?
Why do I see and feel their energy?
When I went to work with Proctor in the seminar industry, I had the opportunity to put these questions into practice, and became highly developed with this superpower.
When I see or feel this heightened sense of energy in people today, (this is not a common occurrence) but when I notice it, I’ll share it with them, at the risk of them thinking I’m completely crazy. The other day, my husband and I were out for dinner, and I saw it with the young woman who was serving us. She looked like she was in her 20s, or maybe early 30s, and she was hustling like I’ve never seen. Then I noticed this young woman was pregnant! When she was took our order she sat down next to me to catch her breath, and it was here that I told her “You know you’re special, right?” She said “what do you mean?” And I told her what I could see. She looked at me with some level of disbelief, but also another level that she knew what I was talking about. I told her to find my podcast, and listen to episode 66 so she could see where my path began, and she wrote it down, thanked me, and then told me to look up the book Becoming Supernatural.[xi]
While driving home that night I did, and discovered where Dr. Joe Dispenza’s path began.
So for today’s episode #306 “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” I dedicate this to the young woman who hustles every night. She knows who she is. When most of us were pregnant, we could barely stand on our feet. Not this woman. She knows how to create her future, and it starts with the belief she has in herself, and her dreams, that is strong enough that I could see it and feel it just merely by her sitting next to me. I hope she finds the path that’s meant for her, and lives every moment of peace, joy and abundance that she deserves for herself and her baby who’s on the way.  
Then I also wish this for you, the listener. I hope you’ll look at Dr. Dispenza’s work, that’s backed by Dr. Korotkov’s GDV technology, and recognize how far they both have come to share these evidence-based ideas into the world and then see how YOU can use them to improve your own health, results and future, keeping in mind that:
Our current, present day thoughts can impact our future.
We can impact our own health (and results for that matter) purely by what we think.
Our energy can influence another person, and someone else’s energy can influence ours.
Our energy be felt, and it also can be seen with devices that measure this information scientifically.
Just like some other books we have looked at, I want to break down Dr. Dispenza’s Becoming Supernatural into a few episodes. On today’s episode, we will cover:
Chapter 1: Opening the Door to the Supernatural and Chapter 2 The Present Moment.
At the end we will look at specific strategies of where we can begin, so that we can build a solid belief in ourselves, and our future potential.
Chapter 1: Opening the Door to the Supernatural
This book opens up with a Foreword from Dr. Dawson Church, who we interviewed on EP #98[xii] who covered “The Science Behind Using Meditation.” Dr. Church’s interview[xiii] has now become our MOST watched YouTube interview, showing me that the world wants to understand how meditation can take us to new heights. I’ve also mentioned often that The Silva Method Series[xiv] is our most listened to podcast episode, all focused on using the power of our mind, to take us to new heights.
Dr. Church writes in his Foreword that “Joe stretches the horizons of possibility by extending the boundaries of the unknown.” (Becoming Supernatural) Joe Dispenza opens up this book with a fascinating story of how he knew he was wasting his time, energy and talent worrying about what other people thought of him, and how he took an accident he had on his bike, where he was told he would never walk again, and used the power of his own mind, through a guided meditation, to heal his body.  “9.5 weeks after the accident, (he) got up, and walked back into (his) life—without having any body cast or surgeries” (Becoming Superhuman Ch 1).
What I noticed with this first chapter was that Dr. Dispenza took us back to when he didn’t have the belief in himself, or his own ideas. He was still worried about what other people thought of him. His belief happened over time, when he let go (surrendered) to what others thought of him, and moved forward, full force, with the belief in his own future potential.
He had to let go, or break free. I remember Proctor would say, “Make a committed decision” when doing something. Don’t ask others, “what do you think” and go in half way, you must DECIDE to move forward, with everything you’ve got. Then he’d remind us of the Latin Root of the word decide which a combination of two words.  De=off and caedere= cut and he’d remind us when we decide something that we cut off all ties to any other option. Decide and move forward, never looking back.
When I was reading this chapter, it was very clear that Dr. Dispenza didn’t find it easy to heal his body. He explained how pain-stakingly difficult it was to replicate this meditative experience he had where he was able to “see” and “feel” things in this special state called hypnogogic sleep, in between sleep and wakefulness. I’m not sure where those of you who are listening are with your meditation practice as we are all at different levels, but I understood what Dr. Dispenza was saying. Sometimes you want to sit down and force something to happen, but that’s never how it works. You have to be completely relaxed, your body in a state of let go or surrender, and then the magic happens…
That’s exactly what Joe Dispenza did to open up the door to becoming Supernatural. Once he broke free and made a committed decision to teach this work, he described how he would live into his future potential by healing his own body first, and then showing others how to do the same with his seminars and workshops. He explained how he: “selected that intentional future and married it with the elevated emotion of what it would be like to be there in that future, in the present moment (his) body began to believe it was actually in that future experience. As (his) ability to observe (his) desired destiny (with intention) got sharper and sharper, (his) cells began to reorganize themselves. I began to signal new genes in new ways, and then (his) body really started getting better faster.” (Ch 1, Becoming Superhuman).
TO PUT THIS INTO ACTION: MAKE A COMMITTED DECISION
Have you made a committed decision to whatever it is that you want to do? Not one foot in, the other out, testing the ground? Are you fully committed like Dr. Dispenza was when he let go of worrying about what others thought of him?
REMEMBER:
“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness… the moment one definitely commits oneself then Providence moves, too. All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred… boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Begin it now.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
Chapter 2: The Present Moment
The way a person thinks and feels creates a person’s state of well-being. We know this can be scientifically proven by Dr. Korotkov’s GDV technology just by measuring the energy field from our finger tips, he can with accuracy, tell us what’s going on inside that person’s body (emotionally, psychologically) and then determine our relationship with this inner state to the outer world. Or in other words, what we THINK, on the inside, will show up on the outside.
Dr. Dispenza says it this way explaining that “the familiar past will sooner or later become the predictable future.” (Ch 2, Becoming Supernatural).
I heard Proctor explain it another way by explaining that “our results were a compilation of our thoughts, feelings and actions” and he could look at someone, and determine their level of thinking, purely based on the results they were obtaining. Now the funny part about this, is that many teachers explain the same thing, just a slightly different way. To determine a person’s level of thinking, Proctor would ask them “what’s the most amount of money you’ve ever made in one year” because he would quickly be able to see that person’s level of awareness. He would say that there’s no difference in ability of someone who earns $50K/year to someone who earns $50 Million/year, except the level of awareness of how to do it.
Our thoughts, in the present moment, determine our current reality. If we don’t like the reality we are in, it starts with changing our thoughts. To do this, we’ve often got to get out of our own way, and start to study and understand how our thoughts, feelings and actions create the world we live in.
We’ve all heard that insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result.
The same idea with our results. “If we keep the same routine as yesterday, it makes sense that your tomorrow is going to be a lot like your yesterday. Your future is just a rerun of your past. That’s because your yesterday is creating your tomorrow.” (Ch 2 Becoming Supernatural).
Whatever way we describe it, we will not be able to change our results in the future, unless we do something different in the NOW. We must be able to choose different thoughts (towards a new goal), feelings, and actions, to create a NEW, unknown event in our future. I’ve drawn out Dr. Dispenza’s Predictable Timeline from Chapter 2, that shows us how “the familiar past will sooner or later become the predictable future” (Dispenza) or that we will never be able to suddenly jump to a new salary for example, without first of all thinking/feeling/acting in an entirely NEW way in the present moment.
A NEW, unknown event, requires NEW thoughts/feelings/actions in the present moment. The ONLY way to change our future, is to change our current state of being.
IMAGE CREDIT: Andrea hand drew the image from Chapter 2 Becoming Supernatural
 
TO PUT THIS INTO ACTION: DO YOU KNOW WHAT ENERGY YOU ARE BROADCASING OUT TO THE WORLD?
This is where the hustling pregnant server comes to mind. She was working hard, doing her thing, and doing everything she knew how to do to change her future in some way. I’m not sure what her vision for her future really is, but I could clearly see and feel she was hustling to get somewhere, and I had no doubt in my mind that she would arrive, exactly where she wanted to go. She was broadcasting it out loudly and clearly to the world, and I know I’m not the only one who could see it.
What about you?
Are you doing everything you can in the present moment to create an unknown event in your future?
Are you keeping your thoughts positive, doing everything you know how to do, with your vision held on the screen of your mind?
If you’ve asked others for feedback on the actions you are taking, what do they say? Is there anything else you can do to improve?
In your heart you will know if you are giving your all from the minute you wake up, to the moment you close your eyes and go to sleep. This is the daily grind we talked about on EP 38[xv] that’s well known in the sports world. While working on a daily basis, and keeping our energy levels high, over time, with this effort, and being focused on what we are broadcasting out into the world, (making sure we are thinking/feeling/acting in a positive way) we will eventually create the space for an unknown, or unpredictable event that will take us to new heights of achievement.
It happens in the sales industry when you work really hard and get what we sometimes call a “blue-bird sale” where someone calls you and says “I have money to spend, and must spend it by the end of the day” and you never could have predicted this occurring, but you had the space for it, and you’re ready for it. Or you run into someone unexpectedly who connects you to someone else, who advances you in some way, to where you want to go. It’s an unknown event that many people would say “woah, how on the earth did that happen?” Dr. Dispenza and other teachers would say that it was created, predictably, by doing certain things, a certain way.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude today’s EP #306 on “Decoding Our Thoughts: How to Build a Better Future with the Power of Our Mind” we looked at the following questions:
Can our current, present day thoughts impact our future?
Can we impact our own health (and results for that matter) purely by what we think?
Can my energy influence another person, and can someone else’s energy influence mine?
Can someone’s energy be felt?
Can our energy field be seen?
Then we:
✔ Were introduced to Dr. Joe Dispenza and his book Becoming Supernatural with a brief introduction to how I was forbidden to ever cover Dr. Dispenza’s work, and why I’m covering it today.
✔ Learned about the Russian Scientist Dr. Konstantin Korotkov, and his GDV invention (that he calls elecrophonic imaging) that measures our physical, emotional and psychological energy distribution that provides “clear evidence that we influence each other.” We will learn more about how this device maps our inner state of mind with our outer world and much more from Dr. Korotkov on our NEXT episode (first week in October).
✔ Looked at Becoming Supernatural Chapter 1: Opening the Door to the Supernatural with some thoughts for you to put this chapter into practice in your daily life.
Do you know what you REALLY want?
Have you made a committed DECISION towards your goals?
Have you let go of what others think of you, and surrendered to doing what it takes to achieve your goals?
✔ Looked at Becoming Supernatural Chapter 2: The Present Moment, with some thoughts for you to put this chapter into practice in your daily life.
Are we aware of the energy that you broadcast out into the world? (If not, have you asked others for feedback on how you show up in the workplace or family life?)
Are we doing everything possible to move the needle towards your goals (or whatever it is that you are working on)?
Have we made space for unknown events to occur in your life to move you forward?
And with this introduction to Dr. Dispenza’s work, we will learn how the tools he has been using to gather the scientific evidence he needed to prove that our thoughts REALLY do matter for our health, results and future, were invented.
I’m hoping to have interviewed Dr. Korotkov by the first week in October, so we will miss a week while I’m traveling, next week, but looking forward to what we will uncover, and see you in October.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #30 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/neuroscience-researcher-mark-robert-waldman-on-brain-network-theory-and-the-12-brain-based-experiential-living-principles/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #66 with Bob Proctor  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #184 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/adele-spraggon-on-using-science-to-break-up-with-your-bad-habits-in-4-simple-steps/
 
[iv] What is Gas Discharge Visualization? Konstantin Korotkov Published in 2012 in YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhBYqkos-Xk
 
[v] The Secret for Teens Revealed Published by Andrea Samadi 2009 https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teens-Revealed-Teenagers-Leadership/dp/1604940336
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #246 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
 
[vii] Applications of GDV Imaging in Health and Disease Published by Suman Bista et al Sept. 26, 2023 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35648690/
 
[viii]The Parameters of GDV (biophotonics) correlated with parameters of acupuncture points, EEG, HRV and hormones Published by Valeriy Babelyuk et al Dec. 31, 2021  https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/36914
[ix] IBID
[x] IBID
[xi] Becoming Supernatural: How Common People are Doing the Uncommon by Dr. Joe Dispenza published March 5, 2019 https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tVP1zc0TKnILrcoq8owYPSSSkpNzs_NzEtXKC4tSC3KSywpLUrMUUjKz88GAEIPD3c&q=becoming+supernatural+book&oq=becooming+supernatueral+&aqs=chrome.1.69i57j46i13i433i512j0i13i512l7.7875j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8
[xii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #98 with Dr. Dawson Church  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-dawson-church-on-the-science-behind-using-meditation-rewiring-your-brain-for-happiness-resilience-and-joy/
 
[xiii] YouTube interview with Andrea Samadi and Dr. Dawson Church  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH8yVKHjFN4
 
[xiv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast on The Silva Mind Control Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
[xv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #38 with Todd Woodcroft https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/
 

Returning Guest Dr. Gregory Kelly on ”Qualia Synbiotic: Optimizing Digestion and Mood with Prebiotics, Probiotics and Postbiotics”

“Unhealthy changes in the gut microbial ecosystem may manifest as poorer cognitive performance, impaired emotional regulation, negative moods states, and unhealthy stress response.”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/8SFTPIuQ9To
This was posted three days ago from Neurohacker Collective saying that we are “just on the fringes of understanding the gut-brain connection and its impact on cognitive performance and emotional well-being” and I agree, that this topic is finally getting the attention it deserves. Sit back and enjoy today’s episode, and I hope you take away some tips that show you how to improve your gut-brain connection for improved mood and health, immediately!
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
On today’s EP #305 we welcome back Dr. Gregory Kelly from EP #285[i] just this past April where he introduced us to Qualia Senolytic where we covered:
What is cellular senescence?
What are the "Hallmarks of Aging" and why is cellular senescence an important hallmark?
The difference between cellular senescence and autophagy (with a quick review of 9th grade science mitosis).
Classical places where senescent cells take hold in the body.
The science to support senolytics from Mayo Clinic and Scripps Institute.
How do senolytics work?
The correct way to dose senolytics.
What makes Qualia Senolytic a groundbreaking supplement in the longevity space?
This interview set the stage for what we will cover today, with a look at Qualia  Synbiotic,  a one-of-a-kind formula doesn't just promote healthy gut. It also helps support mood and brain performance by enhancing gut-brain connections that are also crucial for nearly every system in body. There’s never been one simple scoop of supplemental nutrition designed to support so many aspects of gut health, including the gut-brain axis* 
First, a bit about Dr. Gregory Kelly:
On today’s episode, #305 we will cover:
What are keystone species and what role do they play in shaping our gut ecosystem?
Probiotics, prebiotics, postbiotics, and synbiotics - what’s the difference?
Breaking up some myths about probiotics, and prebiotics
How to fix gut imbalances and prevent dis-ease in our body?
What we can notice with Qualia Synbiotic, this ultimate digestive health formula?
Dr. Kelly’s favorite science-backed ingredients to support optimal digestion, immune function, and key aspects of the gut-brain connection.
What Dr. Kelly thinks of neurogenesis/what’s exciting for him these days to think about in the field of health and wellness?
Let’s welcome Dr. Gregory Kelly back to the podcast, from Neurohacker Collective!  
 
Welcome back Dr. Gregory Kelly for the second time on the podcast!
I’ve got to say that when we opened up our last interview, I was a huge fan of Neurohacker Collective and what you’ve built over there bringing together all the top minds in health and wellness, but I had only tried your products for a few weeks when we met last.
It’s been 5 months now we’ve been using Qualia Senoltyics in our house hold (my husband and I) and what a difference, especially when it comes to being able to focus and work longer periods of time without losing mental clarity. I contribute that 100% of this to what you’ve created at Neurohacker.com Thank you!
I also want to thank you for coming back on the podcast and helping me to understand the science behind the advanced products you and your team have created for health, wellness and longevity. I’m sincerely grateful to have this opportunity to speak with you, and learn what’s new with Neurohacker Collective. Welcome Back!
INTRO: So, Dr. Kelly, in order to create interview questions for today, I did listen to the podcast episode introduction you did with The Neurohacker Science Team[ii] so I could understand the overview of what we would talk about today. I’m not a scientist, but love learning at the highest level possible and sharing these latest discoveries in science on the podcast. I released an episode last week to prepare our listeners for this one on a “Deeper Dive into Understanding the Gut-Brain Axis for Improving Our Mental and Physical Health”[iii] so we can take our understanding to new heights, and the biggest question I have before we even begin, is that I wonder what was it that made you create Qualia Synbiotic in the first place? Where did this vision for helping us to improve our digestion AND mood begin?
Q1: This I think is brilliant because once I understood your vision for creating a product that combines probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics in one, I started to see how you were creating the next generation probiotic.  What does synbiotic mean for our gut/brain and microbiome?
 
Q2: What should we know about the gut-brain ecosytem and how does it influence the choices of foods we gravitate towards? I know we’ve all heard that we are what we eat, and this changes how we feel idea. How does our gut react to what we eat, and then what does this do to our brain?
Q2B: If you are taking something like Qualia Synbiotic, do you need to do anything else?
Q3: Can you give some background into what happened this past Jan 2023 with the hallmarks of aging going from 9-12? What was missing, that’s there now?
Q3B: Why do we gravitate towards certain foods? Healthy vs. Not Healthy?
Q4: I’m sure most of our listeners know about probiotics and how they help our gut, but this is your area of expertise. Can you break up some myths about probiotics, and prebiotics? I’m definitely someone who has bought a probiotic for how many million CFUs are on the front of the container, making me think “the more the better.”
Q5: Now you’ve explained what probiotics/prebiotics are not, can you explain how they work together? How can someone who has an imbalance with their gut, fix this imbalance by restoring the gut ecosystem?
Q6: Most of us have never been taught this. I noticed this with the first shake I made and added your product and right on the front of the container, you’ve listed “optimized digestion.” Now we have a clearer picture of how this impacts our gut-brain axis. How would you describe this to someone completely new, who has never heard of this, and doesn’t have a scientific background?
Q7: What do people typically notice when they take this? What effects and benefits should I notice other than that I just feel happier and healthier? What ingredients do you think are causing us to “feel” better symbiotically?
Q8: If you were to put together the TOP QUALIA Products you hear impacting people the most, what would you say they are?
Q9: My final question is something not related specifically to your product, but a more overall question where I’d love to pick your brain on something that I’m stumped about. It’s about neurogenesis. Do you, Dr. Kelly, think we can create NEW brain cells through doing things like exercise, or do you think that this can only happen in the hippocampus of the brain? I’m curious because this is something that I can see many experts have a differing of opinion with. I wonder what you think?
Dr. Kelly, I want to thank you for coming back on the podcast a second time. My husband and I are huge fans of Qualia Senolytic. We both use the original product that was designed to eliminate senescent cells 2 days a month, and the Qualia Mind is something we both use to stay focused on our work. I use Qualia skin, as I’m getting older, always looking for what else I can do to not look my age. Now I’ve added Qualia Synbiotic and all of these together, I just feel happier, healthier, leading to increased productivity.
What I want to acknowledge you for is helping us to be proactive with our health and wellness with these advanced products that you’ve developed with your team, that not only help us to take care of our body, but also our mind that we know is connected. Thank you for coming back on the podcast and for explaining concepts that are complex in a way that we can understand and apply them, for improved health. I’ll be sure to link Qualia Synbiotic in the show notes, and look forward to what’s next on the horizon for you to create.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I never take for granted the opportunity I have as the host of this podcast, to get to learn first-hand from leading experts and innovators around the world, connecting to some of the top thought leaders in the field of neuroscience.
I don’t want to ever show up unprepared with any guest, as I want to take the messages we will uncover to higher levels than just what we could if I didn’t dig deep and put some thought into what I am going to ask our guests.  I’ll always connect past episodes to current ones, as we are all connected, and ALL episodes are relevant for us to move forward with our levels of productivity and achievement. If you take one look at Dr. Kelly’s Neurohacker Collective team[iv], you will see what I mean. These are the leaders in the industry, who are moving the needle for the rest of the world.
Sometimes the AHA Moments of learning don’t show up right away. I need some time to think and process them, but on today’s episode, they came at the end, when Dr. Kelly was suggesting that we pick one product that seems to be calling to you. If you have issues with your gut, try Qualia Synbiotic and see if something shifts for you. If you need more focus during your day, Qualia Mind does it for me and locks me into being able to hold my focus for longer periods of my work day.
My FIRST AHA Moment of Learning: Do I fully understand what my eyes can see, my vision?
While explaining Qualia Vision, Dr. Kelly spoke about how many of us “don’t realize the work the visual system is doing in the background.” Our eyes are always working, seeing, and registering our environment. But If you know me, you’ll know that I’ve had very weak vision for years. I’ve always worn contact lenses, and they were able to get me through life, but I noticed that I was starting to miss some very important things by not being able to see clearly, or using my peripheral vision. Dr. Kelly mentioned this is what our eyes were designed to do, and after years of struggling, I finally had Lasik, (just a few weeks ago) and currently have vision far beyond perfect (20/20). I can see now with 20-10 vision and am just adjusting to this new world.
FOR YOU: Pick one area that you will look at yourself, and think, what will happen to the quality of my life if I improve this one area, and just start here. Is it your vision, like me, your digestion, clarity, sleep? Go to Neurohacker.com and just look at what they have, and try one thing. I’m not being paid to endorse them, I honestly believe them to be the highest-level supplements for improved health, longevity and wellness.
Second AHA Moment: Bridging Science with The Unknown
Dr. Kelly mentioned he felt it was kind of “woo woo” to mention, but he felt like his body would signal to him if he needed to take more digestion for his gut health. I didn’t think this was weird at all, as many neuroscientists talk about being in tune with our body as being interoceptive. Dr. Kelly said that some people he knows are highly visual and can see things clearly on the screen of their minds, while he cannot, but he feels highly developed with his interoceptive abilities.
If you’ve been following our podcast for some time, you will know that we covered The Silva Method[v] this past year, to help those of us who meditate, to take our visualization skills to higher levels. This 4- part series remains at the top of our all-time most listened to episodes, with almost 6K downloads. I’m always trying to bridge the gap with what we can prove with Science and what we cannot, and speaking with Dr. Kelly showed me that we ALL have Superpowers, that when developed, have the ability to take us to new heights. Like I quoted in our Silva Method series, “Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method.
FOR YOU: What’s YOUR superpower? Mine is definitely the ability to see things clearly on the screen of my mind. I’d like to have this level of clarity with my eyes open, and just a few weeks after fixing my eye-sight, can see a whole new world of possibility. Once you have figured out what YOUR Superpower is, take some time to work on strengthening it every day. From the interest in The Silva Method episode, I’m curious how many others are working on improving their visual systems through guided imagery and meditation.
I hope you have enjoyed this episode with Dr. Kelly, and learned as much as I did.
I’ll see you next week, and see what we will uncover then, to take our learning to new heights! Have a good weekend.
FOLLOW NEUROHACKER COLLECTIVE:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neurohacker/?hl=en
Twitter https://twitter.com/theneurohacker
Website https://neurohacker.com/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Qualia Synbiotic https://neurohacker.com/shop/qualia-synbiotic
 10 Percent Human: How Your Body’s Microbes Hold the Key to Health and Happiness by Alanna Collen https://www.amazon.com/10-Human-Microbes-Health-Happiness-ebook/dp/B00Q33FYY0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #285 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-gregory-kelly-from-neurohacker-collective-on-how-to-beat-aging-and-stress-with-qualia-senolytics/
 
[ii] The Fascinating Power of the Gut-Brain Axis with The Neurohacker Science Team https://neurohacker.com/synbiotic-neurohacker-science-team-gut-brain
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #304 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-review-on-a-deeper-dive-into-understanding-the-gut-brain-axis-for-improving-our-mental-and-physical-heath/
 
[iv] https://neurohacker.com/about
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #261  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 

Brain Fact Friday Review on ”A Deeper Dive into Understanding the Gut-Brain Axis for Improving Our Mental and Physical Heath”

“No magic fairy or superhero is going to arrive at your door with a kit to make you healthy now and forever. We will have to be proactive in taking care of our biology and our psychology.” That’s from Dr. Andrew Huberman, promoting Inside Tracker,[i] a personal health and data-driven wellness guide, designed to help us to live healthier, and longer.
 
While I don’t use Inside Tracker, I support Dr. Huberman’s work enough to put his link to this service below in the show notes because the time is NOW to look after our health and wellness at the highest level possible, and that means with ALL the tools that help us to take control of our own health. Guessing about our health, is a now thing of the past.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #304, and preparing for our interview next week with returning guest Dr. Gregory Kelly from NeuroHacker.com while also keeping with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics, we are going back to a series of episodes we did on “Boosting Our Immunity by Optimizing Our Gut Microbiome”[ii]  that began with Dr. Vuyisich on EP #93[iii] back in October 2020, when our podcast took the turn towards health and wellness.  This was the first time I became aware of how important it was to understand our gut microbiome for our health. Many things Dr. Vuyisich said in that interview stayed with me over the years, but one was something I couldn’t forget.  He warned listeners that if they take away one thing from our interview that it be this. He said “today, we have 100% of the science and technology needed to prevent every chronic disease and every cancer.” (Momo Vuyisich).
 
REVIEWING THE GUT-BRAIN CONNECTION
Dr. Vuyishic’s episode (along with many of the other interviews we did at that time) helped me to create the vision for our Top Health Staples and Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies[iv] that we covered on a BONUS EP 3 years ago.   We started with five, and after reviewing them with the top experts in the health and wellness industry, over the years, we added a sixth.
What’s interesting while revisiting this episode we recorded 3 years ago with Dr. Vuyisich, is that I told him back then that while I understood the importance of taking probotics (friendly gut bacteria that keeps my digestion running well) to balance my gut microbiome, and I knew of the importance of prebiotics (or the superfoods that help them to flourish from Dr. Amen’s[v] work) giving me more energy and focus. But while watching Dr. Vuyisich’s interview again, I realized that 3 years later, I still don’t completely understand the gut-brain axis, and I know that I’m not as focused as I could be on optimizing my own gut microbiome.
This is also coming from someone who discovered during a regular colonoscopy screening that I’m high risk for colon cancer, so I go back for these checkups more often than most people. This brings me back to why I’m doing these podcast episodes in the first place. If I’m not implementing the ideas that I’m learning from each expert, there’s not much point in me preparing questions, conducting these interviews, highlighting their expert suggestions that we edit, and put out to the world. I realized how important reviewing these past episodes are, going back to the basics, for myself personally, to be sure I’m actually living the strategies these experts have suggested over the years.
On this interview with Dr. Vuyisich we reviewed the gut-brain connection, and how he overcame the debilitating symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis by fixing his own gut-brain axis, and then I shared how cutting out sugar years ago, helped me to completely reverse a fertility condition I was diagnosed with in my 20s, called PCOS.  Since cutting out sugar worked so well for me, I thought that if everyone just cuts out sugar and adds fish oil to their diet that they also would be able to reverse this condition, but Dr. Vuyisich reminded me that everyone is different. We all must take control of our health, and understand what it is that moves the needle for us individually towards health and wellness, and in today’s episode this starts by understanding our own gut-brain axis.
HOW DR. VUYISICH REVERSED HIS OWN CHRONIC DISEASE
Dr. Vuyisich explained that when he was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis, he was told “you are going to suffer” but you can take these drugs that will slow down the disease and he decided to take his background as a microbiologist and biochemist to understand his own health, and after reversing his disease that he was told there was no cure, he created the company Viome.com to help others to do the same and prevent the frustration that comes along with first of all trying to figure out what is “off” when we don’t feel right, and then creating a scientifically proven solution with his products.
THE SECRET: IS THAT YOU ARE WHAT YOU EAT
It all begins with understanding our gut-brain connection.
He says “we don't know the secret to our diseases because chronic diseases are not genetic. They're mostly environmental, they're impacted by diet and lifestyle. So the microbiome plays a major role in whether that's oral microbiome, our gut microbiome, all of those microbiomes play a major role in our health. And then the nutrition plays a massive role in our health.”
 
HOW CAN THIS UNDERSTANDING REVERSE CHRONIC ILLNESS?
Dr. Vuyisich explained that his focus with Viome was that they studied how certain foods would trigger the immune system and cause what we know to be called Irritable Bowel Syndrome, as one example.  He shared how the foods that were being ingested would produce biochemicals that would cause IBS symptoms, that next caused inflammation that led to other symptoms like depression and anxiety, and that every person is different, so at Viome a person is tested to first of all find out their food sensitivities that are the root cause of these other symptoms.
It’s such a frustrating journey, especially if you are on it yourself, to not be able to figure out why you don’t feel right. Dr. V didn’t feel well himself, leading him to look closer at the gut-brain connection, and I mentioned that I reversed a health condition by changing my diet, when I didn’t feel right, leading me to think that my solution would work for everyone, but he reminded me that we are all on our own health journey, and it begins by taking control of our own personal journey by looking for the root cause of whatever it is that’s causing the other symptoms we might be having.  My symptoms were that my feet were going numb while exercising.
If you think about your overall health, can you use your self-awareness to pick out if there’s something you might eat (or drink) makes you feel off in some way. I’m very clear with what makes me feel off, and how when I stop these certain foods, I’m left feeling a heightened level of clarity from this decision. Can YOU think of anything you could change to give YOU more clarity?
GETTING PAST THE FRUSTRATION: USING OUR “GUT”  
While writing this episode, I thought of someone I know who travelled a bit this summer, and on one of those trips he felt off. He went to the doctor and was told “It sounds like IBS” and he was handed a list of foods to eat instead of his usual diet.
This just didn’t seem to be the right answer, so instead of going this route, he followed his “gut” instinct and went to a naturopathic doctor who said “before we jump to conclusions for saying you have IBS, let’s try one other thing” and he gave him an antibiotic and told him to try that, just in case he picked up a parasite while traveling. Sure enough, a week later, all of his symptoms were gone. He didn’t have IBS, and he could have spent so many frustrating hours changing his diet to figure this all out.
The key here is that what works for one person, might not be the answer for everyone, but it’s up to us to get to the root cause of the symptoms in our own health journey. We’ve got to listen to our intuition and self-awareness in our own journey and understand that we really are what we eat. The foods we eat can drastically impact how we feel.
PREPARING TO SPEAK WITH DR. GREGORY KELLY: I thought: What are probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics?
While preparing our interview questions for returning guest Dr. Gregory Kelly, next week, I watched some of his recent interviews, specifically one he recently did about the Gut-Brain Connection[vi] and I realized I had some background work to do. In this interview he did, and preparing for ours next week where we will be talking about Qualia Synbiotic, which is the next generation of probiotics, he opens up his interview by explaining about probiotics (that most people know about since probiotics is the #1 category in the supplement industry--known as the friendly gut bacteria that keep my digestion running well to balance my gut microbiome, and prebiotics (there’s a growing awareness of). I first heard of prebiotics from Dr. Daniel Amen who shares that these are the energy superfoods that help our brain, and he interviewed Dr. Shawn Stevenson back in 2021 on his book Eat Smarter: Use the Power of Food to Reboot Your Metabolism, Upgrade Your Brain, and Transform Your Life. [vii] This book is eye-opening for anyone to read if you want to see his journey and pathway of healing where he realized at an early age how debilitating chronic conditions and illnesses can be. I picked up Dr. Stevenson’s book to see why Dr. Amen thought so highly of him, and I saw it right away. If ANYONE knows about prebiotics (or the best foods to eat) it’s this guy.
He talked about his childhood where he didn’t eat right due to his family situation, and how when he became an athlete later in life, his body eventually broke down from his prior years of poor nutrition, and he was FORCED to learn about the power of taking his own health into his own hands. He said:
Reading his book taught me many lessons, and opened my eyes to how I could eat better, and more variety of foods, because just like with exercise, variety is good for our gut. He’s got a NEW book coming out next month you can get on pre-order now, The Eat Smarter Family Cookbook: 100 Delicious Recipes to Transform your Health, Happiness and Connection.[viii]
So now I’m understanding probiotics, and prebiotics, but Dr. Kelly mentioned postbiotics, and until now, I hadn’t heard of this term.
I found some complex definitions, but to make it plain and simple: “probiotics consist of living microorganisms, while postbiotics are non-living, though still effective”[ix] and come from fermented foods like kimchi, kombucha, miso, kefir, and sourdough bread.
ANDREW HUBERMAN’S THOUGHTS ON “HOW TO ENHANCE YOUR GUT MICROBIOME FOR BRAIN AND OVERALL HEALTH.”[x]
As soon as I saw that postbiotics were fermented foods, I had to go back to Dr. Andrew Huberman’s work, because he covered this topic in a through 2 hour episode that explained how we get cues from our gut to our brain, how our gut controls our overall health, what is a healthy gut, and specific foods that enhance our microbiota diversity, including fermented foods. I’ll never forget this episode because now I’ve made the connection to what postbiotics are, as I recall him explaining how he’s added these foods into his own diet. He even focused on the phenomenon of “gut feelings” and how the gut communicates with the brain “through the peripheral nervous system.” (Huberman Lab EP 61, How to Enhance Your Gut Microbiome).
He says “our gut feelings are not mere metaphors. The gut houses neurons and communicates with our brain, influencing our thoughts and feelings” and that “by understanding our gut-brain axis, we open up to a new vista of potential interventions for conditions like anxiety, depression, autism, and even neurodegenerative diseases.”
This is fascinating to me!
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
Now I know I’m ready to speak with Dr. Kelly next week.
On today’s EPISODE #304 on “A Deeper Dive into Understanding Our Gut-Brain Axis for Improved Physical and Mental Health” we covered:
✔ The importance of taking control of our own health.
✔ The Gut-Brain Connection with Dr. Vuyusich and how we really are what we eat.
✔ How Dr. Vuyusich reversed his chronic illness by changing what he eats.
✔ What are probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics?
✔ A look at Dr. Shawn Stephenson’s book Eat Smarter and NEW Cookbook coming our next month.
✔ What does Dr. Andrew Huberman say we should know about our gut-brain connection?
✔ How can we take better control of our own health and wellness with this understanding of the Gut-Brain Connection?
 
PUT THESE CONCEPTS INTO ACTION FOR A HEALTHIER FUTURE:
USE YOU OWN SELF-AWARENESS: Since we are all different, can you think of something that you eat that makes you feel “off” in some way? Maybe it creates mental fog, or something, just pay attention to WHAT it is, and see what happens if you eliminate that one thing.
THINK THAT WE REALLY ARE WHAT WE EAT: By understanding that the foods we eat can either greatly influence the diversity and health of our gut microbiome, or completely throw it off into a state of imbalance, called dysbiosis, this can help us to make healthier food choices. While reading Dr. Shawn Stevenson’s book, I learned that eating the same foods over and over again doesn’t help me with the diversity needed for my gut microbiome. Switch up what I’m eating often and remember that “every cell in our body is made out of the food we eat, and more astonishingly, what we eat controls every action that our cells take.” (Shawn Stevenson).
PREVENTING CHRONIC ILLNESS STARTS HERE: Research does show that “the gut microbiome might be a factor in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s (Dr. Huberman EP 61) so If I really am on a mission to prevent chronic illness in myself, my family and others, understanding our gut-brain connection is the first step.
KEEP LEARNING: As more research is made available, the gut-brain connection could be a key intervention for our mental and physical health.
With that thought, I’ll close out this episode as I now feel ready to speak with Dr. Gregory Kelly next week on his one-of-a-kind formula, Neurohacker’s Qualia Synbiotic that he will explain supports our gut, brain and mood all at the same time, as ALL 3 probiotics, prebiotics and postbiotics have been added into this one formula to work symbiotically.
I can’t wait to share his thoughts on why this was such an important product to create, with his vision for health and wellness for the world and our future, since we all are very clear that the time is NOW to take control of our own mental and physical health.
I’ll see you next weekend!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
EBOOK SCRIPT of INTERVIEW #93 with Dr. Momo Vuyisich https://designrr.site/?i=s91w&t=e54e64&page=32
Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Interview #93 with Dr. Momo Vuyisich https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-momo-vuyisich-on-improving-the-health-of-your-microbiome-preventing-and-reversing-chronic-disease/
The Gut-Brain Connection Published July 28, 2023 https://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/the-gut-brain-connection
REFERENCES:    
[i] Dr. Andrew Huberman’s link to Inside Tracker Offer https://info.insidetracker.com/huberman
 
[ii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-boosting-your-immunity-by-optimizing-your-gut-microbiome/
 
[iii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-momo-vuyisich-on-improving-the-health-of-your-microbiome-preventing-and-reversing-chronic-disease/
 
[iv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/do-you-know-the-top-5-brain-health-and-alzheimers-prevention-strategies-with-andrea-samadi/
 
[v] Your Microbiome: The Role of Probiotics and Prebiotics with Shawn Stevenson Feb. 2 2021 https://www.amenclinics.com/podcast/your-microbiome-the-role-of-probiotics-and-prebiotics-with-shawn-stevenson/
 
[vi] The Fascinating Power of the Gut-Brain Axis with The Neurohacker Science Team https://neurohacker.com/synbiotic-neurohacker-science-team-gut-brain
 
[vii] Eat Smarter: Use the Power of Food to Reboot Your Metabolism, Upgrade Your Brain, and Transform Your Life by Shawn Stevenson published Dec 29,2020 https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Smarter-Metabolism-Upgrade-Transform-ebook/dp/B07W3M55SP
 
[viii] The Eat Smarter Family Cookbook: 100 Delicious Recipes to Transform your Health, Happiness and Connection.
https://www.amazon.com/Eat-Smarter-Family-Cookbook-Connection/dp/0316456462/ref=sr_1_4?hvadid=410046543007&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=778391510745289787&hvtargid=kwd-1262709725&hydadcr=15490_11433041&keywords=eat+smarter&qid=1694212223&sr=8-4
[ix] Prebiotics vs Probiotics vs Postbiotics: What’s the Difference? By Keri Gans June 13, 2023 https://www.forbes.com/health/body/prebiotics-probiotics-postbiotics/#:~:text=ISAPP%20defines%20postbiotics%20as%20%E2%80%9Ca,%2Dliving%2C%20although%20still%20effective.
 
[x] Dr. Andrew Huberman on “How to Enhance Your Gut Microbiome for Brain and Overall Health” Huberman Lab Podcast #61 Published in 2022. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=15R2pMqU2ok
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Neuroplasticity vs Neurogenesis: Where’s the Controversy?”

"Neuroplasticity knows no bounds; it is a lifelong journey of growth, learning, and personal transformation." – Dr. Andrew Huberman whose quote we ended our last EPISODE on a “Deeper Diver into Neuroplasticity.”
On today's episode we will review:
✔ Tips for regrowing our brain cells (neurogenesis)✔ A reminder of what prevents neurogenesis and hurts our brain and what we can do to help increase neurogenesis in our brain.✔ What's the Difference Between Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis?✔ What's the Controversy with Neurogenesis?
What’s the difference between Neuroplasticity, that we covered on EPISODE #302[i] (that knows no bounds) that’s defined as “the ability of the brain to form new connections and pathways and change how it’s circuits are wired; (as shown so well in the Sentis YouTube video that gives us a representation of these pathways visually, and what they look like in our brain when we create NEW pathways).[ii] This we KNOW we can do throughout our lifetime, (while) neurogenesis is the even more amazing ability for the brain to grow new neurons (Bergland, 2017).[iii]  And on today’s episode #303, we will take a closer look at “What Exactly IS Neurogenesis and Why is it Controversial Among Neuroscientists.”[iv]
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #303, and in keeping with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics, to take our learning to new heights, I’m going back to EPISODE #141[v] on “Neurogenesis: What Helps or Hurts our Brain Cells” because it became clear to me that while researching for our last episode that Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis are closely connected, but the former is widely accepted, while the latter holds some controversy.
In our first episode on neurogenesis, we looked at:
✔ Tips for regrowing our brain cells (neurogenesis)
✔ A reminder of what prevents neurogenesis and hurts our brain and what we can do to help increase neurogenesis in our brain.
Dr. Andrew Huberman on Neurogenesis
While researching Dr. Huberman’s work last week on neuroplasticity, he mentioned that there was “bad news” with “neurogenesis” and that many people think that they can exercise and add “new neurons” in the brain and “that after age 14, the human nervous system adds few new neurons.”[vi] He said that “in rodents neurogenesis could occur but in humans it was less obvious” and “that while we can’t add new neurons, we can change our nervous system”[vii] and dives deeper into the definition of neuroplasticity and why this holds no bounds. Now I’m starting to see the controversy in this topic, as I went back to my first look at Neurogenesis.
Dr. David Perlmutter (a board-certified neurologist) on Neurogenesis and Dr. John Ratey, the author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
To open up EP 141 from June 2021, I quoted Dr. David Perlmutter, a board-certified neurologist and six-time New York Times bestselling author who said “the best way to increase neurogenesis (regrow your brain cells) is “when your body produces more BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor” (Dr. David Perlmutter) and we covered this topic deeply on EP 274[viii] “What New With BDNF: Building a Faster, Stronger and More Resilient Brain.” I even remember Dr. John Ratey[ix] the author of the book Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain said that BDNF was like “Miracle-Gro for the brain” (you can’t forget some of the things some people say over the years and he cites a paper where he talked about how brain cells “do grow back in the hippocampus (and that in the study he sited), they saw while looking at the brains of terminally ill patients who had donated their body to science (Cancer patients who had been injected with a dye that shows up in proliferating cells so that the spread of the disease could be tracked) found their hippocampi were packed with dye marker, proof that the neurons were dividing and propagating—a process called neurogenesis.”[x] (Page 48, Spark)
Dr. Ratey’s book Spark, talks about “how to kick-start neurogenesis” and where the research began, causing me to think back to Dr. Perlmutter’s website where he mentioned that BDNF causes neurogenesis or new cells to form in our brain. He cites the studies that show how “exercise training increases the size of the hippocampus and improves memory” exactly what Dr. Ratey saw that made such a huge difference with those students he worked with at Naperville High School.
Dr. Perlmutter’s video talks about the study that showed that after 1 year of aerobic exercise, “exercisers had a marked increase in BDNF, and they showed substantial improvement in memory function.”[xi]   
Then I found another video I watched in our last episode from Sandrine Thuret called “It’s Possible to Grow New Brain Cells” where she said that “we produce 700 new neurons a day in the hippocampus”[xii]
Sandrine Thuret’s TED TALK lists many ways you can grow new brain cells (the highlighted words) with intermittent fasting, flavonoids (found in dark chocolate) and caffeine being a few evidence-based strategies. Conversely, she mentions a diet high in saturated fat, sugar or ethanol, will have a negative impact on neurogenesis. She even showed a study (from Praag, Kepermann and Gage) where rats who were runners shows an increase in neurogenesis vs the control group who were non-runners that Dr. Ratey talks about in his book Spark.
What Does This All Mean? Where’s the Controversy? Neuroplasticity vs Neurogenesis
To review and conclude this episode on “Diving Deeper into Neuroplasticity and Neurogenesis” I think we’ve got a clear picture of how neuroplasticity works from our last episode, (by making a conscious effort to build new neural pathways in our brain when we learn something new) but the topic of how we can grow new neurons seems to be where the controversy exists. It seems like this is only possible in the hippocampus but I still do wonder why a neurologist like Dr. Perlmutter says neurogenesis is possible through exercise[xiii], while another respected neuroscientist’s stance is that “in humans this is less obvious.”[xiv]  This is where the deep learning comes into our study, and being open to what we might uncover here. If we aren’t continually questioning what we are learning, then we aren’t thinking at all.
Mark Waldman’s AHA Moment: What Neuroplasticity Is and Isn’t
While thinking about why neurogenesis is “less obvious” in humans, as it might be in rodents, like Sandrine Thuret’s TED TALK covered, and even Dr. Ratey took the same rodent study and made a comparison to the students at Naperville whose test scores improved after running. Then I remembered my mentor Mark Waldman made me think deeply about this when he wrote about “What Neuroplasticity Is and Isn’t”[xv] where he explained an article “Adult Neurogenesis in Humans”[xvi] that ended up being my AHA Moment of learning here.
He said to “imagine the brain as a city map, and instead of there being 214 streets in Manhattan, imagine that it had a million streets! No room for buildings, just streets winding and weaving east to west, north to south, up and down and diagonal, all woven together like a giant hairball. Each city is a brain function – vision, movement, memory, imagination, feelings, etc. – and the entire state of New York would have cities upon cities woven together on top and alongside each other. Those billions of roads have trillions of cul-de-sacs which are the synapses.
Can you visualize that? Below is an actual slice of a thousandth of a millimeter of mouse brain:
Everything is jam packed but you the traveler can decide which road or neural pathway to take in order to reach a specific destination to help you perform some action of achieve a particular goal. The fastest your brain can process information is about 60 bits per second, and he guesses that any cognitive function would be traveling around 2,000 miles per hour down those roadways in your brain!
Now we can ACCURATELY visualize what plasticity looks like in the adult human brain a bit deeper than what we first looked at the Sentis YouTube with the connections in our brain this way. This was my FIRST look at neuroplasticity, and this video came out 10 years ago.
Look at the difference with this image that came from the research paper Mark Waldman read on “Adult Neurogenesis in Humans” that changed his thinking about neuroplasticity and neurogenesis.
He said “the roads/neurons don’t change but the tiny exits that lead you to another neuron can slowly move to a different synapse, similar to how switch-ways work on a railroad track. That’s where synaptic plasticity takes place and that’s what happens when you learn something new: You’re beginning to find new pathways that create different decisions and behaviors.
Waldman went on to point out some main take-aways from this Paper on Neuroplasticity but the ones I want to mention are that  
“This kind of plasticity does not add or replace neurons.”
“the exception is a process called “adult neurogenesis” conferred by active stem cell niches…in restricted regions [olfactory bulb & hippocampus]” (Confirmed by Dr. Huberman’s research)[xvii]
“After 60 years of intense research and more than 10,000 peer-reviewed publications, we still do not know if our brain maintains such capability.”
Synaptic changes are very slow, involved with learning and brain repair.
Stem cell-driven “adult neurogenesis” is still far in the future.
------------
La Rosa C, Parolisi R, Bonfanti L. Brain Structural Plasticity: From Adult Neurogenesis to Immature Neurons. Front Neurosci. 2020 Feb 4;14:75.
Review and Conclusion: Neuroplasticity vs Neurogenesis: Uncovering the Controversy
So now I’ve opened up a bit more as to “WHY” this topic holds controversy among neuroscientists, and I think while this is a good start at explaining how Neuroplasticity is different than Neurogenesis, I do want to leave this topic open, to come back to at a later date, and see what else we can add to our understanding
In the meantime, I’ll continue to read, learn and think of how this learning can apply to our daily life.  While researching this topic, I found an article I like called What is Neuroplasticity[xviii] written just this past April 2023. It explains neuroplasticity thoroughly, and how it applies to learning, a growth mindset, and how it changes as we age. It covers neuroplasticity and how it can help with anxiety, which made me think back to when we changed our brain with Dr. Caroline Leaf’s 5 Step Process for Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess on EP #299.[xix] It even covers neuroplasticity exercises for treating chronic pain that took me back to our interview with Ashok Gupta[xx] a well-known brain-training neuroplasticity expert who taught us how to use our brain and mind to manage chronic pain and illness.
At the end of this article there are YouTube videos from many of the experts we’ve covered on this podcast like Dr. Daniel Amen, Dr. Joe Dispenza, and books from Dr. Caroline Leaf, and Norman Doidge.
But what was missing, was more about Neurogenesis and how we can change actually change our brain, not just re-wire the pathways in it, there were a bunch of quotes at the end of this article but they were all about neuroplasticity.
Neuroplasticity Quotes
Among other things, neuroplasticity means that emotions such as happiness and compassion can be cultivated in much the same way that a person can learn through repetition to play golf and basketball or master a musical instrument, and that such practice changes the activity and physical aspects of specific brain areas.--Andrew Weil
Because of the power of neuroplasticity, you can, in fact, reframe your world and rewire your brain so that you are more objective. You have the power to see things as they are so that you can respond thoughtfully, deliberately, and effectively to everything you experience.--Elizabeth Thornton
Any man could, if he were so inclined, be the sculptor of his own brain.--Santiago Ramón y Cajal
Meditation invokes that which is known in neuroscience as neuroplasticity; which is the loosening of the old nerve cells or hardwiring in the brain, to make space for the new to emerge.--Craig Krishna
Everything having to do with human training and education has to be re-examined in light of neuroplasticity.--Norman Doidge
Neurons that fire together wire together.--Donald O. Hebb (Dr. Huberman would say this came from Carla Shatz)
Brains are tricky and adaptable organs. For all the ‘neuroplasticity’ allowing our brains to reconfigure themselves to the biases of our computers, we are just as neuroplastic in our ability to eventually recover and adapt.--Douglas Rushkoff
Our brains renew themselves throughout life to an extent previously thought not possible.--Michael S. Gazzaniga
Our minds have the incredible capacity to both alter the strength of connections among neurons, essentially rewiring them, and create entirely new pathways. (It makes a computer, which cannot create new hardware when its system crashes, seem fixed and helpless).--Susannah Cahalan
Where are the quotes for Neurogenesis?
Like the quote I found from Dr. Perlmutter who said “We can regrow brain cells and retain this ability throughout our entire lifetime.”
Is this only possible in our hippocampus? Or will science someday reveal that adult neurogenesis is possible like what Mark Walman mentioned with stem-cell adult neurogenesis that he thinks is far in the future?
Until we know for sure, I’m going to stick with doing what I know helps my brain according to Dr. Perlmutter’s work, and Sandrine Thuret’s TEDTALK where she says by doing certain things like the words she’s highlighted in her graphic, we can create neurogenesis that’s important for learning and memory, and I’ll avoid the non-highlighted words that she says prevents neurogenesis. And I’ll come back to this episode at a future date to see what else we can add to accelerate our understanding of “Neuroplasticity vs Neurogenesis.” With that thought, I hope this episode has made you think deeper about your brain, especially when it comes to making choices that we know can improve our ability to build a stronger, more resilient brain by doing what helps it (and our brain cells) instead of what hurts it, and I’ll see you next week.
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REFERENCES:
 
[i] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-and-a-deeper-dive-into-applying-neuroplasticity-to-learn-something-new/
[ii] Neuroplasticity Published on YouTube November 6, 2012  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g
[iii] What is Neuroplasticity: A Psychologist Explains [14+ Tools] by Courtney E Ackerman, MA, Published July 25, 2018, Scientifically reviewed by Melissa Madeson, Ph.D.
https://positivepsychology.com/neuroplasticity/#google_vignette
[iv] Adult Neurogenesis in Human: A Review of Basic Concepts, History, Current Research, and Clinical Implications Published May 1, 2019 by Ashutosh Kumar, MD. et al.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659986/
[v] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-neurogenesis-what-hurts-or-helps-your-brain-cells/
[vi] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as
[vii] IBID
[viii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-what-s-new-with-bdnf-building-a-faster-stronger-more-resilient-brain/
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#116 with Dr. John Ratey on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/
[x] Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain by John J. Ratey, MD (January 10, 2008) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07D7GQ887/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
[xi] https://www.drperlmutter.com/neurogenesis-re-grow-new-brain-cells-exercise/
[xii]Is It Possible to Grow New Brain Cells by Sandrine Thuret published Dec. 8th, 2017  https://capture.dropbox.com/W0af55YnE3LhDb0M
[xiii] https://www.drperlmutter.com/neurogenesis-re-grow-new-brain-cells-exercise/
[xiv] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as
[xv] Mark Waldman “What Neuroplasticity is and isn’t” Published on Facebook Nov. 10, 2020 https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=1300824310263746&set=a.112516002427922
[xvi] Adult Neurogenesis in Human: A Review of Basic Concepts, History, Current Research, and Clinical Implications Published May 1, 2019 by Ashutosh Kumar, MD. et al.  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6659986/
[xvii] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as
[xviii] What is Neuroplasticity: A Psychologist Explains [14+ Tools] by Courtney E Ackerman, MA, Published July 25, 2018, Scientifically reviewed by Melissa Madeson, Ph.D.
https://positivepsychology.com/neuroplasticity/#google_vignette
[xix] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/
[xx] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ashok-gupta-on-heath-and-happiness-getting-to-the-root-of-chronic-pain-and-illness-long-covid-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-and-others/
 

Brain Fact Friday and ”A Deeper Dive into Applying Neuroplasticity to Learn Something New”

“The idea that the brain CAN CHANGE its own structure and function through thought and activity is, I believe, the most important alteration in our view of the brain since we first sketched out its basic anatomy and the workings of its basic component, the neuron.” Norman Doidge, The Brain That Changes Itself.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
INTRODUCTION:
For today’s episode #302, and in keeping with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics, to take our learning to new heights, I’m going back to EPISODE #133[i] from May 2021 on “Applying Neuroplasticity to Your School or Workplace.” Now one look at this episode and I can see why I’m calling these past episodes Neuroscience 101 where I wanted to introduce important concepts in neuroscience and how they relate to learning, in real time, as I was learning them myself. The idea is that we are now going back and building on our understanding together, adding in anything new and relevant, that I’m now calling Neuroscience 202, and I can see with this first episode that I barely scratched the surface of what neuroplasticity is, and how we can use this fascinating concept to change our brain permanently. 
REVIEW of EPISODE #133 We learned:
✔An introduction to neuroplasticity, and how this concept works in the brain when learning a new skill, thinking a certain way, or feeling a certain emotion.
✔How neuroplasticity helps us to create new habits, and how we can use it to break habits we don’t want to keep.
✔The controversy behind this topic, and how two of the people we have interviewed ignored the naysayers, and built a powerful career with the early foundations of neuroplasticity.
While I think this older episode is important to review, I can now see that learning how to apply practical neuroscience to our daily lives, really is cumulative. We learn one new concept that builds on another, and as we keep learning and studying together, new skills and levels of understanding are uncovered. It’s like peeling back the layers of an onion and realizing there’s more to uncover.
Today, as we dive deeper in neuroplasticity, we will cover what Norman Doidge wrote about in his book, The Brain That Changes Itself, about “the idea that the brain can change its own structure and function through thought and activity” and then uncover what exactly neuroplasticity means for us today, so we can apply this fascinating concept to our life. 
 
On today’s EPISODE #302 on “A Deeper Dive into Applying Neuroplasticity To Learn Something New” will cover:
✔ What is neuroplasticity (the brain and nervous system’s ability to change itself).
✔ How to use this incredible feature of our nervous system for ANYTHING we want to learn (getting rid of an emotion we don’t want, building NEW emotions, or learning a new skill.
✔ The 2 STEPS Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests we understand in order to change our brain (the chemicals that are involved, and what parts of the brain they come from) from Huberman Lab EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain”[ii]
✔ How others have changed the structure and function of their brain from Norman Doidge’s Book that features Barbara Arrowsmith-Young who we met with on EP 132[iii]) to Dr. Caroline Leaf’s 5 Step Approach to changing your brain.
✔ Strategies YOU implement today, to change YOUR brain.
Once we uncover what neuroplasticity means, and how we can use it, we can marvel at the pathway neuroplasticity has taken over the years, (from the early days when Barbara Arrowsmith-Young (from my hometown in Toronto, Canada) mentioned in our interview that people picketed outside her presentation about the brain and learning due to their lack of understanding) and we can now honor those who spearheaded the way for our benefit. Dr. Norman Doidge, the author of The Brain That Changes Itself says that Barbara’s story is “truly heroic, on par with the achievements of Helen Keller” who while in graduate school came across the work of Mark Rosenzweig of the University of California, Berkeley, studying rats as one of the first scientists to demonstrate neuroplasticity, fueling Barbara to NOT give up on this idea that the brain in fact could change
What IS Neuroplasticity?
When I looked at my first attempt to explain this concept, I wrote neuroplasticity as “the ability for our brain to re-wire, grow, adapt or change throughout a person’s lifetime” and then I put a couple of YouTube videos that explained this concept. I remember this one by Sentis[iv] as the FIRST lesson I had on neuroplasticity. It shows how pathways in the brain are either strengthened or weakened with use. While I do like those videos and where I began with my own understanding of neuroplasticity, there’s more research now to take our understanding a bit deeper and add more meaning to this idea. I don’t want to go down rabbit holes either, as I’m trying to show how we can use this concept ourselves, but if you want to learn more about how this works, you can watch a lesson from the incredible Sal Khan[v], from the Khan Academy.
How Dr. Andrew Huberman Explains Neuroplasticity
I had to start with Dr. Andrew Huberman, since there’s no one else I know who can make science simple and easy to use. He has a short clip where he explains neuroplasticity here through Rich Roll’s podcast from May 26, 2023.[vi] He explains that “if we want to learn anything new, like a new skill in a sport, or subtract an emotion, or build a greater range of an emotion that we follow these two steps.”[vii]
STEP 1: The First Step to Neuroplasticity is to Recognize that you want to change something. This FIRST step almost knocked me out of my chair because we have just covered Dr. Carolyn Leaf’s 5 STEPS to Cleaning Up our Mental Mess[viii] and it’s centered around identifying a toxic thought that you want to change.
With Dr. Leaf’s protocol, you go through a 5 STEP process that conceptualizes the thought or emotion that you want to eliminate, and by working through the issue, over this 63-day period, the toxic thought, or emotion you don’t want, gets weaker, and you build new, stronger, healthier thoughts or emotions in its place.  It’s not like slapping a band aid on something that’s bothering you, and pretending it’s not there, you actually have to work through the emotions of this “toxic thought” pulling an origin story (or where this thought came from) out of your nonconscious mind, and into your conscious mind where it eventually holds less emotional charge for you. Dr. Leaf calls this Mind-Management.
Dr. Huberman talks about this concept as the FIRST step of neuroplasticity. He even talks about someone who approached him while he was speaking, who said that his voice reminded her of someone else, and made her feel uncomfortable. If you speak to audiences, you’ll relate to this one. There is always someone whose face looks like they aren’t with you, and while I’ve been presenting, I would look at the crowd, and in my early days, I’d think “that person doesn’t like what I’m saying” because that’s MY perception coming through, which isn’t always the case. Well, this person in the crowd really did approach Dr. Huberman and when she “called the thing she wanted to change to her consciousness” she turned it all around and told him “just by telling you that, your voice became more tolerable.”[ix] Of course Dr. Huberman douses us with a deeper understanding of the scientific side of this idea by saying that “this awareness is a remarkable thing because it cues our brain and the rest of our nervous system that when we engage in those reflexive actions moving forward (like our toxic thinking, or something we want to change) that those reflexive actions moving forward are no longer fated to be reflexive.”[x]
This is HUGE when it comes to wanting to change our brain, or change an emotion we don’t want, or even to add a new skill, we just need to PAY ATTENTION to whatever it is that we want to change.
STEP 2: ALERTNESS ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR NEUROPLASTICITY: WE NEED 2 CHEMICALS (NEURAL MODULATORS) EPHINEPHRINE FOR ALERTNESS AND ACETYLCHOLINE FOR FOCUS AND MENTAL ALERTNESS:
Dr. Huberman says once we have paid attention, there are 2 chemicals (neuromodulators) that are released from different parts in our brain. He says that “alertness alone is not sufficient for neuroplasticity” and that “the most important thing for getting plasticity (or this brain change we want) is that there be epinephrine (which equates to alertness) and the release of the neural modulator acetylcholine”[xi] for focus and mental alertness. He says that the “thalamus gets bombarded by sensory input all the time but when I pay attention to something, I create a cone of attention with this acetylcholine that amplifies the signal of what I’m paying attention to making this signal greater to everything else amidst it.”[xii]
He says “the signal-noise ratio goes up in the thalamus of the brain”, and that engineers would understand this. Well, I’m not an engineer, but I completely understood this.
This idea took me back to when I was working in the seminar industry (where many of my examples draw back to).  I had just finished working with the teens who presented their work on stage and I was sitting in a loud place with someone else I was working with. He looked at me when we were talking and said “hey, do you hear that?” And this was over 25 years ago, and I remember this conversation like it was yesterday. I said “what do you mean?” He said “Listen, if you listen carefully, you can hear Prince’s Little Red Corvette playing off in the distance.” To listen, I had to focus and create what Dr. Huberman said was this “cone of attention” and now I know that the neural modulator acetylcholine was flooding my brain so the signal to noise would go up, and I could hear the song. It was a crazy experience because without focus, we both would have missed it. He started to bring in how we needed to create this level of focus for the goals we are working on, and it was a conversation I knew I’d never forget.
How Others Have Changed Their Brain: Barbara Arrowsmith-Young
I first learned about Barbara Arrowsmith Young when researching for Brian Fact Friday and EPISODE #129 as she was a case study in Dr. Norman Doidge’s book, The Brain That Changes Itself[xiii] Dr. Doidge is a Canadian scientist, medical doctor, and psychiatrist who was one of the researchers who put Neuroplasticity on the map and he dedicated a whole chapter in his book to Barbara’s story called “Building Herself a Better Brain” which is exactly what she did. You can read Barbara’s book, The Woman Who Changed Her Brain,[xiv]  that’s now in its third edition, here.   I’ve heard Dr. Daniel Amen say over and over again that “you are not stuck with the brain that you have. You can be empowered to change it for the better”[xv] and Barbara Arrowsmith Young did just that, and more. Her story blew me away.  You can revisit our episode, or read her story in Dr. Doidge’s book, and learn why Norman Doidge said her to be “truly heroic, on par with the achievements of Helen Keller.” Barbara was determined to change her brain, and now that I have Dr. Huberman’s formula, it makes sense to me how she did it.
How Others Have Changed Their Brain: Dr. Caroline Leaf
We’ve recently covered Dr. Leaf’s Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess book for adults and children, and her 5 STEP Process is neuroplasticity in action. While writing this episode I saw an Instagram post that she put up that says that “you can’t stop anxiety by trying not to be anxious (like Dr. Huberman said-the first step alone is not enough).  You stop anxiety by allowing the feelings (Dr. Huberman said-draw them to your consciousness) while understanding that it is a transient sensory experience and a warning signal (to do something different) and NOT a permanent reflection of you and your reality.” It’s the understanding that helps to eliminate the negative toxic thinking. Sometimes saying what we want to eliminate is enough (like when we’ve written things down on our CRAP board to get rid of our conflicts, resistances, anxieties and problems) or like the person who said “oh, your voice no longer makes me uneasy, Dr. Huberman” but some things we will need a bit more attention to for long-term change to occur.
This 5 STEP approach is scientifically proven to change our brain, and I can tell you that it will help you to eliminate emotions over time (once we’ve decided on what we want to eliminate).
3 STEPS FOR CHANGING YOUR BRAIN:
USE NEUROSCIENCE TO BRING IN THE FOCUS to whatever it is that you want to learn, triggering neuroplasticity. Is it an emotion you want to eliminate? Or one you’d like to amplify? Do you want to learn a new skill? Whatever it is, you will need to FOCUS your mind as you are implementing the new skill.
I have a whole new take now on what focus looks like. It’s what I had to do in New Orleans to hear Little Red Corvette playing in the background (making the signal to noise go up) so I could hear this song. As I’m now focusing, I know that epinephrine is released and I’m creating a “cone of attention” (Huberman) with acetylcholine that’s acting like a spotlight to what I want to focus on, enhancing neuroplasticity in the process.
Does this understanding help you to see HOW we can change our brain with our thoughts or activity alone?
USE THE TOOLS YOU WERE BORN WITH: I used to watch my Mom, who we met on EPISODE #300[xvi] focus her eyes when I asked her a question. It was like she was diving into the depths of her mind to find the answer. Then I heard Dr. Huberman say that “you can use your visual focus as a way to increase your mental focus abilities more broadly” and I noticed that I do exactly the same thing as my Mom when focusing on something I’m trying to picture in my mind’s eye.
How do YOU focus your mind?
SUPPLEMENTS, SLEEP, MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION: What else can we do to put ourselves in the best mode for changing our brain? Since we know we must find the focus, the most common tool most of us use is caffeine to increase our alertness, and coffee is one way to do this. I’m always looking at what’s new in this area, and open to ideas and suggestions from you if you have found something other than coffee to increase your focus.
 
We know that mastering sleep so we are more rested with more capacity in the day, helps with our focus, increasing our ability for neuroplasticity to take place.  I have mentioned that my world changed when I started taking Qualia Senolytics[xvii] which is a nootropic supplement, from our interview with Dr. Greg Kelly from Neurohacker Collective. I noticed I seem more “locked in” while working with crystal clear mental clarity.
Mindfulness and Meditation are scientifically proven strategies to increase our focus and while reviewing our most listened to YouTube interviews, I was not surprised to see that our interview with Dr. Dawson Church[xviii], the author of the book Bliss Brain, is now our #1 most listened to interview.
What tools, strategies or supplements do you use for increased focus?
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION: HOW CAN WE CHANGE OUR BRAIN?
To review and conclude this week’s review of EPISODE #133, with “A Deeper Dive into Applying Neuroplasticity to Learn Something New” we covered:
✔ What is neuroplasticity (the brain and nervous system’s ability to change itself) and how to use this incredible feature of our nervous system for ANYTHING we want to learn (getting rid of an emotion we don’t want, building NEW emotions, or learning a new skill).
✔ The 2 STEPS Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests we understand in order to change our brain.
 
STEP 1: THE FIRST STEP TO NEUROPLASTICITY IS TO RECOGNIZE THAT YOU WANT TO CHANGE SOMETHING.
Know thyself. What do you want to change? If you are here listening, I’m sure you are like me, always working on something to improve, whether it’s cleaning up our mind for improved mental health, or learning something new that could take our physical health to new heights. Learning is a process, and if each year we can improve ourselves a bit more, we are on the right track. We’ve covered Dr. Leaf’s 5 STEPS for Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess recently, and I must say that once we begin to change our brain, that it’s work. I’m now on DAY 21 out of 63 days, working on my 4th time cycling through my toxic thinking, and it requires time, and effort in addition to just wanting this change. Barbara Arrowsmith-Young didn’t just wish she could change her brain, she repeatedly did what she needed to do for this change to occur.
STEP 2: ALERTNESS ALONE IS NOT SUFFICIENT FOR NEUROPLASTCITY: WE NEED 2 CHEMICALS (NEURAL MODULATORS) EPHINEPHRINE FOR ALERTNESS AND ACETYLCHOLINE FOR FOCUS AND MENTAL ALERTNESS.
Don’t forget we create a cone of attention with acetylcholine that amplifies the signal of what we are paying attention to making this signal greater to everything else amidst it, and epinephrine is released for alertness in this process.
Know thyself: How do you create focus? For me, sitting down and writing these episodes requires the most brain power I’ve ever used. I’m learning new ideas and then thinking of how to share them, so that others can benefit and use them. What’s motivating me is what I’m learning really IS changing my life. One year at a time, I can see how learning about the brain, and how to use it, is making me a stronger, more improved 2.0 version of myself. Whether it’s learning about neuroplasticity, or how our brain works while we are swimming in the ocean, anything new that I’m uncovering here, keeps me coming back to my desk, week after week, to uncover something new to share. I hope my excitement for this connection to science comes through, creating that cone of attention, and acetylcholine in your brain, that’s needed to implement this idea in your life.
STEP 3: SUPPLEMENTS, SLEEP, MINDFULNESS AND MEDITATION
I’ve found certain supplements for focus and mental clarity work well, in addition to getting enough sleep so I can think, and make connections with what I’m learning, but we all will have our own path of finding our optimal levels of focus.
Know thyself: What works for you?
This has been a process of self-discovery for me over the years, trying new tools, and then measuring the results, and sharing them here on the podcast. I knew that my sleep could be improved 4 years ago, and “although the primary function or functions of sleep are not understood, evidence suggests a strong relationship between sleep and plasticity (Frank et al., 2001; Tononi and Cirelli, 2014). Sleep loss leads to impairments in the plastic processes of learning and memory (Diekelmann and Born, 2010; Rasch and Born, 2013)”[xix] so I’m taking the science to heart, and working on this with as many tools and protocols as I can uncover. Since we know that deep sleep  “is when your cells regenerate and your muscles repair themselves” (WHOOP.com) and REM sleep “is key to processing new memories, learnings, and motor skills” (WHOOP.com) improving and measuring this area will always be what I’m focused on.
MY WHOOP DATA: Shows that finally sleep is improving. REM sleep is 25% higher than my 30-day average (key for processing new memories, learnings, and motor skills) and DEEP SLEEP (SWS) is 28% higher, helping me to regenerate cells and help muscles repair themselves.
With that thought, I’ll end with a quote from Dr. Andrew Huberman, whose research helped me to dive deeper into how we can change our brain using this concept that we still don’t know a lot about.
"Neuroplasticity knows no bounds; it is a lifelong journey of growth, learning, and personal transformation." - Andrew Huberman
I know in 2 years I’ll be back to dive deeper into ways we can change our brain even further as new discoveries in science are made, and I hope you’ll be with me here, applying them.
With that thought, I’ll see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
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REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #133 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-applying-neuroplasticity-to-your-school-or-workplace/
[ii] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #132 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-story-of-barbara-arrowsmith-young-the-woman-who-changed-her-brain-and-left-her-learning-disability-behind/
[iv] Neuroplasticity Published on YouTube November 6, 2012  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ELpfYCZa87g
[v] Neuroplasticity from the Khan Academy https://www.khanacademy.org/science/health-and-medicine/nervous-system-and-sensory-infor/nervous-system-introduction-ddp/v/neuroplasticity
[vi] Dr. Andrew Huberman Explains Neuroplasticity with Rich Roll May 26, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YYDsYyahUCA
[vii] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as
[viii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #299  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/
[ix] Dr. Andrew Huberman Lab Podcast EPISODE #6 “How to Focus to Change Your Brain” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LG53Vxum0as
[x] IBID
[xi] IBID
[xii] IBID
[xiii] The Brain That Changes Itself by Dr. Norman Doidge Dec. 18, 2007 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2c5aTlq3nYI
[xiv] Barbara Arrowsmith-Young The Woman Who Changed Her Brain: How I Left My Learning Disability Behind and Other Stories of Cognitive Transformation, Foreword by Norman Doidge. Published  Sept. 17, 2017 https://arrowsmithschool.org/books-3/
[xv] Dr. Amen http://www.globenewswire.com/en/news-release/2019/08/14/1901976/0/en/Dr-Daniel-Amen-s-Change-Your-Brain-Change-Your-Grades-Helps-Students-Parents-and-Teachers-Sync-Up-for-Better-Success.html#:~:text=Amen%20Clinics%2C%20Inc.,-Los%20Angeles%2C%20California&text=LOS%20ANGELES%2C%20Aug.,change%20it%20for%20the%20better.
[xvi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #300  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/my-mom-hazel-macphail-with-majid-samadi-on-leaving-a-legacy-how-to-live-the-good-life/
[xvii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #285 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-gregory-kelly-from-neurohacker-collective-on-how-to-beat-aging-and-stress-with-qualia-senolytics/
[xviii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #98 YouTube Interview with Dr. Dawson Church https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bH8yVKHjFN4
[xix] Roles for Sleep in Neural and Behavioral Plasticity by Jacqueline T Weiss and Jeffrey M. Donlea published January 20, 2022 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnbeh.2021.777799/full

Brain Fact Friday: What Do Dr. Caroline Leaf and Dr. Daniel Amen Have in Common? ”Preparing Our Next Generation for Success: With Their Brain Health in Mind”

“By recommending that we balance our choices in biological (diet and exercise), psychological (stress control), social (relationships) and spiritual components in our lives, (Dr. Daniel Amen) provides a desperately needed roadmap to maximize brain health.” Joseph C Maroon, MD from Dr. Daniel Amen’s book, The End of Mental Illness that we will dive deeper into on today’s episode.
On today’s episode #301 we will cover:
✔  A review of EP #128 of Dr. Daniel Amen's book, The End of Mental Illness.
✔ An overview of Season 10 with Mental and Physical Health at the Top of Our List.
✔ What do Dr. Caroline Leaf and Dr. Daniel Amen have in common this month?
✔ How Andrea first learned about Dr. Leaf's work, and where they both spoke together.
✔ What Dr. Amen is focused on TODAY.
✔ What Dr. Leaf is focused on TODAY.
✔ How we can better prepare ourselves to help our next generation with their mental and physical health.
✔ The 4 circles of Wellness.
✔ How to Manage Our Mind Using Dr. Leaf and Dr. Amen's work together. 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
INTRODUCTION:
For today’s episode, #301, and in keeping with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics, I’m going back to EPISODE #128[i] A Review of Dr. Daniel Amen’s Book The End of Mental Illness to see if we can dive deeper here, and add more to this episode than the 6 steps we covered two years ago for improving our brain health, which we know is integral for our mental health. As I’m looking back over our past episodes, you can see a graphic in the show notes of the direction I want to take us moving forward as we go back over some of our past Brain Fact Fridays and see what we can add to them, or what’s new, to move us forward. When we first launched this podcast, I had a vision of connecting the most current brain research that I called Neuroscience 101 to our 6 social and emotional learning competencies to improve our well-being, productivity and results.
PUTTING OUR MENTAL AND PHYSICAL HEALTH FIRST:
Now, in Season 10 we’ve all graduated from the basics, and are building on this knowledge together, and I’m noticing what’s IMPORTANT that needs to be at the Top of our list moving forward.
These important topics I’ve called Neuroscience 202 that will take us deeper than where we first began and I’ve put Mental and Physical Health at the top of our list.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Just a reminder that I am not a medical doctor, and if you are struggling with your mental health, please do consult with a medical doctor. I’m not offering medical advice here, but am sharing the results I’ve personally obtained from studying and applying the tips that Dr. Daniel Amen suggests in his book The End of Mental Illness and then will connect his work to Dr. Carolyn Leaf’s. My hope is that the strategies we uncover can help others, who might find themselves stuck, with some NEW ideas that I’ve used myself to access peace of mind, during times of high stress. And with the goal that once we master these strategies ourselves, that we extend them to others to help them with whatever they might be struggling with. This specifically includes our children.
CONNECTING DR. AMEN TO DR. CAROLINE LEAF:
When I looked back at my review of Dr. Daniel Amen’s book The End of Mental Illness, that I covered in May of 2021, I wondered what I could add to this episode, to take our understanding a bit deeper when it comes to taking control of our mental health. This is Dr. Amen’s life’s work.  He has been on a mission to take the stigma out of term Mental Illness for decades. He says most of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime—and that “normal” is a myth..that 51% of us will have a mental health issue (post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, an eating disorder)”[ii] which shows me clearly that it’s more normal to have a problem, than not. This became obvious to me when I started asking some trauma experts, and even past podcast guests, about what strategies they have used for their own children to help with the pressures they face in today’s world. They all gave me tips and ideas, telling me that anxiety and depression is the norm with our children these days.
This led me to go back to my review of Dr. Caroline Leaf’s Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess book and Neurocycle App, on EPISODE #299[iii] with the timely release of her new book, How to Help Your Child Clean up Their Mental Mess that she just released at the start of this month. Then I noticed that Dr. Daniel Amen has just released a BRAND-NEW course called Brain Thrive (PreK-1)[iv] to help with the prevention of mental health issues for children. Dr. Amen’s timely release of this course reminded me once again that this is a topic is important to pay attention to. It’s not an accident that Dr. Caroline Leaf released her book for children just last week, and now Dr. Amen releases an online course for children to learn these strategies. I’m definitely paying attention, and from the interest we received from our Deep Dive into Dr. Leaf’s work, I know that so are you.
 
I know that you’ll know these statistics, but here’s a reminder.
1 in 5 children will struggle with mental health in their lifetime. And that 17.1 million youth under the age of 18 have had a mental health problem. (Dr. Daniel Amen).
Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 20-34.[v]
Before I add something new to Dr. Amen’s episode from 2 years ago, I did want to mention that it was through Dr. Amen that I came across Dr. Carolyn Leaf’s work. She talks openly on Dr. Amen’s Brain Warrior Way Podcast[vi] about how many years she has been using this scientifically proven 5 STEP approach to help people all over the world to clean up their mental mess. I was lucky enough to have the chance to speak on a webinar with Dr. Leaf on Podbean’s Wellness week, where I released an episode I’d written on “What Everyone Should Know About the Top 10 Mental Health Staples to Accelerate Productivity and Results.”[vii]  One of the sessions I had a co-presentation with Dr. Leaf and John Kim, (a writer and speaker known as The Angry Therapist). Since I had already heard about Dr. Leaf’s work through Dr. Amen, I quickly reached out to interview her, and this is where the work began.
Our mental health is a lot like our physical health. We can coast along doing well, until one day, something happens, and we release we could have done a better job at managing our health overall.
I’m sure you’ve heard this quote before…
“If you don’t pay attention to your health now, some day, your health (either mental of physical) will get your attention” showing us all that prevention is vital.
CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS:
While writing this episode, I glanced over at Dr. Amen’s Instagram account, (a bit because I still look at my phone from time to time while writing) but also to see what he was focused on today, and I noticed that he’s on the same mission as he was 2 years ago, helping the world to put their mental health first, which was obvious with the new course for children he’s just released.  He had posted a graphic that showed an image of a messed-up mind (drawn like a colorful ball) representing a mind full of anxiety, loneliness, worry, guilt, fears and negative self-talk and he asked his audience “What else would you add to this image?” People from around the globe added things like “self-sabotaging, obsessive thinking, paranoia, being reactive to everything, isolation, dark thoughts, self-doubt, sadness, overwhelm, anger and procrastination” to name a few of their additions. This post caught my attention and made me think that no one is exempt from having a messy mind, and we covered the 5 scientifically proven steps that Dr. Carolyn Leaf suggests on EP299[viii] so that we as parents, teachers, coaches can keep our minds free of mental mess, before helping others.
I can’t recommend these 5 steps enough, and the use of her Neurocycle APP to help us to work on cleaning up our toxic thoughts not by suppressing them, or pretending they aren’t there by replacing them with happy thoughts, (which is just like putting a band aid on them) but by doing the really difficult work of digging straight to the root cause of whatever it is that is messing up our mind, drawing these thoughts out of the depths of our hidden subconscious mind, into our conscious mind, so we can deal with them, by recognizing why we have these thoughts in the first place.  In Dr. Leaf’s NEW book, How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess, that I will review once I’ve thoroughly practiced all her suggestions in this new book, she explains that these “mental messes” we all have look like dead trees in our mind, and that these messes are not bad, but they act as warning signals for us to do something differently to build a healthy tree in our mind. I think this is a powerful analogy, or just another way of looking at what happens to our mind when we don’t clean it up, and I know that once I understand this process myself, I’ll be better able to help others, including those closest to me who need it.
If I look at Dr. Amen’s messy ball that shows what a mind that isn’t managed looks like, or even Dr. Leaf’s dead tree idea, I know that there is hope forward with these strategies and once we’ve mastered them, it will be easier to teach them to others. But Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess, or by putting our brain health first, takes some thought and isn’t something we have been trained to do. There was never a mind-management class when I went to school, or a brain-health course in our PE classes. I do know that many are focused on integrated these ideas into our future classroom curriculums, but for those of us who haven’t learned this yet, this is something we all just must learn on our own, so we can proactively move our own needle towards health and wellness, through the lens of prevention.
IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Caroline Leaf's "How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess" 
ANDREA’S NOTES: You can see my metacog drawing in the show notes which explains how I’m progressing through Dr. Leaf’s 5 STEP process using her Neurocycle APP, and managing my mind. We did review this process on EP #299 in depth.  The idea is that once we have identified the main worry or anxiety that we have (the toxic thought) that will cause our mind to look like the dead tree over time if it isn’t managed, that we then go through this scientifically proven 5 step process that reconceptualizes the old toxic thought, turning it into a stronger, healthier thought over time with understanding.
You can see how I’ve drawn little buds showing how my old toxic thoughts are getting weaker with time, as I’m using my own mind to create NEW stronger and healthier thoughts. I’m currently on day 16/63 working through a current issue, and I can say that at about the two-week mark, I did notice my mind shifting from being worried about this problem, to feeling more in control of it, and even positive visions of the future where I can look back and not be bothered at all with this problem. This changes the emotions that I feel attached to whatever I was worrying about, which changes my behaviors, and then when I step back, my perspective of it all changes. I can even dig deep into the root cause, and see where my worry came from (and it’s not a bad thing-it’s just alerting me to do something different and not just suppress what I’m worrying about) which we know causes more dis-ease. This all leads me to freedom, peace of mind, and growth. It’s such a beautiful process, and I can’t wait to walk my own children through these steps moving forward, so that they build mind-management into their lives and futures.
Once we’ve got the hang of these practices for improved mental and physical health, we can then role model the way for our next generation like Dr. Amen and Dr. Leaf are doing with their work. Children at the preschool levels can understand the importance of mind-management, and Dr. Leaf and Dr. Amen see how important this topic is right now.
YOU CAN’T GIVE WHAT YOU HAVE NOT GOT
It’s the whole idea behind the Latin phrase “nemo dat quad non habet[ix]” that my mentor, Bob Proctor would quote often. He said so many things that I would write down and not fully understand until later in life. I remember writing things down over 20 years ago, knowing they were important because he said them so often, and I thought I understood what they meant at the time, until one day, I’d get this AHA Moment when it really clicked and I’d think “Ahh, that’s what he meant” and I’d almost hear him saying that Latin phrase in my head. He would explain that no one can give what they have not got. In order to pass on anything to others, like an understanding of our mind in this case, we’ve got to fully understand how our own mind works. This can translate into anything in our life. As I was thinking about this, I opened up Instagram (for another quick mental break) and saw something that Grant Cardone’s daughter (Sabrina Cardone) posted, about exactly this idea. I’ll post her speech[x] in the show notes, but it was all about the importance of parent’s role-modelling the way for their kids, from a kid’s point of view. Now this speech was eye-opening.
The idea is that as parents, teachers or coaches, that we role model the way, once we’ve got this understanding ourselves first. In general, the more brain reserve we have, the more resilient we are and the better our brain can handle the pressures of everyday life, as well as the aging process to keep “mental health” disorders at bay. There are many different factors for how one person can have more brain reserve than another but it stems from family history, or what types of injuries or trauma we’ve experienced, as well as our mental and physical health.
It is clear that the decisions we make and the habits we engage in on a daily basis are either boosting or stealing our brain’s reserve and are either accelerating the aging process (aging us) or rejuvenating our brain (turning back the hands of time).  When we grasp this concept, we realize that we actually have a lot of influence on the health and age of our brain, as well as on your own mental health and ability to end “mental illness” which is Dr. Amen’s mission.
BACK TO EPISODE #128
In our REVIEW of Dr. Amen’s The End of Mental Illness book, 2 years ago, we covered the 3 parts to his book that’s still relevant and important today. I do recommend a refresher of this episode.
Part 1 of the book, he gives a history of mental health over the years, with some tips for brain health that can change your life. You will see some SPECT image scans and case studies and begin to see how some common brain health issues like depression, anxiety, TBI, substance abuse, or Alzheimer’s Disease show up in the brain vs a healthy brain scan image. A brain scan really can change your life and give you some insight into your health. We covered this topic in 3 Parts back in 2020 with PART 1 “How A Brain Scan Changed My Brain and Life with Doug Sutton,”[xi] PART 2 we dove deeper into “What Exactly is a Brain Scan”[xii] and I made some predictions of what I thought I would see with my own SPECT Image Brain Scan that I cover on PART 3[xiii].
Part 2 of the book explains the BRIGHT MINDS acronym which is a guide for well-being with the brain in mind. We covered the BRIGHT part on this episode 128, but we missed the MOST important part in MINDS which was the MENTAL HEALTH part of his equation that we will cover today.
Part 3 of his book offers strategies that can be used in schools and the workplace to end mental illness with a focus on brain health. It’s in this part of the book that Dr. Amen says “You cannot change what you do not measure.” (Chapter 17) so we can see clearly WHEN our brain and body are NOT working right. Peter Drucker says “If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it” and I’m sure we all can agree on this one.
THE BRIGHT MINDS STRATEGY
Today I want to look deeper at the M in Dr. Amen’s BRIGHT MINDS Strategy and add what he says are the four circles to help us with implementing these important health and wellness strategies. All this work can seem like a lot but if we can think of these 4 circles, it makes this all easier to understand, and with time, you’ll see how thinking with our brain health in mind will eventually become a habit.
THE 4 CIRCLES OF HEALTH
We opened up this episode with a quote from a doctor who mentioned the importance of thinking about these 4 circles. Dr. Joseph Maroon said that:
“By recommending that we balance our choices in biological (diet and exercise), psychological (stress control), social (relationships) and spiritual components in our lives, (Dr. Daniel Amen) provides a desperately needed roadmap to maximize brain health.” Joseph C Maroon, MD from Dr. Daniel Amen’s book, The End of Mental Illness.
Dr. Amen says he first learned about these 4 circles in 1978 when he started medical school, and was told by Dr. Sid Garrett to “always think of people as whole beings, never just as their symptoms…always take into consideration the four circles of health and illness.” (Dr. Amen, The End of Mental Illness).
IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Daniel Amen's The End of Mental Illness
Biological: Where we think “Is my behavior good for my brain or bad for it?” This is where I think about healthy eating, exercise, intermittent fasting and doing the things I know are good for my brain, because I really do care about it.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION
We cover this topic in depth on a BONUS EP[xiv] with a Deep Dive into the Top 5 Health Staples. I know I need to add stress management to this list. What about you? How are you looking after this part of your brain health?
Psychological Mindset: That includes “how we talk to ourselves—as well as our self-concept, body image, past emotional traumas, upbringing and significant developmental events.” (Page 81, The End of Mental Illness). This is where the work I’m doing with Dr. Leaf’s 5 steps to Cleaning Up My Mental Mess comes in. I’m always thinking, feeling and choosing in the direction of more love, peace, and freedom of mind, which takes some work when something comes in and stops my peaceful thinking.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION
Dr. Amen brings up Eckhart Tolle’s concept of the “pain-body” that I talked about on EP #281[xv] WITH Dr. Sean Sullivan who taught us how to shift our mindset in 10 minutes or less. We talked about how we all have these “pain-bodies” living inside us (Eckhart Tolle) and once we can see what they are (through Dr. Leaf’s work-where they show up as our Origin Story) then we “just observe these pain-bodies (or toxic thoughts)  in the present moment” (Tolle) and we will notice that over time, their “energy will decrease.” (Tolle) This is mind-management in action. Once we’ve cleaned up our mental mess, we can go on to teach this concept to others. The idea of “I’m not good enough” used to show up ALL the time as the root cause of most of my stresses and anxieties, until I uncovered it, and this “pain-body” that developed over time in me, no longer affects me….at all! What about you? Are you aware of the pain-bodies or toxic thoughts that hold you back? Have you begun to clean them up?
Social: We’ve all heard that “you become like the people with whom you spend the most time” (Dr. Amen) and you will be well aware of those who lift you up, versus pull you down.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION
While I don’t have much time for the social part of life, I do make it a priority to keep the social connections that are important to me strong. Also, putting my spare time into this podcast helps me to connect with others around the world on a deeper level.  What about you? How do you keep your social connections strong?
Spiritual: We’ve talked about this one often on this podcast. I’ve heard from so many of our guests that we are “spiritual beings having a human experience.” This we just can’t ignore. Dr. Amen points to Viktor Frankl’s Man’s Search for Meaning book to explain this one, (page 94, The End of mental Illness) reminding us to do the following:
Find purposeful work where you are productive.
Love the people who are central to your life.
Find courage in the face of difficulty (and help others to shoulder theirs).
PUT THIS INTO ACTION
Finding purposeful work is easy for me, as the podcast helps me to keep working towards improving myself and sharing it with others. This keeps me busy and I do feel the connection that extends far beyond myself here. What about you? What’s your purpose? How do you find more meaning in your day to day life?
CONNECTING DR. AMEN and DR. LEAF’S WORK TOGETHER:
To close out this episode, now that we have these 4 circles in mind, (showing us that we are whole beings-our biological side, our psychological, social and spiritual side). Let’s revisit the acronym BRIGHT MINDS (a guide for well-being with the brain in mind) and look closer at what the “M” stands for, and see how we connect Dr. Leaf’s work, to Dr. Amen’s, for a stronger, healthier mind.
M-That stands for Mental Health is what Dr. Amen calls MIND STORMS. I love his analogy for our mental health, especially after looking at that graphic with the all of the mess in our minds showing up like a colorful ball. Since we’ve been focused on our Mental Health the past few episodes, I wonder what Dr. Amen would suggest we do to help us to Clean Up Our Mental Mess.  Chapter 11 of The End of Mental Illness goes deep into WHY these storms happen in our brain, and WHAT can cause them, I want to focus on ways he suggests we prevent them from happening in the first place, since I think they complement Dr. Leaf’s 5 STEP Approach.
While Cleaning Up Our Mental Mess, there are things we can do to help our brain/minds to improve, and things we can do that hurt our progress.  Dr. Amen suggests “avoiding anything that increases mind storms” (p 210 The End of Mental Illness) like “stress, tiredness, lack of sleep, alcohol, drug abuse, low or high blood sugar states, missing meals, and excessive screen time.” (Page 210). We all know what makes us feel “off” in our lives, and our mental health is centered around doing what makes us feel better, or good, and have more clarity of mind. I know what increases my MIND STORMS, making my mind messier than usual, and what keeps my mind clear and peaceful. As I’m now in my 52nd year of life, I want the ability to think clearly every day, so I can keep learning new ideas, and building a better version of myself, so when I find something that works, I’m sticking to it.
Here are my top habits that help keep MIND STORMS out of my head and prevent mental messes from happening in the first place.
CREATING HABITS THAT LIMIT OUR MENTAL MESS or MIND STORMS:
CARING ABOUT OUR BRAIN: Just by caring about my brain, I think about the daily choices I’m making. When eating something, I’ll ask “will this help, or hurt my brain” and think hard about whether It’s worth creating a MIND STORM over a certain choice.  If I create a mind storm, I just know I’ll have to spend extra time cleaning it up, so it’s easier to avoid what I know hurts me at this point.
KNOW WHAT CAUSES OUR MENTAL MESS or MIND STORMS: It’s easy enough to know what makes me feel CLEAR and FOCUSED, vs CLOUDY and DISTRACTED. I just avoid things that steal my MENTAL CLARITY (replacing alcohol with non-alcoholic beverages, or sticking to my morning exercise routine that gives me a burst of energy/clarity throughout the day).
DO MORE OF WHAT PREVENTS MENTAL MESS or MIND STORMS: Once you know what keeps your mind clear, keep doing that. For me, it’s daily exercise, eating low glycemic foods that keep my blood sugar from spiking, or higher fat foods that keep me fuller and less likely to eat the wrong thing, daily meditation, working on at least 7 hours of sleep at night, and pain management strategies for anything on my body that hurts (chiropractor, massage therapy, stretches, tools for self-care) that keep my mind strong and clear… AVOIDING MIND STORMS FOR ME.
REGULARLY CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS TO PREVENT BIGGER MIND STORMS IN THE FUTURE: Using Dr. Leaf’s scientifically proven 5 STEP PROCESS and Neurocycle App because I know I’m not always going to make the right choice, and I’ll have a MIND STORM at some point. So MIND-MANAGEMENT is something I add to my routine for those days when something gets past the gate, or when something unexpected comes my way, and needs my attention.
With these final thoughts, I’ll chose out this episode and ask you. What do you do that PREVENTS your MIND from getting messy? I’d love to hear your strategies, and what’s working. And with that, I’ll close out this episode, and see you sometime next week.
In the meantime, once you have practiced Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, I highly recommend Dr. Amen’s New Brain Thrive Course, and Dr. Leaf’s New Book to help our children clean up their mental mess.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Dr. Amen’s NEW BRAIN THRIVE COURSE https://offers.amenuniversity.com/bt5-headstart/
Dr. Caroline Leaf’s NEW Book for Children https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #128  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/
 
[ii] Dr. Amen, Brain Thrive by 25 Online Course http://brainthriveby25.com/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #299 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/
 
[iv] Amen University https://offers.amenuniversity.com/bt5-headstart/
 
[v]https://www.cdc.gov/suicide/facts/index.html#:~:text=Suicide%20affects%20people%20of%20all,%2D14%20and%2020%2D34.
 
[vi] The 5-Step Process to Managing Trauma with Dr. Caroline Leaf on The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast Published on YouTube May 22, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_sHPAvOXh4&t=2661s
 
[vii] Andrea Samadi’s Pre-released episode for Podbean’s Wellness Week Nov.27, 2020 https://podcastwellnessweek.podbean.com/e/what-everyone-must-know-about-the-top-mental-health-staples-to-accelerate-productivity-and-results/
 
[viii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #229 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-a-deep-dive-into-dr-carolyn-leaf-s-5-scientifically-proven-steps-to-clean-up-our-mental-mess-so-we-can-help-our-children/
 
[ix] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nemo_dat_quod_non_habet
 
[x] Sabrina Cardone https://www.instagram.com/p/Cv902OLALiZ/?hl=en
 
[xi] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-brain-scan-changed-my-brain-and-life-with-doug-sutton/
 
[xii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-exactly-can-a-spect-imaging-brain-scan-change-your-life-with-andrea-samadi-part-2/
 
[xiii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/
 
[xiv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
 
[xv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #281 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/psychologist-dr-sean-sullivan-andfounder-of-oneperfectshiftcom-on-how-to-shift-to-a-better-state-of-mind-in-10-minutes-anytime/
 

My Mom, Hazel MacPhail with Majid Samadi on ”Leaving a Legacy: How to Live the Good Life”

“Honoring our loved ones means respecting and appreciating them, learning about them, and perpetuating their stories and life lessons after they are gone.” New York Times Best Selling Author, Brendon Burchard.
Happy 80th Birthday Mom and THANK YOU to ALL past guests.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/dzZZSHAyKFs
On Today's MILESTONE EPISODE #300 we will cover: 
✔ 12 Life Lessons from my Mom, Hazel MacPhail for "How to Live the Good Life" Inspired by Brendon Burchard
✔ Life Lesson tips from Majid Samadi
✔ How Majid and Hazel both moved to a new country, and rose from the bottom of their field, to the top.
✔ Success and Mindset Strategies they both used.
✔ Honoring those who have influenced us to rise to greater heights in our life.
 
 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode, #300, I wanted to do something special, something magical for this important milestone, and I knew what it would be a few months ago. Listeners who tune into this podcast might know that I bring guests on to help ALL of us to learn and apply the most current research to help us to improve our productivity and results, but there’s a lot more to it than that.
I heard author and speaker Brendon Burchard explain this concept in 2014 when I first began interviewing experts, and his thoughts changed me deeply. In his YouTube video Interview Those You Love, Before They Are Gone[i] he asks “how do you honor people who are important to you?” You know, the people who have taught you something that changed you in a positive way? Some people send gifts to these people, but not Brendon. He made a pact to do something unique to honor these change-makers and when I heard what he did, I thought “I want to do exactly the same thing as Brendon Burchard.” After all, he is the author of the book High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Became That Way[ii]. He suggested that a special way to honor someone who has made a difference in your life is to interview them, and ask for their words of wisdom, that will be recorded for you, and others to hear, forever.
That’s exactly what I have done with this podcast, starting with my husband, Majid Samadi, who influences me daily, and then if you look through the guests I’ve asked to come on the podcast, you will now know they were all intentional for me to honor the difference they made with my work, character, the direction and understanding in this thing we call life, and how to live “the good life.” Brendon suggests that instead of sending them a gift, the best way to honor these people in your life is to first of all tell them directly the difference they’ve made for you, how specifically they have helped you, and then carry their voice forward, in yours, with an interview. I know that each person I’ve interviewed has a clear picture of how they helped me specifically, and now their message helps others, all around the world. I’ve got to say that sometimes the messages you’ll receive from other to improve yourself aren’t easy to hear, but if they are delivered with love, with your growth in mind, listening to this feedback can make a profound difference in your life.
I’ll never forget the interview I did with best-selling author John Assaraf, from EP #39[iii] (that was actually recorded in 2015) because it was John who gave me feedback on the program I created, that was going into schools, (not in this interview) but he told me directly, face to face, that I had to redo everything, and he used the exact words that I clearly have never forgotten, “your baby (which was my membership site at the time) is ugly” and he said, you can’t charge people money for this. I remember thinking “well, shoot, if I had millions of dollars in my bank like you I wouldn’t have had to code the whole website on my own” but I put my defensive mind aside, and redid the site, before selling it to anyone. And then when my programs went into the schools, I had more feedback, and an uncomfortable meeting with educator Jeff Kleck[iv], who told me all the parts of my work that he recommended I change, replacing the old, with the most current brain research (that at the time, I knew nothing about). I didn’t like hearing this feedback at all, and it was a lot of hard work to fix both the membership site with John’s feedback and write a whole new book, with Jeff Klecks’s, but I’m so grateful for everyone who gave me advice to improve personally and professionally.
I’m sure you can think of those who have done this for you. Imagine if we all reached out to those who impacted us this way, let them know how they helped us, and then glean some wisdom from them to help others? Imagine a world like this?
That’s what I’ve done since 2019 with this podcast. I’ve been very intentional about WHO I’ve asked as a guest, and today’s guest is someone very special in my life, who is responsible for the person I am today, literally. Today’s guest is my Mom, Hazel MacPhail. My Mom will join my husband, Majid Samadi and I for a conversation that I hope will bring some insight to you, wherever you tune in around the world. My Mom was born August 10th 1943 in Haslemere,  Surrey, England and named Hazel Frances Bernhardt.  She married my Dad, Francis (Frank) Greenshields MacPhail in the sixties and emigrated to Canada with him and my two sisters Karen, and Christine in 1973.
She met my Dad in The Carioca Club, that she said was a coffee bar hang out for young people on the seafront at Worthing Sussex, her Mom’s home town and where she spent to first 10 years of her life before moving to Goring in Sussex, a few miles away. I was 2 when my parents emigrated to Toronto, Canada, where I grew up, before moving to the United States in early 2001. My Mom will answer the questions I’ve picked out for her from a unique perspective of someone who had to start her life over from scratch, in a new country, and Majid will bring his experience of moving to the United States from Iran when he was 10.
I’m hoping you will find their insight and ideas from my Mom on “How to Live The Good Life” to be empowering, inspiring and useful, as they will both share their legacy stories from the point of view of someone who had to build something out of nothing.
Let’s meet my Mom, Hazel MacPhail and welcome Majid Samadi back for his 4th time on the podcast and I’m going to ask them some of the questions that New York Times Best-Selling Author, Brendon Burchard suggests for Interviewing Someone You Love.
INTERVIEW SOMEONE YOU LOVE ABOUT LIFE
Some Questions by Brendon Burchard
Welcome Hazel and Majid! Thank you for coming on the podcast today. Mom, it’s been a long time since I called you Hazel…maybe over 20 years ago when I was your swimming teacher.  Welcome and thanks for being here, and welcome back Majid, for your 4th time on the podcast.
INTRO: Mom, you would know by now that I do these podcasts, and interview people all over the world to glean their wisdom and advice. Today, I wanted to ask you some questions so you can share your words of wisdom with our audience that spans over 190 countries, around the world. Can we start to orient our listeners with both of your backgrounds?
Q1:
Hazel: What comes to mind when you think about growing up in [England-The Quadrant]?
 
Majid: What comes to mind when you think about growing up in Iran?
 
 Q2:
Hazel and Majid: What made you decide to move to a new country?
Majid: What was it like coming to the US without knowing how to speak the language?
 
Q3:
Hazel and Majid: How did you choose your career? What did you like the most/least about it?
 
Q4:
Hazel and Majid: What made you successful at work?
 
Q5:
Hazel and Majid: What helped you through difficult times?
 
Q6:
Hazel and Majid: What events most shaped your life?
 
Q7:
Hazel and Majid: What words best describe who you tried to be in life and how you want to be remembered?
 
Q8:
Hazel and Majid: What have you learned about other people in life?
 
Q9:
Hazel and Majid: What are you most proud of in life?
 
Q10:
Hazel and Majid: Final thoughts?
 
Mom, and Majid, I want to thank you both for coming on the podcast today, and helping me to share your message with our listeners, and leave a part of your legacy with mine. I can’t tell you enough how grateful I am to have had this opportunity today. I hope your lessons help others, and specifically, I do hope that others follow Brendon Burchard’s lead, and interview those who have impacted them in their lifetime. This has been an incredible experience that I’ll never forget. Thank you.
FINAL THOGHTS:
All episodes are special and important to me, but this one, came full circle from where we began in June 2019. Some things aren’t easy to see looking forward, but so clear when you connect the dots, looking backwards, like Steve Jobs is famous for saying.
When I asked my Mom to come on the podcast and record an episode with my husband, I had no idea that we would record the weekend before my Mom’s 80th Birthday on August 10th, so I knew I had to release this episode on her 80th Birthday, as a thank you for all that she did for me that took me to where I am today.
It was my Mom, Hazel, who sat with me every morning, planning the best way for me to move to the United States, and what I would do when I arrived. She didn’t foresee September 11th happening, or any of the hardships, but she told me many times that it would be hard work, but I would be very happy. I believed her, because over the years I learned to trust her instinct and magical intuition. She would spend hours every night studying for these work tests, in the insurance industry (she said they were the Lomas Tests) and after she had passed all of these tests, I noticed she was still studying at night.
I wondered what she was studying, and knew in my heart it was important work. My Mom worked hard at her craft, but she worked equally as hard at developing the faculties of her mind. If you ask me, this is what gave her an edge over others in her life, helped her through difficult times raising us kids, and especially helped her when she had to overcome Uterine Cancer.
I noticed the hard work she put into this study, and watching her motivated me to do the same. It’s sort of contagious when you see someone else working hard, and yielding the results from this work, and this what I’m doing when I am driven to keep learning, and sharing with you here on the podcast.
I want to carry my Mom’s legacy forward, in my work.
To close out this episode, I’ll review the TOP 12 Life Lessons I picked out from her words today, and hope it helps you in some way.
LESSON 1: Be Clear About the Part of Your Life That Shapes You the Most: She remembered hers, and I know mine. It’s not the easy times that I know changed me, it those difficult challenging times. So if you are IN difficult, and challenging times now, know they will end, and you will be a better person because of them.
LESSON 2: Say “YES” to every job to move your career forward. I talk about this in my most recent book, Level Up[v], in the chapter on Persistence, with the words of the late Art Linkletter, who had no business experience, but created a highly popular TV show back in the 1950s and 1960s called Kids Say the Darndest Things.  When I heard him speak years ago, his whole message was about persistence, saying he had to interview 27,000 children to get the ones that were really good that went on television. He also mentioned that his biggest regret in life was saying no to a business opportunity with his good friend Walt Disney, who took him to these orange groves, and tried to paint the picture of Disneyland for him, but he couldn’t see his friends vision. Say “yes” to everything, just like my Mom said, so you don’t miss out on a partnership like Disneyland like Art did.
LESSON 3: Keep Learning New Skills. This is what I watched my Mom doing at night after long days at the office, and what motivates me to keep learning. What is it that keeps YOU coming back and learning from podcasts, or listening to us today?
LESSON 4: Have a sense of humor. This one, I don’t have any tips for, as this is not my strength. Majid is better at this one than me, as I’m usually the more serious one.
LESSON 5: Learn how to solve difficult problems and know where to go when you get stuck with something. This is one of the reasons why I do this podcast, to share tools and resources we can all use to help move us forward.
LESSON 6: Learn to be resourceful. This is something I remember John Assaraf saying in our interview together (EP #39)[vi] that made a difference in his early life. He talked about ways he would think creatively when he didn’t have enough money to do things, and this creativity spilled over into his life today, helping him to see ways forward, around roadblocks.
LESSON 7: ALWAYS LEARN FROM OTHERS. If you keep reading books, listening to ideas, you can learn to do some outstanding things, all from others.
LESSON 8: There’s more good people in the world than bad. See the good in people. We cover this on EP#214[vii] with Marie Gervais and her book “The Spirit of Work.”
LESSON 9: Learn to read people. My Mom taught me Theory of Mind that we covered on EP 46[viii] when I told her I needed help with this skill. We took this a whole bunch of levels deeper with EP#163[ix] with Dan Hill, the faces guy, on his episode that taught us “How to Read the Emotions in Others in Schools, Sports and the Workplace.” This skill, when practiced, will give you information quickly about another person, as our eyes really are the mirrors to our soul.
LESSON 10: Thank people who have moved your forward somehow. That was the whole point of this episode that I mention in the backstory. Find those who have helped YOU along the way, and let them know.
LESSON 11: Learn from our challenging experiences.  This one doesn’t need any explanation.
LESSON 12: Finally, the last words of wisdom from my Mom, have no regrets in life.
And with that, I’ll close out our 300th episode, dedicated to Mom, Hazel on her 80th Birthday. Happy Birthday Mom. I love you, and am so grateful to have had this opportunity to record your words of wisdom, for others around the world to hear. I also want to honor the words of wisdom from ALL our past guests today, as we reach this important milestone, and I’ll see you next week!
RESOURCES:
Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP46 “As Close to Mind Reading as Brain Science Gets: Developing and Using Theory of Mind.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/as-close-to-mind-reading-as-brain-science-gets-developing-and-using-theory-of-mind-in-your-daily-life/
REFERENCES:
[i]Interview Those You Love, Before They Are Gone Brendon Burchard September 27, 2014  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mlOAdFFOipE
 
[ii] High Performance Habits: How Extraordinary People Became That Way by Brendon Burchard Published September 19, 2017 https://www.amazon.com/High-Performance-Habits-Extraordinary-People/dp/1401952852
 
[iii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #32 with John Assaraf   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/john-assaraf-on-brain-training-resourcefulness-and-the-future/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #246 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
 
[v] Level Up by Andrea Samadi Published September 15th, 2014  https://www.amazon.com/Level-Up-Brain-Based-Skyrocket-Achievement-ebook/dp/B078V3L7FT/ref=sr_1_1?crid=NJIK1905GS7P&keywords=level+up+andrea+samadi&qid=1691593337&sprefix=level+up+andrea+samadi%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #32 with John Assaraf   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/john-assaraf-on-brain-training-resourcefulness-and-the-future/
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP214 with Marie Gervais on “The Spirit of Work” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/marie-gervais-phd-on-the-spirit-of-work-connecting-science-business-practices-and-sacred-texts-for-a-happier-and-more-productive-workplace/
 
[viii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP46 “As Close to Mind Reading as Brain Science Gets: Developing and Using Theory of Mind.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/as-close-to-mind-reading-as-brain-science-gets-developing-and-using-theory-of-mind-in-your-daily-life/
 
[ix] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP163 with Dan Hill on “How to Read the Emotions in Others in Schools, Sports and the Workplace.”
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dan-hill-phd-the-faces-guy-on-how-to-read-the-emotions-in-others-for-schools-sports-and-the-workplace/
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”A Deep Dive into Dr. Caroline Leaf’s 5 Scientifically Proven Steps to Clean Up Our Mental Mess”

On Today's EPISODE #299 we will cover: 
✔ A Deep Dive into Dr. Caroline Leaf's 5 Scientifically Proven Steps to Clean Up Our Mental Mess, So We Can Help Ourselves, Others and Our Children (Preparing for Dr. Leaf's NEW Book Coming Out August 8th). 
✔ What to Expect in the 63 Day Neurocycle (from her APP) from Andrea's Experience of Breaking Down Her Own Toxic Thoughts.
✔ How This Scientifically Proven Process Breaks Down a Toxic Thought, and Reconceptualizes It into Something Healthy and Manageable.
✔ An Overview of the 5 Steps You Will Use to Manage Your Mind.
✔ What Tools and Strategies Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests for improving anxiety and stress in our lives.
✔ Andrea's Thoughts on implementing these strategies for improved mental and physical health, with tools to create balance on a daily basis.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
As we have now hit more than halfway through this year, I want to look back to where we started in January. We opened up January 2023 and SEASON 9 with an episode that focused on “prioritizing our mental and physical health, improving self-awareness and resiliency”[i] with a quote from Julie Smith, and her book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before?
She said “To me, working on maximizing our mental health is no different to working on our physical health.”
Today, we are going to show just how true Julie Smith’s concept of being mindful of our physical AND mental health is, and look at some strategies that we can all use immediately, for difficult times, so that we ALL keep our mental health at the forefront, with ideas for how we can use our mind to become resilient to stress.
For today’s episode #299, we are going back to the Basics, and reviewing EP #106[ii], from February 2021, where we covered a review of Dr. Caroline Leaf’s Neurocycle APP[iii] (that’s scientifically designed to help manage and reduce anxiety, depression and mental ill-health by 81%) along with her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess, that we covered when we interviewed Dr. Leaf on a BONUS EPISODE[iv] back in 2021. I continue to release her episode every year, as her 5 STEP process to identifying, and breaking up toxic thoughts is unlike anything I’ve ever seen or tried myself. If anyone ever asks me “what do you recommend for getting rid of those ruminating thoughts, those worries, stresses or anxieties” that ALL of us feel at some point in our life, I always send over Dr. Leaf’s interview, and let them know about her APP that’s now called The Neurocycle APP, based on applying these 5 steps.
Why Am I Revisiting Our Mental Health Now?
After our last EP #298 with my friend and Neurocoach, Grace Reynolds[v], I mentioned that my girls were struggling with going back to school, and my youngest in particular, with a new school, no friends there, and an entirely new routine. I tried some of Grace’s strategies with her to help bring her brain back to calm, but I quickly realized that I needed more help for her.
I thought back to Dr. Leaf’s episode, and wished she has steps for me to follow that I could walk my 12 year old through, so I went back to the Neurocycle APP on my phone, and thought that it might be a good time for me to revisit the 5 STEPS that she suggests can clean up ANY mental mess, helping us to manage thoughts that make us anxious, or depressed, and eliminate ANY toxic thoughts,  showing us how to take control of them, manage them, and break them down so that they don’t have any control over us. We’ve all got these thoughts in our head, whether it’s work worries, financial worries, family worries, I’m sure everyone can write down a bunch of CRAP they need to get out of their head. It’s really quite an experience and I thought I’m definitely past due for cleaning up my own mental mess.
I opened up my APP that I haven’t used since the last time I had a problem I wanted to eliminate, and right there on the home page was an alert about Dr. Leaf’s new book, coming out in days, called How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health[vi] which covers scientifically-proven steps to help children ages 3-10 overcome unhealthy thinking habits and manage their mental health.  My wish was granted. In days, I’ll have her new book, (it’s coming out August 8th) and I’ll share anything NEW she covers with how to help our children with their worries, keeping their minds peaceful, but until then, I’ve started a NEW 63-day Cycle, which is what Dr. Leaf recommends for eliminating ANY toxic thought that you have, anything that you know is taking away from your peace of mind, to see how I could work on my current worries, and be a stronger version of myself for my family.  When we can understand the 5 steps ourselves as parents, or teachers, and role model the way with our thoughts and behaviors, it’s the first step towards showing our kids that there is nothing wrong with anxiety. It’s not a bad thing. It’s a signal to show us that we need to do something differently.
Dr. Leaf said that she uses this system herself, and it’s the way she manages her mind. If you look at Dr. Leaf you might think she looks somewhere in her 40s with her age, but it you follow her work, she goes back in time with her research, and shares she is around age 60. When we can manage our stress from the inside out, it does show up on the outside.   She shares “I truly believe that mental mess is something we all experience often,” and that it isn’t something we should be ashamed of. This is my profession, and I still have to clean up my mind daily. The events and circumstances of life aren’t going anywhere; people make a lot of decisions every day that affect us all, suffering of some sort for you and your loved ones is inevitable. That said, I wholeheartedly believe that although the events and circumstances can’t be controlled, we can control our reactions to these events and circumstances. This is mind-management in action!”
So for today’s EP #299, I want to revisit my REVIEW of Dr. Leaf’s 5 STEPS for Managing Our Mental Mess, and prepare for her NEW book coming out How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health.[vii] This book is on pre-order right now, coming out August 8th.  If you do pre-order a copy, go to her website and register your order, and you will receive some bonuses, like a video that will prepare your kids for going back to school. This is JUST what I needed last week.  I’ve pre-ordered my copy and highly suggest you look at her new book, if you are like me, with young children, noticing the effects of stress, and anxiety on their developing brains. I hope you find this episode helpful, as I’ll share NEW strategies that go much deeper than what we’ve ever done before with cleaning up our minds, with Dr. Leaf’s 5 Step Approach to reducing our own anxiety, and improve our own self-regulation. Finally, we will look at strategies that Stanford Professor and neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests we do in addition to Dr. Leaf’s 5 steps, to make sure we are taking ALL the steps we can to increase our resilience to stress. Finally, once we’ve mastered these steps ourselves, we can role model the way for others in our life, like, our children, so they can do the same.
CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS IN 5 STEPS
Today, in order to go deeper into the 5 steps than I covered in my first review of Dr. Leaf’s program[viii] back in 2021, I’m going to offer insights from actually doing the FULL 63 days (which Dr. Leaf calls a Neurocycle) three times. I did one full cycle to eliminate, and better manage a problem that I’d say was once my biggest fear, and it’s not at all anymore now that I look at my notes, and then use the APP to understand something about myself on a deeper level, more than any counseling that I’ve ever paid for, attended, and done the work for. What happens with this 63 day Neurocycle process is that once we identify a problem we want to “clean up” from our mind, we’ll go through these 5 steps every day, for 63 days, and in this process, we conceptualize whatever it is that gives us an emotional charge. It never goes away, but whatever it is that brings you worry and anxiety, over time, will lose its energy and power over you, so that in essence are able to control your thoughts, keeping them healthy, instead of them controlling you, and bringing you dis-ease.
Dr. Leaf’s Neurocycle app, costs $14.99USD/month which is much less than any time I’ve actually paid a mental health expert for assistance. I’m not paid to endorse Dr. Leaf, I just interviewed her, and fully believe in her process. You can go through the steps in her APP, or even watch the steps herself from her YouTube channel[ix].
NOTE: Remember, I am not a medical doctor, and if you are struggling with your mental health, please do consult with a medical doctor. On this episode I’m not offering medical advice, but am sharing the results I’ve personally obtained from using the 5 STEP approach that Dr. Leaf suggests, from my point of view, in her book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess and using her Neurocycle APP. My hope is that it can help others, who might find themselves stuck, with some NEW ideas and strategies that I’ve used myself to access peace of mind, during times of high stress in my own life, with the goal that next, I’ll be able to help my family to use these stress reduction strategies in their life, or for anyone who might be listening, and want to try them out for themselves.  
63 DAYS TO BREAK DOWN A TOXIC THOUGHT
The whole idea is that Dr. Leaf, from her years of research, suggests it takes 63 days to get rid of, and completely break down and eliminate a toxic thought. Day 1-21 you identify the thought you want to work on, (you’ll know which one gives you the most emotional charge when you write out all of your worries) and you’ll go through the 5 steps every day to deconstruct the thought, and reconstruct it into something you understand and can manage.  Day 22-42 you go through the 5 steps only, growing new thoughts around the toxic one, and Day 42-63 you finally break the “cycle” and form NEW thoughts, that support the future you want to see.  It sounds pretty simple and straight forward, but I’ve got to share that it’s a bit messy.
CLEANING UP OUR MENTAL MESS IN 63 DAYS
In our interview, she held up a dead, rotten looking tree, showing us that this is what our toxic thoughts look like, (in our mind) and I’m not one consciously think negative thoughts, knowing how damaging they are to our brain and results, but this image took it all to a new level for me with this dead tree. Anytime we are stuck ruminating on something negative, (either consciously-when we will know we are going down the wrong path, or even unconsciously, like what happened to me when I noticed feeling this sinking feeling in my stomach that something just wasn’t right in our world) the dead tree is a good visual to think of. How on the earth could we possibly expect to build positive results with negative thoughts floating through our minds, causing negative feelings, actions and results? These negative thoughts further impact our conditions, circumstances and even our future environments. It’s not something I want personally, or for anyone else, so when I noticed I was beginning to worry, and feel anxious with some things happening with our girls, that are a normal part of them growing up, and I knew these worries were beginning to impact my behavior, (I was more snippier than usual with them) I knew it was time for me to start a NEW 63 day Neurocycle and nip these worries in the bud, before they grew into something more difficult to control. I knew it was time to clean up my own Mental Mess.
I’m on DAY 4/63 of the program now, and since this is my 4th time running through a 63-day cycle, I wanted to share my thoughts along the way, to help others who might be thinking about beginning this process. I’ll link some resources in the show notes resource section of where to begin. I highly suggest watching the interview I did with Dr. Leaf on EPISODE #106[x] to get some background information of this 5-step process, and even her interview with podcaster Ed Mylett[xi] who brings some humor to the 5-step process from a guy’s point of view. The Neurocycle APP puts everything into practice and brings the 5-steps to life.
Here’s My Experience of Using the APP to Clean Up My Mental Mess
INTRO TO THE APP:
I opened up the APP, and 63 days feels like a long way away, but if you can break down the journey into stages (1-21 where you identify what issue you want to DETOX from your mind and begin to deconstruct it, and then reconstruct it into something healthier, 22-42 where you practice the 5 steps and reinforce new, healthy thoughts, and finally days 42-63 where you break the cycle of negative thinking and find FREEDOM in your mind) where you notice you’ll be able to manage your thoughts, and life, so much better. You go from having doubts, worries, and fears, to understanding, and eventually to FREEDOM and peace of mind.
Here’s how I felt throughout my 63 days.
DAY 1: I felt anxious, with a problem I wanted to solve immediately. It was difficult to focus on my work, as the problem was on my mind. Dr. Leaf’s dead toxic tree was enough of a visual for me to want to change my toxic thoughts, and get them out of my head.  I also felt an anxious feeling in my stomach, and knew I wasn’t my best self.
DAY 2: The first part is all about brainstorming what’s on our mind. If I thought about the CRAP BOARD I talked about in our previous EPISODE, it’s here we list out all of Conflicts, Resistances, Anxieties and Problems on a piece of paper. I did this myself, and actually did it with my daughter, to pinpoint what was stressing her out so much. Pinpointing what’s bothering you the MOST is eye-opening, as you look at other things that cross your mind, and put them on the back-burner, so to speak. Now we are going to pick the one that’s the most pressing. I’ve now identified the ONE thought I’ll work on for 63 days. Most of us will be able to list a whole bunch of things that are on our mind, taking up space. You’ll want to pick just ONE. At this point I already know how I feel when this problem comes across my mind, and I’ve started to apply strategies to calm my mind when I feel stressed out about it. The work of deconstructing this problem has begun.
DAY 3: Now I’ve learned to pause and breathe when stressed with a strategy Dr. Leaf calls THINK/FEEL and CHOOSE. With time, this self-regulation strategy becomes automatic and when I THINK and FEEL something that makes me uneasy, I have the ability to CHOOSE how I respond or react to it, listening closely to what she says are “warning signals” in my body.  Alpha waves increase as I dig deeper into my mind, and gain understanding in this process.  I’m very clear with the emotions I feel, the behaviors I choose, and I’m using my own mind to gain some perspective of what this all means to me, and what are the root causes of it all.
DAY 6: I’m beginning to change my perspective of the toxic thought, getting closure to it all, as I’m beginning to see where it came from in the first place.
DAY 7: I can actually gather some insight, understanding and feel empowered as I’ve broken up a toxic thought with my own mind. After 7 days I can say I felt hope, or empowerment and had created a vision for the future I wanted as the toxic thought is now being restructured in my brain and turned into something useful. I’m thinking of her dead tree coming alive a bit.
DAY 14: Dr. Leaf mentions is a BENCHMARK DAY as you might experience what she says is like a “mastery mirage” or that “Oh, I’ve got this feeling” and you want to stop here. DON’T STOP, or you’ll undo all of the work you’ve done up to this point, and you’ll need to start over at day 1. The toxic thought isn’t dead just yet. Keep going, learning, thinking and reflecting. It’s here you might need an accountability partner to keep going, but find some way to take this process seriously and keep moving, and doing the “mental” work to break free from whatever it is that’s bothering you. I just wrote down what day I was on in my notebook out of 63 days, showing me that I wasn’t finished yet.
DAY 14-16: Somewhere around here I felt persistence, resilience, strength and power about the thought that was once toxic and troubling.  I can look back to Day 1 and remember how I felt, knowing this process does work. I know that I’m nowhere near where I was 2 weeks ago with this toxic thought.
DAY 20: I can now see the BIG PICTURE and the future that was bright as the toxic thought no longer bothers me. This is an incredible experience to get to and know that we used our own mind to clean itself.
DAY 21-24: Were the most powerful. I won’t write here why, you’ll have to do the work and see for yourself, but it was here that came deep understanding, healing and strength that would change me forever.
DAY 25-63: Was a process of going through the 5 STEPS daily, and reconceptualizing the toxic every day until you build it into something else that’s healthier.  
I did cover in the 5 STEPS in our REVIEW of Dr. Leaf’s Book[xii], but here they are again here:
IMAGE CREDIT: Dr. Caroline Leaf's 5 STEPS for Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess in her Neurocycle APP.
STEP 1: Gather Awareness (of what’s bothering you). We’ve all heard of the importance of knowing our emotions, or when we name what’s bothering us, or when we name it, we can tame it[iv]. What about those worries that we name, and they don’t go away? This is where I used the Neurocycle APP and this is something I will continue to use to clean up my own mental mess, cleaning up those bigger worries that I know are impacting my results.
STEP 2: Reflect and Analyze: Answer, Ask and Discuss Some Questions to Find the Root Cause of Your Emotions or What’s Bothering You.
This is how we pull thoughts from our non-conscious mind to our conscious mind, where it becomes weaker. It’s no longer suppressed but acknowledged. Use your mind to ask yourself questions, and it will be interesting to see what comes up. This process takes time, reflection and daily effort. Our emotions are unique signals to learn how to cope with challenges, but over time, negative ones will damage our brain with consistent worry.  We want to find our way to growing the positive emotions, and weakening the negative ones. Since I’m on my 4th time doing this process, I can say that the ROOT CAUSE of ALL my worries, are pretty much the same issue. This activity will increase your self-awareness.
STEP 3: Write out what you discover from step 2. Begin to capture what’s bothering you and see if you can come up with root causes, or why you think this worry is on your mind. Learn to write in pictures, add color, shapes. Learn how to write in a metacog formula[v] digging into your nonconscious mind, bringing what’s buried in there, to your conscious mind for you to deal with it.  It’s here you will create self-regulation strategies to turn your worries into something that no longer holds you back.
STEP 4: Recheck and Edit What You Have Written Down. Re-read what you have written and see what comes up. Can you add more to your answer to help make more sense of it? Dig deeper, look for patterns, triggers and keep looking for the root cause of the problem. As you gain more understanding of what’s bothering you, you are now what Dr. Leaf says is called “conceptualizing” the toxic thought into something you can manage. 
STEP 5: Practice and Apply Through Active Reach. Look at what you have written and see if you can come up with an action statement to practice what you have learned from your introspection.  You will read out your daily Aha Moment 7x a day to remind yourself what you are re-shaping. This last step is something positive and motivating to remind you of your NEW awareness around this thought. The APP even has a reminder that will pop up on your phone to help you to consolidate this new thought into your mind in this process. It will make you smile when you are going about your busy day, long after you’ve done this work.
It’s here you’ll notice a shift in energy about the problem. I started to see mine differently here looking at it from a distance.
DIVE DEEPER INTO YOUR RESULTS
The Neurocycle APP has this NEW feature that measures how well you are managing your mind. You can click on the RESULTS tab and see a score for your Autonomy, Awareness, Toxic Thoughts and Isolation, Toxic Stress, Barriers and Challenges, Empowerment and Life Satisfaction based on answering questions after each day of using the app. This score will help you to dive deeper into your mental health and see where there is room for improvement along the way.
What’s NEXT?
Now that I know how to identify and change my own toxic thinking, I’d like to teach this process to my girls, so they can keep their minds free and clear of their mental mess. Dr. Leaf’s book for kids comes out August 8th (next Tuesday) so reviewing her 5 STEPS will be helping for ANYONE who wants to apply these steps themselves and then help others to do the same.
Before I review this episode with some additional strategies, I do have to say that going through these 5 steps isn’t going to be easy. I’m in my 4th cycle of 63 days, and in the very beginning, when you are writing down something that make you uneasy (a toxic thought) it will make you FEEL uneasy. The work is real, and so are the emotions that you will be breaking down. I had to find strategies to help me to center myself, and get out of the fight/flight part of my anxious brain, to the rest and digest parasympathetic side. There’s no way around a problem, Dr. Leaf says the only way is “through” and I’ll have to agree.  When doing these 5 steps, find ways to incorporate self-care into your day. Be good to yourself.
To make sure I was putting my mind in the BEST frame for doing this deep work, I looked at what other strategies we could use to help calm our mind as we are cleaning up our Mental Mess, and I found a list from Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast.
On Dr. Huberman’s EPISODE on “Tools for Managing Stress and Anxiety[xiii]” he suggests:
What Does Dr. Huberman Suggest?
1. BREATHING: Practice the physiological sigh[xiv] by consciously engaging in a double inhale followed by a long exhale to regulate heart rate and induce relaxation.
Incorporate deliberate breathing techniques, such as longer and more vigorous exhales, to regulate heart rate and activate the parasympathetic nervous system. Dr. Leaf incorporates breathing into her Neurocycle steps, helping us to prime our brain for learning. I saw the importance of taking deep breaths when I interviewed Rohan Dixit and his Lief Therapeutics[xv] wearable HRV device. This device, that connected to my stomach with sensors, taught me to breathe and in turn, lower my HRV.
2. SUPPLEMENTS: Explore non-prescription compounds like melatonin, L-theanine, and ashwagandha for potential stress modulation. While I’m not anti-alcohol, I do have a new awareness of the damaging impact of this toxin on our brain, since Dr. Huberman’s episode where he covers this in depth[xvi], I’ve been drinking HOP WTR[xvii] to help calm my nerves as an alternative to alcohol, especially when I need my mind clear and focused, or while learning new information. When life needs your full awareness, I highly suggest finding a healthy substitute that will help you to continue to build brain health in this process. I find this drink to be relaxing, and it does still relieve stress, probably as it contains Ashwagandha that’s best known for its stress relieving properties.
3. PRIORITIZE SLEEP[xviii] AND MAINTAIN OPTIMAL HEART RATE VARIABILITY (HRV) for overall health. I’ve been working on this area for a long time now, (since 2019) and finally seeing improvements[xix].  It’s a process, involving many factors (physical and mental health) and optimizing all areas of health come one step at a time. You can see from my WHOOP (wearable tracker) data that my sleep performance struggles to reach the 70% mark (the suggest number for sufficient sleep) unless I’m on vacation. This is mostly due to the fact that I prioritize early morning works outs, for the benefits I receive there, so sleep is always my work in progress.  Finding the balance we need with our physical and mental health is a process.
We’ve covered improving HRV on a few episodes, and I’ve been watching this number like a hawk for the past year. This past month, I’ve finally seen a huge jump in HRV scores that I attribute mostly to the Qualia Senolytics[xx] supplement that I started to use after interview Dr. Greg Kelly from Neurohacker Collective, and drinking more Hop Wtr. In February of this year, my HRV was averaging around 65 ms, and now it’s averaging 84 ms, a 30% increase since February which is a huge jump that could go even higher if only I could get consistent sleep at night.
These are my experiences for improving sleep and HRV, and know there are many other suggested strategies that we’ll keep our eye on and cover in the future.
4. BUILD RESILIENCE: Engage in activities that raise the stress threshold, such as cold showers or intense exercise, while learning to calm the mind. This is a new practice for me and does come in handy when you travel to a place with no hot water once you’ve mastered cold water immersion.
To conclude and review this week’s Brian Fact Friday, of a deeper dive into Dr. Carolyn Leaf’s Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and Neurocycle APP, I highly suggest that if you have something you want to work through, something that’s on your mind bothering you, and distracting you from being your best self, read Dr. Leaf’s How To Clean Up Your Mental Mess book, and grab her Neurocycle APP, even if it’s just for a few months to go through one 63 day cycle. You can always quit the APP, and come back to it at a later date, like I did.
Then fine tune your mindset and resilience practice with Dr. Huberman’s tips for managing stress and anxiety. You don’t have to do it all at once, and you can see from what I’m measuring that balancing our mental and physical health will always be a “work in progress”, especially cleaning up our mental mess, so we can be the best version of ourselves, inspiring others to do the same.
Since stress, anxiety and depression are at an all-time high in the world today, and if we as parents, teachers and coaches can equip ourselves with evidence-based strategies that work, we will be building a stronger, more resilient future for our next generation. Neurohacker Collective just posted this week that “people with higher baseline vagal tone (from practices like breath work, cold exposure, exercise, meditation, taking probiotics, laughter, singing and relaxation exercises) have shown higher levels of subjective well-being, and positive emotions (better self-regulation and self-control).”
With that, I’ll close out this episode, and see you next week, with EPISODE 300 with a surprise guest, my Mom, who will join my husband, Majid Samadi, and I, to cover some mindset success strategies that she’s used over the years, many that we have discussed on the podcast.
See you next week!
RESOURCES:
Neurocycle APP https://www.neurocycle.app/
Andrea interviews Dr. Leaf
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/
Watch Dr. Leaf’s 5 STEP PROCESS on her YouTube Channel
https://www.youtube.com/@DrCarolineLeaf
All About Dr. Leaf’s NEW Book for Children ages 3-10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1lb2_zaibg
PRE-ORDER her new book How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess by Dr. Caroline Leaf COMING AUG 8th, 2023  https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/
The Vagus Nerve: What it is and how to stimulate it for increase stress resilience by Sara Adaes, Ph.D. October 22, 2022 https://neurohacker.com/the-vagus-nerve-what-it-is-and-how-to-stimulate-it-for-increased-stress-resilience?utm_source=social&utm_medium=insta&utm_campaign=quote_card_vagus_high_tone_positive_emotions
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #268 “Prioritizing our mental and physical health, improving self-awareness and resilience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-prioritizing-mental-health-in-2023-improving-self-awareness-and-resilience/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ 
 
[iii] https://www.neurocycle.app/
 
[iv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/worldrenownedneuroscientistdr-caroline-leaf-oncleaningup-your-mentalmess5-simplescientifically-proven-stepsto-reduceanxiety-and-toxic-thinking/
 
[v] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/grace-reynolds-on-mindfulness-neurocoaching-the-quickest-and-easiest-path-to-post-traumatic-growth/
 
[vi] https://www.mentallyresilientkids.com/
 
[vii]How to Help Your Child Clean Up Their Mental Mess: A Guide to Building Resilience and Managing Mental Health Dr. Carolyn Leaf Published August 8, 2023  https://www.amazon.com/Help-Child-Clean-Their-Mental/dp/0801093414
 
[viii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ 
 
[ix] Dr. Caroline Leaf YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/@DrCarolineLeaf
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ 
 
[xi] Ed Mylett interviews Dr. Carolyn Leaf on her 5 Step Approach for Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess https://www.edmylett.com/podcast/dr-caroline-leaf-manage-your-mental-mess
 
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ 
 
[xiii] Dr. Andrew Huberman “Tools for Managing Stress and Anxiety” https://hubermanlab.com/tools-for-managing-stress-and-anxiety/
 
[xiv] Breathing Techniques to Reduce Stress and Anxiety by Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSZKIupBUuc
 
[xv]Neuroscience Meets SEL EPISODE #248 with Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/rohan-dixit-founder-of-lief-therapeutics-on-measuring-hrv-in-real-time-for-stress-relief-from-the-inside-out/
 
[xvi] What Alcohol Does to Your Brain and Body by Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkS1pkKpILY
 
[xvii] Hop Wtr https://hopwtr.com/?gad=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw2qKmBhCfARIsAFy8buIrjK0UDxciFCwMs-rG6l6qHJ2SyQrmnYnDS92vJeDgDZU8JNzZ6w8aAiacEALw_wcB
 
[xviii]Neuroscience Meets SEL Review of the Fisher Wallace Device (One Year Later). https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/
 
[xix]Neuroscience Meets SEL Review of Heart Rate Variability https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-review-of-heart-rate-variability-the-most-important-biomarker-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience/
 
[xx]Neuroscience Meets SEL EPISODE #285 with Dr. Gregory Kelly from Neurohacker Collective on Qualia Senoltyics  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-gregory-kelly-from-neurohacker-collective-on-how-to-beat-aging-and-stress-with-qualia-senolytics/
 

Grace Reynolds on ”Mindfulness Neurocoaching: The Quickest and Easiest Path to Post-Traumatic Growth”

"Self-regulation will always be a challenge, but if somebody's going to be in charge, it might as well be me." Daniel Akst
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/xjPY1-gmuNk
On Today's EPISODE #298 we will cover: 
✔ What exactly is trauma and what does it look like in our brain?
✔ How do we become “traumatized”? (as an adult or child)?
✔ How can we recognize “traumatic” experiences in our life, so we can address them, (trauma-informed strategies) heal from them, and prevent them from holding us back?
✔ If our Primal Emotions are hard-wired into our brain, then how do we overcome them? (FEARS, ANGER etc)? 
✔ How can we eliminate things that are worrying us? Our CRAP (conflicts, resistances, anxieties, and problems)? 
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #298, we will be speaking with someone I got to know well, as we both took and became certified with a neuroscience certification course, through Mark Waldman[i], learning the basics of neuroscience and a unique technique called neurocoaching that we can both use to help individuals, schools or organizations. Grace Reynolds, who lives in Tasmania, Australia, (near Antarctica) went on to achieve a deeper level of certification as an advanced certified trauma centered neurocoach. We’ve been friends and colleagues for years studying and learning brain-based coaching strategies, and she recently asked me “have you covered neuroscience and trauma yet?” I knew that we’ve touched on it, but hadn’t covered it thoroughly yet.
We have covered trauma and the brain in pieces with Dr. Bruce Perry’s[ii] What Happened to You book, Sarah Peyton[iii] and her work on anxiety and self-regulation, or Dr. Lori Desautels’[iv] work on rewiring our perceptions of discipline in our schools, and it was even a part of our interview with Hans Appel[v], a school counselor whose book, Award Winning Culture took off in schools across the country.  I remember while reading Hans’ book, it was in the first few pages that he mentioned how he had a difficult childhood, and he talked about how the sound of his back door opening after school would make his skin crawl as he remembered the trauma that would occur for him in his life after school, urging him to spend more and more time at school, away from home. I wonder how many of our students have stories like this. I remember in the first few pages of Dr. Bruce Perry’s What Happened to You book, he talked about a student who would act out in class. It turned out that the teacher’s cologne was triggering him to a bad memory of a past experience, showing us that triggers can occur and set us off when we least expect it.
I wonder:
How do past traumas show up and do they impact our life? 
What Can They Teach Us About How We Might Respond to Certain Situations?
What strategies can we use to help us to maintain balance in our life?
While I didn’t have an experience as painful as Hans Appel’s, or the student with the cologne, these stories made me remember something from over 20 years ago that made my skin crawl, and still does. Psychological trauma impacts our brain, and can trigger us to feel threatened even when we are not in a threatening situation.
When I hear the sound of ice hitting a glass from a refrigerator ice machine, this sound takes me back to a time when I remember someone pouring themselves another drink, at night, and I just didn’t understand it. I can see the memory and feel the unhappiness from that time period, clearly each time I hear that sound. This traumatic memory shows me that trauma once it hits our brain, embeds itself deeply in there, until we can uncover it, identify it, and then figure out what we will do with it (forgive it) so it loses its power over us, or doesn’t interfere with our future results.
Trauma is something that we have recently begun to train our teachers with. Our episode with Dr. Michael Gaskell[vi] on leading schools through trauma remains one of our top most listened to episodes, and I have communicated with Mathew Portell, whose work and podcast covers Trauma Informed Education[vii]. We just haven’t been able to connect to set up a time to speak but will find a way to connect his work, since there is no better time than NOW to become trauma informed.
I say this at a time where it’s become important to understand in my own personal life, since the world sometimes throws us curveballs, and we are forced to STOP and figure this all out. I’m sure my personal story will resonate with many of you listening, if you have children, going back to school this fall. Our girls (ages 11 and 13) have just gone back to school, (AZ students get out in May, and go back the end of July). Both are in new schools, the youngest transitioned to middle school, and the oldest in high school, and life as it was for them has changed suddenly. Life with this new transition just seemed to be a lot for both our girls, and I hear this is not uncommon. Trauma informed expert Mathew Portell, reached back to me about our interview this week, and let me know what we are experiencing with these new transitions is “becoming the norm with pre-teens and teens.” When a breakdown happens, or a situation that overtakes a child, or even an adult for that matter, we are left with trying to figure out the pieces of what to do next. In our situation, we are still working through the pieces, reading books, and looking for the best direction.
I was referred to the New York Times Best Seller The Emotional Lives of Teenagers by Lisa Damour[viii] to help us with some understanding of what might be happening to our girls as they are moving to new schools, entirely new friend groups, and new lives, and ways that we can help them to cope with these new experiences, with some understanding that goes beyond what our parents would have done for us—kicked us out the door and said “get to school” as the door slammed shut behind us.  Times are different now, and I know that when we know better, we can do better.
So today I’m going to be asking our guest, Grace Reynolds for some strategies that could help all of us move forward in our lives, an understand what happens to our brain, during times of trauma and high stress.
This is a topic we now teach in our schools, as you will know if you’ve been learning Dr. Bruce Perry’s work, and his book, What Happened to You is a quick reminder of the fact that our students could possibly be misbehaving in class, because they are being triggered in some way from a past memory that has set them off. 
Intro: Grace, we’ve known each other over the years, and I know that you’ve spent 45 years (or more) helping people come out of trauma. Can you share a bit about your background, and why you’ve been so successful in helping people in acute psychiatric hospitals, high security prisons, refugees, and schools, to understand and overcome trauma?
Grace is from Tasmania, Australia! From our statistics, we can see all the listeners from Australia. Thanks for tuning in from down under. 
 
Q1: What is different from the Mindfulness Neurocoaching we were certified with from Mark Waldman, versus other therapies and counseling?
Q2: What is trauma and what does it look like in our brain?
Q3: How do we help someone who has been “traumatized”? (as an adult or child)?
Q4: How can we recognize “traumatic” experiences in our life and then what are some strategies you have to help someone heal from them?
Q4B: What about our primal emotions (Panksepp) that are hard wired into our brain. I know you know these emotions well.  How do you teach people to overcome their FEARS (me jumping off the boat), or the FEAR of the unknown (like my daughter being afraid of her future because school is new) or ANGER?
Q5: What other questions should I ask about trauma/brain?
Q6: How do our core emotions/values tie in?
Q7: How do we use our 7 Primal Emotions (Panksepp-Curiosity, Caring, Playfulness, Sadness, Fear, Rage/Anger, Lust) for our benefit?
Q8: How do you use/teach the CRAP BOARD (to eliminate conflicts, resistances, anxieties and problems)?
Q9: Final thoughts, and how can people work with you?
CONNECT WITH GRACE REYNOLDS
Mobile:  +61 477744767
https://www.facebook.com/mindfulneurocoaching
https://twitter.com/mindfulneurocch
https://www.instagram.com/mindfulneurocoaching/
FINAL THOUGHTS
This interview with my good friend Grace helped me to see that no matter who we are (a parent struggling with something at work, or home) or a child struggling with life, and their new transitions, there is current brain-research and mindfulness based strategies we can all use, immediately to self-regulate, and move forward.
I had forgotten about some of them, but will begin to use Grace’s suggestions myself and with my family, and hope that her ideas have helped you to look a bit closer at your own life, and perhaps why certain things might make you feel uneasy. It is just the way our brain is wired to keep us safe.
 
How can we all use this new understanding of our brain to move us forward?
 
I’ll let you explore how you will do this, but I’m going to update my CRAP board, and see what conflicts, resistances, anxieties and problems I have TODAY vs the one I did in 2018 to see which ones are REAL and VALID and if I can cross any of them off my list, and get them all out of my head.
 
I’m also going to attempt a CRAP BOARD with my girls, to see if it helps them to get their worries out of their head, and onto paper for us to look at and solve together.
 
And with that, I’ll close out this episode and will see you next week and we go back to PART 2 of Going Back to the Basics. See you next week.
RESOURCES
Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #273 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-self-regulation-using-neuroscience-to-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-emotions-and-behaviors/
Thermoregulatory Theory of Yawning: What we Know From Over 5 Years of Research Jan. 2013  https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnins.2012.00188/full
Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #287 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-neuroscience-to-understand-our-emotions-feelings-and-life/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES: 
[i]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #30  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/neuroscience-researcher-mark-robert-waldman-on-brain-network-theory-and-the-12-brain-based-experiential-living-principles/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #168 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-bruce-perry-and-steve-graner-from-the-neurosequential-network-on-what-we-should-all-know-about-what-happened-to-you/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #92 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-and-neuroscience-educator-sarah-peyton-on-brain-network-theory-default-mode-network-anxiety-and-emotion-regulation/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #56 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/educational-neuroscience-pioneer-dr-lori-desautels-on-her-new-book-about-connections-over-compliance-rewiring-our-perceptions-of-discipline/
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #63 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/author-hans-appel-on-building-award-winning-culture-in-your-school-or-organization/
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #172 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-michael-gaskell-on-leading-schools-through-trauma-a-data-driven-approach-to-helping-children-heal/
 
[vii] Matthew Portell https://www.tienetwork.org/
 
[viii] The Emotional Lives of Teenagers by Lisa Damour https://www.amazon.com/s?k=the+emotional+lives+of+teenagers&hvadid=630690198419&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030068&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10597122911661210593&hvtargid=kwd-1871630612096&hydadcr=7635_13469277&tag=googhydr-20&ref=pd_sl_olg1febz5_e
 

Scientist and Activist Dr. Wallace J. Nichols on ”Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Connects Our Brain to Water”

“Now it’s time to update my grandfather’s words by explaining them, and, by doing so, changing our understanding of our place on the planet, who we are, and what goes on inside and between us. It’s about reconnecting our sense of self and soul with our waterways and oceans. It’s about finding our creativity, clarity, and confidence in our deep Blue Minds.” Celine Cousteau, who opens up Wallace J. Nichols’ Blue Mind book, with a fascinating look into the depths of the ocean, reminding us of the words that meant the most to her from her grandfather, the great, Jacques Cousteau, that “The sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever. People protect what they love.”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/wwx1jrHj33c
On today's EPISODE #297 "Blue-Mind: The Surprising Science That Connects Our Brain to Water" we will cover:
✔ What made Dr. Wallace J. Nichols connect the mysteries of the ocean, to our brain.
✔ How he gathered research for this book, and made real world connections between neuroscience and the water, never explored before.
✔ Why we are often more connected, emotional and happier around water.
✔ What Dr. Nichols noticed when he wore a waterproof EEC cap and measured his brain while swimming in the ocean.
✔ How Blue Mind can help us to become more self-aware, and move us towards freedom, possibility, wonder and hope.
✔ Easy ways we can all access and practice Blue Mind, especially on World Blue Mind Day, this Sunday July 23rd. 
 
 
 
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional
Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #297, we are diving into the depths of the ocean, and learning about some concepts that Dr. Wallace J Nichols[i] has discovered that he calls “Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, or Under Water, Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected and Better at What You Do.”
 When I was first introduced to Dr. Nichols, I was on a summer vacation with the family and just packing up our trip next to the clearest, bluest water I have ever seen on Grace Bay, in Turks and Caicos. My friend and Performance Coach Luke DePron, from EP 90[ii] sent me an introduction to Dr. Nichols for our podcast, and when I saw his book, I couldn’t have been more excited. I always want to understand the “why” behind certain things, and the ocean (and water in general) is something I’ve always been fascinated with. I took one look at Dr. Nichols’ book, Blue Mind, and I was instantly captivated. He asks some of the questions I’ve always wondered:
What is water, and Why are we as humans so enthralled by it?
Then I looked at the cover of the book, and the tagline got me thinking more:
What happens to me when I’m swimming in water?
Why do I suddenly feel more creative than I do when I’m sitting at my desk? Or more connected to others?
What happens to me when I dive down to the bottom of the ocean?
Now I’m reading Dr. Nichols’ book, hoping to answer these questions, and also a bit surprised that I never thought of the brain/water connection. If you’ve been following this podcast for some time, you’ll know that I’ve been working on the brain/and learning connection and neuroscience is helping the field of education to make huge strides as we know so much more about how the brain learns best today, than we did 20 years ago. What we are doing essentially, is expanding our level of awareness.
Then I read about awareness from the late author David Foster Wallace, who said in a commencement speech in 2005 that “education should be based on awareness. Awareness of what is so real and essential, so hidden in plain sight all around us, all the time.” (location 175, Blue Mind).
Now my mind is wide open, my level of awareness has expanded, as he says “this is water” and I’m now making the Mind/Brain connection.
This is just the beginning. I’ve got some questions for Dr. Nichols that I hope will expand ALL of our levels of awareness around this thing called water, and how this understanding could possibly make our lives better, by making the brain/water connection.
Let’s meet Dr. Wallace J. Nichols, and dive deep under water together, to see what we can learn from this unique perspective and movement that he’s called Blue Mind.
Welcome Dr. Nichols. I’m sure you could see from my emails to you that this interview was very important to me. Something about being introduced to you when I was standing in front of the bluest water I’ve ever seen! Welcome and thank you for meeting with me today.
Intro Q: After I saw the introduction to you from Luke, I quickly bought your book, and started my journey into Blue Mind, that took me on many twists and turns. I’ve got to begin with the Foreword, because it took me a minute to make the connection between Celine, and the great Jacques Cousteau who I grew up watching on television. What she wrote was profound. Can you talk about what she said about how “the sea, once it casts its spell, holds one in its net of wonder forever” and explain where this journey began for you? What was it the made you even think of connecting the complex mysteries of the brain to the ocean, both being similarly complex? 
Q1: While reading your book, I noticed something right from the start and that was the research that you put throughout focused on the leading experts in the field of neuroscience. I noticed each name, because these are the names I’ve been focused on either interviewing on this podcast, or reading their books.  Dr. Daniel J Siegel[iii] and his Wheel of Awareness Meditation was one of our early interviews EP #28.[iv] I can list countless others (like Loretta Breuning) or even V.S Ramachandran who mentored Dr. Baland Jalal[v] who were interviewed about the mysteries of the dream world.  While you gathered all of the leading experts in the field of neuroscience in your book, like you, I wondered, why is our interaction with water left out of the research?
Q2: “There’s something about water that draws and fascinates us. No wonder: it’s the most omnipresent substance on Earth and, along with air, the primary ingredient for supporting life as we know it.” (Page 8) I related to this as I swam underwater on this vacation, and noticed stronger than usual emotions, feelings and clarity when I touched the ocean floor. Now I’m curious. I never thought of measuring my brain while swimming. Why are many of us fascinated with the ocean?
Q2B: Why do some of us feel so emotional around the water?
Q3: What were some things you discovered about your brain with the waterproof EEG cap you used to measure your brain activity while swimming?
Q4: I’ve got to dive into some of your findings a bit here, because I think they are important. I just interviewed a former MLB player, Mike Bordick, and he talked about the meditative nature of fishing that he would do after a busy season of baseball. I never thought about the meditative nature of swimming until you mentioned it in your book. Do you think that swimming could cause our brain waves to go from beta, to alpha (more relaxed) to theta where perhaps the creativity would occur? Is this what you saw when you measured your brain while swimming? We covered a program called The Silva Method[vi] that helps people to go into the alpha level during meditation, for accessing higher levels of creativity. Is this what’s happening to our brain as we swim? Could the ocean possibly be kicking our brains into the theta brain state?
Q5: We’ve spoken a lot on this podcast about expanding our level of awareness through study and I know that being curious is an important part of learning.  You say that “Blue Mind is deep down, about human curiosity, and knowing ourselves better.”  How can this idea you’ve discovered, Blue Mind, help us to become more self-aware and advance us forward?
Q6: I noticed you called AZ “landlocked” and as someone who loves the water, I’ve often said the same thing about the state. I left Toronto for AZ, 22 years ago. I’m still here, but notice I’m most creative near the ocean. My writing just comes alive here. You go into this deeply in Ch. 6 but I wonder on the surface level, what have you discovered about the physical effects that a visit to the ocean can have on us? What are some ways we can experience Blue Mind is we aren’t near the ocean?
Q7: Did I ever relate to your book, especially when you wanted to look into the science behind our emotional connection to water and you were told “Keep that fuzzy stuff out of your science, young man. Emotion wasn’t rational. It wasn’t quantifiable. It wasn’t science. “
I remember Dr. Daniel J Siegel, who you mentioned throughout your book was told the same thing with medicine, (to keep his emotions out of treating his patients) and that was what made him quit, because he wasn’t supposed to get emotionally connected to his patients which was so far away from the truth.
I was geared towards science in the field of education any time I leaned towards to spiritual side of a person, being told to stay away from anything that science can’t prove.  I’m on a mission to draw out this mind/brain/body connection which is why this podcast is called Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning.  
What are we missing when we ignore the fuzzy stuff?
We covered this question in our discussion:
In Chapter 6, Red Mind, Grey Mind and Blue Mind, you go into the health benefits of water. I’m glad to see that you covered Red Mind and Grey Mind in your book, in addition to just the obvious Blue Mind, especially when anxiety is at an all-time high in our country, and I just wrote a question for another author about how stress halts our creative faculties. Can you address how water can help us to transition from the Red Mind of stress or the Grey Mind of numbed-out depression? Where have you seen the life-saving effects of Blue Mind?
Q8: Van Curaza asked the question “What is your favorite thing about the beach?” on his popular Facebook page. For someone who has spent his career studying the ocean and water, what would be your answer??
Q9: The health benefits we’ve talked about are obvious but what touched me was how many ways water can help those struggling with addiction, of autistic children, or those struggling with PTSD. You mention programs that can help almost anyone who’s struggling in some way, using the water. Or even those young kids you took over the border to Puerto Penasco. I was reading your book on the balcony, overlooking the sea of Cortez just imagining the look on these kids’ faces as they saw the beautiful blue ocean for the first time. What have you seen that’s impacted you the most with water’s healing effects?
Final thoughts. What is your vision with Blue Mind, especially as its World Blue Mind Day coming up this Sunday July 23? I read it while sitting next to the Sea of Cortez over July 4th weekend and it touched me deeply. Not just with how water impacts me personally, giving me answers but the vast research you’ve done, connecting the brain to the healing effects of water for others, and the numerous groups/organizations who are using the idea of Blue Mind to help others.
Dr. Nichols, I want to thank you for your time this morning to share your book and movement, Blue Mind. I don’t think you left a stone unturned with your research and how Blue Mind can help the world.
Blue Mind is now a resource that I’ll add to future episodes, tying in your research that makes a solid case for why being on, near, in or under the water can make us happier, healthier and more connected.
Best of luck for where your vision takes you next.
Final Thoughts and Reflections
If you watch the YouTube version of this interview, you will see a body of water and a shipwreck in the photo. That was taken on our family trip to Turks and Caicos[vii] this past June, of the famous La Famille Express shipwreck that you can visit, and walk through. You can even jump off the back of the ship into the ocean, and in the photo that is throughout the video, I’m covered, but I’m standing on the back of the ship, too afraid to jump. I thought it was fitting to put this image throughout this interview, especially as we spoke about how to use the ocean to increase our level of awareness, happiness and creativity. What am I afraid of? I’ve always had this fear of jumping into water, and who knows where it came from. What’s interesting is that you can see a photo of the crystal clear ocean on the website, showing me now that there would be no rocks or anything that could harm me while jumping into the ocean.
Would this new knowledge make me less afraid?  I think it would.
When we can see where we are going, the path becomes clearer, but when we are stressed out, what Dr. Nichols calls Red Mind, we can’t think clearly. I remember standing on the back of the ship, and I’d thrown my shoes into the water so there was no other way I could walk down (through the rusted ship) but I still couldn’t jump in. My RED mind had taken over and there was no ability for me to think or reason.
I wish I had read Blue Mind before this experience. I know this increased awareness would have allowed me to blast through this fear.
So for me, my biggest AHA moment and take-away is that we all increase of our levels of awareness with whatever it is in our life that’s unknown that could be causing us stress, anxiety or worry. Like Dr. Nichols said, if something has got you feeling anxious, just try to find your way to water, and pay attention to how you are feeling. Reflect on what we discussed on this episode and see if you can begin to feel some level of peace, as you practice accessing Blue Mind into your daily life.
If you know someone who might be struggling with something, grab their hand, and take them fishing. Sunday July 23rd is World Blue Mind Day. The most important part to this is to go out and practice Blue Mind and then see if it’s something you can practice, and see where it takes you.
To increased happiness, creativity, problem solving and thinking?
Leading us to freedom, possibility, wonder and hope?
I’m in…what about YOU?! I’d love to hear YOUR Blue Mind story, and what you think of this book, when you read it.
I’ll see you next week.
RESOURCES:
7th Annual Blue Mind Award featuring the research of Dr. Justin Feinstein and his research around the benefits of floatation.   https://goingcoastal.blue/2023/07/blue-mind-award-2023/
Dr. Justin Feinstein https://www.clinicalfloat.org/Justin-Feinstein-PhD
Howard Fields https://profiles.ucsf.edu/howard.fields
Jeff Clark https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeff_Clark_(surfer)
Descartes Error: Emotion, Reason and the Human Brain by Antonio Damasio September 27, 2005 https://www.amazon.com/Descartes-Error-Emotion-Reason-Human/dp/014303622X/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=241600596885&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030068&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=7908659952024351971&hvtargid=kwd-132221002&hydadcr=22534_10353871&keywords=descartes+error&qid=1690063224&sr=8-1
FOLLOW DR. WALLACE J. NICHOLS
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/wallacejnichols/
Twitter https://twitter.com/wallacejnichols
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Dr. Wallace J. Nichols https://www.wallacejnichols.org/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #90 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/host-of-the-live-great-lifestyle-podcast-luke-depron-on-neuroscience-health-fitness-and-growth/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #28 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
[v] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EP #224 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast #261 PART 1 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[vii] Turks and Caicos ShipWreck https://www.visittci.com/other-islands/la-famille-express

Futurist and Behavioral Scientist Chris Marshall on ”Decoding Change”

“With change comes uncertainty, fear, and anxiety, and the tendency to cling to the status quo—perhaps the last thing we want to do in a fast-changing world.”
Watch this episode on YouTube here https://youtu.be/Bru26OZnlmI
Chris Marshall, from his book, Decoding Change, Understanding what the heck is going on, and why we should be optimistic about our future.
We will cover:
✔  Do we ALL feel intuitively that the world is going through radical change?
✔ What happens to our creative and decision-making ability during times of change?
✔ Strategies and mechanisms to help us to prepare for a better future.
✔ Current trends and mega-trends.
✔ The mindset needed to achieve quantum leaps with our results.
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s EPISODE #296, we meet up with Chris Marshall[i], a Professional Futurist, Behavioral Scientist, and author of "Decoding Change: Understanding what the heck is going on, and why we should be optimistic about our future.”[ii]
The title of his book should give you an idea of the direction of this conversation. A bit about Chris. He’s the
Head of Investment Strategy at Dragon Investment Managers where he leads global market insights across all asset classes including equities, real estate and credit markets
Founder & Chief Storyteller of Snowdonia Distillery (first copper distillery in Wales)
Masters in Psychology and MSc in Behavioural Economics 
Host of the Transitional Matters Podcast[iii] where he covers trends, mega-trends and transitions going on in the world around us and how they impact our life.
Let’s get right to this conversation, where I’m looking forward to what we can learn together about the world from Chris’s point of view: the point of view of a behavioral scientist, and futurist, who looks at “how the world is changing, not just from the visible elements, but the things below the surface.”[iv] Let’s meet Chris Marshall and look at the trends and mega-trends, that he says are the drivers of change around us.
INTRO:
Welcome Chris!! Thank you for joining me today, all the way from Wales (is this right?) Now, you’ll understand this as a fellow podcast host, but what I enjoy the most about this medium is how far a reach we can have with our content. While we are now in 182 countries/193 I like looking to see where people are tuning into the podcast from around the world, and I noticed we’ve only had 3 downloads in Wales this month. Maybe after today’s episode we can get this number higher, especially since I was born in the UK (Worthing, Sussex).  Our numbers in England are much higher. Tell me something I might not know about Wales[v] (other than what I can see on my map here—it’s a country in Southwest Great Britain known for its rugged coastline and mountainous national parks”
Do you look at your podcast stats? What do you notice as you look at your work around the world?
Q1: So Chris, I watched your keynote introduction on YouTube[vi], and I think your book Decoding Change[vii] should be required reading for anyone who wants to plan for the future, which is pretty much everyone on the planet. You ask your audiences all around the world one question, and I was captivated to learn more. Can we start with this one question, but I’d like to know what YOU see?
“Do YOU intuitively feel like the world is going through radical change?”
Q2: We focus a lot on this podcast on ways to strengthen our mind, through healthy lifestyle choices, understanding how our brain health impacts our mental and physical health…all building us towards creating stronger, 2.0 versions of ourselves. You talk about it as our superpower, or ability to be creative. But what happens to our creative ability in times of change, stress or uncertainty?
Q2B: What does uncertainty do to our decision-making ability and our brain?
Q3: I listened to your podcast episode with Gregg Guerin[viii], and while I’m not going to have any questions around the ESG movement (since I don’t know anything about this topic) your discussion opened up my brain to think, and it started with your book and about the idea of “being curious” which is where I think innovation begins. I always want to learn, and understand “why” we do what we do. I’m fascinated by those who innovate, and create new ideas, that completely change the world. Like Steve Case’s book Third Wave: An Entrepreneurs Vision of the Future[ix], where he described his vision for the future of the internet after founding AOL (which is an insane story if anyone wants to read his book). When I had a vision for change in the field of education, I used to wonder how technology would be a part of shifting the way our students learn in the future.
Can you share what you see today, as Waves of Innovation, driving the world forward, that would help us to embrace, learn more about, and understand? Something that will transform the world, like the 3rd Wave of the internet that Steve Case predicted?
(I’m guessing you will talk about AI, and how we can use it as a collaborative tool).
Q4: What is your world view of cultural diversity and the workplace?
Q5: I know you cover some important transition phases on your podcast (horse/cart to steam engine), or (candle/light bulb), or how Airbnb reimagined travel, Facebook and social media reimagined communication, and Uber reimagined how we hail a cab. You said “innovation and the pace of change is non-linear.” How does a creator/innovator make such huge quantum leaps (explosive jumps) with their thinking and ideas? What do you think is behind creating something entirely new that shifts the way the world operates? Or even for an individual going from where they might be used to working, to doing something that feels like a quantum leap? How can we prepare ourselves for change?
Q6: For this next question, I went back to some notes I took from an educational conference way back in 2016, where they were highlighting Gordon Moore, Intel’s co-founder and author of Moore’s Law, that states that “computing power will double every two years.”  These numbers have shocked Gordon Moore (Intel co-founder and author of Moore’s Law) himself, as shown in this image.
So what’s next for this next generation of students with these current trends (thinking of Moore’s Law)? How are we preparing our students for jobs that don’t yet exist? How do we ensure that “every person has an equal opportunity to participate in the future?” (when we know not every person has access to the internet, let alone their own computer. What should we all consider about preparing our next generation (globally) for the future?
The only answer I have is to think of ways to apply imagination to come up with ideas to solve big problems that take us beyond where we have ever been before.
Q7: What would say are the “mechanisms” that will help us to prepare for a better future? When you speak to audiences, in your keynotes, what do you suggest we all do or think about?
Q8: Final thoughts? From listening to you speak, and reading your book, I wonder, what is the “invisible world” or what do you see that many of us who don’t think about or how can we shift our thinking to see the world the same way as you as a futurist?
Thank you, Chris, for coming on the podcast, and sharing your vision for ways we can all improve our thinking for the future and Decode Change in our lives. I know your ideas will challenge us all to THINK in an entirely different way.
For those who want to contact you, is the best place through your website?
FOLLOW CHRIS MARSHALL
Website: https://www.theuncertaintyscientist.com/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/marshall-christopher/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Chris Marshall website https://www.chrismarshall.uk/
[ii]Chris Marshall, author of Decoding Change: Understanding what the heck is going on, and why we should be optimistic about our future  https://www.amazon.com/Decoding-Change-Understanding-optimistic-future/dp/173911700X
[iii] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/transitional-matters/id1588304623
[iv] Chris Marshall Keynote March 23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1yx27y8FcQ
[v] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wales
[vi] Chris Marshall Keynote March 23 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1yx27y8FcQ
[vii] Chris Marshall, author of Decoding Change: Understanding what the heck is going on, and why we should be optimistic about our future  https://www.amazon.com/Decoding-Change-Understanding-optimistic-future/dp/173911700X
[viii] Chris Marshall Podcast EP17 with Gregg Guerin https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/episode-seventeen-why-do-you-believe-that-the-big/id1588304623?i=1000616984393
[ix] Steve Case Third Wave: An Entrepreneurs Vision of the Future https://www.amazon.com/Third-Wave-Entrepreneurs-Vision-Future/dp/1501132598/ref=asc_df_1501132598/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=312111908051&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9764342533194039782&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030068&hvtargid=pla-433370111480&psc=1

Former MLB Player and Chairman of The League of Dreams, Mike Bordick on ”Connecting Neuroscience and Sports for Our Next Generation”

“Teaching our next generation the drive, desire, work ethic and character, that will take them to new heights, using neuroscience.”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/oXfQPEJWwbM
On this episode you will learn:
✔ How Former MLB Player is taking the mental and physical skills he learned over his 14 year MLB career, connected to neuroscience to help our next generation of youth.
✔ The leadership ingredients that Mike Bordick thinks made some players stand out over the rest with their results.
✔ Why Mike Piazza (NY Mets) was such an outstanding and unique team player.
✔  How Mike Bordick's childhood contributed to his success in MLB and beyond, and why he thinks it's important to give these skills back to our next generation.
✔ What sport Mike chose to unwind after a busy season, to enjoy the "solitude of nature."
✔ His vision for League of Dreams www.leagueofdreams.org (that's just celebrated it's 20th year).
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s EPISODE #295 we are going to speak with someone who I feel connected to with where he is going, but for many others, like my husband, he’s formed a huge connection to where he has come from.
We will be speaking with Mike Bordick, a former MLB player, whose 14 year career included time with the A’s, Orioles, Blue Jays and Mets. I came to meet him when he contacted me, brainstorming ideas for ways he can continue to give back to youth in his retirement, with the organization he has formed www.leagueofdreams.org, that is celebrating their 20th year and is now looking at including content that links neuroscience to learning and physical education.
When I saw his email to me, I wondered “what is a former baseball player emailing me about” and then when I got to what he was looking for, I thought that he definitively found the right person, as this is what the podcast Neuroscience Meets SEL is all about. I wrote back to him with ideas, and resources from the podcast, with episodes that tied back to PE and the brain, and connected him to everyone I knew that’s focused on PE and neuroscience. I can’t wait to meet with Mike and learn more about his vision for neuroscience, (that stems from his college degree in PE and kinesiology) and see what he does with this new program that he’s working on, that links brain health, physical activity and nutrition. I also knew I couldn’t ignore the path the led him to where he is today with his vision, so we will dive a bit into his past on today’s interview.
If you know me well, you’ll know that I’m not really a sports fan, (while I love being physically active myself, I haven’t spent much time watching sports, since I was around twelve, and my Dad took me to hockey games in Toronto. I think I’ve been to one baseball game, but never went back because it just wasn’t my thing sitting in the stands and watching the fans spitting on the ground.  So, when Mike’s email came in, I asked my husband, Majid Samadi, who is a huge baseball fan, “Have you ever heard of Mike Bordick” and the answer was a definite “Yes, and why do you ask?”
Before learning more about Mike’s vision, you can go to his About Us page on his website and see where his path that led him to baseball began. Majid filled in some of the blanks that I had, from the point on view of an avid Mets baseball fan.
I learned that:
Mike Bordick, while on the Orioles, was so highly regarded that they shifted Hall of Famer Cal Ripkin Jr to 3rd base, so that Mike Bordick could play short stop.
In 2000, he was traded to the NY Mets during the Pennant Race, where he went onto the World Series and most importantly, he was a part of the first Subway Series between the NY Mets and the NY Yankees in the 2000 World Series.
Hearing this, made me see a different side to Mike Bordick and his vision for youth. He brings all the attributes he learned and developed in leadership with his 14-year career in the MLB. What I’m interested in learning more about now, is what he plans to do with the skills he’s learned in his career.  I’ve asked Mike Bordick to join us, and share his vision for where he has been, what he has built in his retirement, and the legacy he would like to leave with his experience, knowledge and skills, all for the benefit of our next generation of youth.
Let’s meet Mike Bordick!
Welcome Mike, it’s awesome to meet you. This is my better half, Majid Samadi, who knew you without having to look you up. We are honored to have this opportunity to learn more about your vision, but also, bringing your past experience in baseball to light.
Intro Q: Before we get to your questions, I’ve got one myself and Majid pitched in his.
I was hoping to get some intel on Miguel Batista, after meeting him briefly years ago, but since you rarely faced him, I’ll change my question a bit. I really do believe that you can get a solid understanding of someone by watching how they do certain things.  You know, it’s that “how you do anything is how you do everything” idea. Miguel Batista is the only MLB player I’ve met personally, even if it was brief, I could guess what he would be like as a person. Who stood out to you as a leader over the years, and what do you think it was that took them to higher levels of achievement, over other people?
Majid—I’m a huge METS fan.. story of watching Mike in the stands.
What was it like to play with Mike Piazza and being in the heart of a pennant race, going all the way to the World Series? How was the energy around the New York Fans supporting the Mets and pushing for a Championship?
Q1: Take us back to childhood. Reading your website, I’m curious, what do you think it was that made you into a MLB player?  I related to what you wrote on your website, with having a strict Father, with “fear being instilled into your young heart” and maybe a little bit about the “fear of God” as we never missed a Sunday at Church growing up. Something about these two things I think taught me discipline that would carry me through difficult times later in life. What about you? What were the ingredients that made you into who you are today, and how do you translate these ingredients into your programs for youth?
Q1B: Majid --what the work ethic of my all-time favorite player, Mike Piazza? How was he as a teammate, and did he do anything specifically to instill confidence in the team to push forward in a Championship year?
Q2B: Majid --since playing in New York has a lot of advantages and at the same time can be difficult with the media coverage. What were some skills you were able to develop being with the New York Mets and how do you transfer these skills to the kids that you work with today?
 Q2: “The solitude I found fishing by myself is what I truly loved.” If you weren’t fishing, you were playing baseball. Majid would understand your passion for fishing, but I wonder, what is it that you enjoy so much about “the solitude” of it all? Being in nature?  How can this understanding help our next generation get outside and spend more time in nature?
Q3: For a family who has noticed our girls’ self-esteem skyrocket through sport, what can you say about these skills (called social and emotional skills now) but they weren’t taught in school when we were growing up. We had to learn them through the school of hard knocks. Things like mindset, attitude, sportsmanship, and basic character skills that would separate you from the rest. Where did you learn these skills, and how do you incorporate them into sport for youth?
Q4: Reading what 5th grade was like for you broke my heart a bit, mostly because it’s the kids who are left out that we were always taught to watch out for. They are ALWAYS the ones who take off like a rocket (I can name a few my elementary school days who struggled are they are now medical doctors). Looking back now, do you think this hardship at school gave you something that made you stronger? Not that I want life to be easy for my kids, but hardship builds something we can’t give our kids. Can you share getting cut from 3 of your middle school teams, and how being vulnerable with your weaknesses helps kids you are working with?
Q5: Tell us about your vision for connecting neuroscience to PE. Where are you with this program, and what else do you need?
Q6: Final thoughts, and reflections.
Mike, I want to thank you for coming on the podcast, and sharing your powerful story that took you from childhood, to your 20-year career in MLB. What you have already built with your League of Dreams Program is outstanding, and I’m excited for what you are creating with your PE program backed by neuroscience. I can express how excited I am personally to be speaking with you, but Majid takes it all to another level, as he sat in the stands watching your first game. It’s been a true honor to meet you.
 
LEARN MORE ABOUT MIKE BORDICK:
 
League of Dreams https://leagueofdreams.org/
 
Personal Website https://mikebordick14.com/about-me
 
The Baseball Warehouse https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0AJkb-YIHXU (teaches the fundamentals of baseball as well as the mental side of the sport).
 
The Baseball Charity: Improving Lives Through Baseball http://www.tbwcharities.org/
 
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/mike.bordick.5
 
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/mikebordick/
 
FINAL THOUGHTS, REFLECTIONS AND AHA MOMENTS:
 
I think it helps to share any AHA Moments that were noticed during the interview, or while editing, since learning is something that’s ongoing. I’m sure as you listened to this interview, you could relate with your own life experiences.
Majid and I reflected on this interview together, as I wondered what he noticed, that I might have missed. Here were our biggest take-aways from speaking with Mike Bordick:
Go Deep When Researching to Find the Heart Behind The “Why”[i]: It doesn’t take that much time to get to know someone on a deeper level when you are researching them for an interview. I watched some of Mike’s television clips, and noticed that the questions he was asked were usually ones on the surface, (like what are you building for youth) and these questions still highlighted the incredible work he is doing with LeagueofDreams.org, but for me, there was something missing. I like to “feel” the heart of each person I’m speaking to, and knew I didn’t have the knowledge and background to get there on my own. I knew I needed help for this interview, to uncover the “heart” behind Mike Bordick’s mission and legacy, and I saw it when Majid brought back some of the memories of sitting in the stands watching Mike’s games, in his early days. Mike wouldn’t have known what it felt like from a fan’s point of view, and Majid had no idea that the “field shook” when the fans cheered (or booed). He only knew the stands would shake from his point of view. Mike got to see Majid’s perspective, and vice versa, which is when I noticed the “magic” started to happen. We also noticed that while you can research someone thoroughly, you still won’t be able to find out everything, so find ways that your guest can add to what you’ve uncovered, if you’ve missed something. We didn’t know that Mike Bordick played in 2 World Series Games, but by recognizing him in one, he was able to share the full picture.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION: When speaking with someone, whether an interview like I’m doing, or a customer you are trying to get to know in the business world, or if I think about it, the athletes that you are coaching, when you can connect to another person at the heart level, the bond you will create is unbreakable, and unforgettable. I know Majid and I will NEVER forget this part of the interview, because we were able to “feel” it and this was all possible from spending a little bit of extra time learning more Mike’s background, and getting to know him at the heart level, going straight to what mattered the most to him, or his “why.” It pays off to put extra effort into going a bit deeper to get to know and understand others who are important in your life, for this reason.  
Always Think of Ways to Help Others and Give Back: I think this is what caught my attention the most when I first met Mike Bordick. Here he was in retirement working on ways to give back to those who need it the most with his League of Dreams Organization. He and all the others who lead this organization[ii], found a way to contribute and help those who need these skills the most. If we ALL spent some time thinking of ways to help others, even if it’s one person, the world would be a different place. Majid also noticed this and we both wanted to be sure that we highlighted what a noble cause The League of Dreams is.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION: You don’t need to go BIG with this idea, like Mike is doing, (or you can with some planning) but I really do believe that we can all do this with small actions, taken daily, and make an impact that begins in our own community. How are you as a role model in your family? Start here, and then expand out larger into your community, and then further, into your city, state, and then go as big as you want out into the world.  Small details matter a lot and show people who you really are in a matter of seconds. It’s all about seeing the WE in social and emotional learning, instead of the I. Social Awareness, vs Self-Awareness. Start small and do a bit more each day. When Mike Bordick reached out to us about ways to incorporate neuroscience into his work, I bet he didn’t know how much his experiences would help and inspire others—two minds when they come together, (WE vs I) expands all of our levels of awareness, leaving us with the thought of “what else can we do to help others?”
We are all connected: This one came through when Mike was talking about the solitude he felt while fishing in nature by himself, something he would do to unwind from a busy season. Something magical happens when we can feel the oneness of ourselves within nature, and this is something I’m going to explore more on a future episode as we look at the power that comes from being on, near or by the ocean with author and ocean expert Wallace J. Nichols.
PUT THIS IN ACTION:
If you have been following this podcast, I’m sure you will have your own story of what happens to you while in nature. Mike Bordick talked about the meditative nature of fishing and what he would say were “undisclosed benefits” to being in nature.  I’ve felt strange and interesting things while hiking in the mountains, or swimming in the ocean. When we get to our interview with Dr. Nichols, I’ll ask him to explain WHY we feel such interesting connections with others in nature, and why nature has the ability to calm us down, and bring out our creative sides, because this is what he has dedicated his entire lifetime studying.
I don’t think I need to explain this one any further, other than to say how important it is to get out into nature, and take note of what this peace and solitude means for you.
With those takeaways, I’ll close out this episode. I hope you enjoyed this interview with Mike Bordick as much as we did. If you want to learn more about League of Dreams, you can visit www.leagueofdreams.org and connect with Mike Bordick through this website, or connect to him via social media.
CONNECT WITH MIKE BORDICK AND LEAGUE OF DREAMS:
WEBSITE: https://leagueofdreams.org/contact-us/
PODCAST: https://leagueofdreams.org/podcast/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/MBordick
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mikebordick/?hl=en
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
John O’Sullivan Changing the Game: The Parent’s Guide to Raising High Performing Athletes and Giving Youth Sports Back to Our Kids https://www.amazon.com/Changing-Game-Parents-Performing-Athletes-ebook/dp/B00DZC25LW
REFERENCES:
[i] Simon Sinek Starts with Why: How Great Leaders Inspire Action https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u4ZoJKF_VuA
[ii] Board of Directors for League of Dreams https://leagueofdreams.org/about/who-we-are/
 

”Beyond Our 5 Senses: Understanding and Using the Six Higher Faculties of Our Mind”

Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s episode #294, we are going back to the basics, with the Fundamentals of Understanding How Our Mind Works, that started for me with Bob Proctor’s Youth Mentor Program, that I was the Executive Director with, until the program dissolved with the Sept 11th, 2001 tragedy. This weekend I reviewed ALL of these cassette tapes, and when I got to the last one, the tape broke. I didn’t want to miss anything that might be important that I could share with you here, so I watched a YouTube video on “how to fix a broken cassette tape” and what do you know, it worked! Times really are different than the days we used to carry these cassette tapes around, with our Sony Walkmans, but what came through loud and clear to me, was that the messages and lessons we were teaching those teens were timeless, and it all began with an understanding of our mind, how it works, and how to use it. The program consisted of 6 SERIES: SERIES 1, The Fundamentals (you can see these tapes in the image in the show notes).  SERIES 2 went into the importance of your attitude, SERIES 3, Your Self-Image, SERIES 4- How to Set and Achieve Goals, SERIES 5- The Laws of the Universe and how to use these laws for your health and relationships and SERIES 6 reviewed all lessons, with the goal that the teens would experience PRAXIS, or they integrated their beliefs with their behaviors.
It was strange for me to hear some of these tapes that were recorded back in early 2001, using conference calls, but what was interesting to me, was hearing the teens explaining exactly HOW these timeless principles were helping them.
Teens would call into a conference call line, from around the world, and meet with Bob Proctor monthly, to review these lessons, and how they were applying them. Nothing made him happier than to hear someone applying what he had dedicated his life teaching, and I know it surprised him that the teens seemed to pick these concepts up quickly. This makes sense to me now that we know how neuroplasticity works, as it’s much easier for a young person to learn something new, because their brains are more plastic, and they also have less habits to overcome.
I listened to one call, and there was a young guy named Greg who shared how he used visualization to go from the last place on his golf team to be the 3rd highest on his team. I wondered why he picked the 3rd highest, and not first on his team, but anyway, that was his goal, and he achieved it. We asked him “what exactly did you do when you were visualizing?” and he said “he put himself at the 5th hole on the golf course, then pictured himself hitting the club, feeling the wind on his face, and imagined where the ball would land.” His vision was clear and specific, and listening to him talking was something else. He was confidently telling the others how he achieved his goal. Greg had mastered TAPE 2 of the Fundamentals thinking in pictures, TAPE 3, using his conscious mind and his senses (to set his goal, he even showed us how he felt it), he used TAPE 4 when he threw his goal into his subconscious mind, and TAPE 6, Greg was able to review exactly what he had done, inspiring others on this call.
No wonder these kids caught my attention. There’s nothing like hearing how young people, from countries around the world, were helping each other to create exciting lives. If you look at the date on the cassette tape, it was just months before September 11th, 2001, and the program would dissolve before SERIES 4, 5 and 6 were even created, but I hope that sharing these ideas with you, will help someone, somewhere in the world, to implement these ideas in your own life.
So for today’s episode, #294, we will cover TAPE 5 and dive into “Going Beyond Our 5 Senses: Understanding and Using the 6 Faculties of Our Mind.”  
We will cover:
✔What are the 6 Faculties of the Mind, and How Do They Relate to Going Beyond Our 5 Senses?
✔Where Napoleon Hill talks about these 6 Faculties in his best-selling Think and Grow Rich Book.
✔Where neuroscience fits into our understanding of these Faculties, to help us to understand our inside world, and how physicist Albert Einstein used these faculties.
✔A starting point for all of us to DEVELOP and PRACTICE using our own 6 Faculties of the Mind, giving us an edge as we are working on our 2023 goals.
If I were to ask you, can you name the higher faculties in your mind, I’m pretty sure that maybe on 2/100 could list them off. This is something else that blows my mind, as I clearly remember being taught all about our 5 senses in school, tasting salt and sugar, and writing about these senses, what we can see, hear, smell, taste and touch, that allow us to make sense of our outside world. But what about our inside world?
If we can learn to understand, fully develop and then use our higher faculties, we will experience life at higher levels, than just living through the 5 senses alone, that we saw on our last episode #293[i] with David Eagleman’s work, there’s much more than our human eyes can see.
Napoleon Hill talks about these higher faculties in chapter 5 of his best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich when he says:
Just as we have 5 senses that help us to experience the outside world, we also have non-physical, creative faculties that help us to experience our inner world. When I first learned about these faculties, I got really excited. Look how Napoleon Hill describes our imagination. He says:
When you start to use your imagination, like Greg did with his golf game, changing your results, and entire future, with this skill, I can’t imagine that you wouldn’t get as excited as I do, and wonder how you can use this “marvelous, inconceivably powerful force” in YOUR life.
When I started to see that science could explain some of these ideas that might seem kind of spiritual in nature, or my friend Greg Link[ii], who worked with Dr. Stephen Covey  would say “woo woo” it just helped me to have more confidence as I continue to develop and use these faculties. They started to become my superpower, and what’s interesting that I was reminded of when I listened to those teens talking about how they used these faculties to improve their relationships, get better grades, or like Greg’s story, where he used these ideas to improve his results in sports that helped get him into the College he wanted to attend, we ALL have the ability to use, and develop these faculties for outstanding results, or a razor’s edge advantage in our own lives.
Before diving into our 6 Higher Faculties (Our Reason, Intuition, Perception, Our Will, Memory and Imagination” let's see what science has to say about our higher faculties.
What Does the Research Say About Our Higher Faculties?
We know that many visionaries have used their intuition and dreams to create life-changing ideas, but Albert Einstein would say something profound about one of these faculties. He said “Imagination is more important than knowledge. Knowledge is limited. Imagination encircles the world.”
I know that Stanford Professor Dr. Andrew Huberman has covered what happens in the brain during visualization on his podcast on “How to Learn Skills Faster”[iii] and he talks about 3 components of learning any new skill:
Sensory Perception: Where you are perceiving what you are doing using your 5 senses.
Movement: That involves our CPGS (central pattern generators) located in our spinal cord and generates repetitive movements like walking, and running etc. When we are really good at something, this part of the brain controls our movement.
Proprioception: That he says is like a 6th sense, or knowing where your limbs are in relation to our body.
I’m always looking to see if the research could possibly support the results I’ve seen working over and over again over the years, and while Dr. Huberman goes deep into the way our brain works while acquiring a new skill, and what part of the brain is active when we become really good at a new skill, to me, he also explains that when learning a new skill, we can use our 5 senses, and our outside world, (called sensory perception) and that we can also look outside of ourselves, with what he called proprioception. He also explains what part of the brain becomes active with visualization, and I think the key is that with practice, we move from using our upper motor neurons in our brain to a whole new area he called the Central Pattern Generators, when the skill becomes highly developed.
I thought about Greg talking about his golf swing that he practiced using visualization, until he had mastered the skill enough to take his results to new heights, going from last place to 3rd from the top. Over time, he began using a different part of his brain for playing golf. This practice he was doing, would change his future, and put him in the College of his choice. I wish I had kept in touch with all of the teens from this program, I only follow the original 12, but I would bet that Greg continued to use this skill for the rest of his life for improved results in College and into his career.
Then I looked at another episode that Dr. Huberman did with Rick Ruben, an American record executive, on “How to Access Creativity”[iv] and I did cover some of Dr. Huberman’s research on PART 4 of The Silva Method[v], but I thought it was fitting that Rick Rubin, while discussing the creative process with Dr. Huberman, says that It’s important to “pay attention to physical sensations in your body in your creative pursuits.”   And neuroscientist Antonio Damasio actually coined this term to be called “interoception.”
 
So, I know I’m not too far off from what the research says as we cover the 6 Faculties of our Mind, and how to develop them for a razor’s edge advantage.
REASON: We talked about our ability to think, and reason on our last episode #293[vi] which is a skill that can help us to understand things on a deeper level. We have the incredible ability to THINK, and then we can decide if we like an idea, and accept it, or we can reject an idea. We use this ability to put our thoughts together, and create ideas.
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY:
Have you ever participated in brainstorming sessions or Think Tanks with others? Mastermind sessions like this allows each person to use this faculty. You write down ideas on idea maps, and discuss the pros and cons of whatever ideas are thrown out. Meetings like this are highly creative, and new advancements in business often begin this way, when two or more minds get together, and the thinking/reasoning faculty is exercised.
INTUITION: This faculty I could spend a year talking about. This is where we learn how to read the energy we feel around us. We can all do this—pick up the “vibe” of another person, just by feeling their energy. Remember Anotnio Damasio called this Interoception, or learning to listen to what we feel from within our body. With practice, we can learn to trust what we feel and become confident with using this tool.
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY:
The best way I have seen is to ask for feedback when you think and feel something about someone. When you can see you are on the right track, you’ll gain confidence with this skill, and keep learning to use it.
PERCEPTION: David Eagleman talks about this faculty in his book, The Brain, and wow, can his work really bend your mind. Just search for the word “perception” in his book, and you’ll see 26 times that he gives an example of how our brain tricks us in many different ways, and “our brains constantly pull information from the environment and use it to steer our behavior” (Page 86, The Brain) and reminds us of Freuds work that our mind works like an iceberg, “the majority of it is hidden from our awareness.” (Page 86, The Brain). With this in mind, when we perceive something, remember we are seeing it from our point of view, with our senses that we know are limited.
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY:
Try seeing things from someone else’s point of view, and see if this changes your perception of a situation. We did talk about this strategy in depth on a recent interview #289[vii] with Dr. Maiysha Clairborne who reminded us to look at situations from 3 points of view. Our own, from the other person’s shoes, and then look at the entire situation as if you were looking at all points of view from above. This will help you to see that your point of view, isn’t the only possible route, and will help to develop and improve empathy with this practice.
YOUR WILL: This is another of my favorite faculties. This one gives you the ability to concentrate. While sitting down to write this episode, I’ve gotten up from my desk a few times, but I’m determined to finish writing this, so I can record and release this today. That’s the will at work. You can also use the will to hold a thought on the screen of your mind, or choose thoughts of success, over thoughts of failure. If you have a highly evolved will, you’ll lock into doing something, block out all distractions, and accomplish what you set out to do.
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY:
Developing the will takes practice. Meditation can strengthen your will, but so can staring at a candle flame until you and the flame become one. I tried this activity in my late 20s, and remember it was a few hours of staring at this candle flame, before I was able to block out the distractions of the outside world, and the flame extended towards me.  This faculty, like the others, takes time and practice, but once you’ve developed this faculty, you’ll know you have the ability to sit, focus, and do anything.
MEMORY: We’ve covered memory on many episodes, but my favorite was with Chris Farrow, who is a two-time Guiness World Record Holder for most decks of playing cards memorized, from EP #149.[viii] This is another faculty that requires practice, and most of us don’t practice this skill. A highly developed memory can be valuable in all types of work, and most people who have a highly developed memory share they use certain strategies to remember things, usually by association, and even by ridiculous association, to really make memories stick.
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY:
Chris Farrow had memory programs through his website www.FarrowMemory.com and when I was listening to those old youht mentoring tapes, Bob suggested a memory program through Nightingale Conant[ix].  Whatever method you use to improve your memory, it begins with a system or strategy. Names are sometimes difficult for me, especially on the hiking trails, when I meet someone I see often. I try to associate the person’s name with someone I know already, who they might remind me of, to make their name stick.
IMAGINATION: I’ve saved my favorite faculty to cover last. This faculty, when developed, gives you incredible creative power. Remember that Napoleon Hill said it to be “the most marvelous, miraculous, inconceivably powerful force the world has ever known” and Albert Einstein said imagination is “more important than knowledge.” This is where the power comes in, and honestly, if I hadn’t have seen all the people, who over the years, used their imagination faculty to create what many would say to be impossible, and then go out and accomplish exactly what they had imagined, I’m not sure I’d believe it all myself.
 
HOW TO DEVELOP THIS FACULTY:
This is what the Think and Grow Rich[x] book study was all about, as well as learning to visualize with The Silva Method. The important thing to note here is that you must be careful what you wish for. Remember Greg, with the teens, he wished to be the 3rd best on his team, and that’s exactly what he achieved. Why not go for the top, if I swear to you, I believe it to be possible?
Here’s how I did this recently.
At the start of 2023, when setting my goals, I put them all in written form, and made sure they stretched me. Remember, if you listened to the interview with Brian Proctor, if your goal doesn’t stretch you, there won’t be any inspiration in it. The end of January, I was starting a new corporate position, going back to sales, and working for someone else, something I hadn't done in 10 years. Selling my own programs into schools, there was pressure, but if I didn’t make a sale, I didn’t have a sales manager asking me to explain my pipeline. It was a new experience, and I wrote down that I wanted to be a LEADER in sales, in my division.
Then the work began. I would read that goal out loud every morning, and many mornings, it felt weird, especially when I saw I was LAST on my team. But like Greg proved, even someone who is last, can do things a certain way, and become FIRST. It took me 6 months, and a series of sales has now led me to be the leader of my division. I honestly didn’t believe it to be possible until maybe the 4th or 5th month.
It began when I took my imagination, and just started to dream. That was just one of the goals I wrote down at the start of the year. Be careful what you wish for, you just might get exactly what you dreamed of.
There’s no limits to our creative ability and I’ve just proved it. I always believed this to be possible, especially for others, but doing something yourself, gives you an incredible amount of belief.
I hope whatever it is that YOU want, that you’ve imagined on the screen of your mind, that you GET IT, and then I hope that you’ll show others the way forward. All great inventions are created in two places: the mind of the inventor, and then in the world, when they create their vision.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this lesson, I hope that you’ll go back and review EPISODE 291[xi] on “Unleashing the Power of Our Subconscious Mind” then EPISODE #293 on “Our Conscious Mind and Five Senses” which will prepare you for this final episode on “Going Beyond Our 5 Senses: Understanding and Using the 6 Faculties of Our Mind.”  
Reminder, today we covered:
✔What are the 6 Faculties of the Mind, and How Do They Relate to Going Beyond Our 5 Senses? (The 5 senses help us to see the outside world, and our 6 Faculties help us to strengthen our inner world).
 
✔Where Napoleon Hill talks about these 6 Faculties in his best-selling Think and Grow Rich Book.
 
✔Where neuroscience fits into our understanding of these Faculties, to help us to understand our inside world, and how physicist Albert Einstein used these faculties (he said that imagination was more important than knowledge)!
 
✔A starting point for all of us to DEVELOP and PRACTICE using our own 6 Faculties of the Mind, giving us an edge as we are working on our 2023 goals.
 
I hope you have found the past few episodes to be helpful for using your mind to think, and create the goals that you’d like for yourself (and others) in 2023 and beyond.
I’ve included a link to worksheets that I created for students on these 6 faculties in he resource section of the show notes. These are old lessons, but like I said with the cassette tapes, the content is still applicable over 20 years later. Feel free to download these lessons and use them as you would like.
Coming up next:
We have Mike Bordick, who had a 14 year MLB career and is now looking at neuroscience and youth!Futurist and Behavioral Scientist Chris Marshall who will prepare us for the uncertainty of tomorrow.
A fascinating interview with Dr. Wallace J Nichols on his book and movement Blue Mind: The Surprising Science That Shows How Being Near, In, or Under Water Can Make You Happier, Healthier, More Connected, and Better at What You Do.
 
 I’ll see you next weekend!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
RESOURCES:
 
Worksheets on the 6 Faculties of the Mind
https://bit.ly/3rke3qB 
 
Think and Grow Rich Book Study with Andrea Samadi
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #191 PART 2 on “Thinking Differently and Choosing Faith Over Fear”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-2-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever-by-thinking-differently-and-choosing-faith-over-fear/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #194 PART 4 on “Perfecting the Skills of Organized Planning, Decision-Making, and Persistence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-4-on-perfecting-the-skills-of-organized-planning-decision-making-and-persistence/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 [xxviii] on “The Power of the Mastermind, Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation, and Linking ALL Parts of the Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
 
The Silva Mind Control Method
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #293 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-our-conscious-mind-and-the-five-senses/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/co-founder-of-coveylink-greg-link-on-unleashing-greatness-with-neuroscience-sel-trust-and-the-7-habits/ (207)
 
[iii] How to Learn Skills Faster EPISODE #22 Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0IBzCjEPk
 
[iv] How to Access Your Creativity Dr. Andrew Huberman https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ycOBZZeVeAc
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/  (261)
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #293 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-our-conscious-mind-and-the-five-senses/
 
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #289 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/maiysha-clairborne-md-on-what-holds-us-back-getting-to-the-root-of-our-doubts-fears-and-beliefs/
 
[viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #149 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/2-time-guinness-world-record-holder-dave-farrow-on-focus-fatigue-and-memory-hacks-for-students-and-the-workplace/
 
[ix] https://www.nightingale.com/quantum-memory-power.html[xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #291 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-unleashing-the-power-of-our-subconscious-mind/ (291)
 

Brain Fact Friday on Our Conscious Mind and Five Senses

Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
Today we’re going to go back to where we left off with EPISODE #291 “Unleashing the Power of Our Subconscious Mind” where we covered:
✔ A review of where our podcast began, and where we are going. Each episode we create, it becomes clearer to me that social and emotional skills are important for understanding who we are, and are crucial for propelling us forward. Social and emotional competencies form the backbone of who we are (our identity), along with our character, and I’d like to continue to uncover how science can strengthen this understanding, (with the topics I chosen listed in the diagram in the show notes) expanding our awareness as we move towards our goals, or whatever it is we are working on.  
 
I remember professor of psychology, Maurice Elias summed it up well when he spoke about where SEL began for him in the mid 1970s. He saw a need for these SEL skills back then, (decades before they were infused into our classrooms) saying these skills “could propel someone forward” but he mentioned the importance of “character to steer our direction.” I’ve not forgotten about Character, it’s an important topic that I’ve been writing about in my spare time. We’ll cover the basic character traits in the future, showing were character fits into this equation. I know there’s a lot to the formula for success, and I don’t want to leave any stones unturned.
For today’s episode #293, we are going back to the basics, with the Fundamentals that started for me with those 12 teenagers all those years ago. When I was speaking with Brian Proctor, on our last episode, #292,[i] it hit me that some concepts we had both heard over and over again (like the hour glass that Brian put on the cover of his book that represented staying in the present moment- I had forgotten that’s what it meant. I would have told a story about it representing the fact we only have a certain amount of time to live our life, and to live each moment to the fullest) reminding me of the importance of reviewing these lessons. Or some of the phrases we used to hear over and over again like “you don’t need to know HOW you are going to do something, just figure out what it is that you want, and the how will show up.”  All of the concepts that we heard, that yielded results for anyone who studied and applied them, were ideas that were simple enough to understand, yet most people never followed through with them. This is what Brian Proctor wrote about in his book, and there were many lessons he learned that went much deeper than the usual topics like goal-setting, or confidence building, but there was a foundational level that everyone started with, and I’d say it was with those Fundamental lessons that we taught to the teens.
We recently covered “Diving Deeper into Our Subconscious Mind”[ii] (which was the 4th tape the teens learned). Today we will cover some of the important concepts of “Using the Conscious Mind and Our Senses” and in a couple of days (when I’ve written the next episode, we’ll cover)  “Going Beyond Our Senses: Using the Faculties of Our Mind.” This will provide us all with the solid background of these success principles that I saw working for so many people over the years. I even heard from Ryan O’Neill, from EPISODE 203[iii] recently. He’s the paranormal researcher I worked with years ago, who took these ideas and used them for his family, as well as for his own results, where he skyrocketed to high levels of achievement with his work, but I would say his results were predictable. He did things a certain way.
Would you know he’s still reading the book I sent him in the mail (from Arizona to Scotland) in 2013, and tabbed 3 specific chapters, explaining the importance of reading Wallace Wattles “The Science of Getting Rich” book, chapters 4/14/7 in that order. I’ll cover this book, (that inspired Rhonda Byrnes to create the movie, The Secret) on my next deep dive at the end of the year, but if you look at Ryan’s book, from the photo is the show notes, you can tell that he actually READS it! And I don’t need to see the book to know this, as his results tell me what’s happening in his mind.
It’s all begins with this picture where you use your imagination factor to create whatever it is you want, in your mind. I didn’t cover the part where we think in pictures, because I think I’ve covered this enough on the podcast with our review of The Silva Method.[iv]
 
WHAT SHOULD WE UNDERSTAND ABOUT OUR CONSCIOUS MIND, so we can be sure we are using it to achieve results like Ryan O’Neill and thousands of others?
 
1: LEARN TO USE OUR 5 SENSES, BUT KEEP IN MIND THEY ARE LIMITED:
Imagine your mind with your conscious mind as the top part of your head, the subconscious is the bottom, and your body is below this circle. Attached to your conscious mind is your 5 senses, that you use to see, hear, smell, taste and touch the outside world with. We also have the higher faculties of the mind (our ability to reason, our intuition, perception, will, memory and imagination) that help us to go beyond our 5 senses.
Why would we want to think beyond our five senses? This is where David Eagleman’s book, The Brain, or his podcast, Inner Cosmos, ties the science to something I had heard often over the years, but the way that Eagleman describes it, completely made sense to me.  He explains that our biology allows us to “see” certain wavelengths but we actually only see “a tenth of a trillionth of the light waves out there”[v] meaning there is much more than our human eyes can see. He expands this idea and dives into an explanation of how “radio waves, x-rays, gamma rays all have different frequencies, and we are completely unaware of them because our biology wasn’t designed that way.” (Inner Cosmos Podcast).
He says that “our brains are sampling just a little bit of the world” so I translated this back to what we taught those teens. We told them “don’t look at what you can see with your eyes (whether it be poor grades, sports results, money in your bank account), just be open to the fact that you can change what you see, by doing things a certain way, completely changing your results.
2: REMEMBER WE HAVE THE AMAZING ABILITY TO THINK and it’s the conscious mind that we call the thinking mind.  It hit me while listening to Brian Proctor’s interview, that when his Dad was asking us “what do you really want” he wanted to see if we had the ability to answer him. Could we think new and original thoughts, or would we just look at him and say “I don’t know.” This ability to think is what will determine our results in life, and like I said with Ryan O’Neill, his ability to think made it easy to predict the results he would have in television, by the fact he is still studying, learning, reading and applying what he is learning for these new results.
It’s in our conscious mind that we have the ability to THINK new thoughts, or take ideas and IMAGINE them on the screen of our minds. But how many of us create NEW ideas? Look around you right now, and notice what others are doing. Ask them questions, and see what’s on their mind? I remember while studying the basics of Neuroscience with Mark Waldman, he would often say, “please interrupt me, and challenge things that I’m teaching you” as this would show that his students are thinking critically, and not just taking notes.
3: USE YOUR 5 SENSES TO GATHER INFORMATION, AND THEN GET CREATIVE taking your thoughts or ideas to a new level, using your 6 higher faculties. Imagine an idea coming into your mind. You can sense the idea, and then think about it. Do you like the idea? Does it make sense to you? You have the ability to reject an idea (using your reasoning faculty), but if you like the idea, and you accept it, maybe you even love this idea, you now send it over to your subconscious mind, that we went deep into on EP 291[vi]. This is the creative process where you take an idea (a thought), spend some time in thought about it, decide you like the idea, and with emotion, you turn it over to your subconscious mind where the magic begins.
This is how Proctor taught the teens to turn their C grades into A grades (by teaching them to see an A grade with their imagination FIRST). Once they could see the new grade, they started taking the actions needed to actually earn this A grade, but it started with their ability to put this conscious idea in their mind first. They had to THINK!
We heard so many stories like this over the years, especially in sports. A golfer described how he would picture the golf ball going into the cup in his imagination first, and evening hearing it spinning around.
PUTTING OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE CONSCIOUS MIND INTO PRACTICE:
Take out a notepad and sketch out the diagram of the conscious mind, subconscious mind and the body (that was created by Dr. Thurman Fleet in 1934).
Here’s my sketch below.
Now start to THINK. What do you really want?
Write out YOUR IDEA, circle it, and if you resonate with what you have written, add emotion to it, and see what comes to mind when you READ what you’ve written.
If it’s a goal that stretches you, like we’ve mentioned before, you might read it and think “this is too far off from where I am right now” but it’s here we will take the higher faculties of the mind (next episode) to help change this discord. But for now, just notice how you feel. Use your conscious mind to either accept the new idea, or reject it.
When I first wrote on my notepad that I wanted to make neuroscience simple for educators and students, I remember almost wanting to hide my notebook, and not tell anyone this is what I wanted to do. It just seemed so far off from where I was, and I wasn’t sure how I would ever do this.
Now, I receive emails from leaders around the world, looking to see how they can add simple neuroscience into their curriculum. It just boggles my mind that it started with writing out an idea, and then taking action on the idea, until finally, one day, you look up, and you are living what you wrote.
To review and close out this episode on “Using the Conscious Mind and the 5 Senses” we covered:
✔ 3 concepts about our conscious mind and our senses to help us to THINK.
✔ An activity encouraging us to write out something we REALLY want, and see how we feel about this NEW goal or idea.
This will prepare us for our next episode, where we will then look at the 6 faculties of our mind (our reason, intuition, perception, our will, memory and imagination) to help us to see beyond our senses.
I hope this lesson has helped you to see some of the fundamentals that I’ve seen take people to incredible heights. Brian Proctor outlined some other lessons learned on our last interview, and I wasn’t surprised at the reaction to his episode. I always love hearing how these episodes are helping you, and Brian’s interview was one I’ll never forget.
I’ll see you in a few days for a look into the faculties of our mind, and will close with a quote reminding us to THINK. If you don’t like what you see in your world, (whether you’re a student, and want to change your grades, or an athlete or a salesperson who wants to change their results, it all begins with the conscious mind, and our ability to THINK, and CREATE the results we really want in our life.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
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REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #292 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-proctor-on-my-father-knew-the-secretgrowing-up-with-bob-proctor/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #291 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-unleashing-the-power-of-our-subconscious-mind/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #203 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
[v] David Eagleman Inner Cosmos Podcast “Can We Create New Senses for Humans?” https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/can-we-create-new-senses-for-humans/id1677842672?i=1000616626191
 
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #291 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-unleashing-the-power-of-our-subconscious-mind/
 

Brian Proctor on ”My Father Knew The Secret: Growing Up With Bob Proctor”

YOU are about to discover The Secret, like no else on earth before.  If you’ve read Napoleon Hill’s, Think and Grow Rich book, looking for The Secret in those pages, or watched the movie The Secret, you’ll want to take out a notebook for today’s interview, and put away all distractions. The lessons you’ll take away from this next episode, I guarantee, from personal experience, that what you will learn today, has the potential to change the course of your life forever.  
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/ndhyRKFMrFQ
On today’s episode #292 with Brian Proctor on ”My Father Knew The Secret: Growing Up With Bob Proctor" we will cover: 
✔  The Power Behind "The Secret" found in the pages of Think and Grow Rich, or the Movie The Secret and how this "Secret" has the ability to change your life forever. 
✔  Lessons Learned from Brian Proctor after 30 years of working side by side with the legendary speaker, and 60 years being taught these timeless success principles.
✔ Lesson include: How to Create Your Best Life Ever, Why It's Important to Follow your Heart, What Exactly is The Impression of Increase, How to See the Best in Everyone You Meet, How to Visualize Your Goals, How to Be at Peace with Death, How to Attract our Best Mate, How to Embrace Our Feelings and Never Be Afraid to Share Them, and Why it's Important to Be Our Best at All Times.
✔ Andrea reflects on these lessons, with her TOP 3 Take-Aways, with tips for the listener to apply each take-away to their life. 
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
For today’s EPISODE #292, we have a surprise guest, who I didn’t know we’d have on the interview schedule until this past weekend.  After receiving his new book in the mail, I sent out an interview invite, and when the answer back, was “you pick the day” I knew I had to make a decision quickly and firmly.
It was our next guest’s father who taught me to never waver on a decision. We’ve all been there, though, wondering, “should I do this now—or later, leave this till tomorrow—or don’t leave it, do it—or don’t do it, say it—or don’t say it.” There’s nothing worse than being stuck with that feeling of ambivalence that comes with indecision, and if my path hadn’t of crossed with motivational speaker, Bob Proctor, in the late 1990s, I wouldn’t have learned the importance of eliminating conflict in the mind by learning to become proficient at making decisions. I picked the interview date 2 days away, and knew it was the right answer, because that’s another skill we were taught. Learn to listen to that quiet voice within, and always go with your heart. It will never lead you in the wrong direction.
Today’s guest, is Bob Proctor’s son, who worked by his side for 30 years, Brian Proctor. And for 60 years, he was schooled with the experiences and wisdom learned by being the son of the legendary speaker who impacted my life, and millions of others around the world with his teachings based on the principles of success. I've known Brian Proctor since the late 1990s, when I was first creating the goals and dreams for my future on notepads, using his Father's material as my guide. Brian was right there, encouraging me along the way. I highly recommend his work. He’s extraordinarily humble and a uniquely kind human being. You’ll see what I mean when you meet him here. I haven’t seen Brian since I ran into him at the last live seminar I attended (January 2016 in LA), 16 years or so since I had been on staff, working behind the scenes with him and the others in those early days.
It’s always interesting seeing people you’ve not seen in years, as you both remember where each other began (he knew me well, and I’d say I knew him well). It’s always neat to see where people end up, especially when you work in the personal development industry as we get to see each other’s lives as work in progress. Brian would see my journey over the years, just as I’d watch his.  His son, Danny became an important influence in my family’s life, as he helped me with many projects along the way, especially when I worked with youth, and the project involved a passion of his, filmmaking.
I did see Brian again after that seminar in 2016, when I took The Paradigm Shift Seminar[i] online, and had a chance to study directly with him, and learn more about where his life had progressed to since I knew him all those years ago, but I still had so many questions for him, that I know he’s asked often.
I wondered:
“What was it really like having Bob as your Dad?”
“When you were stuck, did he show you the way forward, or make you figure it all out on your own?”
“How exactly do you feel his influence and is he still with you today?”
“What chapters of Think and Grow Rich were important to him the most?”
I knew some things that were mentioned over the years, but reading through the pages of Brian’s new book, my questions were all answered, filling in some others areas that I just had no idea about. You can also watch an interview Brian did on Vladi’s Author’s Show[ii]  where he answers some of the questions I’ve had over the years.
I just quoted Brian Tracy on our last episode, and saw he, along with many others have endorsed this book.  Tracy says: 
 
And I can’t even tell you how excited I was to see that Price Pritchett wrote the Foreword to this book, as we learn how Bob and Price became acquainted.
 
Today I am beyond excited to have the chance to catch up with Brian Proctor, and gain access to some of the connections and knowledge that could only be known from those who walked side-by-side to this well-known, and respected speaker.
Today we will dive into the book that was released just in time for what would have been Bob’s 89th Birthday coming up this July 3rd. You can grab a copy of this book by going to www.brianproctor.com [iii]
Let’s welcome Brian Proctor, and see what we can uncover together with his NEW book, My Father Knew the Secret: Growing Up with Bob Proctor, and use these lessons immediately to improve our life.
Welcome Brian! It’s awesome to see you again.
You know it’s been years since we worked together, and there’s lots here that I want to ask you, but I did want to start out by saying you’ve got to be one of the nicest, most humble guys I’ve ever met.  I remember how much fun it was fishing with you in BC all those years ago (I barely remember the details since I don’t think I’ve gone fishing ever since then) but how cool was that to fish for something off the bottom of the ocean, and then cook it. This was years before your son Danny would become important and influential with the work I would do with teens, and I remember seeing a photo of him, not knowing how much he would help me in the future. Isn’t life incredible? I remember you always being there, helping others (like me) to see the beauty and opportunities in the world. Thank you for being here today. I know this is going to be an incredible conversation.
INTRO Q: Where do I even begin Brian? Let’s start with the book, since this is what we are here for today. I’ve got my copy, and it’s something else.
Can we begin with the vision you have with this book? What do you want people to take away from it?
You know I’ve seen your work over the years, and watched you go up on stage when I knew you’d rather not be speaking. There was something else for you.
How did you find your way over the years, using these principles yourself, and what change do you see in yourself looking back now, connecting the dots like Steve Jobs is famous for quoting.
Q1: On page 18, you talk about the timing and writing of this book, and how Bob told you “Not to rush it. Take your time and write from the heart.” You know he gave me the same advice when I interviewed him on EP #66[iv], reminding me that “I’ll never go wrong when I follow my heart.”  That whole idea that things will happen “if and when they are supposed to happen.” Looking back now, how was this all supposed to happen, and what did you learn from it all?
Q2: How do you recommend we READ this book to make our life better on a daily basis?
Q3: CH 1 was difficult to read. I knew some of the details as I kept in touch with those who worked closely with Bob over the years, and in Bob’s final days, that you open the book with, I was finishing a Deep Dive into Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich[v] book, that I hit the publish button on the afternoon of February 3, 2022. I ended up dedicating this one to Bob a few days later.  Can you talk about how Bob made everyone feel special? The Impression of Increase. How he would see ONLY the good in a person?
Q3B: You talked about how Bob would say “what a beautiful life it was” and how “even the ceiling is beautiful.” Well, I’ve been in Bob’s house, and in that front hallway I’ve looked up, to see the most beautiful ceiling I’ve ever seen. Almost like the front foyer of Cesar’s Palace in Las Vegas, or The Bellagio. I couldn’t help wonder, what do you think Bob saw “on the screen of his mind” that might help us to hold more gratitude in our heart as we go through our daily lives, so we can get to where he was in those final days with an attitude of gratitude?
Q3C: How do you think we can all prepare ourselves for when it’s our time, or maybe even find some comfort with the whole idea that one day we will be gone?
Q4: Like you, I remember ALL the people who would ask Bob about the Law of Attraction, or how to find their perfect match in life. Everyone wanted to know the answer to this question. I loved when I first heard your story, that Bob helped you to meet your wife, Cory, and how you sort of avoided the situation from the beginning because you worked together. For someone listening, looking to find their true match, what would you suggest they do?
Q4B: Can you explain how this relates to the billions of times we would hear Bob say “don’t worry about the HOW. Just decide WHAT you want; the how will reveal itself?”  This only makes sense to me AFTER I hit those big goals that I really wanted.
Q5: Chapter 4. I just think if everyone in the world did this, it would be a better place. I must have learned from Bob to not be afraid of telling people how I feel, by communicating my feelings. I know many of us weren’t raised this way, so this is something many of us needs practice with. How did your Dad bring this out in you?
Q6: What does “A Pro is at his best mean here?” In Chapter 8, in your lesson “All About the Chalkboard” you mention the importance your Dad put on those drawings. It was funny to me, as it reminded me of a seminar years after the chalkboards, we were in New Orleans, and Bob gave me a $100 bill and told me to go and bring him back a Sharpie with a slanted tip. He was using an easel in the seminar, and the Sharpie he had was running out and I learned how to quickly navigate the shops in this city, and bring back what he needed before the event started. How did Bob teach you this habit of doing your best, or being serious with your craft?
Q7: Brian, I could ask you 100 more questions, but I try to stick to just 10 or so. What are some final thoughts that you would like the listeners to know about your Dad, the lessons you learned from him, and how you want these lessons to help others?
Brian, this book is beautifully written, and you really should be proud of it. It’s one that will sit on my desk, next to You2 and Think and Grow Rich, and I will open it, and read a bit of it every time I need some words of encouragement. You’ve left no stones unturned, and given me lots to think about here, and I know this will help those who tune into our podcast to take some of the lessons you’ve learned, and implement them in their lives.
It really is a beautiful life. Thank you for responding so quickly to my email to meet with you. For those listening, they can go to BrianProctor.com and find your book there, and stay up to date on your work moving forward.
 
I’ve also got to thank you Brian, as you were always there with ideas and encouragement with the dreams I had all those years ago. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you having a bad day, always with a smile on your face, and I always wondered “what’s Brian’s life really like with Bob Proctor as his Dad” and now I’ve read the book, I know that answer. Thanks Brian for coming on the podcast today, to share the lessons you learned that others can now implement for a happier, healthier and more productive life.
Thank you for all you do! I look forward to hearing your interview with Lewis Howes on The School of Greatness Podcast. This book goes right along with his content, and I know that Bob would be thrilled to see you on his show. I’m going to watch for that episode.
FINAL THOUGHTS, REFLECTIONS and MY TOP TAKE-AWAYS:
What an interview. This one really hit me on many levels, (emotionally, mentally and spiritually) as it took things full circle for me, speaking with the son of someone who has made such an influence on where I ended up in life, and the obvious impact he has on Brian himself, his close family, as well as the countless others globally who Bob Proctor impacted through his work. It was something else catching up with Brian, revisiting old memories he shared, but also very surreal, especially when he was talking about The Impression of Increase, and I noticed my eyes started tearing up. If you watch the YouTube interview, you’ll see it, but it really took me by surprise, that as Brian was speaking, I started to see his Father, in his face. There are so many lessons in this episode, in Brian’s book, and especially when we look back at previous episodes, that lead up to this one.
If you haven’t listened to my interview with Bob, go back to EPISODE #66[vi] and you’ll see where my path began, and some of the questions that Bob answered for me.  Don’t miss EPISODE #67[vii] where I listed the top lessons I learned from my time working and studying with Bob over the years, but I’ve got to narrow in on some of the lessons that weren’t obvious until AFTER the interview that really does show the power and seriousness of this information that Brian writes about in this book.
AHA MOMENTS AND TAKE-AWAYS
YOU MUST THINK: The biggest take-away for me with this interview (besides the fact it felt like I was interviewing Bob and not his son) was the fact that Bob asked EVERYONE “What do you REALLY want” and it hit me while reflecting on this interview while I was editing it, that he was trying to get us to THINK. “Thinking is the hardest work in the world” he would say, and that “most people don’t think.” I remember when he first asked me that question, I had never “thought” about it, and I remember feeling like I was caught off guard, and I just said “I don’t really know” until years later, I had some time to figure out that I wanted to do something with our educational system and youth, that I went after full force, leading me to where I am today.
The first lesson we all learned was to THINK. We all have this ability but sometimes we are so busy we forget to DREAM up NEW THOUGHTS, activating our IMAGINATION. Once we’ve learned to dream, then we learned that we could create ANYTHING we wanted, with belief, (that we can strengthen with books like Think and Grow Rich) and then it all we needed to do, was to get emotionally involved with what we wanted, and take action. This was the formula that was to describe our attitude, that would determine our altitude in life. Creating a beautiful life was simple if you followed and believed in this formula. This is where I say this interview has the potential to change the course of your life FOREVER. If you really believe in what you want, there’s nothing (other than yourself) that will prevent you from achieving it.
Sounds pretty simple, and easy to understand, right? But there’s a lot more to it involved that I can see could take a lifetime to fully understand and apply. Not everyone follows through with what they REALLY want as life sometimes gets in the way.
How many times did Brian say, “I heard it often” but he didn’t really understand the significance of certain lessons until consciously thinking about them. This is why ongoing continual study is crucial with this information as we take it out of our subconscious mind and into our conscious awareness.
I’ve been working on connecting David Eagleman’s work to the fact that there’s so much more to our senses that what our eyes can see, etc, and this is where for me, things get exciting as we begin to connect the science to these age-old principles.
Do YOU think? If I were to ask you what YOU really want, would you have a clear and concise answer for me?
YOU DON’T NEED TO KNOW HOW You will do what you want, JUST LISTEN TO YOUR HEART: Brian mentioned that he heard this so many times “well, you don’t know HOW you are going to do what you want to do” and we were all sort of stumped hearing that, because most people would like to know the specific steps they are going to take for their goals. I thought about this diagram I’ve covered on this podcast of The Creative Process, or how you take your goal, and take it from FANTASY (it begins in your mind with your imagination), goes to THEORY (where you using your reasoning factors to plan your vision and put it into words), and then you bring it into a FACT or REALITY (with action). This is where the quantum leap idea that Price Pritchett’s book covers, as it’s with this step that we must stretch with our goals, and do something we’ve never done before. Goals are not meant for us to GET something, they are meant for us to grow. I’m sure you’ve heard this as often as I have. Don’t go buy the same car you’ve always driven, or go after the same job you’ve always done, or do something you KNOW you can do. There’s NO INSPIRATION in that. Don’t get stuck doing something you don’t really want to do.
Stretch and do something that you REALLY WANT to do, even if the masses would think it to be impossible. This will take you QUANTUM LEAPS from where you’ve always been.  
This was like when I set sights on moving to the US from Toronto, putting me way outside of my comfort zone, (not even knowing the legal process involved when I first said this is what I wanted to do) turning me into a whole new version of myself with this move. Or when Brian, who isn’t totally comfortable speaking in public, or doing podcasts, does them anyway, with the goal of spreading the word of his Father’s message (where his heart is involved)  with his new book with a vision that I know will take him far past his old identity, of the old version of Brian that I remember didn’t really enjoy speaking back in the day, creating a whole NEW version of himself.
These are QUANTUM LEAP goals, and are worth getting excited about.
Is there something that YOU really want, but feels like a stretch for you? The key is to write it down, and then just decide you will do it. Go from FANTASY (in your mind with your imagination) to THEORY (create your plan) to FACT (where you turn your Fantasy into Reality).
GET UP AND TAKE ACTION: This last take-away is that once we know what we want, that we must do the work involved to get it. The quote by James Allen I said at the end of EP 291 came to mind here “He thinks in Secret, and it comes to pass: environment is but his looking glass.” (James Allen).
There’s no way to escape doing the work. Brian said his Dad told him to just “write a bit every day” to complete this book. One step at a time, until eventually you look up, and your world around you had changed with the repetition of doing a little bit each day.  
If you find yourself procrastinating with something, then I’m going to guess it’s not really a goal that stretches you, so there isn’t any inspiration with it for you.
Do you have a plan in place for YOUR vision? Does your VISION stretch you to do something you’ve never done before?
I’d love to hear the AHA moments that you had with Brian’s interview, and what you think of his new book.
And with that, we’ll close out this episode. I’ll see you next week as we pick up where we left off, and also prepare for some new and exciting interviews in the month of July.
FOLLOW BRIAN PROCTOR
Website https://www.brianproctor.com/brianproctor-home
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/brianproctorofficial/?hl=en
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/MyFatherKnewTheSecret
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i] The Paradigm Shift Seminar Explained https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W8M33iCjKBU
[ii] Vladi’s Author Show, Interview with Brian Proctor June 25th, 2023 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMKBierroQE
[iii] https://www.brianproctor.com/brianproctor-home
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
[vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #67 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/expanding-your-awareness-with-a-deep-dive-into-bob-proctors-most-powerful-seminars/
 
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Unleashing the Power of Our Subconscious Mind”

“Every day we are influenced in countless ways by the world around us, and most of this flies completely under the radar of our conscious awareness” From Neuroscientist and Stanford Professor, David Eagleman’s, The Brain: The Story of You.
On today’s episode #291 on “Unleashing the Power of Our Subconscious Mind” we will cover:
✔ A review of where our podcast began, and where we are going.
✔  The importance of understanding our subconscious mind as it relates to our results.
✔ A look back at the history of this understanding, that goes back to visionaries in science and the arts (Francis Bacon, Descartes, etc).
✔ The unusual results Andrea saw with 12 teenagers who studied this concept, catching her attention, in the late 1990s.
✔ 6 STEPS you can use today, to expand your awareness, and help you to tap into the power of your subconscious mind.
Welcome back to Season 10 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we connect the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (that’s finally being taught in our schools today) and emotional intelligence training (used in our modern workplaces) for improved well-being, achievement, productivity and results—using what I saw as the missing link (since we weren’t taught this when we were growing up in school), the application of practical neuroscience. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast 5 years ago with the goal of bringing ALL the leading experts together (in one place) to uncover the most current research that would back up how the brain learns best, taking us ALL to new, and often unimaginable heights.   
Welcome back! For those who tune in each week, you might have noticed this was the FIRST time we’ve taken a break with this podcast since we launched. It’s always been important for me to produce content every week, but this past month, we travelled to some places where there wasn’t always internet, so I decided it would be a good time to take a break, and think about where we began with this podcast, and where we are going, creating a clear vision moving forward, and putting our season theme of Part 2 of Going Back to the Basics into practice.
If you look at the image in the show notes, you can see where the vision for this podcast began by making a connection with the six social and emotional learning competencies[i] that you’ll be familiar with if you are in the field of education, or paying attention to the research.  These competencies include Growth Mindset, Responsible Decision-Making, Self-Awareness, Social-Awareness, Self-Regulation and Developing Relationships, and hundreds of research studies[ii] have confirmed positive outcomes for our next generation of students, adults and communities who implement these competencies.  Instead of covering social and emotional learning topics only for this podcast, (that I saw publishers begin to cover more thoroughly than I ever could on my own, using their research to prove efficacy), I decided to connect what I saw as “the missing link” for health, well-being, productivity and achievement on this podcast—an understanding of our brain, that I call Neuroscience 101.
Reflecting back on almost 300 episodes written, recorded and produced from June 2019 to today, it’s easy to notice the growth that has unfolded along the way, that I share on EPISODE #279[iii] on “Lessons Learned After Hitting the 300,000 Download Mile Marker,” or “The Top 10 ALL Time Most Listened to Episodes on Podcast.” I can’t miss out on EPISODE #233[iv] where we covered the “Top 12 YouTube Interviews” as chosen by YOU! These are all good ones to review.
In addition to the growth noticed over the years from feedback that YOU, the listener would send me, I also noticed a shift with the content in our interviews over the seasons.
In our early interviews, we were introduced to books, ideas and strategies that would orient us to the understanding of the brain and help us to break down topics like improving student success with Dr. John Dunlosky’s[v] research, or trauma in our schools, that we saw with EPISODE #168[vi] with Dr. Bruce Perry and his book What Happened to You, or EPISODE #60[vii] with Dr. Daniel Siegel on “The Benefits Behind a Meditation Practice.”  We moved through the research, season by season, covering the topics that I thought would help us to all gain a better understanding of the mind-brain-body connection.
Then, the focus turned towards health and wellness in 2020, which was an unexpected turn for me, but one that made a huge impact on me personally, allowing me to test out certain products, like the Fisher Wallace Brain Stimulator[viii], the Whoop[ix] fitness tracker, take a visit Dr. Daniel Amen’s Clinic[x] for a SPECT image brain scan, or even by learning how to improve Heart Rate Variability with the Lief Wearable HRV Device.[xi]  While producing these episodes, I was implementing the ideas myself, and often times along with my family members, for improved results. You can scan through the episode home page here or review the season descriptions below.
Season 1: Provides you with the tools, resources and ideas to implement proven strategies backed by the most current neuroscience research to help you to achieve the long-term gains of implementing a social and emotional learning program in your school, or emotional intelligence program in your workplace.Season 2: Features high level guests who tie in social, emotional and cognitive strategies for high performance in schools, sports and the workplace.Season 3: Ties in some of the top motivational business books and guest with the most current brain research to take your results and productivity to the next level.Season 4: Brings in positive mental health and wellness strategies to help cope with the stresses of life, improving cognition, productivity and results.Season 5: Continues with the theme of mental health and well-being with strategies for implementing practical neuroscience to improve results for schools, sports and the workplace.Season 6: The Future of Educational Neuroscience and its impact on our next generation. Diving deeper into the Science of Learning.Season 7: Brain Health and Well-Being (Focused on Physical and Mental Health).
Season 8: Brain Health and Learning (Focused on How An Understanding of Our Brain Can Improve Learning in Ourselves (adults, teachers, workers) as well as future generations of learners.Season 9: Strengthening Our Foundations:  Neuroscience 101: Back to the Basics PART 1 Season 10: Strengthening Our Foundations:  Neuroscience 101: Back to the Basics PART 2
You’ll see that while our first nine seasons were focused on orienting ourselves to the basics of neuroscience, Season 10 and moving forward I’d like to narrow our focus to improved mental and physical health, (building on the Top Health Staples) to understanding our consciousness and our identity, and help us to become crystal clear about who we are, why we are here, and what legacy we want to leave for others. You’ll see the guests we have coming up will drive our understanding of these topics forward, hopefully helping us to become better versions of ourselves, with the idea that when we arrive to where we want to go personally and professionally, that we next create a plan for the legacy that we’d like to leave behind to help others.
For today’s episode #291 we are going to pick up where we left off with our last episode where we dove into Stanford Professor and Neuroscientist, David Eagleman’s work. Let’s go back to where we left off the end of May with EPISODE #290[xii] and dive into today’s episode on “Unleashing the Power of Our Subconscious Mind.”  
In Chapter 1 of David Eagleman’s The Brain: The Story of You, he explains how our identity is a moving target. He says: “Who you are depends on where you’ve been. Your brain is a relentless shape-shifter, constantly rewriting its own circuitry—and because your experiences are unique, so are the vast, detailed patterns in your neural networks. Because they continue to change your whole life, your identity is a moving target: it never reaches an endpoint.” David Eagleman’s, The Brain: The Story of You.
THE CONSCIOUS MIND:
In our last episode, we uncovered from David Eagleman’s work that the “conscious mind-the part you think of as you—is really the smallest part of what’s happening in your brain” making me take a look at the graphic on The Levels of Awareness, that I created after reading an article called “The Easy Problems of Consciousness”[xiii] from National Geographic. If we look (all the way to the right) at the FULLY aware column, that’s like the 10% of the tip of the iceberg that we can see consisting of our ability to THINK. To truly discover WHO we ARE, we’ll need to dive into the depths of our subconscious mind (under the surface of the water) to learn and explore more about the other 90% and peel back the layers, of who we truly are.
FINDING ANSWERS BY DIVING INTO OUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND:
You’ll notice that we will be spending more time moving forward looking at ways we can improve our levels of awareness, so we can take this knowledge, to eventually help others, after improving ourselves. This will be the key to building a strong legacy that will exist long after you move from this physical plane, that we call earth. And if we want to improve our own results in this process, we’ve got to open up the keyhole to our levels of awareness. Imagine a tiny dot expanding as your mind expands. Or instead of peeking through the tiny keyhole of a doorway you want opened, blast open your mind and kick the whole door down instead. Or forget about the door, and break a window to gain entry into this new awareness that you’d like to achieve.  This all begins by understanding who we are, (we are not just our name) and we can expand ourselves even further as we learn how to use this marvelous power of our mind that J.B Rhine, from Duke University would say is “the greatest power of all creation.”
As you are listening to this, doesn’t it make you want to knock down some doors (blasting through some of YOUR subconscious blocks)? Things that you’re aware have been holding you back from where you KNOW you’re supposed to be? These are only your conscious blocks. Like I’ve heard people say “I want to stop self-sabotaging” with their health or relationships.
There are some parts of us we are consciously aware of, but other blocks, might take some time to reveal themselves.
It just blows my mind that something so powerful, (our sub-conscious mind- or all that exists below the water level with that iceberg photo) that controls so much of who we are, is not taught to us in school. It’s here that I think some of the previous work and study I did in the seminar industry can help us to understand what David Eagleman was talking about in his book, The Brain when he said that the “conscious mind is the smallest part of what’s happening in your brain.”
This was at the heart of EVERY seminar I’ve ever attended. If we REALLY want to understand who we are, and be in control of where we are going, understanding the 90% of us, where our beliefs, creativity, emotions, habits, intuition and values all exist, is crucial if we want to be in control of the future that we want to create.
GOING BACK TO THE BASICS: THE HISTORY
If we go back to our Think and Grow Rich Book Study, that we covered at the start of 2022, Napoleon Hill wrote a whole chapter on the subconscious mind (Chapter 13) that we covered on EPISODE #195[xiv] and then he reminds us to re-read Chapter 4 on Auto-Suggestion, which is the medium that influences the subconscious mind.  This book was first written in 1937, showing us how far back this concept goes.
Since this time, there are many others who cover this topic just as thoroughly as Napoleon Hill, like author Brian Tracey[xv], who explains why this understanding is important on his blog, in his books and all of the seminars he conducted. Tracey shares that “since your subconscious mind has such a great amount of control over your positive and negative behaviors, the key is to train your brain to produce more positive behaviors.” If you’ve ever read Brian Tracey’s work, you’ll know it’s all centered around productivity and success. The subconscious mind and how to take control of it, runs at the heart of his message.
In my early days of working in the seminar industry, and learning from the top speakers around the world, I saw that this concept wasn’t new. I was even given a box full of material to study, joining many prominent people in the fields of science or the arts, who also studied the material I was given from an invitation only method. I read the same words that visionaries like Francis Bacon (1561-1626), Rene Decartes (1596-1650), Benjamin Franklin (1706-1790), Thomas Jefferson (1743-1826), or Isaac Newton (1642-1727) read, and was told to keep this box of materials a secret. It’s full of lessons that focused on using our mind to help us in all areas of our life, including our health, and is not far off from The Silva Mind Control Method[xvi] that we covered thoroughly this year. Understanding the levels of consciousness was taught in the introduction to this program, and as we progressed into month three of the course, autosuggestion and the subconscious mind were covered, showing again just how far back these concepts go.
Moving forward, I’m hoping that science will reveal some answers to why certain practices from years past, yield noticeable results. I’d like to keep these practices less of a “secret” for anyone to use for themselves or for the benefit of others. Just keep an open mind here, and follow along with the images in the show notes that I’ll use to explain the importance of understanding our conscious, and sub-conscious mind as it relates to WHO we are, and then how we can use this understanding to put our goals on auto-pilot, creating results that will truly boggle our minds. Sorry the notes I wrote are a bit messy, as I wrote them years ago, and didn’t think I’d be sharing them years later. You’ll get the idea.
DO YOU KNOW THIS ALREADY?
As we move forward, this understanding might be something you already know, or have heard of before, but until you can explain it to someone else, it warrants a review. If you stay with me here, I can guarantee that the application of this understanding has the potential to shift your life in ways you’ll never believe. I’ve been working with these ideas since those early days of working in the seminar industry (25 years ago) when I first watched 12 teenagers skyrocket their results with this understanding, and I still pick up something new each time I look at this. When I first saw these concepts yielding results after a relatively short period of time with those teens, it literally knocked the breath out of me. Something I’ve come to notice happens when I can see someone achieving quantum leaps with their results—it’s hard to look away from something this magical.
YOUTH MENTOR INTERNATIONAL (1999-2002): The Fundamentals of Life.
For those who don’t know where I first learned this concept, it started back in the late 1990s when I worked with Bob Proctor on a program for teens called Youth Mentor International. This program that I helped Proctor to create and deliver, covered the understanding of our subconscious mind, and how to put our goals on auto-pilot.  The results of this program for these 12 teens was absolutely astounding. You can review the interview with Bob Proctor on EPISODE #66[xvii], where we reminisced about our time working together, shocked that it close to 25 years ago, revisiting the results we saw with those teens.  You can see an image of where this program began, with cassette tapes covering these foundational topics, years before we could stream content around the world via podcasting or video. 
As I started to write this episode, I knew I had to go back to the Basics, and look at these tapes. Notice the title of the program: Youth Mentor International Fundamentals. This is what we taught ALL kids (ages 10 and up) around the world, each week.  The Fundamentals of Life.
Tape 1: Building an Emotional Appeal of a Future Promise (where we helped the kids to see the power of visualization) and building their future on the screen on their minds.
Tape 2: We Think in Pictures: which takes our visualization skills to that next step, honing in on a detailed picture of our goals and dreams.
Tape 3: The Conscious Mind and the Senses: showing the kids that there was a world beyond their 5 senses, or the importance of being aware of the “unseen world.”
Tape 4: The Subconscious Mind and the Body: that took students into the lesson I’ll share with you here today, or diving into the 90% of that part of us that remains under water, in the iceberg photo.
Tape 5: The Faculties of the Mind (that we will cover on our next episode).
Tape 6: Review and Application of the Fundamentals.
After watching the success of those teens all those years ago, I put my hat here, and decided to keep looking for what else could possibly take our understanding of who we are to greater heights. This program had such potential, but fell apart after Sept. 11th happened. I tried to carry the torch forward, and learned from educators along the way, like you see with can see when I re-connected with Jeff Kleck, from EPISODE #246[xviii] who changed the direction I would take with this material in the schools, leading me to focus less on the spiritual side, leaning more on science, or how the brain impacts our learning. I know connecting the science to these concepts is integral, so my focus has moved to watching and learning from the leading experts in science, to bring credibility to the ideas I saw working with those young students all those years ago.
UNDERSTANDING AND USING THE SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND
The key is to understand how our MIND works, and that it’s separate from our BRAIN. When we figure this out, it’s like all of the pieces of the puzzle start to fit.  Can you imagine putting a puzzle together without the lid, or the picture of the completed puzzle? That’s almost like what we are doing when we are living life without a picture of our mind, and how we can use it. How do we better understand the part of us that exists under water in the iceberg image? I don’t know about you, but I’d rather be in control of this ship called life, than to let it drift aimlessly at sea.
REVIEW OF THINK AND GROW RICH: CHAPTER 13 THE SUBCONSCIOUS MIND
If you listened to our Think and Grow Rich Book Study, (EPISODE #195) you will remember when Napoleon Hill reminded us that “The subconscious mind works day and night” (CH 12, Page 230, TAGR) and that you “cannot entirely control your subconscious mind, but you can voluntarily hand over to it, any plan, desire or purpose you wish to be transformed into concrete form.” (CH 12, Page 230, TAGR) He suggested that we go back to Chapter 4 on Autosuggestion and read this chapter again to become familiar with how to make use of this part of our mind that remains hidden to our eyes, but holds the power to move us to great heights.
RAISING OUR LEVELS OF AWARENESS: UNDERSTANDING THE CONSCIOUS AND SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND
IMAGE 1: This is a concept I wrote about with permission from Bob Proctor, in my first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed[xix]. The concept you see in this image of the mind and body originated with the late Dr. Thurman Fleet of San Antonio Texas, circa 1934. Dr. Fleet was the founder of Concept Theory. Bob Proctor was taught this concept from a child psychiatrist from Florida, Dr. John Mike, who transformed millions of others around the world with this understanding. It was this concept that also transformed the results of those teenagers all those years ago who learned how important it was to understand that we think in pictures, starting with this image.
If you look at the image, imagine the conscious mind as the top part of your head, and the sub-conscious is the bottom part. Attached to the conscious part of our mind, is our 5 senses, or what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch. This idea teaches us to look BEYOND our 5 senses, (what we see, hear, smell, taste and touch) and begin to develop our higher faculties of our mind that go beyond our senses with (reason, intuition, perception, will, memory and imagination). While working with students with this material, I became very interested in helping them to expand their thinking and even created a video program that teaches these concepts to students, that you can find on the Udemy platform today, called The Secret for Teens Revealed: A 10-Step Blueprint.[xx]
Another way to think about all of this, is that David Eagleman reminded us that our “conscious mind-the part you think of as you—is really the smallest part of what’s happening in your brain” so to develop the largest part of our brain, would be to learn what’s happening in the depths of our subconscious.
The conscious mind is important, as it will be this part of our mind that holds our willpower, and our ability to think.
IMAGE 2: Shows us of the importance of autosuggestion that Napoleon Hill covered in Chapter 4 of Think and Grow Rich. My diagram here shows that we can change our results in life, by changing what we think about—see how I’ve written in the conscious mind “We can think.” What we think about will change our self-image, or the image I see of myself. You can do this by thinking or repeating something with emotion which explains why affirmations repeated over time can change your self-image, when they are repeated with emotion, but this process does take time.
Since we can THINK with our conscious mind, we can use the power of our SUBCONSCIOUS MIND to work for us, rather than against us and build ourselves into a new and improved version of ourselves, which creates BELIEF. This part of our mind accepts WHATEVER we give it. We build pictures in our conscious mind, we impress them upon our subconscious mind, and the images we create are expressed in our body, that moves into action, and produces results.
IMAGE 3: HELPS US TO BRING ORDER TO OUR MIND FOR GUARANTEED RESULTS
IMAGE SOURCE: The Secret for Teens Revealed, Samadi, Page 71
 
THE CONSCIOUS/THINKING MIND:
Once we can see how the 3 parts of our mind work together, we bring order to our mind with this image, for guaranteed results. With time, you can learn to use your CONSCIOUS MIND to THINK clearly and build the pictures of what you really want. And what you think about does show up on the outside. In this diagram, I’d written that if I am embarrassed, your body can respond to that thought physical, by blushing, and we’ve covered how reading the emotions in others is something we can easily learn to do.
THE SUBCONSCIOUS/EMOTIONAL MIND:
With practice, you’ll see that whatever you turn over to your subconscious mind, with emotion added, over time can change your results with this idea of auto-suggestion. This is why Napoleon Hill says we’ve got to read our goals out loud daily, for this process to occur.  
BUT WAIT: What if there’s something I want, and I’m doing everything you are saying, but I still don’t have this thing that I want? We will cover this more later, but it goes back to understanding our PARADIGMS that control who we are. There is lots to learn here, so just keep studying, revealing more and more about yourself along the way.
If you see yourself with great results…and these results aren’t happening…there’s more work to be done. Remember, THERE’S NOTHING WRONG WITH YOU, but the layers of the subconscious mind just need more work.
THE BODY: When you hold something on the screen of your mind, consistently over a period of time, you’ll eventually see the results that change your conditions, circumstances and environment, which is the third part of the image.
We’ve talked about this process often on the podcast, especially with people we’ve interviewed who have transformed their life over the years, like Ryan O’Neill from EPISODE #203.[xxi] Over time, we can train our subconscious mind to work for us, putting our results on auto-pilot, and these result change who we are over time.
HOW DO YOU ACTIVATE YOUR SUB-CONSCIOUS MIND AND INCREASE YOUR LEVEL OF AWARENESS?
The first step in this process is to go back over the 3 parts of the mind and see if you can explain this picture of the mind, and how it operates to someone else. Once you can see how the conscious-mind, subconscious mind and the body, work together to achieve outstanding results, and you can share this understanding with someone else who can see what you see, then you’re on the right track, and you should be able to use this concept in your own life.
You’ve just got to do the work to strengthen your mind, and there’s more we will cover more next week, but for now, begin with these 6 STEPS to INCREASE YOUR LEVEL OF AWARENESS, UNLEASHING THE POWER OF YOUR SUBCONSCIOUS MIND.
LEARN TO THINK IN PICTURES: VISUALIZE: This was one of the first skills that we taught to the teens when they were beginning to set goals, and it’s a skill I’m still working on improving. Jose Silva’s program is the best I’ve ever seen for improving your ability to visualize. If you struggle with seeing an image on the screen of your mind, just start slowly, with pieces of fruit like an apple, or a lemon, and with time, you’ll notice you’ll begin to see more.
START TO MEDITATE (and keep developing this practice): This one will always be at the top of the list as a daily meditation practice will help you to access parts of your mind that you might not be aware of. Jose Silva’s program took this practice to the next level for me, and is what I work on daily now. I also love Dan Siegels Wheel of Awareness meditation. There’s no right or wrong place to begin here. Just start with something you feel connected to, and stay open minded to trying something new to expand your awareness in still, quiet, thought.
DREAM: Not everyone will say their dreams can open up their mind to new thoughts and ideas, but they do for me. If you want to improve this area, make sure you are getting enough REM sleep each night, and see if you can remember what you dreamt about. Write down your dreams, and see if there’s anything you can learn from them. It might not happen overnight, but if you can be consistent here, you’ll gain incredible insight from this time that your conscious mind goes to sleep, and your unconscious mind soars.
SET GOALS: There was this activity I would do with the teens I worked with called the 101 goal list. I remember learning this from the Chicken Soup for Soul author, Mark Victor Hansen, and I think he learned it from a teenager. The idea is that you sit down, and write out 101 things that you want to BE/DO/HAVE. It doesn’t have to be material things, but can also be experiences you’d like to have, or places  you’d like to visit. I remember doing this activity for the first time at an airport. After the first 25 things, I couldn’t think of any more. The idea is that if you can keep going, you’ll begin to tap into your subconscious mind, and begin writing things you might not be consciously aware of. I still have that original list that has somewhere around #50 that I’d like to swim with sharks. I have no idea where this came from, as it’s not something I’ve consciously thought about. Try this activity and see what you discover about yourself.
READ YOUR GOALS OUT LOUD: This one really works and might be why saying affirmations out loud works over time. There is a power that comes from reading what you want out loud. Try it. It will feel weird in the beginning, until you switch and begin to own what you are saying. Over time, you will start to believe what you read everyday, and when the belief is there, so will be your goal.
BE OPEN TO LEARNING FROM OTHERS: This one goes without saying. Of course if you are listening to this podcast, you will be open to learning from others. But would you purchase a ticket to hear someone speak, or jump on a plane and fly somewhere to meet someone you know you could learn from? Proctor used to do this all the time. I loved his stories of when he would sit in the back of the room and listen to people speaking that he wanted to learn from. These were always life-changing connections and if you’ve ever experienced this, you’ll agree with me that they are well worth the time and effort. If there’s something you are working on, and you’re stuck in some way, you’ll be able to easily put the pieces of the jigsaw puzzle into place with the power that comes from two or more minds working together.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this EPISODE #291 on “Unleashing the Power of Our Subconscious Mind” we reviewed our vision for this podcast, where we began and where we we’d like to go over the next 10 seasons.
We picked up from where we left off the end of May, with Neuroscientist David Eagleman’s work, urging us to look closer at the subconscious mind, since it controls 90% of who we truly are.
We reviewed the history of the subconscious mind and why this concept is a foundational step for us in the process of learning who we are.
We looked at 6 STEPS for expanding our level of consciousness by diving deeper into developing our SUBCONSCIOUS MIND.
This is just the beginning. Next week we will look at the Faculties of the Mind vs the 5 Senses to Expand our level of awareness more, but until then, think about this quote from James Allen, who wrote the book, As a Man Thinketh.
He said
“Mind is the master power that molds and makes:
And Man is Mind,
And Evermore He Takes the Tool of Thought,
And Shapes What He Wills,
Brings Forth a Thousand Joys,
A Thousand Ills,
He Thinks is Secret and it Comes to Pass,
Environment is But His Looking Glass.”
The goal is to understand how our mind works, so we can get our thoughts, feelings and actions lined up. That’s integrity and not everyone has it.
When you can line up how you think, feel and act, the magic happens.
What we THINK on a daily basis really matters for where we are going.
If the AHA moments haven't happened yet, (or nothing outstanding seems to jump out at you) come back next week, and I’ll add some more, with the goal of helping you to expand YOUR awareness, by “seeing” this marvelous power that’s held within the depths of our subconscious minds.  
See you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
How to Expand Your Level of Awareness with Bob Proctor https://www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com/6083/how-to-expand-your-awareness
REFERENCES:
[i] Casel’s 6 SEL Competencies https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-is-the-casel-framework/
[ii] What does the research say? 100s of research studies confirm SEL benefits students https://casel.org/fundamentals-of-sel/what-does-the-research-say/
[iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #279 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lessons-learned-after-hitting-the-300000-unique-download-milestone-thank-you/
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #233 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/top-12-neuroscience-meets-social-and-emotional-learning-podcast-interviews/
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #37 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kent-states-dr-john-dunlosky-on-improving-student-success-some-principles-from-cognitive-science/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #168 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-bruce-perry-and-steve-graner-from-the-neurosequential-network-on-what-we-should-all-know-about-what-happened-to-you/
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #60 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/
[viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/
[ix] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #134  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #228 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/rohan-dixit-founder-of-lief-therapeutics-on-measuring-hrv-in-real-time-for-stress-relief-from-the-inside-out/
[xii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #290   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-learning-unlocking-the-secret-to-our-identity/
[xiii] National Geographic Your Brain (Revised and Updated) https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Brain-Revised-Updated/dp/154784079X
[xiv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
[xv] Brain Tracey on the Subconscious Mind https://www.briantracy.com/blog/personal-success/understanding-your-subconscious-mind/
[xvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[xvii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
[xviii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #246  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
[xix] The Secret for Teens Revealed: How Parents, Teachers and Teenagers Can Inspire Leadership and Transform Lives by Andrea Samadi Published September 15, 2008  https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teens-Revealed-Teenagers-Leadership/dp/1604940336
[xx] The Secret for Teens Revealed Online Course: A 10-Step Blueprint https://www.udemy.com/course/the-secret-for-teens-revealed-a-10-step-success-blueprint/
[xxi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #203 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”The Neuroscience of Learning: Unlocking the Secret to Our Identity”

“Who you are depends on where you’ve been. Your brain is a relentless shape-shifter, constantly rewriting its own circuitry—and because your experiences are unique, so are the vast, detailed patterns in your neural networks. Because they continue to change your whole life, your identity is a moving target: it never reaches an endpoint. That’s From Neuroscientist and Stanford Professor, David Eagleman’s, The Brain: The Story of You.
Now that REALLY made me STOP and THINK as I am about to write this next episode. I wonder:
What’s my identity-or what makes me-me, especially if it’s a moving target. I’m not just Andrea, the host of the Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast (imagining my brain, and all its neural networks that consist of ALL the years of experience that make me, who I am today) and each day, my experiences change who I am right down to the books I’m reading, what I’m studying and learning, the people around the world I interact with, making me the person I am today.
Then I wonder, who are YOU listening to this podcast? What’s YOUR identity, wherever you are tuning in from around the world (and I imagine YOUR brain, and the neural networks you’ve created with YOUR own specific and unique life experiences.
And if our identity (who we are at this point in time) is a moving target that never reaches an endpoint, can we then, create our own reality and future by continuing to re-wire our own circuitry with NEW information, and NEW ideas, that create NEW experiences that change who we could be in the future? Thus, changing our conditions, our circumstances, and our environment?
That is the goal of this podcast, (to help all of us to re-wire our brains (with new information) that we’ll put into action (using the most current, evidence based research) taking our results to new heights.  This is what keeps ME coming back time and time again to write new episodes.  I’ve put an image in the show notes that came from my study with Mark Waldman on the Default Mode Network, showing exactly what our brain looks like when we are using our imagination network to take this information we are learning, and use it in a creative way. Our whole brain lights up, connecting all of our brain regions in this process.
With that thought, I want to welcome you back to our final episode of Season 9 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, (and while we know I’m not just) an author, or an educator with a passion for learning (I think after today’s episode, we will see that we are much more than our work and life experiences) and it’s this understanding that will encourage us all to continue re-wiring our brains, taking us to new, and often unimaginable heights.    
I’m recording this episode the end of May 2023, and plan to take some time away from the recording studio (my office) this summer. We’ll be back with the start of Season 10 the end of June, as we move into the 5th year of this podcast, and our second half of “Going Back the Basics” where we’ll continue through our past episodes, to see what we can add to them, with new research and ideas to take our personal and professional results to these new heights.
As I started writing this episode that tied back into some of our Brain Fact Fridays on Learning, I couldn’t think of what to cover specifically, because learning is behind EVERY episode we produce. I wonder, as we move towards our 5th year, and a new season when we return, what else can we uncover when it comes to “learning” with our brain in mind. Or in other words, how can we take our “learning” to new heights, or look at learning through a new lens?
I glanced through some of the episodes we covered on how we learn (procedural vs declarative learning) on EP 131[i], neuroplasticity on EP 133[ii], spaced repetition, distance learning, the neuroscience of learning EP #167[iii], learning and how our emotions impact our memory EP #127[iv] , even the importance of learning skills with our non-dominant hand. While all of these topics are fascinating, I wondered what could we cover today that would take us deeper into the circuitry of our brain, and guarantee a shift of thinking for all of us, causing a lasting change with our results.
Then I remembered a documentary I watched YEARS ago, from a Neuroscientist at Stanford University, and Internationally best-selling author, David Eagleman, called The Brain: The Story of You[v]. I know it was in the early days of when I was trying to make sense of why this understanding of the brain would be important for us (specifically as it related to education) so I took clear and detailed notes, and found his documentary to be interesting because it was applicable to our daily life, and I remember it changed my way of thinking.
You can see the options for how to watch this documentary today, and also buy his book, The Brain: The Story of You[vi] on Amazon, which I did, even though I had detailed notes on each chapter.
What caught my attention with this documentary is that David Eagleman wanted to get away from a textbook inquiry of the brain, (which we all know can be confusing at times with the terminology, and also sometimes boring). Eagleman wanted to “illuminate a deeper level of inquiry” that dives into the question of “who am I” which he says “depends on where you’ve been” or the experiences we’ve had and that “because our experiences are unique, so are the vast, detailed patterns in our neural networks.” He goes on to say that “they continue to change your whole life (and that) your identity is a moving target: it never reaches an endpoint.”
So to close out Season 9 of our podcast, on “Diving Deeper into The Neuroscience of Learning: Unlocking the Mystery of Individuality and Uniqueness” we will look at our content, through David Eagleman’s lens, and see how we can rewire our brain, with new experiences, taking our identity to new heights, in this episode and beyond.  I’m looking for sustainable, long-lasting change to occur for all of us.
On today’s episode #290 on “Diving Deeper into The Neuroscience of Learning” we will sharpen our focus of what our understanding of the brain REALLY means to us as we cover:
✔ Who Are We (Self-Awareness) as we move through life as an infant, teenager and into adulthood.
✔ Understanding our Identity (What Makes YOU-YOU) By Looking at Our Unique Experiences
✔ What Neuroplasticity Really Means for Us: How Can We Shape Our Brain for a Better Future?
✔ 3 Tips for Re-Wiring Our Brain to Change Our Identity
 
Who Am I? Chapter 1 of The Brain: The Story of You
We started this podcast covering self-awareness: know thyself, on EP #2[vii] where we covered six tips for being self-aware, and then I remember when we dove deeper with a graphic on the levels of consciousness, from EP 251[viii] where we looked at our levels of consciousness from low awareness, like when we are in a coma, under general anesthesia, moving up towards drowsiness or that state called hypnagogia (between wakefulness and sleep), right into our actual sleep, REM state, and dreams and finally into full consciousness.  We explored full-consciousness and the question of “who am I” with Chantel Prat and her book, The Neuroscience of You, on EP #255.[ix]
 
But what does David Eagleman have to say about our consciousness and who we are? He says,
 “It turns out your conscious mind-the part you think of as you—is really the smallest part of what’s happening in your brain, and usually the last one to find out any information.”
Which made me stop and think for a minute. I thought “wait, should I REALLY be using my conscious mind—the part I think is me-- to write this episode, “the smallest part of what’s happening in my brain?” according to Neuroscientist David Eagleman. I thought back to that image of our conscious mind as an iceberg, showing me that logical and critical thinking (that I’m using to write) consist of only 10% of my mental capacity, and that the other 90% that holds my beliefs, emotions, habits, values, long term memory, imagination and intuition are all in my subconscious mind.
What else can we do to tap into this other part of our brain to take our results to new heights?
I have just started reading David Eagleman’s book, and he’s already started to challenge my thinking.  He takes us back to when we were babies and born with a brain that “allows itself to be shaped by the details of life experience.” (Eagleman, The Brain, Ch. 1). What’s the secret behind “the flexibility of young brains” he asks us? He says, “it’s not about growing new cells, the secret lies in how those cells are connected.” (Eagleman, The Brain, Ch 1).
So now I’m thinking that who we are really IS based on our life experiences, that create these neural connections in our brain, and if we don’t like where we’ve ended up in life, or the circumstances we’ve created, then we can change our environment by doing something new.
But REMEMBER: To truly discover WHO we ARE, we’ve got to dive into the depths of our subconscious mind. Eagleman reminds us that “your actions, your beliefs and your biases are all driven by networks in your brain to which you have no conscious access.” That’s why it takes some time to peel back the layers of who we are, in our efforts to become the best version of ourselves.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION:
LEARN NEW THINGS AND YOU WILL RE-WIRE YOUR BRAIN
If the adult brain can change (neuroplasticity) then we can change our brain, and create improved versions of ourselves with our life experiences that does take time.  Eagleman noted that when Albert Einstein’s brain was examined, it didn’t reveal why he was a genius, but it did show that “the brain area devoted to his left fingers had expanded—forming a giant fold in his cortex called the Omega sign, shaped like the Greek symbol” (Eagleman, The Brain, Ch 1). This Omega sign was also found in violin players, showing clearly how detailed movement can in fact change the brain.
 
LONDON CAB DRIVER’S PROVED THIS TO BE TRUE:
We’ve also mentioned on this podcast about how London Cab drivers changed their brains but David Eagleman went into detail of how these cabbies had to memorize London’s extensive roadways that “covers 25,000 individual streets, and 20,000 landmarks of interest (hotels, theaters, restaurants, embassies, police stations, sports facilities, and anywhere a passenger wants to go.” (Eagleman, The Brain, Ch 1).
When the brains of these cab drivers were studied, they found “visible differences:  the posterior (back) part of the hippocampus had grown physically larger than those in the control group—presumably causing their increased spatial memory.” (Eagleman, The Brain, Ch 1).
Eagleman mentioned that “the longer the cabbie had been doing their job, the bigger the change in the brain region” suggesting the result came from the practice.
Now I’m thinking back to some early episodes where we covered the importance of “spaced repetition” or “daily practice” to yield new results over time.
So, if we want to re-wire our brain, or create a stronger 2.0 version of ourselves, here are 3 TIPS for implementing this concept.
IDEAS FOR IMPLEMENTING SOMETHING NEW INTO OUR LIFE TO RE-WIRE OUR BRAIN:
LISTEN: To new podcasts, take notes, and implement what you learn. I’m always discovering new podcasts, and just need to find the time for all of this new learning. I’m sure if you are listening to us here, that you have also found the benefit to learning through this medium.
TRAVEL: Go somewhere you’ve never been before. This summer we are traveling to somewhere we’ve never been before. Instead of planning the same old summer vacation, this year, we will be going somewhere where the internet doesn’t work well, to create new life experiences for all of us. Pick a place you’ve never been before to open yourself and your brain to NEW life experiences.
BE OPEN TO LEARNING SOMETHING NEW, EVEN SOMETHING WEIRD: Like with a new meditation or something. I can’t say enough about how much I learned from my review of Jose Silva’s The Silva Mind Control Method[x] that we covered earlier in the year. It looks like this episode was also a hit for those listening, with over 4K downloads the last time I looked. The book was eye-opening, but the online course completely blew my mind open with new ideas that I could spend the rest of my life practicing and implementing. As I read through some of the topics, I definitely can say they stretched my mind beyond where I have ever gone before.
REVIEW AND CONCLUDE
To review and conclude this final episode of Season 9 on taking a “Diving Deeper into The Neuroscience of Learning” we covered:
✔ Who Are We (Self-Awareness) as we move through life as an infant, teenager and into adulthood.
✔ Understanding our Identity (What Makes YOU-YOU) By Looking at Our Unique Experiences
✔ What Neuroplasticity Really Means for Us: How Can We Shape Our Brain for a Better Future.
✔ 3 Tips for Re-Wiring Our Brain to Change Our Identity
As we looked into changing our identity, diving into our subconscious mind, we know that consciousness is something that neuroscientists continue to debate over, and this is a topic that you can see from the graphic I created, that I’m interested in studying, learning more here, and sharing what I learn with you on the podcast. As we continue to study, we will become more consciously aware of WHO WE ARE. Here is something profound that David Eagleman shared. He said:
Have you ever looked at someone’s work written on a wall like David Eagleman is recalling with Francis Crick’s work? I absolutely love seeing ideas written on walls, and my office is always full of thoughts, ideas and plans.
We can gain inspiration from each other’s ideas and plans. I think back to the movie “Good Will Hunting” where Matt Damon was solving math problems on the wall, while he was working as a caretaker at MIT, inspiring more than just the students who saw his work, but the teachers who wondered who this student was.
Our experiences can change our brain, and then when we share them with others, we can then go on to inspire others with our thoughts, ideas and knowledge.  
But what has meaning for YOU, might mean something completely different to ME, and so the search for what we find “meaningful” continues.
To close out this episode I’ll end with the SAME quote we opened up with.
“Who you are depends on where you’ve been. Your brain is a relentless shape-shifter, constantly rewriting its own circuitry—and because your experiences are unique, so are the vast, detailed patterns in your neural networks. Because they continue to change your whole life, your identity is a moving target: it never reaches an endpoint.
Neuroscientist and Stanford Professor, David Eagleman’s, The Brain: The Story of You.
With that final thought, I encourage all of us to keep learning, and improving WHO we are as individuals, because this is only the beginning. When we next look at the impact we can have on others, bringing our unique neural networks together, we open up an entire new universe to explore.
I’ll see you the END of June for SEASON 10 of the podcast, and our 5th YEAR of The Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast. .
We will continue with our Theme of Going Back to The Basics with:
✔ What Can We Really Learn from Looking at Someone Else’s Brain? (Einstein, Walt Whitman, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s).
✔ Continue This NEW Learning to Build the Best 2.0 Version of Ourselves
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #131 on “understanding How We Learn: Declarative vs Procedural Systems”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-understanding-how-we-learn-declarative-vs-procedural-systems/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #133 on “Applying Neuroplasticity in Your School or Workplace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-applying-neuroplasticity-to-your-school-or-workplace/
[iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #167 on “The Neuroscience of Learning”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-learning/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #127 on “How Emotions Impact Learning, Memory and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-how-emotions-impact-learning-memory-and-the-brain/
[v] David Eagleman The Brain https://www.pbs.org/show/brain-david-eagleman/
[vi] The Brain: The Story of You by David Eagleman Published October 6, 2015 https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Story-You-David-Eagleman-ebook/dp/B0104EOGQ0/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1684456595&sr=8-1
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #2 “Self-Awareness: Know Thyself”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-awareness-know-thyself/
[viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #251 on “Exploring Consciousness Using Neuroscience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-exploring-consciousness-using-neuroscience-to-expand-our-awareness/
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #255 with Chantel Prat on “The Neuroscience of You.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/chantel-prat-phd-on-the-neuroscience-of-you-how-every-brain-is-wired-differently-and-how-to-understand-yours/
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 on PART 1 of The Silva Mind Control Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 

Maiysha Clairborne, M.D. on ” What Holds Us Back: Getting to the Root of Our Doubts, Fears and Beliefs”

“I think I have always been a healer first. It feels like my life’s assignment… my purpose. Each day, I endeavor to bring healing to everyone with whom I come in contact. I believe everyone has this capacity to bring healing for themselves and others. I’m here to wake them up to that capacity.” ~Dr. Maiysha
 
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aMv2HK7sxos 
 
 
 
From Dr. Maiysha Clairborne’s TEDX.[i]
On this episode #289 we will cover:
✔  How hypnosis and timeline therapy can help us to eliminate blocks in our subconscious mind.
✔ What's a more effective way for changing our beliefs than repeating an affirmation.
✔ A simple and easy to use strategy to resolve conflict in the workplace.
✔ The three views of "perception" for improving relationships (home and workplace).
✔ How to uncover the root of our doubts and fears to blast through to new heights in our personal and professional lives.
✔ Why challenges our beliefs is important for growth.
✔ What to think about when "resistance" comes up in our life.
✔ The importance of celebrating our wins, but keeping our eye on our end-goal.
 
I want to welcome you back to Season 9 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast to share how the understanding of our complex brain transfers into our everyday life and results. Each concept we cover here I’m hoping will help you, wherever you might be listening to this podcast in the world, just as much as these ideas are helping me personally and professionally.
For today’s episode #289, we are meeting with Dr. Maiysha Clairborne, an author, TEDx Speaker, Podcast Host of the Black Mind Garden Podcast, a Master Practitioner of NLP and Hypnosis and Time Line Therapy.
I don’t think I need to explain why I wanted to speak with Dr. Clairborne when you click to the first page of her website, and she has the words EDUCATE, EMPOWER, ENRICH and ELEVATE in bold letters on the first page. She lives what she teaches, as these words come to my mind when I looked at her picture on the front of her press kit as I wondered where I would even begin with the questions I want to ask her. It was funny because she had some suggested topics included and I read through them, and thought “I want to know ALL of these topics!”
So that’s where we will begin. Let’s welcome Dr. Maiysha Clairborne, and see what we will learn together to elevate and empower us to new heights and leadership.
INTRO Q:
Welcome Dr. Maiysha Clairborne! Thank you for making my life so much easier as a podcast host. Preparing for this interview was easy with all of the information you’ve got out in the world. I wasn’t kidding when I said in the backstory that I want to know EVERYTHING you’ve suggested as questions for me.
Welcome!
Can you give us a bit of your background that takes us to where you are today? What inspired you to want to educate, empower, enrich and elevate others? This says a lot about who you are.
What about hypnosis and timeline therapy? I’m a full believer in hypnosis, but what is timeline therapy?
Q1: It’s been a few years since I’ve used them, but I did use an affirmation in my early 20s to help me to change my identity as a young woman, in business. Is there a better way? Tell me there is, because I didn’t like saying the same thing over and over again in front of the mirror until I finally believed it.
Q2: I love that you have some tips for improving our relationships in the workplace. What would you say would be some common workplace problems that you typically see, and how would you suggest solving them?
Q3: Can you explain your perception activity that you explain in your TEDx? I’ve always thought it to be important to use this faculty of mind, to see beyond what our 5 senses can see, and look at a situation you might be struggling with from someone else’s point of but you took this exercise to another level than I’ve ever seen before. When I’m in conflict with someone, I’ve always tried to step into their shoes, and see what they see, feel what they feel, but what are we missing if we only step into their shoes seeing their perspective and mine?
Q4: For those of us who just want to improve and be better versions of ourselves, what would you say about some of the doubts and fears that we might have that we might not even be aware of? How do we uncover the ROOT of our doubts and fears and discover what they are so we can move beyond them?
Q5: Belief change. This is a huge topic for me on this podcast. I talk about shifting our paradigms all the time, and I can tell you a few areas that I’m shocked where my beliefs have changed over the years, (specifically around diet and exercise). What do you think we should know about our beliefs?
Q5B: So when I’m resisting with something or someone says “try it this way” and I want to try something new, but their way is too far off from how I would be doing what I’m doing. How can we better navigate resistance so we can grow with new ideas?
Q6: Why do you think the goal-setting system is broken, (what part specifically) and what are better ways to set our goals?
Q7: Another incredible topic. How do you suggest creating the balance between celebrating your wins and staying focused? I know both are important.
Q8: What programs and services do you offer to help others?
Q9: Is there anything important that I’ve missed?
Dr. Clairborne, I want to thank you for taking the time to come on the podcast today, and sharing the years of knowledge, and tools to help empower us to improve ourselves at home and in our workplace. Is the best place for people to find you, your website?
FOLLOW Dr. Maiysha Clairborne
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/DrMaiysha/
Twitter https://twitter.com/DrMaiysha
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/DrMaiysha/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/DrMaiysha/
Pinterest https://www.pinterest.com/drmaiysha/
Website https://mindremappingacademy.com/
Dr. Clairborne’s TEDX https://mindremappingacademy.com/dr-maiysha-tedx/
Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dr-maiysha-clairborne-founder-of-the-mind-re/id1505231103?i=1000552438946
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] https://mindremappingacademy.com/dr-maiysha-tedx/
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”What Does Acting Have to Do With Self-Belief and Our Identity?”

“Reading is not for play. It is to gain knowledge” Stella Adler The Art of Acting[i] and she adds that “I, for instance, am very strict about what I eat and I’m equally strict about what I read.”
 
In keeping with our season theme of going back to the basics, and building the strongest 2.0 version of ourselves, I’m skipping to episode #199[ii] on “The Neuroscience of Self-Belief and Our Identity”[iii] from Feb 2022.
For those who are returning guests, welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  For those who haven’t met me yet, I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast to share how the understanding of our complex brain transfers into our everyday life and results.
On this episode #288 we will cover:
✔ A review of The Neuroscience of Self-Belief and Our Identity
✔ How Belief in Ourselves Develops and Changes Over Time
✔ Top 5 Lessons Learned from Stella Adler’s “The Art of Acting”
✔ Why Continual Study is Important
When I looked back to EP 199 on “The Neuroscience of Self-Belief and Our Identity” I noticed that we opened with a quote from the late Bob Proctor, and a meeting with my friend Patti, who worked closely with Bob’s seminars over the years. Patti and I met a few weeks after Bob moved from what he would say was the physical plane, to the spiritual, and we talked about some of the important lesson learned, and knowledge gained from those days working in the seminar industry, and how they’ve impacted our daily life since then.
Concepts based on our beliefs like:
“All things are possible if you believe.
“Our results are all based on our beliefs”
“If we don’t like what’s going on outside, we’ve got to go inside, and change our beliefs.”[ii] --Bob Proctor
These ideas were at the core of every seminar Proctor conducted, and he would travel the globe presenting these ideas in a way that would captivate and change the lives of his listeners globally. 
Now I sold seminars for Bob from 1999 to 2002 and every time he would come up with a new seminar, people would say the same thing. 
What’s new with this one? 
I’d explain that this new seminar had a different angle but some people would challenge this new angle and say, “that’s kind of what we learned in the last seminar” (belief in ourselves) to do xyz and the answer was yes… belief is behind everything we want to do… it’s at the heart of every seminar. 
It’s also something that takes time to develop. I’ve heard it described in different ways. It’s like pouring a drop of red food coloring into a glass of water, and you stir it once, and the red coloring disappears. We’ve got to keep putting the red drops into the water, to notice the change in color. It’s not easy to notice at what point the color goes from clear to red, as this change takes time.
Just like the belief we must have in ourselves that develops over time.
It’s difficult to put belief into words, or know when we’ve got it, or not, but it can be seen easily by others. I saw it while interviewing Ryan O’Neill on EPISODE #203[iv] on “Making Your Vision a Reality” because I knew Ryan BEFORE he achieved the goals he had set for himself, and remember when they were just ideas, written down.  Watching his success over the years has been nothing short of incredible, and the change shows up for Ryan on the outside. His knowledge, confidence, and success in his daily life, shows up clearly with his demeanor, as his work now is being showcased globally, on the Discovery Channel[v], and he himself agreed with me when I pointed this out to him. Over time, he could see it himself, but like the food color in the water, it is difficult to pinpoint the change as it’s occurring.
How do we change our belief and identity over time?
Other than continual study, and learning that leads to growth, what else would the experts in the field of learning suggest?
We can review the science behind self-belief, and where belief exists in the brain, by going back to EP 199 where we covered this, but today,
I’ve got to go back to the seminar industry, because so much of what yielded success in those early days, worked for some reason, (I can list so many who have surpassed their goals with these principles) so my goal today is to revisit these age-old strategies, that have been around for over 2,000 years.
Today’s episode takes us back to this one book that speaker Bob Proctor would talk about in every seminar, and even in his book, Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life[vi]. If you’ve ever been to one of his events, you’ll know what I’m talking about. He would say “You know, you’ve got to read Stella Adler’s The Art of Acting” whether he was talking to a regular person, like you or me, or an Oscar Award Winner, like Phil Goldfine[vii], who listened to what Bob told him, then took the action that led to his Oscar Award in 2014. I remember Phil standing and holding this prestigious award at the last seminar I attended in January 2016, explaining that it all started when Bob told him to write down his goals, and he did, and the next thing I knew, here he was, standing up and holding his Oscar, while the audience just listened to how simple it was for him to achieve it.
 
 Phil Goldfine would tell you it was just his belief that did it, and he went on to use the same principles to achieve something next with swimming, something he had yet to perfect, that I’m sure he has achieved by now. It took me two seconds to find an interview from 2019 with Phil Goldfine that showed me he DID in fact hit his swimming goal, and many others that he declared back in 2016 when he showed us his Oscar. What he said got him there was “action”[viii] and that’s one of the secrets within the pages of that book that Proctor recommended we read every seminar, The Art of Acting.
Stella Adler's technique, called “Method Acting” is founded on an actor's ability to imagine a character's world. Now it’s all starting to make sense to me why Proctor would love this book, and talk about it so much, as he would hold his hand out and get us to all look up into the air, and “build our castles in the sky.” He was trying to get us to “imagine” the world we wanted to build. It’s called “Method Acting” and now I can see exactly how acting is connected to self-belief, building our identity, and goal-achievement.
Stella Adler was the only American artist to study with Konstantin Stanislavski, a prominent figure in Russian theatre and her technique encouraged actors to expand their understanding of the world, in order to create compelling performances.
You know, what we don’t understand, or we don’t connect with, we tend to ignore, and that’s what I did when Bob talked about acting. I remember thinking, oh shoot, here he goes again about that acting book, as he would stand on stage, and explain how Laurence Olivier could transform his character, and move his audience, using something called “Method Acting.”
Now I’m not at all into movies, and not usually star stuck by actors or fame as I’ve met many from this industry along the way, and I marvel at how they do what they do, but I’m most interested in the journey that got them to where they are today. I met film Director David Webb[ix], while he was shooting the horror film Taking Lives, with Angelina Jolie, Colin Farrell[x], while he was filming A Home at the End of the World, and they were both “out of character” and relaxing, just chatting to me about what they were working on. Then, I sat at a lunch table next to Stephen Spielberg[xi], and listened to what his day to day conversations, which was nothing out of the ordinary, but when I met Sean Penn, I KNEW he was an actor. Sean was in a swimming pool, with sunglasses on, and introduced himself to me as “hey, I’m the make-up guy” with an accent anyone from the 1980s could place, and I just laughed, knowing full well that he was playing the character of Jeff Spicoli, from Fast Times at Ridgemont High, just to see my reaction. I glanced over at his wife, Robin Penn at the time, and just laughed. This was no make-up artist. He was Jeff Spicoli, and we all knew it. He was “Method Acting” and it’s taken me almost 20 years to learn about this method.
This weekend I finally read the book that Bob Proctor would recommend in every seminar, Stella Adler’s “The Art of Acting.”
I never understood what an acting book would have to do with setting and achieving goals, so I brushed it off, and never read it. What a huge mistake. Just a glance at the table of contents and the lights went on (pun intended).
Stella Adler was teaching acting in a way that Proctor taught us success principles in the seminar world. “You’ll never be great unless you aim high” or “ideas are difficult because they are on paper, but read them several times slowly, the ideas will become yours and you’ll be able to give them back.” Stella Adler
Bob’s practices were right in line with Stella’s. He used to have us focus on a sentence, word by word, until we integrated the idea into our daily life (Thomas Troward as an example).
So what does acting, a profession that’s almost 2,000 years old, have to do with goal-setting and achievement?[xii] I didn’t see it either, until I actually read “The Art of Acting” and started to put the pieces together. There is a connection between reaching those high levels of achievement, that leads to a change in self-belief, and it begins with an understanding of “the stage” that Stella Adler outlines in her book.
I found an article written by Amy Beilharz, that outlined the Top 4 tips from this book, that translates to our everyday life, called “What Do the Oscars and Your Success Have in Common.”[xiii] She talks about “acting” as “doing” describing the lessons she learned in the book.
This book is something you just have to read, and you’ll see what I mean as you will see something in yourself, that you might not have seen before. She outlines 22 lessons, that were her classes, and begins with a powerful story from Laurence Olivier. I heard this story over and over again from Proctor, and I used to zone out because I just didn’t see what was so profound about some actor on stage, but after reading these pages, I began to connect the dots.
Proctor tells it better, but the main idea is that Laurence Olivier played Othello in a way that one night, blew the entire audience away. At the end of the show, everyone asked him “how did you do it” and he said “I don’t know” because he really didn’t understand what he did. He later discussed on interviews that he had massive anxiety about this, as he didn’t know how to replicate what he had done, and worried he’d never be able to do it again.
I KNOW WHAT HE DID.
And it took me back to PART 5[xiv] of our Think and Grow Rich book study, where we learned about how to transmute our energy from one form into another.
It’s one of the “Secrets” is in the pages of Stella Adler’s “The Art of Acting” that explains why Laurence Olivier moved his audience.
He became someone else while he was on stage in a way that no one had seen before.
Like Sean Penn who became Spicoli, he became Othello in a way that hit the audience from the spiritual, intellectual and physical mind, and it was masterful. It was unforgettable. I bet it took the breath away from those watching. It shocked Laurence Olivier just as much as it shocked his audience.
You’ll know what I mean when you think of an artist that hits you to the core on all 3 levels (spiritual/soul, intellectual/ mind, and physically as you can feel the performance).
I can name a few artists I’ve seen who can do this. Think about this for a minute? Can you?
Who moves you to the core when you watch them perform, that you can barely speak? You're captivated.
That’s Stella Adler’s “The Art of Acting”
And it takes the belief of the artist FIRST.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review this week’s Brain Fact Friday, we went back to EP199 on “The Neuroscience of Self-Belief and Our Identity”[xv] that took us back to improving our self-awareness that we covered on EPISODE #2[xvi] of our podcast back in July of 2019. We looked at where self-belief and our identity exist in the brain and we pondered:
Where does self-belief come from?
How does it get instilled in us?
How can we inspire it in others?
Then we looked at Stella Adler’s “The Art of Acting” to see what acting has to do with self-belief, our identity, goal-setting, and goal-achieving.
There were many timeless lessons in the pages of her book, and I do hope that you will read this book yourself, but here are the ones the stood out the most to me.
ACTING IS DOING: (Class 3) She says that “you learn acting by acting” and isn’t that true, that we learn when we take action. But Stella Adler was very strict with the actions that she takes. She said it in the beginning that she is strict about what she eats, and equally as strict about what she reads. She was also very strict about how someone stands, walks and presents themselves saying “if your body is not in good shape, your acting cannot be in good shape.” (p18).
THE ACTOR NEEDS TO BE STRONG: (Class 4) where she reminds us again of the importance of health and sitting upright, not looking like we have “broken bodies that turn inward.” I can just imagine her yelling out “sit up straight” to her students, as I remember that was the key to projecting our voice when I was in choir in 5th We were taught to breathe from our diaphragms and she explains this with the importance of projecting our voice. And to build our voice she suggests “to read an editorial aloud every day.” First, read it with a normal voice, and then your voice should get “bigger and bigger, stronger and stronger.” (p55). I can tell you for sure that recording solo podcast episodes has helped me to build my voice. I know I speak much differently into the microphone, than I do if I’m talking to someone in person, or even on the phone. My WHOOP device logs my heart rate that goes well into the target heart rate zone every time I record my voice, and over time, I do see this practice has helped me to improve my speaking and presentation skills. I know there’s ALWAYS room for improvement here, but that’s what Stella wants us to remember.
DEVELOPING THE IMAGINATION: (Class 5) Stella reviews the importance of health again here, and how “we are instruments of our bodies, and have to keep them in optimal condition.” (Page 63). We’ve focused entire episodes to the theme of health (mental and physical) on this podcast, as I also believe that without our health, we are at a disadvantage, but she connects this to our ability to create something in our minds. Stella teaches her students how to “live imaginatively” building images on the screen of our mind first saying that “anything that goes through your imagination has a right to live.” (Page 66). She has many exercises in this class to build up your imagination faculty so you can “bring aliveness” to your acting, which is much different than just acting “the facts.” She says that “you must give back life and not death.”
YOU MUST DRESS THE PART: (Class 16) This chapter we heard over and over again in the seminars, as Proctor lived it himself. It was rare to see him wearing jeans, even when I had to drop something off at his house, he would be dressed up. He talked about the importance of “dressing for success” especially when working from home, and treating a home office, just as you would if you had to drive to one. Stella believed the same, saying that “You are what the clothes makes of you. Clothes say something about your self-control, your self-awareness, your social awareness. Clothes say something about your ability to be restrained, your ability to be respectful.” (Page 192). She says that when you come on stage, to “stand in a way that expresses power that comes from the ground up.” (Page 196) I agree with her that you can feel the power, and energy with the way you dress, and stand tall. The fastest way to “feeling” successful, is to put in the effort to look your best every day.
PORTRAYING CLASS ON STAGE: (Class 22) This is where Stella talks about “the method” where “understanding your character has to go beyond your own life.” (Page 253). She asks us to imagine playing a peasant, and getting into the character with class, by looking at Van Gogh’s painting of peasant boots saying “that everything has value. Nothing is old—or rotten.” (Page 252). Stella learned “method acting” directly from Russian playwright Konstantin Stanlisvaski who “directs the actor to apply deep personal and emotional connections to a role to achieve a realistic and naturalized performance.”[xvii] Not all actors believe in this “method” as Laurence Olivier was famous for “expressing disdain for method acting while filming the 1976 film Marathon Man. Exasperated with the lengths his co-star Dustin Hoffman was going to for his role, (who actually stayed up for days to become sleep deprived) and Olivier asked, My dear boy, why don’t you just try acting”[xviii] which I thought was hilarious and so very true.
Stella Adler “was wary of Stanislavski’s idea of emotional recall to generate emotions on stage and felt it limited actors to their small realms of experience.”[xix] Adler believed more in cultivating the actor’s imagination to bring their characters to life.
I hope that you can now see, like I did, the clear connection that exists between acting and our future success. Some people like Phil Goldfine, or Sean Penn, have used these practices to reach great heights with their careers, and Proctor would call these people “consciously competent” as they were aware of what they were doing to get these results. Others, like Laurence Olivier, were shocked and amazed at their results, having no idea what they had done, and Proctor would call people like this “unconsciously competent” meaning they couldn’t explain what they had done.
While I know we all won’t be as good as Laurence Olivier or Sean Penn, right away, the goal is to keep reading, learning and getting better at whatever it is we are doing, so that our results become predictable, aimed high, and that we work towards being consciously competent at whatever it is we are working on. If we can do this, then we can teach it to others who follow in our footsteps.
If we can follow Stella Adler’s “Art of Acting” with whatever platform or stage we are performing on daily integrating her tips into our work, and aiming at hitting our audience on all three levels: physically, intellectually and spiritually, then we know we are on the pathway towards something special.
Remember: She would say “What is acting? Voice. Voice. Voice.”
I’m glad I finally read “The Art of Acting” to gain this new perspective of building self-belief and identity, and can now add Stella Adler’s tips to help me to become a stronger, more resilient version of myself with her strategies that go back 2,000 years in time.
With that, I’ll close out this episode, and see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
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REFERENCES:
[i] Stella Adler The Art of Acting (compiled and edited by Howard Kissel) https://www.amazon.com/Art-Acting-Stella-Adler/dp/1557833737
[ii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-behind-self-belief-and-our-identity/
[iii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-behind-self-belief-and-our-identity/
[iv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
[v] Warner Brothers, Discovery UK and Ireland  https://twitter.com/chrisfleming91/status/1647083554118021120/photo/2
[vi] Change Your Paradigm, Change Your Life by Bob Proctor https://www.amazon.com/Change-Your-Paradigm-Life/dp/B09G5132VW/ref=sr_1_1?hvadid=604546232584&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030068&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=4410657837430788254&hvtargid=kwd-622963963620&hydadcr=22592_13493326&keywords=paradigm+shift+book+bob+proctor&qid=1683679068&sr=8-1
[vii] Phil Goldfine Grammy https://www.facebook.com/OfficialBobProctor/photos/phil-goldfine-has-been-a-student-and-friend-of-mine-for-many-years-last-night-hi/10152248842639421/?paipv=0&eav=Afb0ArYL4FwVIZqrj0nxLES9BYlLb6erWqGP8VbuO3_KABPdpfgY-LMt5VWDasplRkM&_rdr
[viii] Oscar and Emmy Winner Phil Goldfine Shares 5 Things You Need to Know to Succeed in Show Business Feb. 25, 2019 by Yitzi Weiner https://medium.com/authority-magazine/oscar-and-emmy-winner-phil-goldfine-shares-the-five-things-you-need-to-know-to-succeed-in-show-b3152bbf985e
[ix] Taking Lives 2004 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0364045/fullcredits/?mode=desktop&ref_=m_ft_dsk
[x] A Home at the End of the World 2004 https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0359423/
[xi] Stephen Spielberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg
[xii] What do the Oscars and your success have in common? https://www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com/9551/what-do-the-oscars-and-your-success-have-in-common
[xiii] What do the Oscars and your success have in common? https://www.proctorgallagherinstitute.com/9551/what-do-the-oscars-and-your-success-have-in-common
[xiv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
[xv] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-behind-self-belief-and-our-identity/
[xvi] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-awareness-know-thyself/
[xvii] 7 Actors Who Put the Method into Method Acting by Aiden Canter April 12, 2022 https://collider.com/actors-method-acting/
[xviii] Why Hollywood is Finally Over Method Acting by Emma Nolan April 22, 2022 https://www.newsweek.com/why-hollywood-finally-over-method-acting-1700143?amp=1
[xix] Don’t Be Boring: An Introduction to Stella Adler’s Technique by Tatum Hunter https://dramatics.org/dont-be-boring/
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Using Neuroscience to Understand Our Emotions, Feelings and Results”

“There is no separation of mind and emotions: emotions, thinking and learning are all linked.” Eric Jensen[i]
But what about our feelings? What’s the difference between our emotions and feelings? Have you ever thought about this?
And with that introduction, I want to welcome you back to Season 9 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast to share how the understanding of our complex brain transfers into our everyday life and results. Each concept we cover here I’m hoping will help you, wherever you might be listening to this podcast in the world, just as much as these ideas are helping me personally and professionally.
In keeping with our Season theme of “Going Back to the Basics” we look back to EP #127 on “How Emotions Impact Learning, Memory and the Brain.”[ii] It was on this episode, exactly 2 years ago where we first looked at the impact of our emotions on our daily life with the work of neuroscientist Mary Helen Immordino Yang from the University of Southern California. We first met Mary Helen on our 100th EPISODE[iii] and she shared with us that “it is literally neurologically impossible to build memories, engage complex thoughts, or make meaningful decision without emotion.” She further explained that “30 years ago, we had no idea that one could study human emotions that emerge slowly over time—such as admiration and awe—and compare them psychologically and neurobiologically with emotions that emerge more quickly like surprise or fear.” (page 80. Emotions, Learning and the Brain).
Before writing this episode, I had to stop, and think deeply about something I’ve often quoted. I learned this back in my days working in the speaking industry (in the late 1990s) to be careful what you think about because “it’s our thoughts that determine our feelings, that cause us to take certain actions that in turn cause our conditions, circumstances and our environment.”  If we are going to look at our emotions today, we need to understand the difference between our emotions, our feelings, and the actions that we end up taking because of them.
Let’s Start with How Emotions Are Different Than Feelings.
I found a clear explanation of “Emotions vs Feelings”[iv] from Dr. David Matsumoto, the founder of Humintell, who explains that emotions “are quick reactions to certain events that may impact our survival. They are unconscious, immediate, involuntary, automatic reactions to things that are important to us” which is right in line with what we learned from Jaak Panksepp’s 7 primal emotions that he mapped out in our brain, and taught us they aren’t something that we can control. They are automatic responses.  Dr. Matsumoto further explains that “these reactions include cognitive and physiological changes that help prime our body in a certain way and create sensations in us that we can perceive” which he calls feelings.
You can see a diagram of these differences in the show notes that outlines emotions as “quick reactions to certain events that are automatic and unconscious” and feelings “are perceptions in the body that aren’t necessarily related to the emotion.”[v]
IMAGE SOURCE www.humintell.com Dr. David Matsumoto
Since I’m always looking to connect the most current neuroscience research to improve our best practices, I wonder what can I add to this understanding of our feelings vs our emotions, to see if we can gain a deeper self-awareness into why we feel the way we do, and what this might mean for us, individually, in pursuit of our goals. Or to put this simply, what should we all understand about our emotions, our feelings, and how they translate into our life, and results.
On today’s episode #287 we will explore:
What are our emotions.
How are our emotions different from our feelings?
The debate about emotions in neuroscientific circles looking at Paul Ekman[vi], Carroll Izard[vii], Jaak Panksepp[viii] and Robert Levenson’s[ix] Theory of Emotions
Using Brain Network Theory to Understand Our Emotions from an early EPISODE #48[x].
Other tools, ideas and strategies available to help us to understand our emotions, and feelings.
Examine: How this understanding can help us take better control of our emotions and feelings, to change the actions that we will take, (so we can stay in better control in difficult situations) thus changing our conditions, circumstances and environment (or our results).
3 STEPS for applying this understanding of our emotions and feelings into our daily life.
What Are Our Emotions?
We’ve talked about our emotions with our recent episode with Lucy Biven from EP #270[xi] and Gabrielle Usatynski from EP #282[xii] who both dove deep into the work of Jaak Panksepp who mapped out 7 neurological circuits found in all mammals, and then we made the connection with our emotions and our childhood with an understanding of Bowlby and Ainsworth’s Attachment Theory[xiii]. While I do think we’ve covered Panksepp’s work thoroughly, who’s to say his ideas are correct when philosophers, psychologists, and scientists have been arguing and disagreeing with each other for several thousands of years on this topic.
I had to go back to my notes from the neuroscience certification course I took with Mark Waldman, where he taught us that “even today the debate continues in neuroscientific circles. Paul Ekman[xiv], that you might know as the deception detection expert, or co-discoverer of the micro expression, and the inspiration behind the TV series, Lie to Me[xv], showed evidence that there are 6 universal emotions (fear, anger, joy, sadness, disgust, and surprise). Ekman demonstrated how emotions can all be seen in a person’s brief facial expression, and we covered this fascinating topic on EPISODE #163 with Dan Hill, “The Faces Guy” on “How to read the Emotions in Others”[xvi] but Jaak Panksepp labelled some of Ekman’s universal emotions as secondary emotions, calling them feelings.
Before I get bogged down in terminology, deciphering these arguments, and lost reading this research paper I found on Four Models of Basic Emotions[xvii] I thought an easy way to simplify this concept is to put an image in the show notes that explains the similarities between four models of emotions and make up our own minds with which theory of emotion we resonate with the most. While one will disagree with each another, “all four list a positive emotion labelled happiness (Ekman and Cordaro; Izard), enjoyment (Levenson) or Play (Panksepp and Watt) and three distinct negative emotions, sadness (labeled grief by Panksepp and Watt), fear, (they all agreed on this label) and anger.”[xviii]
Putting Our Emotions into Action
If we want to understand our emotions, we can now begin by thinking about how everyone will respond to these emotions in a different way, since we’ve all had different experiences from childhood and beyond. (Keeping Attachment Theory in mind).
Suppose we were walking through a forest and something jumps out from behind a tree and we instinctively jump (the core emotion of fear that all 4 models agreed with). Then we see it’s a harmless dog, wagging his tail and wanting to play with us. Each person will process this situation in an entirely different way. One person will laugh, another will reach out to play with the dog, while another person will remain upset about the scare for the rest of the night. Everyone will have a different feeling (which is another model we will cover another time, a theory of emotion from neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett)[xix]  who says that our feelings change as we think about our past experiences, (maybe we saw that dog this morning and we quickly realize he’s harmless). Also, each person will nonverbally express their feelings through their facial expressions, allowing others to “read” what they felt with the experience. (Ekman’s work).  Finally, if we can regulate the reaction that we had, and take it a step further and recognize the emotions in the person next to us, we are demonstrating Robert Levenson’s Theory[xx], that focuses on the fact that our emotions either improve with age, or they decline, like we see with neurodegenerative diseases.
IMAGE SOURCE: Four Models of Basic Emotions: A Review of Ekman and Cordaro, Izard, Levenson, and Panksepp and Watt Published by Jessica Tracy and Daniel Randles October 2011 https://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/files_mf/emotionreview2011tracyandrandles.pdf
How can understanding our emotions and feelings help us?
Mark Waldman’s Brain Network Theory for Overcoming Our Fears
While analyzing this situation of walking through a forest, neuroscience researcher Mark Waldman would say that “while the emotional experience often lasts for a few seconds, some people might ruminate on the negative feelings that came with this experience, to the point that they are diagnosed with depression or an anxiety disorder.”[xxi]  This was the person who remained upset about the scare for the rest of the night.
He explains that understanding brain network theory model comes in handy here because he says that “feelings are nothing more than a combination of our imagination mixed with past memories.” Knowing that feelings are not real makes it easier to shift our attention away from the feeling (whatever it might be-fear, anxiety or whatever) and return to being more engaged in the present moment” where he suggests to focus on the positive emotional experiences that are also in our life. Waldman explains that this is the neuroscience of transforming emotions into feelings and feelings into valuable insights, and it has the power to transform our current models of psychotherapy and healing.
You can review this powerful concept of Brain Network Theory all the way back on EP #48[xxii] with tips on using this model to increase positivity, reduce stress and anxiety and increase our work productivity and results by learning to consciously shift between your imagination, (DMN) awareness (Salience Network) and thinking (CEN).
IMAGE SOURCE: Mark Robert Waldman
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
To conclude and review this episode on a deeper dive into “Using Neuroscience to Understand our Feelings and Emotions” here are three concepts to help us to put these ideas into action in our daily life.  
REMEMBER:
OUR EMOTIONS ARE AUTOMATIC HARDWIRED NEURAL RESPONSES THAT WE CAN’T CONTROL:
And many philosophers, psychologists, and scientists have been arguing and disagreeing with each other for several thousands of years on this topic.
Some argue where they originate, and the terminology, but we found 4 researchers who could agree on one positive emotion (happiness) and three negative emotions of sadness, fear and anger. But don’t forget that while “we cannot control what emotions or circumstances we will experience next, we can choose how we will respond to them.” Gary Zukav
PUT THIS INTO ACTION: The next time you feel an emotion, notice what it is. See if you can take this understanding and apply it to learn more about yourself. What makes you happy? Do you savor happy moments? What about the negative emotions? Do you have a strategy to overcome your fears, sadness or anger? Or a way to feel them, and not respond to them?
YOU CAN TRAIN YOU BRAIN TO RECOGNIZE AND OVERCOME FEAR:
This example is a bit close to the heart as it just happened, but it’s a good example of why recognizing and overcoming fear is important, so I’m going to include my recent experience here.
This week I was waiting for my oldest daughter to finish her gymnastics practice. Both my girls train most nights, and I pick them up at the end of the night. The other night I was waiting in the car, and I could see the coach coming outside to speak to me, and this coach wouldn’t be coming outside after a long night to chit chat. I knew something was up the minute I saw him walking to my car. Then it hit me. FEAR. I felt it because I had left my desk writing this episode to pick her up, and here I was with my heart racing, as I wondered “what happened” and wanted the coach to spit it out quickly. I couldn’t see her behind him, so now I’m wondering “can she walk, is she bleeding, does she have broken bones?” trying to figure out in my head what the situation was.
Then I noticed the feelings come into play. The stomach drops, next, the physical sensation of feeling sick as my imagination went back to all the other injuries we see often, and boy our minds can take us on a trip if we don’t learn to focus, think and stay in the present moment, or use the understanding of Brain Network Theory to STOP our Default Mode (Imagination) Network and switch it to our Central Executive Network to stop those ruminating thoughts from taking over our mind.
This is all happening in seconds, but when it’s happening, it feels like a long time. I finally snapped out of it, and asked questions that brought my thinking (CEN) brain back on track like “what happened, where did it happen, and how does she seem to you?” and the fear started to go off into a corner as soon as I figured out that her coach thought she might have a concussion.
Did you know that the opposite of fear is understanding? When we understand something, the fear goes away because the thinking brain allows you to take the action needed to resolve your situation. Life experiences like this will happen and it’s crucial to be able to focus and think clearly, and to move from fear to understanding.
Can you think of something that happened to YOU this week where one of your emotions took over YOUR mind?
Where do certain theories of emotion become evident? With my example, I could feel the fear (all 4 theories), I could also “read” the emotion in the coach’s face (Ekman and Levenson), and even more specifically could see the pain on my daughters face that helped me to take certain actions while under stress.
USING BRAIN NETWORK THEORY TO BYPASS OUR FEARS by shifting our attention away from the feeling or emotion we are experiencing (whatever it might be-fear, anxiety or whatever) and return to being more engaged in the present moment” and focus on the positive emotional experiences that are also in our life.
We have the Default Mode Network, (imagination processes like daydreaming, creative problem solving, and mind wandering). This network is important to tap into, as it also contains our ability for creative problem solving, so it doesn’t just contain our worries and fears, but our ability to move past them. We just need to be mindful of what we are thinking about, to prevent the negativity bias from taking over our mind (when we get stuck ruminating on negative thoughts instead of positive creative thoughts).  Be sure that we are thinking positive thoughts, so we don’t default into this negative cycle of thinking. This takes practice, but with time, does become a habit and can be very useful during times of intense pressure or stress.  
OUR DEFAULT MODE NETWORK: 
Is the highest during daydreaming (using our imagination)
Decreases slightly during mind-wandering
Decreases more during creative thinking
Is WEAKEST during goal-directed thought
PUT THIS INTO ACTION:
See if you can notice yourself “switching” your mind from the imagination, DMN, to the CEN (thinking network) like I did when I had to stop my imagination from running wild when my daughter was injured and actually THINK.
THINK ABOUT THIS!   
What strategy do you have in place to STOP your Default Mode (Imagination) Network from taking over your mind?
The next time you are in a situation where your emotions are flooding you, whether it be FEAR like I felt, or maybe ANGER with difficult situation at work, see if you can use your CEN to bring those Executive Functions (like decision-making) back online. This can be done simply by STOPPPING the automatic negative thoughts (say STOP) and then begin to use your mind to think. Ask questions, and then notice your salience network come into play will create the balance in your brain that’s needed in times of stress.  
OUR FEELINGS ARE OUR REACTIONS TO OUR EMOTIONS AND WE CAN CONTROL THEM:
How do you feel right now?
Does this question make you stop and think for a minute?
If your feelings don’t come to your mind immediately and you’ve got to think for a second, that’s because “our feelings are a complex semi-conscious reaction towards our emotions” (Mark Waldman) or maybe like we learned from Dr. Matsumoto, they might have nothing at all to do with the emotion (like when we feel tired or cold). 
This is fascinating area of Marc Brackett’s work and his book Permission to Feel that we covered on EP #22.[xxiii] The important part of diving deeper into our feelings is to remember is that they are “shaped by intuitive processes, memories, beliefs, fantasies and thoughts.” (Waldman) and these feelings are “then assigned a private, personal meaning” that’s unique to us.
PUT THIS INTO ACTION:
Ask someone to explain how they feel about something and you might be surprised with the answer they come up with. You will learn something about this person from this question, as they dig deep to answer you.  Watch them closely to see if they have a difficult time putting their feelings into words because they are complex reactions about their own individual experience.
THINK ABOUT THIS:
What story did they tell you?
What did you learn about the person from their story?
Could you see their intuitive process, memories, and beliefs at work?
We started this episode by saying “There is no separation of mind and emotions: emotions, thinking and learning are all linked.” Eric Jenson, but I think we went much deeper than that proving that our thoughts, feelings and emotions are all connected.
It doesn’t matter what we call our emotions, just that we recognize the ones that make us happy, and for the negative ones, how we respond to them really does determine the conditions, circumstances and environment we’ll create in our life. I learned this week that when the emotion of fear came up, I had to overcome it quickly, bringing those executive functions back online to stay on track by not letting my imagination take over my mind.
The more we learn to understand these things called emotions, and the feelings attached to them (or not), the better prepared we can be to deal with life’s difficult situations that will come up whether we like them or not.
With time and practice, we really can train our brain to move past difficult emotions like fear, worry and doubt, through to understanding, and this will have a significant impact on the outcome of our daily results.
I hope you find these concepts to be as helpful and useful in your life as I’m finding them in mine.
I’ll see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #79 with Eric Jensen on “Strategies for Reversing the Impact of Poverty and Stress on Student Learning”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-based-leaning-author-eric-jensen-on-strategies-or-reversing-the-impact-of-poverty-and-stress-on-student-learning/
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#127 on “How Emotions Impact Learning, Memory and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-how-emotions-impact-learning-memory-and-the-brain/
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Episode #100 with Mary Helen Immordino-Yang https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/professor-mary-helen-immordino-yang-on-the-neuroscience-of-social-and-emotional-learning/
 
[iv] Emotions Vs Feelings Published by Dr. David Matsumoto May, 2022  https://www.humintell.com/2022/05/whats-the-difference-between-emotions-and-feelings/
 
[v] IBID
[vi] https://www.paulekman.com/
 
[vii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carroll_Izard
 
[viii] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jaak_Panksepp
 
[ix] https://psychology.berkeley.edu/people/robert-w-levenson
 
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #48 on “Using Brain Network Theory to Stay Productive During Times of Chaos and Change” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/
 
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #270 with Lucy Biven on “A Short-Cut for Understanding Affective Neuroscience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lucy-biven/
 
[xii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #282 with Gabrielle Usatynski on “How to Use Jaak Panksepp’s 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Family, Career and Life”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/gabrielle-usatynski-on-how-to-use-jaak-panksepp-s-7-core-emotions-to-transform-your-relationships-family-career-and-life/
 
[xiii] What is Attachment Theory by Kendra Cherry Feb. 22, 2023 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-attachment-theory-2795337
 
[xiv] https://www.paulekman.com/
 
[xv] Lie to Me TV Series https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1235099/
 
[xvi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #163 with Dan Hill, The Faces Guy on “How to Read the Emotions in Others: For Schools, Sports and the Wrokplace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dan-hill-phd-the-faces-guy-on-how-to-read-the-emotions-in-others-for-schools-sports-and-the-workplace/
 
[xvii] Four Models of Basic Emotions: A Review of Ekman and Cordaro, Izard, Levenson, and Panksepp and Watt Published by Jessica Tracy and Daniel Randles October 2011 https://ubc-emotionlab.ca/wp-content/files_mf/emotionreview2011tracyandrandles.pdf
[xviii] IBID
[xix] Lisa Feldman Barrett https://lisafeldmanbarrett.com/
 
[xx] Understanding the Role of Emotion and Aging with Robert Levenson https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ehqzhj9f8Y8
 
[xxi] www.MarkRobertWaldman.com
 
[xxii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #48 on “Brain Network Theory: Using Neuroscience to Stay Productive During Times of Change and Chaos” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/
 
[xxiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #22 with Marc Brackett, Founding Director of the Yale Center of Emotional Intelligence on “Permission to Feel” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/founding-director-of-the-yale-center-of-emotional-intelligence-on-his-new-book-permission-to-feel/
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Building Resiliency, Grit and Mental Toughness”

Enthusiasm is common. Endurance is rare.” ― Angela Duckworth
On today’s Episode #286 we will cover:
✔ A review of EP126 on building resilience (what we covered back in April 2021).
✔ A deeper look at what resilience is, with an evidence-based strategy we can all use TODAY if we are ready, to build up our own reservoirs of resiliency to better handle our life and work stressors.
✔ Tools for Measuring Resiliency.
✔ Checks for Resiliency.
✔ A Resiliency Challenge at the End to See if We Can All Push Ourselves to Try Something New to Build Resilience, Grit, Mental Toughness, and Our Ability to Use Our Head When We Need it the Most.
I needed to write this episode this week because it was just in time for me to try something new to build up my own levels of resiliency!! I hope you enjoy these ideas.
And with that introduction, I want to welcome you back to Season 9 of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and an educator with a passion for learning and launched this podcast to share how the understanding of our complex brain transfers into our everyday life and results. Each concept we cover here I’m hoping will help you, wherever you might be listening to this podcast in the world, just as much as these ideas are helping me personally and professionally.
For today’s episode #286, we’re staying in line with our season theme of “Going Back to the Basics to Build a Stronger, More Resilient 2.0 Version of Ourselves” which was an intention I set at the very start of the year on EP268[i] where we talked about prioritizing mental health in 2023 with a focus on self-awareness and resiliency.
A Review of Horacio Sanchez’s Definition of Resiliency:
This topic goes back with our interview with Horacio Sanchez who I was just speaking about this week because he was presenting at a Science of Reading Event, and many of us were talking about where our understanding of the brain and learning first began, with Horacio’s work at the center. He was introduced to me in our very FIRST interview EP3[ii] with Ron Hall from Valley Day School who shared that his connection of the brain and learning first began with Horacio years ago, while attending a conference where he was conducting a training session.
When we spoke with Horacio on EP74[iii] he explained resiliency as “a collection of protective risk factors that you have in your life” and that there are some factors we are born with, and others come in through childhood, family, school, life events and social experiences.
Horacio reminds us that “if you have little risk, it takes less to be resilient. But—if you have a lot of risk, it takes a lot more protective factors to offset the scale.”  This is why two people can possibly respond in two completely different ways after a traumatic experience. One person walks away, dusts themselves off, and recovers quickly, (they had more reservoirs of resilience to tap into) while the other has a completely different outcome, and needs more assistance to get back on track.
With resiliency, we can overcome adversity or difficulty and have good outcomes in our life, but you can see why not everyone is born with exactly the same protective factors needed, so we don’t all have the same levels of resiliency. Horacio mentioned that “25% of the population are naturally resilient” and his work focuses on instilling this trait in those who are not naturally resilient due to the number of risk factors associated to them. To this day, he continues with this work, flying around the country, helping our next generation of students to become more resilient.
While researching for this episode, I wondered what I could add to help us to all become more resilient in addition to Horacio’s work. I looked at what Dr. Andrew Huberman had to say about resiliency with his most recent episode with a retired Navy Seals officer and author of multiple books on effective leadership, team-work, self-discipline and mindset, Jocko Willink.[iv]  I listened this episode that covered a wide variety of topics, and they got into a discussion of building resilience by doing something that makes them uncomfortable every week. Something like a cold water plunge where you’d rather be sleeping in your warm bed, than doing something that Dr. Huberman would say was uncomfortable, or “like a splinter.”
Retired Navy Seals Officer Jocko Willick said that “You develop your legs by doing squats, and you develop resiliency by doing things that make you tougher” but on today’s episode, I want us to think deeply about this because there’s more to building resiliency than just doing what makes us stronger and tougher. What makes YOU tougher, might not make me tougher, (if we think about Horacio’s work on resiliency and how we are all different with these risk factors). If we are truly going to build resilience, we have to be prepared to try new things that push us past where we have been before and each person will have different thresholds and experiences.
MEDICAL DISCLAIMER: Remember that I am not a medical doctor, and that if you are going to try anything new, to always consult a medical doctor first. Today I will share ideas and strategies that I have used myself, while looking at what the most current research says, but will always remind listeners to never try anything new without first consulting your own doctor.
This leads me to look closer at cold immersion[v], an evidence-based strategy that has been shown to build resilience to stress, reduce pain in the body, improve circulation, stimulate weight loss and decrease fatigue, but over time, the research shows that your body becomes “habituated” to this practice. As for the proper dosing for this strategy, I know that Dr. Andrew Huberman suggests “progressing gradually”[vi] while Dr. Mike Tipton, a professor of human and applied physiology at the University of Portsmouth in the UK who studies the body’s reaction to extreme environments, adds that “researchers still don’t know the best way to reap the mental health benefits of cold water, or the minimum dose required” and says that “a little bit is good for you, but too much is not.”[vii]
While writing this episode, I had to think about what I do to build resilience. I always thought that exercise was my solution to every problem, but if I think about it, these runs thought the beautiful mountain tops in Arizona are NOT like a “splinter” for me, like Dr. Huberman’s mentioned. I know exercise is making me physically stronger, improving my mental health, (and solving all the other problems we know exercise solves) but now I wonder, am I doing anything on a weekly basis that makes me tougher, challenging my mind to overcome daily stress? Not according to Dr. Huberman’s definition.
What is like a splinter for me to do?
Am I really doing something I’d rather not be doing every week?
There might have been a time when waking up early to exercise was a “splinter” or maybe most days in the winter here, it’s not easy to leave a warm bed when it’s 40 or 50 degrees outside, so I can see where exercise could possibly help to build a stronger, more resilient version of myself.
ARE YOU BUILDING YOUR RESILIENCY MUSCLES?
What about you?
What is your splinter that builds your capacity (mentally and physically)?
If we don’t think about this one, we could fall into the trap of thinking we are building resilience when we really aren’t. Or getting comfortable with what might have worked in the past, and not trying anything new.
This made me think back to having my brain scanned at Dr. Amen’s Clinics and I had my review of the scan with Dr. Shane Creado, on EP 84.[viii] I remember that while he mentioned some areas of improvement, he did notice that my resilience levels were higher than many of the elite athletes that he’s tested, and I wondered where this came from. The only thing I’ve done consistently over the years that at times has felt challenging is with health (exercise, nutrition). It was evident with this brain scan that my sleep has always been a weak link but doing certain things the right way has got me this far.  Now I wonder, what else could I do to build a stronger, more resilient version of myself?
 
Deliberate Cold Exposure to Build Resiliency and Mental Toughness
Then I thought back to when Dr. Huberman suggested deliberate cold exposure[ix] as a protocol to build mental and physical resilience, and wondered why I hadn’t tried it yet.  Cold exposure isn’t something that I’m excited about (living in Arizona, my friends from snowy climates joke with me when I tell them “it’s freezing here” in the desert in the winter, and I get this skeptical look that it can’t be as cold as where they are.
What caught my attention on Dr. Huberman’s Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance[x] episode was that he said this practice “systematically builds up resilience.” He went on to say that “it’s an opportunity to deliberately stress our body and because it’s deliberate we can learn to maintain mental clarity, we can learn to maintain mental calm, while our body is in a state of stress.”
This is exactly what I was looking for, but of course I listened to this episode when it first came out over a year ago, and thought “there’s no way I’m ever doing that” until today, when I started DAY 1 of deliberate cold exposure, to see if I notice a difference with my ability to better handle daily stress.
Dr. Huberman explains the science behind this example extremely well, by saying that when we feel stressed in life (with our work, our relationship, or anything else that comes across our phones that in the moment makes us want to react in a way that we know we shouldn’t) that norepinephrine and epinephrine build up in the body. This is similar to what happens to our body when we deliberately expose it to cold (whether through a shower, immersion, or from going outside into the cold). He says that this systematically builds up our resilience.
So of course, I’m taking notes about how to implement this and this morning I took my first ever cold shower using Dr. Huberman’s protocol.
Have you tried deliberate cold exposure?
Did you notice any benefits?
I followed these steps that he suggested for a shower:
STEP 1: Pick a temperature that’s uncomfortable.
STEP 2: Get in for a certain duration of time (start with 1 minute and work your way up to 3 minutes).
STEP 3: Get out.
How Does This Build Resiliency?
Remember, this experience has got to be like a “splinter” to build resiliency, and you will release those 2 chemicals (epinephrine and norepinephrine) that are the same chemicals that flood your brain and body during stress. The longer you can function with a clear mind with these chemicals flooding your brain, the more resilient to stress you will become.
This is how resilience is built. I thought this was brilliant, and it got even better when he went on to explain how he pushes himself to stay in the cold longer, building up more resilience. He said that he “visualizes walls” so just getting into the shower is WALL 1. Then he feels ok until he thinks, “ok, it’s time to get out” and if he can stay in, let’s say go past minute 1 to minute 2, he’s got over WALL 2. Then he visualizes WALL 3 off in the distance, and when arrives at that wall, he begins to use his interoceptive awareness and think about how he’s really feeling. Can he stay in longer? Can he think clearly? Could he stay in 10 more seconds? If he can, he’s jumped over another wall, and is standing at WALL 4. At the point where he’s numb, and can do nothing else, he gets out, and knows he pushed it hard with this exercise.
I thought it was such a great example that I tried it myself, and was able to get to WALL 1 (getting into a cold shower), WALL 2 (pushed myself past 1 minutes and 30 seconds to 3 minutes) and WALL 3 (thought about how I felt, and how clearly I could think). This was enough for DAY 1, but this is going to be something I do at least 3 times a week moving forward.
Other Ways to Build Resiliency?
Another example I can think of would be strength training (and particular pushing past 20 reps to 25). My trainer used to always tell me to cheat when I’m working out on my own. He’d never let me get away with this.  Now I know now that this is what builds my capacity for mental/physical resilience. It’s definitely a splinter for me, but YOU might love pushing past reps when you’re tired, while I dread it.  This is just like you might dread running up and down a mountain, while I love it. We will all be different here.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this week’s EPISODE on a Deeper Dive into Building Resiliency, I challenge you to look at what you are doing, and see if you can identify where your “splinters” are. If you think you might be getting used to your workouts, and that they bring you joy (like they do for me) it’s time to think hard about NEW ways you can build up your capacity for more resilience.
Since we started the year with the goal to build a stronger, more resilient version of ourselves, the key to doing this is to build our immune system up by being able to better manage our levels of stress.
My hope for all of us is that as we face our challenges on a daily basis, that we push ourselves always to reach new heights that are greater than where we were yesterday. I’ll close out with a quote from Lee Ann Womack,
“I hope you never fear those mountains in the distance
. Never settle for the path of least resistance”― Lee Ann Womack, I Hope You Dance
Keep your eye on overcoming challenge, and you’ll be a stronger, more resilient version of yourself by the end of the year.
See you next week!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #126 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-prioritizing-mental-health-in-2023-improving-self-awareness-and-resilience/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #3 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/interview-with-ron-hall-valley-day-school-on-launching-your-neuroeducational-program/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #74 with Horacio Sanchez on “How to Apply Brain Science to Improve Instruction and School Climate” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/leading-brain-science-and-resiliency-expert-horatio-sanchez-on-how-to-apply-brain-science-to-improve-instruction-and-school-climate/
[iv] https://hubermanlab.com/jocko-willink-how-to-become-resilient-forge-your-identity-and-lead-others/
[v] Using Cold Water Immersion to Build Stress Resilience Published May 22, 2022 https://www.meducos.com/using-cold-water-immersion-to-build-stress-resilience
[vi] Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance Huberman Lab #66   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6WHJzOkno
[vii] Cold Water Plunges Are Trendy. Can They Really Reduce Anxiety and Depression? Published by Chloe Williams https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/20/well/mind/cold-water-plunge-mental-health.html
[viii] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/
[ix] Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance Huberman Lab #66   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pq6WHJzOkno
[x]Using Deliberate Cold Exposure for Health and Performance Huberman Lab #66    https://hubermanlab.com/using-deliberate-cold-exposure-for-health-and-performance/
 

Dr. Gregory Kelly from Neurohacker Collective on ”How to Beat Aging and Stress with Qualia Senolytics”

Have you ever heard of Senolytics?[i] It’s the latest breakthrough in aging and longevity science that I honestly had not heard about until I had an email about our next guest, whose work I’m very familiar with.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/poThU96sslU
 
I’m a huge fan of Neurohacker Collective (that was founded in 2015 with a mission of creating best-in-class well-being products) and I’ve been following their work for years to learn anything and everything possible about bio-hacking. We even quoted Heather Sandison (a medical advisor and podcast host with Neurohacker Collective) on our HRV EPISODE. [ii] One quick look at their ABOUT US[iii] section on their website, and I saw many of the leaders, innovators in health, longevity and wellness around the world, and quite a few who we have interviewed, like Dr. Anna Lembke from EPISODE #162[iv], Dr. Stickler from EPISODE #96[v] and Dr. Vuyisich from EPISODE #93[vi] and in their Collective Insight Section you’ll see many names we quote often, like Dr. Andrew Huberman, Deepak Chopra, Dale Bredesen, David Rabin, Bruce Lipton, Michael Gelb, Jim Kwik…I could go on and on here. These are the leaders and innovators in the field of health, wellness and bio-hacking. This is going to be a phenomenal episode!
And with that, I want to welcome you back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is to our everyday life and results using the most current brain research. If there’s a tool, strategy or resource that I find, that could be helpful to improve productivity and results, whether we are a teacher in the classroom, a coach or in the modern workplace, I will share it here.
On today’s episode #285, we will be speaking with Dr. Gregory Kelly, the Director of Product Development at Neurohacker Collective[vii], a naturopathic physician (N.D.), and the author of the book Shape Shift: The Shape Intelligence Solution[viii] that’s all about getting healthy while creating your ideal shape.
As I was researching for this episode, I couldn’t help thinking “how on the earth did I miss this topic of senolytics?” since I’m always looking for anything new when it comes to productivity, health and wellness hacks. While preparing for this episode, the Neurohacker Collective Team was extremely helpful. Tina Gammon, their Marketing Manager, sent me the trio package of Qualia Senolytic for (Vision, Night and Mind) and I’ll be sharing the IMMEDIATE results I felt with the Night and Mind products, with a level of clarity I’ve never felt before.  I haven’t tried the VISION one yet but have lots of questions to ask Dr. Kelly about today.
So, hang tight, because on today’s science-packed episode, we’ll dive deep into this cutting edge topic, with the latest anti-aging research where we will cover:
What is cellular senescence?
What are the "Hallmarks of Aging" and why is cellular senescence an important hallmark?
The difference between cellular senescence and autophagy (with a quick review of 9th grade science mitosis).
Classical places where senescent cells take hold in the body.
The science to support senolytics from Mayo Clinic and Scripps Institute.
How do senolytics work?
The correct way to dose senolytics.
What makes Qualia Senolytic a groundbreaking supplement in the longevity space?
A bit first about Dr. Kelly.
 
He has extensive experience in both natural medicine and nutrition, and has been an influential figure in this field. He has served as the editor of the journal Alternative Medicine Review and taught Advanced Clinical Nutrition, Counseling Skills, and Doctor-Patient Relationships at the University of Bridgeport College of Naturopathic Medicine. Dr. Kelly has also published hundreds of articles on natural medicine and nutrition, contributed three chapters to the Textbook of Natural Medicine, and has over 30 journal articles indexed on Pubmed. His areas of expertise include nootropics, anti-aging and regenerative medicine, weight management, sleep, and the chronobiology of performance and health. Additionally, he has helped develop several rare and powerful compounds that have scientifically shown senolytic activity, and which have a wider range of mechanisms than existing senolytic supplements available.
Before I get lost in my words on this topic, let’s meet Dr. Gregory Kelly, and see what we can learn today to open our eyes to something new in this ever-changing field of science, health and longevity.
Welcome Dr. Kelly. Thank you for being here on a Friday night. I’m curious with your background, what would you typically be doing on a Friday night (I imagine hanging out with Dr. Stickler and perhaps Dr. Andrew Huberman) talking about what you can create with the latest neuroscience research. Dr. Huberman advising you on your vision products, and Dr. Stickler, with a stack of tools for peak performance to investigate…is this what a typical Friday night would look like for you?
INTRO Q: Dr. Kelly, I watched your interview with Dave Asprey, because he’s been promoting your new Qualia product that we will be talking about today, all over the place, so I had to see what he asked you when he interviewed you (because he’s such a creative mind).  I loved how he asked you about why you called your company Neurohacker Collective! What a great question. Can you share the answer again for our audience, as it’s fitting for our podcast?
Q1: Can we start with the basics?  What is cellular senescence and can you explain it from the 2 angles-the Zombie explanation for the movie experts who tune into the podcast vs the gardener analogy?
1B: How do we know we have senescent cells? Is it like inflammation?
Q1C: We’ve talked about the concept of using exercise to prevent the shortening of telomeres on this podcast, but can you orient us with this idea and how it came into the evolution of aging?
Q2: Our podcast took a turn towards health and wellness during the pandemic and we picked 5 health staples to dive deep into. You can see a couple of people from your organization that we’ve had on the podcast and many others we quote. Can you look at the list I’ve chosen, and tell me what I’m missing if we were to compare them to the "Hallmarks of Aging?" that you’ve uncovered?
Q3: What’s the difference between cellular senescence and autophagy (with a quick review of 9th grade science/mitosis here) and what we should expect healthy cells to do in our body vs the ones that give us trouble?
Q4: What are some places where senescent cells take hold in the body?
What about the science that supports senolytics from Mayo Clinic and Scripps Institute? What should we know?
How do senolytics work?
Q5: Andrea’s vitamin story-I’ve got to also ask about the difference between taking vitamins that remove free radicals. It’s not easy to see what’s going on in the body. How would this be similar/different?
Q6: What’s the correct way to dose senolytics?  I loved that Dave Asprey was looking for a way to bio-hack what you’ve invented and perhaps take senolytics once a decade of something. Will this ever be a possibility?
Q7:  I’ve got to give a huge shout out to Tina Gammon, on your Marketing Team, as she made sure I was sent all 3 of your Qualia Senolytics (for Vision, Night and Mind). I tried the NIGHT one for optimized sleep, and now I’m someone who measures everything and sleep is one of my weakest links, but I had the craziest, most vivid dreams and definitely felt recharged when I woke up. I took the MIND one before my day began, and I’m someone who also logs my levels of CLARITY on a weekly basis (Brendon Burchard would like this done daily) but I did notice an usual surge of clarity.
Is this something you’ve heard of before? Is it usual to notice something like I did the VERY next day? What do most people notice?
What about the VISION one? Did you consult with Dr. Huberman with his expertise here on Ophthalmology? I wear contacts and am finally ready for laser eye surgery…should I hold off on using this one till I finish messing around with my eyesight?
Q8: What makes Qualia Senolytic a groundbreaking supplement in the longevity space?
Q9: As we wrap up and close out this episode, what’s one thing that you hope our listeners will take away from this episode on your work over the years, senolytic cells, Neurohacker Collective, and what we can do to optimize our health and longevity at the cellular level?
Thank you, Dr. Kelly, for coming on the podcast. I was so excited to meet you, dive deeper into this topic and think about how I’m going to implement this ground-breaking product into my day.  For people who want to try your Qualia Senolytics, I was thrilled to see that your team created an affiliate link and coupon code for our audience: 
 
CLICK ON THE LINK IF YOU WOULD LIKE TO TRY QUALIA SENOLYTICS
https://neurohacker.com/shop/qualia-senolytic?rfsn=7305328.843217Code: NEUROSCIENCE (good for 15% off purchase).
Is there one product that you recommend plain Qualia Senolytic vs the specific versions I have for VISION, MIND and NIGHT?
Thank you again for your time on a Friday night.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
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RESOURCES:
Senolytics improve physical function and increase lifespan in old age Published July 9, 2018 by Ming Xu et al. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0092-9
X3 Bar by Jaquish https://www.jaquishbiomedical.com/
Studies on the Qualia Products https://neurohacker.com/studies
The Hallmarks of Aging by Carlos Lopez-Otin et al Published June 6, 2013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3836174/
The 12 Hallmarks of Aging Published Jan. 2023 by Carlos Lopez-Otin et al https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36599349/#:~:text=We%20propose%20the%20following%20twelve,exhaustion%2C%20altered%20intercellular%20communication%2C%20chronic
To stay young kill zombie cells Published Oct. 26, 2017 by Megan Scudellari https://www.nature.com/articles/550448a
Cell Fates- Division, Senescence and Death by Armando Hasudungan on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Egy--doiBF0
Telomeres and Cell Senescence Khan Academy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5YiO6rKr-w (Phenomenal Explanation)!
REFERENCES:
[i] Senolytics: The Latest Breakthrough in Aging and Longevity Science bu Nickl Bitz https://neurohacker.com/senolytics-the-latest-breakthrough-in-aging-and-longevity-science-an-interview-with-the-neurohacker-science-team
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #125 on Heart Rate Variability: Why It’s Important for Tracking Health, Recovery and Resilience  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-is-hrv-and-why-is-it-important-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience-with-andrea-samadi/
[iii] https://neurohacker.com/about
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #162 with Dr. Anna Lembke on “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/medical-director-of-addictive-medicine-at-stanford-university-dr-anna-lembke-on-dopamine-nation-finding-balance-in-the-age-of-indulgence/
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #96 with Dr. Stickler on Expanding Awareness for Limitless Peak Performance, Health, Longevity and Intelligence  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-daniel-stickler-on-expanding-awareness-for-limitless-peak-performance-health-longevity-and-intelligence/
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #93 with Dr. Momo Vuyisich on Improving the Health of Your Microbiome Preventing and Reversing Chronic Disease  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-momo-vuyisich-on-improving-the-health-of-your-microbiome-preventing-and-reversing-chronic-disease/
[vii] Neurohacker Collective https://neurohacker.com/
[viii]Shape Shift: The Shape Intelligence Solution by Dr. Gregory Kelly   https://www.amazon.com/Shape-Shift-Intelligence-Solution-ebook/dp/B0711S1JSC
 

Jim Houliston on ”The Benefits of MMD: Mirror Movement Development”

“MMD (or mirror movement development) is the missing pillar of longevity along side nutrition and exercise”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/g03RUDCz7kk
On this episode #284 we will cover:
✔︎ What is Mirror Movement Development (MMD)
✔︎  How does MMD improve body realignment, spatial awareness, balance and peak performance?
✔︎  Famous people who have embraced dual-dominance.
✔︎ How to begin using this practice for improved resilience, body re-alignment, health and brain benefits.
Today’s episode #284, we will be speaking with Jim Houliston, a Philadelphia-based, dual dominant artist, athlete, educator, and author of the world’s first biscriptal book—BIG3MMD: History’s Ambidextrous and the Benefits of Mirror Movement Development.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results. I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity.
When Jim first reached out to me, he let me know about the neurological, longevity, body realignment, spatial awareness, balance, and peak performance benefits that come from practicing mirror movement development (MMD) and I stopped and wondered what is MMD and was intrigued to learn more. I don’t know anything about this topic, but after years of working out (mostly hiking and trail running) I have certain aches and pains that never go away. I also want to keep the high level of balance that I have now, into the next 20 years, so I can keep doing the activities I love, as I’m getting older.
I wonder:
How does what Jim has discovered improve body realignment, spatial awareness, balance and peak performance?
How could I implement this idea?
How soon would I notice a benefit?
How exactly did he discover this idea?
Let’s meet Jim Houliston, and learn about MMD and how this idea that he has discovered could take our productivity to new heights.
Welcome Jim! Thanks so much for coming on the podcast.  This is a FIRST for me today as I know absolutely nothing about what you will be sharing with us today, so I hope as we go through the questions that we can tie your work with our Season Theme of “Going Back to the Basics” or the Foundational Skills in order to accelerate our results.
1. For our listeners right now they very well could be hearing about MMD (Mirror Movement Development) for the first time, what is MMD?
2. What is the layman's Science behind MMD and how you discovered this?
2B: Why don’t most people practice this, and why does it feel so weird?
2C: How do you begin practicing MMD?
3. What are some of the Benefits of MMD, specifically, how does this practice impact your brain, and what specific region of your brain have you seen improvements with?
4. You list a bunch of famous MMD practitioners in your book, who are some of your favorites and why?
4B: How did you come up with this concept?
5. What criticism have your received?
6. Where do you see this going? What are your dreams with promoting MMD?
7. Final Thoughts?
Thank you Jim for coming on the podcast to open my eyes to something I’ve never even thought about.
CONNECT WITH JIM HOULISTON
Website https://ambilife.org/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/jim.houliston
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/urban_rail_walker/
Short Video on Mirror Movement Development  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b0KuqI4VvY
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
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Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
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Aaron Golub, The First Legally Blind College Football Player on ”Deciding to Succeed”

Our next guest became the first legally blind D1 athlete to play in a game when he played football at Tulane University. He was named team captain and went on to become an NFL free agent. Now he helps organizations and teams create leadership strategies that overcome adversity through speeches, workshops, and strategic partnerships. 
Watch this inspiring interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/sPFQCn3VvJw
On today’s Episode #283 we will cover
✔  How Aaron Golub became the first legally blind D1 athlete to play in a game when he played football at Tulane University.
✔  The key take-aways from Aaron's TEDx, on “Finding Diamonds with Your Disadvantages” that led him to uncovering his true potential.
✔ When Aaron knew he needed to step up and do a bit more than the person next to him, to reach those higher levels of success.
✔ The actions Aaron took with football, that have now transferred into his personal and business life.
✔ How you can reach Aaron to speak or work with your organization.
I am honored to have this chance to speak with someone who has learned many of the concepts we talk about on the podcast, like building a vision, and carving out a happy, fulfilled life, all without the use of his eye-sight.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is to our everyday life and results using the most current brain research. If there’s a tool, strategy or resource that I find, that could be helpful to improve productivity and results, whether we are a teacher in the classroom, a coach or in the modern workplace, I will share it here.
He started his journey as a speaker in high school. Aaron was asked to go on Good Morning America when he committed to play football at Tulane, he knew immediately that he had a message that would impact millions. This experience threw him in the deep end at 17 years old. Since then he has traveled the world sharing his message.
Aaron leaves organizations and teams with both strategies to create true change but also with impactful insights that will allow them to rethink their past beliefs. Aaron is never one and done, he is there by your side to help you implement and act accordingly. 
He works in a speaking, workshop, and consulting manor. Whether you want Aaron to come in for a keynote, breakout sessions, day-long workshop, or longer-term consulting, he has a structure for all.
Aaron’s biggest accomplishment and what he is most proud of is when he was named a team captain of the Tulane Football Team and went on to become an NFL free agent.
Successful organizations and companies like Pinterest, Deloitte, PlayFly Sports, Evolution Mining, and many other events and teams invest in him regularly.
He has appeared on Good Morning America, as well has been in CBS, NBC, Sports Illustrated, The New York Times, Entrepreneur, NPR and many others.
When I first came across Aaron’s work, I think it was by accident, as I might have been on an email list for the work that he does. It didn’t take me a minute to read what he’s accomplished in his life to write back to him that I was hoping I could have him on our podcast.
Then I listened to his TEDx, on “Finding Diamonds with Your Disadvantages” and saw that this young man was LIVING many of the practices and principles that we write about on this podcast. He even quoted the quote I opened the last episode with that “we must be willing to do things that others aren't willing to do.” We set up a call to speak, so I could learn more about him, and see if he would be open to sharing his story for those who tune into our show, to see how he’s been able to overcome adversity, how he did it, and what would could learn from his life’s story.
I also want to let listeners know that if they find Aaron’s message as unique and helpful as I have, that I’ll include his website, so you can reach out to him, to see if Aaron could work directly with your team or organization. He’s nothing short of amazing: inspirational, motivational and creative and innovative.
Let’s meet Aaron Golub, and see what we can learn about overcoming adversity in our daily life.
Welcome Aaron, thank you for coming on the podcast and sharing your unique and inspiring life story with us.
To start off with, I think it’s true that in life there are no such thing as accidents. I think you agree with me on this one after I listened to you speak. Your TEDx is about finding diamonds with your disadvantages. I thought about this for some time this morning while hiking…
I do think that your story (that’s already reached millions) is one that should be heard by as many people as possible, so thank you again for coming on the podcast and spending some time with me here.
Q1: I saw something you posted on Twitter as I was looking to learn more about you, and you have a post there that outlines your story and you say “growing up I wasn’t athletic or confident.” Can you start with what life was like?
Q1B: What is long-snapping and how did you play football without full eye-sight?
Q2: At what point had you had enough of the challenges you face? How did you get to the point where you learned to see the diamonds where most people could only see the disadvantages? I know this took time…
Q3: Life is difficult for all of us. Most people run into some sort of huge life challenge at some point. You’ve learned specific strategies for overcoming adversity. Can you share what they were?
Q3B: Where did your courage or sense of self come from?
Q4: So as you began playing football in high school, trying to find your place, what was that like, and when did you notice that you still needed something else that would come from you to reach higher levels of success with your sport?
Q5: I thought your strategy of cold calling EVERY college coach in the country was brilliant. Probably because I’ve spent years in sales, and no one likes cold calling, but it’s another difficult task that takes you to places where the diamonds are, where most others will give up. I want to know how you did this? Did you just get a list of D1 schools, and then look up the coaches and then call them? What did you say?
Q6. When did you learn to stop looking at challenges through the eyes of being a victim, and that the world is out to get you, and start thinking that things in life happen for you, not to you?
Q6B: You definitely didn’t just rise to the top without having to face more adversity and challenge, right? You were ranked as one of the top players in MA, and then what happened?
Q7: So now you’ve found the team that’s the best fit for you, and you had an overturn with the coaching staff and you had to do something else that most people wouldn’t want to do. You had to have that difficult conversation of “are you going to give me a shot?” How did that conversation go?
Q8: Was there a time when things shifted and it was almost like you looked back and things became easier for you? The challenges that you face on a daily basis just seem like things you can handle?
Q9: At what point did you start going into companies and organizations to help others overcome adversity and challenge?
Q10: What’s a message you want people to take away from today?
Q11: If someone hears this, and would like to contact you to work with their organization, what’s the best way?
FOLLLOW AARON GOLUB
Website https://aarongolub.com/
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCchzgREz-wfcjD0gmwkuTEQ
Twitter https://twitter.com/aaronjgolub?utm_source=hoobe&utm_medium=social
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/aaron-golub-33b22aa8/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/aaronjgolub/?hl=en
Aaron’s TEDx “A Diamond in Your Disadvantages” April 4, 2022 https://www.google.com/search?q=aaron+golub&oq=aaron+golub&aqs=chrome..69i57j46i13i512j0i13i512l2j46i13i512j0i13i512j0i22i30l4.2349j0j15&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:dc6399b3,vid:o75LnVDXayc
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 

Gabrielle Usatynski on ”How to Use Jaak Panksepp’s 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Relationships, Family, Career and Life”

“Each emotional system is hierarchically arranged throughout much of the brain, interacting with more evolved cognitive structures in the higher reaches, and specific physiological and motor outputs at lower levels.” Jaak Panksepp
Watch our interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/siJ1FUeUD40
On today’s Episode #282 we will cover
✔ How Gabrielle Usatynski's NEW book The Power Couple Formula, Applies Jaak Panksepp's 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Relationships, Family, Career and Life.
✔ What We Should All Know About The Attachment Theory.
✔ A Deep Dive into Each of the 7 Core Emotions and How They Map in the Brain.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is to our everyday life and results using the most current brain research. If there’s a tool, strategy or resource that I find, that could be helpful to improve productivity and results, whether we are a teacher in the classroom, a coach or in the modern workplace, I will share it here.
On today’s episode #282, we will be speaking with an important guest, who reached out to me shortly after we released EPISODE #270 with Lucy Biven[i] who co-authored The Archeology of Mind, with Jaak Panksepp.  She let me know she was a couple’s therapist, educator and an author, with a new book coming out next month and was amazed to see our episode with Lucy Biven, as she cites The Archeology of Mind on nearly every page of her new book, The Power Couple Formula: Unlock the Power of Your Instincts and Transform Your Relationship. She even mentioned that a colleague of Dr. Panksepp, Dr. Doug Watt, was currently reviewing her manuscript to offer his guidance on the subject.
When this email came through, I was taking a short break from interviews, gathering my bearings with a tight schedule, but when I saw this email, I knew I had to learn more about our next guest, Gabrielle Usatynski, and her new book, the Power Couple Formula.
We met briefly to chat, and I’ve got to say that we could have recorded that conversation. She spoke eloquently about her background as a therapist, and the history of our emotions. I couldn’t take notes fast enough, but saw that not only does Gabrielle understand Jaak Panksepp’s work (that many find to be difficult) but she could explain it in a way that made sense to me, with examples of how to each of the core emotions.
A bit about Gabrielle:
BIO:
Gabrielle Usatynski, MA LPC is the founder and director of Power Couples Education. An internationally renowned therapist, speaker and educator, she is the author of the forthcoming book, The Power Couple Formula, scheduled for release this year. She is the originator of ground-breaking online programs that help couples build relationships based on safety and trust and offers professional training programs for therapists in the Power Couple Method. 
Her work is regularly featured in such publications as CNN, USA Today, Cosmopolitan, Parents Magazine, Counseling Today, and Women’s Health. 
For over a decade, Gabrielle has helped thousands of couples. Her clinical work has earned her numerous awards, including: the USA Prestige Award for Couples Counseling Service of the Year, the Best of Boulder Award for Couple and Marriage Counseling, and the Top 10 Best Marriage Counselors of Boulder, CO Award.
Gabrielle is a graduate of McGill University and also specializes in the treatment of traumatized children and their families.
So today, we will meet Gabrielle Usatynski, and learn how Jaak Panksepp’s work plays out in our most personal relationships, with tools that we can all use and apply right away.
Welcome Gabrielle, it’s incredible to see you again. Thank you for coming on the podcast to share your knowledge on what many of us would consider a topic that’s not the easiest to explain because most of us are still trying to understand this topic of our emotions and how they play out in our lives, specifically with our relationships. Thank you for being here.
You know I was thrilled to meet you as I just love learning, and making connections, especially when the topic is challenging, or makes you think a bit.
INTRO Q: I wanted to ask you first, before diving into your new book, The Power Couple Formula,  Why did you write this book, and why did you focus on the work of Dr. Panksepp?"
Q1: I put an image in the show notes of the 7 CORE emotions. Can you explain this chart I put in the show notes, and what Dr. Panksepp discovered about these emotions, that you found to be so important?
Q1B: What did Dr. Panksepp discover about where our emotions reside in the brain?
Q2: Can you orient us to what therapists were taught about our emotions, The Attachment Theory, and how important it is to completely deactivate this system in intimate relationships?
2B: Why should we understand Attachment Theory, and where does Affective Neuroscience come into this understanding?
Q3: How do we use your book as a map, with tools and resource to help us personally, with our family, career, or even with the work we are doing in the world?
When I first saw these 7 core emotions, I actually printed them and put them on my desk to see if I could notice them in my life. In the neuroscience certification course I took, we spent a lot of time on the PLAY system (especially as it relates to learning and our schools) but I wonder if we could take a look at your book, and go through 4 of the 7 action systems? Of course, I’d love to cover them all, but I picked the ones that stuck out to what I would think our listeners would like to dive deeper into.
Q4: I know that the PANIC/GRIEF system is important, especially as you’ve cited Dr. Bruce Perry who we had on the podcast. What are the impacts of early bonding on our physical and mental health?
Q5: What are some tools that could help de-activate panic/grief/rage in our relationships to avoid the conflict that goes along with it?
Q5B: As I was reading through the book, I saw that you have strategies to help ALL of the attachment styles. Wouldn’t it help people to know this BEFORE they marry someone so you can kind of guess how things would pan out during conflict?
Q6: To close out, is there anything important that we haven’t talked about, knowing that we didn’t cover all the core emotions, but to encourage people to read your book, and learn the strategies for ALL of the systems. What have we missed here?
Gabrielle, I want to thank you for coming on the podcast and sharing your new book with us. For people who want to learn more about you and your book, is the best place your website? https://powercoupleseducation.com
Final Thoughts
We opened up this episode with a quote from Dr. Panksepp that said “each emotional system is hierarchically arranged throughout much of the brain, and I think the image I put in the show notes and our YouTube interview clearly shows these 7 core emotions (or our 7 basic needs) that are hard-wired deep within our brain stem, bringing Dr. Panksepp’s quote to life in a way that we can now visualize these core emotions within the deepest, oldest part of our brain.
When I first began to study Dr. Panksepp’s work, I printed these core emotions and put them on my desk, for me to glance at throughout my day, and I wondered how they were showing up for me on a day to day basis. As I’m reflecting on Gabrielle’s book, and our interview, I’m doing so from how I think these core emotions have shown up in my daily life, and for you, it will be different, but I’m hoping that at least I’ve started the ball rolling to have us ALL think about how to take our understanding of ourselves to a deeper level, using Dr. Panksepp’s Core Emotions and Gabrielle’s book, as a map. Gabrielle was very thorough with her research that you will see within each chapter.
I can now see how these 7 core emotions interact with the “more evolved cognitive structures in the higher reaches” of my brain, and this understanding can now help me to see how each emotion I’m feeling, (that’s generated way deep down in the oldest part of my brain) and shows up behind the actions I’m taking. You’ll get a deeper understanding of why you feel a certain way, and why you do the things you do, with this book.
You’ll also get to look at why others close to you, do the things they do, as you begin to match Bowlby and Ainsworth’s Attachment Theory to your most intimate relationships.
What did I notice with each action system?
SEEKING, RAGE/Anger, FEAR, LUST, CARE, PANIC/Sadness, and PLAY.
Seeking: This core emotion is evident with my need to connect with others around the world and this need is about getting more out of life with continual research and learning. While I can’t jump on an airplane and travel to Australia, India, Sweden or South African (at least not this week), and have conversations with curious minds like myself, I can write and release podcast episodes that travel around the world, to you, on my behalf.  This kind of helps with this action system and keeps me working, and researching.
I also need to seek others to learn from, and when the research becomes difficult, I can remember what Dr. Zadina[ii] said on our recent episode, where she would find articles that she was interested in first (seeking) and then read them over and over again, gaining more understanding each time.
When you read Ch. 5 in Gabrielle’s book, you can learn how secure seeking develops in relationships, so that you can support your partner with ways that each of you can continue to expand, learn and grow together.
That’s what I learned about the how I interact with the seeking system. What about you? Where do you notice this core emotion of SEEKING plays out in your life?
Rage/Anger: Some people I’ve noticed get angry easily, for different things. My oldest daughter doesn’t like injustice, I don’t like disorder, but the key is to notice what makes this emotion come out in you, and know it’s hard-wired deep in our brain stem, so that when this emotion sets you off, that you find a strategy to help create more space between the stimulus (the thing that you didn’t like) you’re your response to it. I’ve noticed that meditation has helped me be less reactive here. 
Chapter 7 of Gabrielle’s book covers the fear system, and Chapter 8 covers the Rage system, and she reminded us in our interview that we want to work towards NOT triggering rage and fear in our relationships. These are both good chapters to review for all of her tools and strategies for de-activating rage.
What about you? Where have you noticed rage/anger come up in your life? Do you have a strategy to bring you some understanding that can help you to de-activate this emotion?
Fear:  This emotion is a powerful one to look at. Have you ever thought of your deepest, innermost fears? I remember a program I did years ago, that asked us to look at what we were afraid of, and that to “know our fears” would help us to overcome them, or at least help us to move towards the idea of having “no fear.” I know exactly what I’m afraid of, and it’s there right in front of me daily, and I side-step around it most days, but I see it, whether it’s out of the corner of my eye, or I’m staring directly at it.
Now this isn’t even going into subconscious fears and traumas like Dr. Bruce Perry’s work, this is just looking at what we are consciously aware we are afraid of.
What about you? Have you ever looked at this for yourself? Do you “know” your fears?
I think once we can identify them, then life just becomes easier. There’s no mystery with these fears. I don’t talk about what I’m afraid of, giving them more energy, but I know exactly what they are, and just knowing this, makes me feel that I’m more powerful than these fears. I can step around them, sometimes jump over them, when they come up, not letting them ever stop me from doing the things I want to do in life.
Who doesn’t want to be FEARLESS?
Taylor Swift says it nicely.
Lust: I’m not going to leave this one out, since everyone wants to talk about sex, and it is an important part of our most intimate relationships. Gabrielle covers this topic in Chapter 9 and 10 of her book, and when I was reading these chapters I was actually dying laughing because she made a comparison with sex, to a sport that will identify her as a Canadian. I’m not going to tell you the sport, but you’ll have to read the book to see how she made this comparison. She does say that most problems within relationships are a lack of the care system, they are not sexual.
When reading this chapter, I thought about how right she was that we have to have trust first here, and of the importance of repairing our relationships quickly and often so we don’t trigger the rage, fear of panic/grief circuit.
We’ve covered The Speed of Trust[iii] on past episodes with Stephen Covey who says that “trust is the glue to life” and “the one thing that affects everything else you’re doing.” Gabrielle mentioned that this system requires CARE that she outlines as commitment, availability, relief and empathy.
While we all know this core emotion is important, I wonder what Dr. Panksepp would say about other ways we can use this energy? If he were here, I’d ask him about Napoleon Hill’s Chapter on Sex Transmutation that we covered on EPISODE 195[iv] where Napoleon Hill, in his famous book, Think and Grow Rich, talks about how this powerful force can be “transmuted or transferred from one form of energy to another” which is a way of using this force to reach higher levels of achievement.
Care: Gabrielle covers this core emotion in Chapter 4 of her book, explaining why caring feels so good with the release of oxytocin, the bonding hormone and that “when you administer oxytocin to couples, they make more eye contact, are more self-disclosing, validate each other’s feelings more, and show a significant decrease in criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling, Gottman’s four behaviors that predict divorce.” (page 81, The Power Couple Formula).
Looking at this system makes me think about how care existed in my household growing up. Not that I didn’t feel loved, but this system was definitely turned down, as affections weren’t openly discussed or shown, so it’s interesting to see that I want this system dialed up now that I’m raising my own children, and interacting with my husband, and this one is a work in progress for me.  The key to understanding these core emotions is to think about how they show up in our life, gain a deeper level of self-awareness, and then find tools and strategies to improve how we show up in our relationships. This is exactly what Gabrielle wrote her book to accomplish.
How does the core emotion of care show up for you?
Are you able to easily show those close to you, who you love, that you care about them?
If this doesn’t come naturally to you, do you have a strategy in place to dial this emotion up?
Panic/grief/response: Gabrielle covered this system thoroughly on our interview, explaining how it goes off when we are separated from those we love, or care about.
While she does suggest that in our close relationships we should always work on NOT triggering RAGE, FEAR or PANIC/GRIEF by being mindful of what sets these systems off in others, and working on keeping them in the OFF position.
But knowing your attachment style (and your partners’) helps here if you ever are faced with PANIC/GRIEF as it will shape the experiences you will have. Gabrielle covers extensively how each attachment style deals with PANIC/GRIEF.
Do you know how YOU respond to PANIC/GRIEF in your relationships? If you are securely attached, this system rarely goes off. If you are anxiously attached, “you will worry that someone won’t be there for you consistently.” (page 36, The Power Couple). If you are avoidant, you will “have lost touch with unmet needs for connection and security.” (page 36, The Power Couple). Your attachment style will help you to understand yourself better, how quickly you will be able to recover from a breakup or even your ability to be apart from your partner without feeling panic.
Play: This is the emotion I spent the most time learning about when I was first introduced to Dr. Panksepp’s work. Mark Robert Waldman who I took a neuroscience certification course with would have us thinking daily about how we would incorporate play with our work, to make it more enjoyable. When it comes to making neuroscience fun, this core emotion is vital. Or for students in the classroom in our schools, how can we make learning more fun?
My family tells me all the time “you are so serious, lighten up a bit” and I really do try, but I’m also the one who makes sure homework is completed each night, and day to day life stays on track, so I leave this part to others who are better at it than I am.
But who doesn’t want to have more fun every day? I’ve been playing around on the podcast, and working on having fun with interviews, but I’m not the type who will suddenly tell you a joke or something, or break out a fancy wrestling move with my kids which is what science would call “rough and tumble play” that Gabrielle says “reflects millions of years of evolution.” I’ve got some work here to add more fun into my day.
What about you?
Do you have fun with your work?
Do you think that play is only for children?
Do you think that animals play?
Gabrielle covers this core emotion in Chapter 11 with Five Ways We Can Add Play into Our Relationships. The part I loved the most about this chapter, is that Gabrielle left this core emotion till the end of the book on purpose. Life is full of pressure and stresses and play only works “when its initiated in the absence of acute or chronic stress” (Page 295, The Power Couple Formula).
This is good to think about, as it’s important to be mindful of the stress levels of those around you.
Lucy Biven, co-author of The Archeology of Mind weighs in on the quote I posted at the beginning of this episode.  Before releasing this, I wondered if I had a solid grasp of the quote I chose to open up this episode with, so I emailed Lucy Biven, who we interviewed on EPISODE #270 at the start of this year. Here’s as close to Dr. Panksepp as I could get to be sure we’ve got a handle of his 7 core emotions. She wrote:
“As for the quote - The hierarchy that Jaak wrote about was basically from bottom to top of the brain (brainstem to cortex).   The hub of all 7 emotional systems is situated in the upper brainstem and in Jaak's view, emotional arousal always generates affective consciousness (emotional feelings).  The hierarchy lies in the fact that without emotional arousal/affective consciousness, no consciousness is possible.  So the upper brainstem is most important in generating consciousness - it is top of the hierarchy. How do we know that the brainstem is all-important?  Tiny lesions so parts of the upper brainstem, specifically the parabrachial nuclei and the periaqueductal gray obliterate consciousness while quite large cortical lesions obliterate components of consciousness (sight, hearing, memory) but not consciousness itself. If my visual cortex were damaged, I would be blind, but I would know who I am, I would know who you are and I would understand my relationship with my children and grandchildren and I would retain everything that I know about neuroscience.  In short, nothing else would change.  But if I had a bad stroke in my upper brainstem, I would become comatose and vegetative.  Everything would be lost.  
The idea about the hierarchy from emotion to cognition is this:  Emotions evolved in order to solve life problems.  Some emotional responses are instinctive - for example, when frightened we freeze and might be overlooked by a predator.  Others we learn, for example we discover from experience where the predator frequents and we avoid those places.  Since emotional arousal is a precondition for cognition, we think about things that arouse our emotions.  For example, if I am smart enough, I might set a trap for the predatory animal, thereby solving my problem for good.  So cognition expands and refines emotional problem solving.    That is the emotion/cognition hierarchy. 
Jaak posited that in the emotion/motor hierarchy, emotions are primary because emotions are inherently linked to motor responses.  I am not sure that he expanded on this beyond the observation that electrical (or pharmacological) arousal of emotional systems generates motor responses, like FEAR resulting in freezing or running away (depending on the strength of stimulation.  
And with that, I’ll close out this episode on “How to Use Jaak Panksepp’s 7 Core Emotions to Transform Your Relationships, Family, Career and Life” and hope you found this deep dive into Gabrielle’s Power Couple Formula book to be as useful as I have.
I hope that if you print the list of the 7 core emotions, and put them in front of you, while you are working, that you can begin to think about how these emotions show up in your life day to day, and how you can use this understanding to develop stronger, more resilient relationships at home, with your family and in the workplace.”
Have a Happy Easter Weekend, and I’ll see you next week.
CONNECT with GABRIELLE
Gabrielle Usatynski, MA LPC
303-859-1825
https://powercoupleseducation.com
https://powercouplescounseling.com
Gabrielle's new book, The Power Couple Formula! 
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
 RESOURCES:
Attachment Theory: Bowlby and Ainsworth’s Theory Explained By Saul Mcleod, Ph.D. Feb. 8, 2023 https://simplypsychology.org/attachment.html
The 4 Attachment Styles in Your Relationships and How to find Yours by Kelly Gonslaves March 10, 2023  https://www.mindbodygreen.com/articles/attachment-theory-and-the-4-attachment-styles
The Gottman Institute https://www.gottman.com/
The Four Horseman that can predict the end of a relationship https://www.gottman.com/blog/the-four-horsemen-recognizing-criticism-contempt-defensiveness-and-stonewalling/
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #270 with Lucy Biven https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/lucy-biven/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE  #280n wit Janet Zadina https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneering-neuroscientist-janet-zadina-reflects-on-her-journey-of-bridging-neuroscience-and-education/
[iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #207 on The Neuroscience of Trust  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-of-trust/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 on “Think and Grow Rich PART 5: The Mystery of Sex Transmutation  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
 

Psychologist Dr. Sean Sullivan, and Founder of OnePerfectShift.com on ”How to Shift to a Better State of Mind in 10 Minutes, Anytime”

A Gallup Research Poll Says:
 “Unhappiness spiked for a decade, costing over $2 Trillion annually”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/R8aAFFQeDKY
On today’s episode #281 with Dr. Sullivan will cover:
✔ How to SHIFT our mindset, in 10 minutes, anytime, with Dr. Sean Sullivan's NEW App www.oneperfect.com
✔  How Dr. Sullivan noticed a need for an app to forge a pathway to health and well-being for all of us.
✔  How Dr. Sullivan took his background as a clinical psychologist, and merged it with his work with the Father of Mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn.
✔ Why mental health is not only a part of overall health, it’s the most important part.
✔ How to achieve and maintain a high level of personal performance, happiness and fulfillment in our fast-paced modern world
✔ What we can each do to address the mental health challenges and opportunities we see globally, together
✔ He’ll guide us through shifting into our chosen state of mind on demand during our interview. I’m looking forward to this as prior to recording, I’ve got to say, I could use a mental shift.
✔ Discuss how ‘shifting’ can address mental health issues at scale.
✔ Share how anyone can accelerate a mental fitness revolution so we can all get back to feeling our best.
 
 
Today’s guest, Dr. Sean Sullivan, a licensed clinical psychologist and founder and CEO of OnePerfect[i], a mental health and wellness platform that delivers personalized mindset ’shifting’ experiences called Shifts.  I’m sure we all know of times when we could use a shift with our mental mindset, whether it’s to reclaim a day that’s gone off track, soothe some stress, boost motivation, or sleep, and shift into a productive mindset with more confidence, or purpose, or even shift our sleep. Dr. Sullivan began his formal psychology education at Harvard University and completed it with a psychology residency at the University of Texas Health Sciences Center and postdoctoral training based at the University of California, San Francisco. He has since been featured extensively in national and international publications including The New York Times, Forbes, and Huffington Post, to name a few.
Today Dr. Sean Sullivan will teach us how to shift into a better state of mind, anytime, with something he has developed to solve this Global Unhappiness Problem.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new listeners, I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. 
Let’s welcome Dr. Sean Sullivan, and see what we can do to build a future where we can manage our stress, and get the SHIFT we need, when we need it.
Welcome Dr. Sullivan! Thank you for coming on the podcast today.
INTRO Q: Dr. Sullivan, can you give us some of your background, and share what made you think up this idea for a tool that “shifts you to a better state of mind in under 10 minutes, anytime?”
Q1: We launched 2023 and our 9th season of the podcast with an episode that focuses on “Prioritizing our Mental Health in 2023”[ii] Why do you think that mental health is the most important part of our health?
Q1B: If you know that mental health issues run in your family, what do you think we should know?
Q1C: What did you develop and where did your vision for technology come into play?
Q1D: How can we recognize our past triggers, then shift, so we can be free of these blocks?
Q2: What is OnePerfect.com?
Q3: Guide us through shifting into our chosen state of mind on demand during the segment/podcast.
Q4: How important is self-regulation with the work you’ve been doing helping us to “shift quickly?”
Q5: What do you think about where mental health was 20 years ago, versus now? Are the advancements moving us forward, towards a healthier generation?
Q6: What’s your vision for mental and physical health over the next 10 years?
Q7:  Is there anything important I’ve missed?
Thank you very much Dr. Sullivan for coming on the podcast (that we will not release until April). Please do let me know the best call to action…
CONNECT AND FOLLOW DR. SULLIVAN
Website  https://www.oneperfectshift.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/be_your_purpose
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/@TheMindMaster1
RESOURCES:
Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction vs Escitalopram (Lexipro) for the Treatment of Adults with Anxiety Disorders Published 2023 Elizabeth A Hoge, MD, Ph.D, Mihriye Mete Ph.D, et al.  https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamapsychiatry/article-abstract/2798510
What is Attachment Theory: The Importance of Early Emotional Bonds by Kendra Cherry Feb. 22, 2023 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-attachment-theory-2795337
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] https://oneperfect.com/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #268 on “Prioritizing Mental Health in 2023”
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-prioritizing-mental-health-in-2023-improving-self-awareness-and-resilience/
 

Pioneering Neuroscientist Janet Zadina Reflects on Her Journey of ”Bridging Neuroscience and Education”

For today’s EPISODE #280, we will be speaking with a pioneer in the field of educational neuroscience. The book she wrote, Multiple Pathways to the Student Brain covers the years of work she spent speaking to teachers all over the world about how the brain learns and what this means in the classroom. At the time she graduated, she was the ONLY person, so far as she knew, using the term educational neuroscience.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/mU6eGZi6Rng 
On today’s Episode #280 we will cover
✔ How Andrea was referred to study Janet Zadina's work back in 2014.
✔ The Impact of Dr. Zadina's Significant Contribution in Academics and Education Over the Years. 
✔Janet Zadina's Arduous Pathway Bridging Education and the Brain since the 1980s.
✔ How Dr. Zadina Saw How Neuroimaging Could Help Change the Way We Teach Our Future Generations. 
✔ Janet Zadina's Thoughts on Where Educational Neuroscience Began, and Where It's Going.
✔ Tools and Resources for Educators on her website www.brainresearch.us 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use for immediate results, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is to our everyday life and results, using the most current brain research. If there’s a tool, strategy or resource that I find, that could be helpful to improve productivity and results, whether we are a teacher in the classroom, a coach or in the modern workplace, I will share it here.
On today’s episode #280 we will be speaking with someone I was referred to back in 2014, from Jeff Kleck, from EP #246[i]. He was the educator who handed me a bunch of books off his book shelf and urged me to move in the direction of educational neuroscience, to make a bigger impact with my work. He didn’t give me our next guest’s book, (so I figured it must be important to him) but he told me to write down “Dr. Janet Zadina[ii]” and study her.
Now, I don’t ignore anything someone tells me to do, especially if there is learning involved, so I wrote down Dr. Zadina’s name, and immediately followed her work back in 2014. I had no idea at the time that Dr. Zadina was one of THE leaders, spearheading educational neuroscience in the country, before it was even called this, and now fast forward to last September, when Jeff Kleck and I finished our interview, he asked me “Did you ever interview Dr. Janet Zadina?” I just looked at him thinking “How did I miss that?” remembering it was important.
I remembered standing in his office, holding a bunch of books he asked me to read, and then we went to his computer and he pulled up all the FREE resources and most up to date research on Janet Zadina’s website[iii] that he told me to review. It was Dr. Zadina’s work that helped me to begin in this field of educational neuroscience, making the connections to the brain and learning. Today’s guest, Dr. Janet Zadina, we will soon discover, a former high school and college teacher and cognitive neuroscientist whose background, expertise, energy, and humor all took her to international acclaim.
Before we meet Dr. Zadina, I want to share a bit about how she is changing lives with science and strategies.
​She’s been said to be "Powerful!"  "Engaging!"  "Innovative!"  "Life Changing!" These are just a few of the words audiences use to describe concepts and presentations by Janet Zadina, Ph.D. who is known for her extraordinary ability to inform, educate, and empower audiences with the scholarly and credible brain research.
She has made such an impact on the academic and education communities that Society for Neuroscience honored her with the prestigious 2011 Science Educator Award. This recognition solidified her reputation as an educator of high credentials making significant contributions to public education and raising awareness of critical issues in the field of educational neuroscience. Through her impactful, powerful, and entertaining presentations and transformational workshops, Dr. Zadina is changing the way teachers, students, and even business professionals understand and utilize the brain.
She’s determined to tear down brain myths and build up lives stemming from her personal experiences with students with dyslexia and their learning struggles. When she learned that a new “window” into the brain was possible with neuroimaging, she knew she had to go back to school and learn neuroscience. She earned a Ph.D. in Education while conducting MRI research on neurodevelopmental language disorders at Tulane Medical School, where she then completed a postdoctoral fellowship in cognitive neuroscience.
She’s the founder and CEO of Brain Research and Instruction, has been honored as a Distinguished Fellow in the Council of Learning Assistance and Developmental Education Associations (CLADEA), among other honors. She is the author of reading and learning textbooks for students as well as professional development books for teachers, including Multiple Pathways to the Student Brain[iv].
I’ve waited a very long time to have this chance to speak with Dr. Zadina. With patience, I knew we would meet someday. I hope you enjoy meeting her, as much as I know I will.
Welcome Dr. Janet Zadina! I can’t believe it was almost 10 years ago that an educator who found your work, passed it onto me and without even knowing it, you sparked something to help me get to where I am today with educational neuroscience at the heart of everything I think about, and do. Isn’t that crazy to think of the impact you’ve had on others around the world?
Where have we reached you today? Are you in New Orleans?
INTRO: Before we get to your questions, I just wonder how many people do you run into who share stories like I did with you, about how learning from you ignited something in them somehow?
If we connect the dot looking backwards in your life, we all have people and experiences that shift our direction in some way. I wonder who crossed your path that took you on this pathway to becoming a neuroscientist? What was the defining moment?
Spear heading anything new is never easy but I’ve heard some horror stories from past guests who really struggled when they begin in this field. As a pioneer in educational neuroscience, I wonder, what were some of the biggest challenges that you faced?
Why did you make the switch from doing MRI research in the lab to actually speaking to educators?
So now we are all well into the digital age, and most of the books I read are on my phone, in my Kindle reader, but I’ve got a select few books that sit on the corner of my desk for me to reflect back to when I need some ideas or inspiration. What should we know about reading books digitally versus actually holding a print edition that we can highlight and refer back to often?
There were a many important AHA moments within the chapters of your book Multiple Pathways to the Student Brain but the first passage that stuck out to me was “this books stems from my decade of speaking to teachers….at the time I graduated, I was the only person, so far as I knew, using the term educational neuroscience.” Looking back now, where is this discipline now, from where you saw it in those beginning days?
What was your “mission” when you began speaking about the brain and learning and writing your book? Was it that you wanted “to help teachers at all levels” to understand this information that they were craving to learn?
Do you have anything exciting coming up with your presentations?
When I first began learning about the brain, I found some of your early TED TALKS and presentations where I started to connect stress and the brain to its impact on our students’ learning in the classroom. What motivated you to transition to speaking primarily about the effects of anxiety, high stress, and trauma on the brain and learning? 
 
What is one take-away for teachers from your work on this topic? In other words, what might be one of the most important things they can do to help with their stress?
Do you offer educators any resources they can access other than presentations?  I’ll never forget Jeff Kleck showing me all the resources on your website.
Dr. Zadina, it’s been an honor to have you on the podcast today. I’ll be forever grateful that Jeff Kleck referred me to your work all those years ago, and then so happy that we were able to connect to make this interview happen. For people who want to learn more about you, is the best place your website? Thank you for the years of research. I know that many of us are only just scratching the surface with what we are capable of doing with this information.
Thank you so much Janet!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Dr. Zadina TEDx Enola Using the Brain to Energize School Reform Published on YouTube Feb. 1, 2012 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2lzjo5swMmE
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #246 with Jeff kleck on “Using Neuroscience to Inspire Thinkers in Schools, Sports and the  Workplace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
[ii] Dr. Janet Zadina http://www.brainresearch.us/
[iii] Most up to date research by Dr. Janet Zadina http://www.brainresearch.us/resources.html
[iv] Multiple Pathways to the Student Brain by Janet Nay Zadina http://www.brainresearch.us/order_MPBook.html
 

Lessons Learned After Hitting the 300,000 Unique Download Milestone: Thank You

“You must do what others won’t, commit and stay the course.” ― Bob Proctor
On today’s Episode #279 we will cover
✔ Top 6 Strategies Involved on Our End That Took Us to 300k Downloads of the Podcast.
✔ 6 Life-Changing Lessons I've Learned as a Byproduct of this Milestone.
✔ A Huge Thank You to ALL of You Who Listen to This Podcast! 
And for this special episode today, that I’m dedicating to YOU, the listener, I’ve got to add a quote that has stuck in my head for years that I heard in one of Bob Proctor’s first cassette training programs, called You Were Born Rich[i] that you can find today on Audible.com. It was from his colleague John Kanary who joined him on stage for the recording of this live seminar that was the FIRST seminar I listened to back in the late 1990s, when my life path crossed with the personal development and seminar industry. John Kanary said “Excellence is a commitment to completion” and I wrote that down, and with time, started to integrate this concept into my daily life by making a pact to always finish what I start.
I started thinking about excellence a bit before writing this episode, and how I always want to put forth my best effort with these podcast episodes, making sure they reflect my best work, with the hopes that the strategies outlined are as useful to you as they have been for me. I know I’ve mentioned this a few times, referencing Brendon Burchard whose version of excellence he calls “prolific quality output.”[ii]  Brendon, in his book, High Performance Habits says that “High performers have mastered the art of prolific quality output (PQO). They produce more high quality output than their peers over the long term, and that is how they become more effective, better known, more remembered. They aim their attention and consistent efforts toward PQO and minimize any distractions (including opportunities) that would steal them away from their craft” (Burchard, 2017). 
I could reflect on this for a whole month and see something new, useful and important with this idea.
This led me next to civilian astronaut and extreme adventurer, Nik Halik who we featured on an early interview #31[iii] who said:
Who doesn’t want to “personify excellence” on a daily basis? Who doesn’t want to produce more high quality work over the long-term? I’m sure we can all agree that’s why we keep studying, learning and looking to build a stronger, more resilient and improved version of ourselves who is truly capable of consistently producing high quality, excellent work.
But the late John Wooden, an American College Basketball coach and player said it best. He said:
With that thought, I want to welcome you back to a special episode of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use immediately, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is, for our everyday life and results.
For today’s episode #279, I want to take a break from our usual Brain Fact Fridays to pause a minute, and reflect back on where we are in this process, and where we are going, after hitting a recent milestone in the podcasting world. As we are approaching our 4th year of the podcast, our 300th episode, (just 19 episodes away) and just hit the 300,000-download marker, I had to step back and take a deep breath to think about what this all means. I know it was Brendon Burchard who talks about the importance of “integrating your wins”[iv] or the important things that happen in your life, and while I remind others to do this all the time, with this milestone, I knew I wasn’t doing it myself. I was getting ready to write an episode on resilience, and have 5 interviews lined up in the next couple of weeks.
When good things happen to you, Brendon reminds us “be sure you integrate those important moments into your heart and life” because this practice will change your identity. He says this is important for people in pursuit of meaningful goals, who are committed to excellence along the way, and says that he sees it all the time with his high-level clients who are working hard over the years towards a specific goal, who have wins over the years, but maybe not the big win that they’ve got their eye on. To add meaning and fulfillment to their daily lives, he highly suggests integrating all of the important moments, at the heart level.
So off I went to think for a minute about what this recent milestone meant to me. How do I feel about this accomplishment? What have I learned from it? Who helped me to achieve it? While it “felt” cool and a bit mind-boggling to think 4 years later, I’m more passionate than ever about this podcast, but I’m now wondering why.
I listened to some other podcast hosts as they reflected back on hitting this milestone themselves, like The EntreMD Podcast[v], with Dr. Una, who shares entrepreneurship strategies for medical doctors. When she hit this milestone, it was right at her 250th episode, (not far from where we are) and this is enough to blow anyone’s mind because if you think about it, from the production side of things, it means that she repeated one action, over 200 times, successfully, that led her to hitting the 300K download marker, and helping millions of people along the way.
“Wow,” I thought, thinking of Dr. Una’s achievement, and then it hit me, “oh wow, that’s what we did” and for the first time, I began to integrate this feeling into my heart. Easy to tell others to do this, not as easy to actually do it myself.
So for today’s EPISODE, as I’m integrating this win into my heart, for a stronger more resilient 2.0 version of myself. Today I’d like to reflect back on how we did this, with the top lessons learned, to see if it can bring some insights into whatever it is you are working on.  Just the practice of stopping to integrate a win is a powerful activity to try.
How Did We Reach 300K Downloads of the Podcast? After listening to how Dr. Una did this with her EntreMD Podcast, I had to agree that some of her tips were important for us here as well.
WHAT STRATEGIES DID WE USE TO HIT THE 300K DOWNLOAD MILESTONE?
Know Your Mission: Which is your goal and how you plan to achieve it. If you look back over the 4 years, and our past episodes, you can see that we had a mission of connecting the most current neuroscience research, to those important social and emotional learning skills, to improve productivity, well-being, achievement and results in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. This mission is up on my wall, a part of my daily routine to read it and a part of every episode. Many people have emailed me over the years, asking to be a guest on the podcast, and if they didn’t align with our mission, and even specifically with the topics we were covering in that season, then they were not a good fit for the podcast. We stuck to this, and never wavered.
Know Your Vision with a Clear Why: With your vision, ask yourself, are you living daily towards what you imagine in your mind? I go back here to PART 6[vi] of our Think and Grow Rich book study, where I ended this final episode that I dedicated to my mentor, Bob Proctor, with something he would say about holding your vision daily. He would always say that our mission, or whatever it is that we wanted to achieve in our lifetime would be possible once we believed it to be possible. He would say encourage us to take what we wanted and hold this vision on the screen of our mind. He’d say  “What story do you want to tell? What scenes do you want to shoot? How do you want the movie to end? Be the director of your life” and then he would tell us that once we can see something on the screen of our mind, the next step is to take that vision from the dream world, and make that dream a reality.
Focus on the Listener: This is an important lesson for anyone creating content, or working with others, as no one will read what you create, or listen to what you might be teaching them, if it doesn’t relate to them. It has to be useful for your audience. Instead of just speaking into a mic each week on random topics, we made sure that each episode was written in the HOW-TO format, with clear steps that we can all implement into our life. When I hear back from you that these episodes are helpful, I know that I’m on track with this one.
Be Committed to Consistency: This is the one that resonates with me the most. If you want to have results, with whatever it is you are doing, you’ve got to be consistent. You don’t go to the gym on Tuesday and say “that’s it” I’m finished, you come up with a schedule that you stick to, and never stray from it. I knew that once people started to tune into the podcast from different parts of the world that it was important that I stayed consistent with releasing episodes. We started with weekly episodes, and got up to 3 in a week when I had the time during the Pandemic. We are now back to weekly episodes, but this is one thing I will never change. I’ve NEVER missed releasing an episode in a week. It’s something I’ve committed to doing and even while on vacation. I’ve recorded two episodes in a week, and held one up in draft format, to be released when I need it,  so that something is released, even if I’m not in my office at my desk. There was one week I thought I was going to have to break this episode streak. I was starting to lose my voice, so before I lost it completely, I recorded the episode with a shaky voice. The next day my voice was gone completely. I was so glad I’d recorded so I didn’t have to mess up this important need for the episodes to be consistent each week. A week went by, and wouldn’t you know, my voice came back just in time for me to record the next weekly episode.  We are 2000% committed to consistency here.
The Podcast is a Give-Back: No Ads Was Intentional. It’s been important to me from the beginning, that this podcast launched ads free and remains a tool or resource for people to access without having to think about being “sold” something. There are times ads have snuck in, with different settings I had to block from our hosting side, but I wanted this podcast to be focused on FREE content, without ads. I can’t promise this is how it will always be, but as we approach our 4th year, this is the plan moving forward.
Never Be Afraid to Share and Promote: When you are a content creator, putting yourself out into the world, sharing and promoting what you create is a part of the process. Each episode was shared on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Facebook. People on the hiking trails know me as a podcaster as I’m not afraid to share that’s what keeps me busy in my spare time, when I’m not on the trails, or working.
After thinking about these TIPS for those who create content, or for anyone who wants to take their mission seriously,  following through on these steps is very difficult. There is no way I could have done this without you, the listener, tuning in, without my husband to take the kids to school when I was still writing in the early morning, or without that mission or vision that’s painted clearly in my head of “why” I’m committed to this podcast.
Here’s where I turn the tables back to you, the listener. I love hearing what you are learning from the episodes, whether it’s a comment on YouTube, or on social media, an email, or a direct message somewhere. These messages really do help me.
I bet you as listeners didn’t know how much this podcast has helped me, personally?
Here’s the TOP LESSONS I’ve learned as I reflect back on what 300K downloads means to me.
LESSON 1: PRESENTATION WINS: Interviewing/Presenting has become a superpower for me. This was evident during the first 50 episodes when I joke that I couldn’t breathe and ask questions at the same time. I can barely watch older interviews for this reason. I noticed after the 50th interview, I started to be less nervous with the guest I was interviewing, as I learned how to breathe and talk at the same time.  This skill helps me DAILY with my work, as presentations are a part of my daily life. If you want to improve your speaking or presenting skills, practice is the key! You’ll notice, and so will others, that you can speak without fillers (no more ahhs and umms), with a clear and focused message.
LESSON 2: LIFE/HEALTH HAS IMPROVED FOR THE BETTER: Of course, as I’m creating these how-to episodes, I’m implementing the ideas into my own life (and those close to me). As I’m writing about the TOP 5 Health Staples and Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies, I’m thinking of what else I can do to improve my health and for my family as well. This is one of the added bonuses of doing this podcast, as I get to speak directly with the high-level guests that we bring on, and learn what they are doing, and how they are doing it. Not a day goes by that I don’t take for granted that as I’m representing you, the listener with each topic and episode, it’s such a privilege to learn directly from our guests. I do also feel clearer minded from implementing these health, wellness and productivity tips over the past 4 years.
LESSON 3: BEING ABLE TO SEE THE SUPERPOWERS IN OTHERS. This just happens as I’m researching and learning about other people’s life’s work. I’m often blown away with what our guests have accomplished, and I do love sharing this with the world. It’s probably the most rewarding part of the podcast.
LESSON 4: LEARNED TO SET UP INTERVIEWS QUICKLY/EFFICIENTLY:
If you’ve been a guest on this podcast, you will see how we set up interviews. I know I can improve as there are tools like Calendly.com that make this process easier, but the key is that you want to find a time that works for your guest FIRST. Think always of where the person lives, (East Coast, West Coach, or International) and then set the time up around their schedule. Having clear dates and times where you can conduct interviews, with a clear and stream-lined process helps the guest to feel at ease with coming on your show, and spending their time with you.
LESSON 5: LEARNED HOW TO RESEARCH THOROUGHLY: Doing through research on each guest will help you to make connections with their work, and yours. This is the most time-consuming part of the interview process, and I used to spend a lot of time here. To save time, I now ask my guests to outline their books for me, and provide 6-10 questions to guide me in the process. I still research as usual, with their questions as a guide. Then I add something to what they’ve created so we have a personal spin on what we will be covering.
LESSON 6: PRAXIS/ INTEGRATING BELIEFS WITH BEHAVIOR:
I’ve talked about this concept of Praxis on past episodes, or integrating our beliefs with our behavior. I noticed that with time, I could connect our future guests to past guests in an almost magical way where things started to make sense, or come to life more. This is where I noticed I needed a clear mind to make these connections. On days that I was tired, hadn’t looked after my health as I should have, making these connections was difficult. The more I began to live the content I was writing, actually integrate these episodes into my own life, the more I could talk about them with each guest.
All of these superpowers and strengths have turned me into a stronger, more resilient 2.0 version of myself, which was my goal for this year.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
So, to review and close out this episode, I want to thank you, the listener, wherever you might be located in the 178 countries who tune into this podcast around the world. It wasn’t me who listened to these episodes, I just researched, wrote and recorded them. On today’s episode, I shared the 6 STEPS we took on our side to hit this 300K mile mile-marker, hopefully making the podcast more appealing to you, and then the outcome of these strategies were 6 valuable and life-changing lessons that I saw in myself.
If I hadn’t have stopped to integrate this milestone, I don’t think I would have fully seen the powerful lessons that are a byproduct of just doing this podcast, consistently, every week, for the past 4 years. I launched back in June 2019 with the hope to bring credibility to the field of social and emotional learning, while at the same time wanted to connect the research to our daily life and practices, and what I’ve personally gained from this experience was much more than any amount of money I could have earned in this time frame. These are life-changing lessons that can   only happen through praxis, or when our beliefs are integrated into our behavior.
If you have learned something from this episode, or if our past episodes have helped you in any way, please reach out to me and let me know. It really does help.
And with that, I’ll sign out till next week, with our upcoming bunch of interviews. Thank you again for listening, and for making all of these WINS a possibility for me personally. I’m so grateful to have stayed the course, and look forward to what we will all learn with the next 300K downloads, and beyond.
See you next week!
“You must do what others won’t, commit and stay the course.” ― Bob Proctor
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Bob Proctor’s You Were Born Rich Program on Audible https://www.audible.com/pd/You-Were-Born-Rich-Audiobook/B0187M8TDC?source_code=GO1GB547041122911G&gclid=CjwKCAjwzuqgBhAcEiwAdj5dRnVzinjfs1rtrLAe08dyf84QvvPS1xqlKqkJGY_0V1p-T0lrzk31DBoCXh4QAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
[ii] What is Your Prolific Quality Output January 27, 2020 by Sajjad Hussein on Brendon Burchard https://www.sunandesigns.com/roundups/what-is-your-prolific-quality-output/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #31 with Civilian Astronaut and Extreme Adventurer Nik Halik on “Overcoming Adversity”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/entrepreneur-civilian-astronaut-and-extreme-adventurer-nik-halik-on-overcoming-adversity-to-create-an-epic-life/
[iv] How to Integrate Your Wins with Brendon Burchard Published in 2022 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f5OG7s13dPU
[v] The EntreMD Podcast https://entremd.com/5-strategies-podcast-downloads/
[vi] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
 

Brain Fact Friday ”How to Be a Neuroscience Researcher” Using Our Creativity

“Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done.” – Robert A. Heinlein
And I want to add a quote I heard often over years, that "To believe in the things you can see and touch is no belief at all. But to believe in the unseen is both a triumph and a blessing.”
On today’s Episode #278 we will cover:
✔ How to Be A Neuroscience Researcher in 4 Simple Steps
✔ Why Creativity and Innovation are Important to Move You Towards Your Goals
✔ How to Navigate Through Pubmed When Looking for Answers to Questions You Might Have.
✔ How to Use Science and Evidence-Based Studies in Your Daily Life and Work
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use immediately, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is, for our everyday life and results.
For today’s episode #278, keeping in line with our Season Theme of Going Back to the Basics to Build a Stronger, More Resilient 2.0 version of ourselves, we look back at EPISODE #124 on “How to be a Neuroscience Researcher in 4 Simple Steps”[i] I knew even before writing this one, that I had to spend some time getting creative. Science and research can be so very boring, especially if I were to just read through Pubmed.gov with some steps for all of us to navigate through the research, for our daily use. I can’t imagine getting excited about that, and that’s not what I wanted this episode to be about, so of course, I’m jolted out of sleep, in the early hours of a busy workday, to jot down some ideas that could bring the science into our daily lives, in a way that we can find evidence-based, science-backed answers to inform whatever questions might be keeping YOU up at night, or at least crossing your mind in the day, and make this episode a bit more memorable, interesting and useful for you.
To do this, I went back to EPISODE #265 where we covered “Improving Creativity in Our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces”[ii] to revisit what makes something truly “creative” according to science, using the work of Dr. Andrew Huberman. He said “To Show Creativity—It must Reveal something new to us (entertaining, thrilling or useful) and it changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.”  On this past episode that I wrote just before Christmas of last year, I gave three examples of past guests who’ve come on this podcast who have done just that, and have shown their creativity to change the world in our schools, sports environments and workplaces of the future. You can review this episode and these examples, but for today’s episode, I’m hoping that I can show you how to use this research portal, Pubmed.gov to change the way YOU access the world, and take some things that you might be wondering about, and see how science can inform how you see the world, revealing something NEW, entertaining, thrilling or useful. Now this is an episode worth waking up at 1am to write.
Before we dive in here, I’ve got to go back a bit in time, because I did name this podcast Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning, knowing full well that this link to science could help all of us to improve our results not only in our schools (where most of my work has been spent the past 3 decades) but also in our corporate workplaces, and sports environments. I remember in those early days planning this podcast, I was told to keep my message simple and focus on one area (schools) as you will be confusing your end listener. I remember thinking I don’t want my end listener to only be working in our schools. I was hoping these ideas would appeal to a wider range of listeners, around the world, and today I’ve got to give a shout out to all of you who tune in, because I do keep an eye on our numbers (even though I’ve been urged to focus on the message and what we are learning each week, but I’m human, I do wonder “is the time I’m spending here, really helping others as much as it’s helping me?” This morning, I’m motivated just a bit more than usual, as we are approaching an important milestone in the podcasting world, as we are just a few hundreds away from that 300K download mark, with a reach into 178 countries, around the world. I’m so glad that I listened to that inner voice that was urging me to keep the topics on this podcast broad, to improve productivity and results beyond our classrooms, and into places that my mind couldn’t conceive at the time. So thank you for all of you who tune in, wherever you listen to this podcast in the world. I always say that without listeners, there would be no podcast, and without our guests, I wouldn’t have any content to wake up early and write about.
So, I will keep my promise back to you, that as long as we have listeners, that I will find the time to keep producing episodes that brings the most current research into practice, in our daily lives. While my days are now dedicated to promoting The Science of Reading in our schools, something I’ve been passionate about for a very long time, we will continue our theme of Going Back to the Basics this season, with some new guests coming up, to help strengthen our understanding of this connection between science, our productivity and results.
Going back to EPISODE 124 on “How to Become a Neuroscience Researcher in 4 Simple Steps” I want to explain why I thought this was important to write about in the first place.
I remember back to when I was first told “you know, you need to add science to your work” from Jeff Kleck, who we spoke with on EPISODE #246[iii] launching me into a world that I didn’t think I was capable of learning. I went to school to be a teacher, (focused on Physical Education and English) expanding into Behavioral Students when I first began. I was not a neuroscience researcher, but found myself fueled by the challenge of understanding something that he understood, and I didn’t. “If this educator, with a background as a football coach could grasp this work, then, why couldn’t I?”  I thought. So that’s where it all began for me, and why I think it’s important to share that we all start somewhere and that’s usually with a blank slate. I think about those early days when I opened up David A Sousa’s famous book “How the Brain Learns”[iv] and almost slammed it shut, thinking “this is way over my head” as I saw these graphs on how memories are formed, and it just seemed so complex.
So, this episode today is to show you that if I can figure this out, anyone can.
Let’s revisit the 4 steps I suggested in our earlier episode with some more thought and creativity behind the steps.
STEP 1: First you want to think of your hypothesis: or something you are interested in, that you will back up with the most current research. I used my presentation slide as an example with “How Stress Impacts the Brain and Learning” in our earlier episode and in the 4 steps, I show you how to navigate through Pubmed.gov on this topic, how to find a study that does in fact prove how stress impacts learning, and then add this study to your work, or a presentation you might be doing.
ANDREA’S HYPOTHESIS:
In today’s episode, I want to get creative, be a bit more innovative, and think beyond something we all KNOW impacts our brain and learning (like stress). What about something that science has yet to prove? This is where my curiosity goes, and you can see from some of the speakers we’ve had over the years that I’m interested in learning what science has to say about our dream world. Specifically, WHY we dream, and WHAT if anything, can we learn from our dreams?  What can science teach us about our dreams? This is my creative hypothesis.
FIND YOURS:
What’s yours? What would you like to understand better and see if science could inform what you would like to know? Think about what you would like to learn, and if you need your brain jogged for a minute, I saw a recent Twitter post that self-development researcher, Greg Lunt put up the other day, about 7 peer-reviewed, research-based life hacks from Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast.[v] Click the link in the show notes, and you can see 7 examples of important life hacks, that are all backed by science. If you listen to each of these life hacks, see if you can listen to Stanford Professor and host of the Huberman Lab, who I mention often on this podcast, through a different lens.
Remember, that we all start our journey somewhere. We never know where our interests will take us, and how far each of can go into the world. Don’t let the fact that we weren’t taught many of these concepts in school to put up a barrier for what we could learn using science.  In some of the Deep Dive book studies we’ve done, I’m sure you will agree with me that we’ve uncovered that we all have unique talents and abilities, that when developed (or fanned into a flame) and used, have the ability to take that person to heights they might have only imagined in their dreams. 
DID YOU KNOW THAT Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman grew up as a skateboarder in the Bay Area, and didn’t have direction or a vision for the life he has created today? He was taken in by skater Tony Hawk’s parents when he was 14 and this gave him a place where he felt accepted, where he belonged and this changed the direction of his life forever. I’m sure that as we research most people who have risen to the top of their field, you will see that they had to overcome significant adversity, to arrive there. Nothing comes without effort.
How to Sleep Better
How to Burn Fat
How to Grow Muscle
How to Build Habits
How to Focus
How to Ease Pain
How to Stop Hiccups
See if you can come up with something you want to dive deeper into.
I’ll use mine since I’ve been logging my dreams since 1999, I can find patterns and themes, and lessons that I think might be important, but what does modern day science say about this?
I went over to English neuroscientist and professor at the University of California, Berkley, Matthew Walker’s research that focuses on sleep, and found a series on his podcast where he dives deeper into our dream world.[vi]  It’s here where he mentions Dr. Robert Stickgold’s research on “Memory, Sleep and Dreaming.”[vii]
STEP 2: GO TO PubMed.gov[viii] and read the article on your topic of interest.
When I searched for Robert Stickgold and dreaming, his article came up and took me straight to Pubmed through using Google. Or I could go directly to Pubmed.gov and type his name into the search bar with dreams and see all of the articles he’s written on this topic.
Try it for whatever topic you would like to connect evidence-based research to.
STEP 3: Read through the studies with titles that interest you and see if you can uncover something new that can add value to your daily life. This is where you can spend a lot of time, or maybe go the other route, and you take one look at the article and X out of Pubmed thinking this is too difficult. Remember we all start somewhere. Dr. Huberman was once a skater kid, and now, I’ve never seen anyone navigate through the research like he does. Don’t let it intimidate you. I mention this on our past episode that the parts of the research study that are important are the title, that tells you the topic and hypothesis, or what the researchers want to prove. Then there’s a middle part that give you some details about the study that you can scan, and don’t worry about all of the language. I’m sure many researchers aren’t sure what it all means either. Someone who is an expert in research will inform this part of the study, that will help to find an accurate conclusion, that you will want to read. 
In Stickgold’s dream study, he was looking to show how our dreams can consist of “fragments” of our waking life, and he explained someone’s waking life experience, and how it corresponded to something they dreamed about. Dr. Stickgold concludes that “waking experience is reactivated in the sleeping brain, (so what we think and experience in our waking life CAN show up in our dream life) leading to a process of “consolidation” by which new, labile (emotionally charged) memory traces are reorganized into more permanent forms of long-term storage. Dream experiences recalled from sleep bear a transparent relationship to recently encoded information, and provide a useful window into consolidation-related activities of the sleeping brain.” He concludes that “recent work from (his) laboratory has established a direct relationship between the “replay” of recent experience in dream content, and enhanced memory performance in humans.”
This blows my mind. I’m still learning, and think I could study this paragraph for some time, but my search for understanding with what’s going on in the dream world, and waking world is getting clearer. While I don’t think I ever want to have someone else interpret my dreams (which they are doing these days with templates and researchers can now predict WHAT someone is dreaming about with MRI scanners). But I do think that understanding how our brains dream, and what we are dreaming about, with themes and connections we can learn from in our waking hours, could add significant value to our daily life, especially if we take what Dr. Stickgold’s research said, and look at how our dreams could possibly enhance our memory performance.
Putting the Research into Practice:
I looked at a recent measure of my REM sleep, using my WHOOP device, that logged my REM sleep as 50% higher than my 30 day average recently. I know what I did to ensure I had a good night sleep, (starting with going to sleep an hour earlier than usual) and then logged what I recalled from my dreams that night. Now I wonder, “how are these dreams useful?” How did this increased REM sleep enhance my memory and important things I was learning that day?  I had a very busy week, and this data was very useful for me to see BEFORE this busy week began.
I wonder: “Can this study about my dreams that I read on Pubmed.gov improve my memory or give me “enhanced memory performance” like Stickgold’s research concluded, or even combined it with the WHOOP data, and ask, “could my focus, alertness and performance be improved with more REM sleep?”
This is where curious minds, who want to learn can use science to inform our questions. I’ll continue to follow Mathew Walker’s work on the impacts of sleep on our brain, while measuring sleep, and continue to connect the research on Pubmed to uncover new ways for improved focus, productivity and performance.
STEP 4: Keep learning and reading about what YOU would like to prove or understand better.  I wonder, did you learn anything new from the topic you looked up on Pubmed? If you did, I’d love to know what you learned.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
And with that, I’ll review and close out this episode where we looked at “How to be a Neuroscience Researcher in 4 Simple Steps”[ix]  and take something we are curious about, connect the science to it, and then actually use it in our life.
STEP 1: Think of your hypothesis: or something you are interested in, that you will back up with the most current research. Get creative here, and think of something that you are curious about, like I’m curious about the dream world. To Show Creativity—It must Reveal something new to us (entertaining, thrilling or useful) and it changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.” 
STEP 2: GO TO PubMed.gov[x] and read the article on your topic of interest. Don’t be intimidated by the language you will see in these research articles. Just read enough that you can figure out the title (what they are looking to prove) the middle part (how they plan to prove it) and the conclusion (what they learned).
STEP 3: Read through the studies with titles that interest you and uncover something new. How does what you learned from the research help what you are working on in your daily life? Like my interest in the dream world, where do your interests sit? Health, wellness, productivity? What are you interested in studying?
STEP 4: Keep learning and reading about what YOU would like to prove or understand better. With time, the research is advancing lightyears beyond where we could imagine just a few years ago. Who knew before looking at what’s new with this research that someone could measure me while I’m dreaming and now predict what I’m dreaming about? Who knew that an understanding of my dreams could help with my memory performance?
We wouldn’t know this without those who conduct the research, that are there for any of us to read on Pubmed.gov and I hope that this episode has made being a neuroscience researcher less intimidating. If you have spent the weekend, or longer, reading through Pubmed articles to learn something, then by all means, you can now call yourself a neuroscience researcher, and I hope that you’ve now taken something you were curious about (from the unseen world) and brought some clarity to it, in your life.
With that, I’ll close out this episode, that I hope you have found to be helpful, and useful in some way.  I want to thank you again for tuning in and helping our podcast to continue to grow over the years. I’ll see you next week as we look at “Building Resilience[xi]” and we do have some fascinating interviews lined up:
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
INTERVIEWS COMING UP NEXT:
Gabrielle Usatynski,[xii] the author of the NEW book The Power Couple Formula, that is based entirely on Jaak Panksepp’s 7 Core Emotions. I can’t wait to dive deeper into Jaak Panksepp’s work with her, especially after having the chance to meet with Lucy Biven earlier this year.
Then we have Aaron Golub[xiii], who was the first legally blind D1 athlete to play football at Tulane University. We will be focused on leadership strategies that overcome adversity.
Dr. Janet Zadina[xiv], a pioneer in the field of educational neuroscience is coming up later this month as we look at learning and the brain, where neuroscience in our schools began, and her vision for the future.
Finally, we’ve got Jim Houliston, an athlete, artist, and educator who will explain to us the benefits of MMD (mirror movement development) on our longevity, body realignment, spatial awareness, balance and peak performance.
Exciting times! See you next week.
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #124 “How to be a Neuroscience Researcher in 4 Simple Steps.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-how-to-be-a-neuroscience-researcher-in-4-simple-steps/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #265 on “Improving Creativity and innovation in Our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #246 on “Using Neuroscience to Inspire Thinkers in Schools, Sports and the Workplace” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/jeff-kleck-on-using-neuroscience-to-inspire-thinkers-in-schools-sport-and-the-workplace/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #197 with Dr. David A Sousa on “What’s NEW With the 6th Edition of How the Brain Learns” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/returning-guest-dr-david-a-sousa-on-what-s-new-with-the-6th-edition-of-how-the-brain-learns/
[v] Greg Lunt Twitter Post on 7 Peer Reviewed, Research Based Life Hacks from Dr. Andrew Huberman https://twitter.com/GregLunt27/status/1635665750370267136
[vi] https://www.sleepdiplomat.com/podcast
[vii] Memory, Sleep and Dreaming: Experiencing Consolidation by Erin J Wamsley and Robert Stickgold, Ph.D https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3079906/
[viii] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #124 “How to be a Neuroscience Researcher in 4 Simple Steps.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-how-to-be-a-neuroscience-researcher-in-4-simple-steps/
[x] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/
[xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #126 on “Building Resilience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-building-resilience-a-pathway-for-inner-peace-well-being-and-happiness/
[xii] https://powercoupleseducation.com/ Gabrielle Usatynski
[xiii] https://aarongolub.com/  Aaron Golub
[xiv] Dr. Janet Zadina https://www.learningandthebrain.com/education-speakers/Janet-Zadina
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience”

“What makes aerobic exercise so powerful is that it’s our evolutionary method of generating that spark. It lights on fire on every level of your brain, from stoking up the neurons’ metabolic furnaces to forgiving the very structures that transmit information from one synapse to the next.” John Ratey, author of Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain
On today’s Episode #277 we will cover
✔  A review of EP 177 on "Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience" to see what's new.
✔  A look at Dr. Wendy Suzuki's Brain-Changing Protocol to strengthen our hippocampus and prefrontal cortex.
✔  How to Create Your Own "Spark" to Take Your Results to New Heights.
And in today’s episode, I want us to all dive a bit deeper, beyond what I’ll uncover with the research, and look at this spark in our own lives. I want us to learn how to access this spark that John Ratey talks about, how to generate energy with this spark through exercise, and then figure out what we will do with this spark, or energy, once we’ve learned to create it, to go take ourselves to higher levels of achievement, all by using exercise and science, to take us there.
I want to welcome you back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast, where we cover the science-based evidence behind social and emotional learning (for schools) and emotional intelligence training (in the workplace) with tools, ideas and strategies that we can all use immediately, with our brain in mind.  I’m Andrea Samadi, an author, and educator with a passion for learning specifically on the topics of health, wellbeing and productivity, and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is, for our everyday life and results.
For today’s episode #277, we are going back to another favorite episode of mine, #122 on “Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience”[i] that we released April 9, 2021, after we interviewed Paul Zientarksi, the former PE teacher from Naperville Central High School, who reinvented physical education using the understanding of simple neuroscience. In this previous episode, we combined what we learned from Paul Zientarski,[ii] with our interview with Dr. John Ratey[iii], and his book Spark, that cemented the idea of the profound impact that exercise has on our cognitive and mental health.
For today’s episode, #277, we will go back to episode #122 on “Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience” and see what’s new with the research that might be able to take our understanding a bit deeper.  I know that we all are clear on the fact that exercise creates that glorious protein called BDNF that we just reviewed thoroughly on EPISODE #274[iv] and even how this protein that is released when we exercise, is reduced in the brain of someone who has developed Alzheimer’s Disease, showing us that exercise is an imminent solution for the prevention of cognitive decline, or at least delaying this from happening for as long as we can.
Which leads me look deeper into the research on this topic, and I went straight to the work of neuroscientist and author, Dr. Wendy Suzuki, whose TED TALK on “The Brain-Changing Effects of Exercise”[v] has over 15 million views.  I remember when her TED TALK came out (in 2017) and someone in my network sent it over to me and I immediately asked Dr. Suzuki to come on the podcast. After hearing what her schedule is like over the years, and the research she is involved with as the incoming Dean of Arts and Sciences at NYU[vi], I do understand now why I never did hear back from her on this request. Her TED TALK impacted me in a way where I knew I would need to focus on what she has discovered about the powerful effects of physical activity on the brain and that “by simply moving your body, this has lasting protective, benefits to the brain.” (Dr. Suzuki). Dr. Suzuki’s TED TALK, that came out years before we had looked at this topic on the benefits of exercise on the brain, that we started to unwrap with our interview with Dr. Ratey, explains how she was at the height of her work as a leading researcher on memory and the brain, when she stuck her head out of her lab she realized she was lacking in social interaction and had gained 25 LBS. She mentioned she was miserable, and launched her own exercise program, which is when she noticed things changing with her own brain. Not only did her mood improve, and she felt stronger, but she started to notice that her difficult work (grant writing which I know takes more brain power and patience than most of us have available on a day to day basis) but she noticed this daunting task was surprisingly getting easier for her, and she stopped and thought “What’s going on here? Could it possibly be my new exercise routine?”
I related to what she was saying (on many levels as I spent quite a few years working on grant writing) while also understanding there is no way I could ever sit at my desk and navigate through the research I need to do, without a daily exercise routine.
What about you? If you are listening to this episode, and caught the fitness bug at some point in your life, I wonder WHAT it was that inspired you to make physical activity a part of your daily routine?
When I thought about it, I would have to go back years to when I first noticed that exercise was something that just made me work better. I remember something clicked for me after high school, when I was at University, and spent my summers lifeguarding, to pay for that next year of school.  In order to get the best pools as a lifeguard, in the City of North York where I grew up in Toronto, Canada, that were worth spending the entire summer at, there was this annual lifeguard triathlon, and those who participated, usually were given their first choice of the pool they wanted to work at. It was one of those “you’d better participate” and then you knew you would have a better chance at being happy with your work environment that summer.
And for many of us, living in Toronto, we lived for those summer months, poolside, with those we connected the most within our social circles, and many of us (or maybe it was just me) spent the entire winter dreaming of this special time of year, when the snow and ice melted, and the summer breeze filled the air. So, one year, I had set my mind of winning this summer triathlon, and started training for it in the winter. I joined the local YMCA and remember taking the bus from my house in Don-Mills to the YMCA on Sheppard and Bayview (at least a 30-min bus ride) where I would train, with the vision that I’d have a fancy pool to work at, with all of my favorite friends, while earning the money I needed to pay for University. As soon as the snow melted, I remember riding my bike, or rollerblading to the Y, but it was those days training for this one event that summer, that hooked me on being a regular daily exerciser, for the rest of my life.
An update on the triathlon that summer: I almost came in first, if I hadn’t have slipped and fell on the pool deck before the run, that was the final event. I was leading the whole race until my competitor, whose name I’ll never forget, passed me in that last stretch towards the finish line when I had nothing left to give. Good for her, I think today, as she motivated me in future years to keep training, and while we both got the pools we wanted, I know her love of athletics stayed with her for her lifetime as well.
Until revisiting this episode, I never really thought back to when I got the exercise bug, since it’s now became a non-negotiable part of my daily routine. When I heard Dr. Suzuki’s story, and learned about other people’s motivation for starting an exercise program, I thought it might help those listening to reflect back on their own story. It is interesting to think back to what is was that “sparked” this habit change, and made it stick, and if this isn’t a habit that you find interesting, at all, I’m hoping something in this episode creates that “spark” for you to perhaps begin your own program, with the health of your brain in mind.
Here’s where the research gets exciting! Dr. Suzuki mentions that “exercise is the most transformative thing that you can do for your brain” and listed some reasons that I think we have all heard of today.
She notes that with one 45-minute exercise session:
YOUR MOOD IMPROVES: Exercise has immediate effects on your brain. One single workout she says, “increases neurotransmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and noradrenaline that will increase your mood immediately.” I think we can all agree on this one, and it’s one of the main reasons I’ve kept up my daily routine. I’m not much fun without these neurotransmitters flowing in my brain.
YOUR FOCUS, ATTENTION AND EVEN YOUR REACTION TIME IMPROVE: and that this improved focus “can last up to 2 hours after you exercise.” Now I’m starting to think because I know in order to do difficult cognitive work, like reading through Pubmed.gov or something, I have to tire myself out early, and the harder the workout, the better I can think and focus on difficult work. I remember telling Dr. Ratey this in our interview and he said that’s why they had the students exercising before school, to prime their brain for learning.
BUT DID YOU KNOW THIS? THIS IS IMPORTANT…
Before switching her work to the impacts of exercise and the brain, Dr. Suzuki was one of the world’s leading researchers on memory. So of course, as she began to look at the impact of exercise on the brain, she would be looking at everything through the lens of a researcher whose spent years looking at the hippocampus (the brain’s memory center).
It’s her next points about how exercise improves our brain, through her memory research lens, that caught my attention.
She adds:
EXERCISE PRODUCES NEW BRAIN CELLS IN THE HIPPOCAMPUS: and this increases the volume of your hippocampus, improving your long-term memory. We have covered how to improve our memory, with unique memory hacks on a few episodes on this podcast, one with EPISODE #149 with our interview with Dave Farrow, Two-Time Guinness World Record Holder on “Focus, Fatigue and Memory Hacks”[vii] or even EPISODE #217 on “Science-Based Tricks to improve Productivity and Never Forget Anything.”[viii] But never once did we talk about the hippocampus (our brain’s memory center) in these episodes. Now Dr. Suzuki, a leading researcher on memory, exercise and the brain, tells us that exercise can make the part of our brain responsible for our memory, bigger? And with our brain, we all know that size matters.
THE MORE YOU EXERCISE, THE BIGGER AND STRONGER THE PREFRONTAL CORTEX GETS: So now we know that in addition to our memory center, (our hippocampus) that increases with exercise, we can add that the part of our brain that’s responsible for decision making, cognitive control, attention and focus, also gets bigger with exercise, and Dr. Suzuki elaborates that “these are the two areas of the brain most susceptible to neurodegenerative diseases and cognitive decline in aging.
While Dr. Suzuki says that “by increasing exercise over your lifetime, you’re not going to cure Alzheimer’s or Dementia, but what you will do is create the strongest and largest prefrontal cortex so that it takes longer for the disease to have an effect.” (Dr. Suzuki).
The whole reason why I spend all my spare time writing these podcast episodes, recording them, and putting them out to the world, for you, the listener, (and for me as well to keep learning) is that I do believe that small changes that we can all make, have the ability to completely transform our health, wellbeing and life.
Take for example, the recent episode we did on “The Damaging Impacts of Sugar on the Brain and Body”[ix] where we covered 2 people who were measuring their blood sugar. The only reason I had the data for this episode, was that someone close to me asked me for advice. One day, this person said to me, “if I was to do just a couple of things to improve my health, what would you suggest I do?” Now this person rarely ever comes to me for advice, so when it happened, I took the moment seriously. I looked them directly in the eye, and like Dr. Jacoby said to me when I asked him the same question, I answered back, without wavering, “You need to cut out sugar (and that means anything that turns into sugar after you eat it, like the obvious candy, bread, and alcohol and then measure your blood to see exactly how what you are eating affects you personally) and then you never eat those things again.” That was it.
In 30 days, this person lowered their A1C levels from the danger zone of 8.5 to 7.0. Once the behavior changes, so do the results. We can potentially reverse diabetes and pre-diabetes with this advice (and I say that not from the advice of my doctor, Dr. Jacoby, who swore that chronic disease is directly linked to lifestyle).  Like Dr. Jacoby, I’m pretty militant about health, so my advice if you want to make changes with YOUR health, is to think of your own personal motivation for this change, and then find someone who won’t let you get away with reverting back to your old habits and behaviors, so that you’ll stick to the changes that support your brain health
So, back to Dr. Suzuki’s research. She mentioned that she often gets asked, “what’s the minimum amount of exercise that I would need to do, to get these changes in the brain?” and here’s what she suggests:
DR. SUZUKI BRAIN PROTOCOL:
Dr. Suzuki’s research revealed that the minimum amount of exercise you would need to do, to get these brain health benefits, would be 3-4 days a week, 30-45 minute sessions of aerobic activity, at an intensity that’s enough to get your heart rate up. She says you don’t have to go crazy, and I agree with her on this one.
Here’s something interesting I learned this year. Since I measure everything, I learned that certain activities get my heart rate just as high as my runs up the mountain. Activities like walking outside, lighter workouts on the elliptical, or even vacuuming the house, all get my heart rate up into ZONE 3 (70-80% of my maximum heart rate, or what would be considered a moderate exercise level). This was shocking to me, as I realized I could change up some of my activities, and save time, as long as I was able to get my heart rate up long enough for those brain benefits to take hold (for 30-45 minutes).
THINKING CREATIVELY WITH EXERCISE:
Now you can start to think creatively about aerobic activity. I recently noticed something while recording these podcast episodes. My WHOOP device started to log my activity recording as “other” and each time I finish recording, I would be notified, and could see that out of a 25 minutes recording session, I spent 70-80% of my maximum heart rate at the moderate exercise level. I’m not saying that sitting and recording for 25 minutes can replace a workout, but it opened my eyes to how strenuous public speaking can be on the body. I remember hearing speaker and author Brendon Burchard talking about how speaking in public “results in the same strain on his body as running a marathon each day.”[x] My WHOOP device was telling me the same story, and I’ve even noticed that when recording, I’m engaging muscles in my stomach to breathe, and it honestly feels like a workout session.
 
If you look at a graph of a typical hiking session, where I’m running up and down a mountain, my heart rate pattern is similar to when I’m recording a podcast episode, and recording or speaking into a mic logged me at 70-80% of my HR, which is ZONE 3 or a moderate exercise level. I do spend most of my hikes in ZONE 4 at 80-90% of my maximum heart rate, or the “hard” target zone, so I’m not going to replace this activity for speaking, but it really did open my eyes to thinking creatively with how else I can get my heart rate up for 45 minute sessions, with my brain in mind.
WHAT ELSE DOES DR. SUZUKI’S RESEARCH REVEAL?
While looking at the benefits of exercise on our brain, I wanted to go a bit deeper into what the research reveals, and there were a few more important details that I learned from Dr. Suzuki. She was interviewed on Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast on “Boosting Attention and Memory with Science-Based Tools”[xi] where she gave Dr. Huberman an overview of the most important points from her TED TALK, that now informed the research she was doing on exercise and the brain, through the lens of a leading researcher on memory.
BDNF, OUR HIPPOCAMPUS AND WHERE MEMORIES ARE STORED
Dr. Suzuki reaffirms some of what we’ve already covered, that “BDNF goes directly to our hippocampus and helps new brain cells to grow” which is what we knew from Dr. Ratey, who said that “BDNF is like Miracle-Go for the brain” and it’s from moving our muscles that this protein is created, helping us to improve “our highest thought processes.”
But Dr. Huberman wanted to dive a bit deeper into where our memories are actually stored in our brain and asked “isn’t the hippocampus involved in encoding memories, but not with the storage of memories? Memory storage (he asks) was in the neocortex or other overlying areas of the brain?” and Dr. Suzuki replies that he asked a tricky question because “memories are stored in the hippocampus for a very long time.”[xii] While she elaborates that people want to know “well how long are they there for before moving to the cortex” and she jokes “4 years, people want to know? Is that how long our memories are stored in our hippocampus?” I don’t need to be a neuroscientist to think that it doesn’t matter how long our memories are stored in our hippocampus, but I want this part of my brain to be as healthy, as big and fluffy (as she describes it) so that I can remain as sharp as I can as I’m aging. Not a day goes by that I go to grab a name of someone, and it’s not there, so this part of our brain is a muscle that needs to be worked, just as we would be moving our body with exercise.
LONDON CAB DRIVERS
Which led my mind back to the research that emerged with the hippocampus of London cab drivers. This part of their brain was “significantly larger in London cab drivers due to the mental workout they get while navigating the 25,000 streets of London.”[xiii]
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this episode where we looked back at EPISODE #122 on “Transforming the Brain Using Athletics and Neuroscience” I think we’ve got a few NEW details to help build this case for the importance of adding at least, or at a minimum, 4 days a week of 45 minute moderate aerobic sessions to build a stronger, more resilient hippocampus, to help improve our thinking, decision-making, and our memory center, ensuring that neurodegenerative diseases that could possibly come our way with age, will at least be delayed, as remember with our brain, size does matter.
In the beginning of this episode, we spoke about a spark that exercise can create, that can help us to generate energy that we can use in our daily life. I mentioned where my spark began, training for the annual lifeguard triathlon in Toronto, to pay for my University classes, and I wonder:
IF YOU HAVE A REGULAR EXERCISE PROGRAM:
If you have incorporated exercise into your daily routine, what it was that inspired you to begin?
What was it that kept this habit going for you?
Have you noticed specific examples of how your exercise program has transformed your brain (like Dr. Suzuki noticed with her grant writing getting easier, and I noticed with being able to sit for longer periods of time and be focused on higher cognitive work)?
Have you ever thought about what exercise was doing for your brain, down to your memory center (how it makes it bigger and stronger) or your prefrontal cortex?
Were you aware of how you were building the size of your brain with exercise to at least prevent the onset of cognitive decline as we age?
IF YOU DON’T HAVE AN EXERCISE PROGRAM:
If you aren’t incorporating 3-4 days of aerobic activity lasting 30-45 minutes in your daily routine, does this research that shows how building a stronger, fluffier more resilient hippocampus and prefrontal cortex make you think about starting a routine? If the answer to this is yes, and you aren’t sure where to begin, check out our EPISODE on the TOP 5 Health Staples[xiv] where we covered how to get started with an exercise program as an Alzheimer’s Disease Prevention Strategy.
Were you as surprised as I was about my WHOOP device picking up my heart rate while recording a podcast episode, showing us that we can get creative with how we increase our heart rate (like with vacuuming, or walking, or other activities where you don’t need to go crazy)?
Can you think of some NEW and CREATIVE ways to start to move your body that could help your brain and cognition, now that you have seen this research?
Once you do begin this regular daily routine, I promise you that you will start to feel better. Like cutting out sugar, you will notice immediate changes in your body (mentally and physically), and you will start to notice that you have more creative energy that you can direct in many different places.
I promise you that this decision will “spark” something in you, that could possibly be the turning point that you needed to change your life forever.
Since I feel so strongly about health and wellness for all of us, I want to extend an offer to you. If you are listening to this episode, and you want to make an improvement with your health and wellness, and you are stuck, unsure of where to begin, send me an email to andrea@achieveit360.com and let me know where you are starting from. This is just me here offering to give you a bit of time if you feel stuck in some way, without having to worry if I’ll be selling you into some sort of coaching program. Sometimes in order to get started, we just have to make the decision, and talking to someone even for a few minutes, could be all you would need to “spark” some action of your end. If this is where you are sitting right now, don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
I’ll close out this episode with a quote from Dr. John Ratey who said that “exercise is the single best thing you can do for your brain in terms of mood, memory and learning.” I’m going to add that it’s the best thing we can do for ourselves as we age, to supercharge our hippocampus (our memory center) and prefrontal cortex (what we need to think) and build a stronger, more resilient brain so it will take longer for these degenerative diseases that we all know about, to have an effect.
And with that, I’ll make a promise back to you that I’ll keep thinking up new ideas to share with you here, because I know now that writing AND recording is good for my brain.
I’ll see you next week as we look at EPISODE #124 on “How to be a Neuroscience Researcher” and looking back at this episode, I’ll have to think really hard on how to make this one a bit more creative. See you next week.
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REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #122 on Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-transforming-the-mind-using-athletics-and-neuroscience/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #121 with Paul Zientarski on “Transforming Students Using Physical Education and Neuroscience” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/naperville-central-high-schools-paul-zeintarski-on-transforming-students-using-physical-education-and-neuroscience/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #116 with John J. Ratey, MD on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #274 on “What’s NEW with BDNF: Building a Faster, Stronger, More Resilient Brain”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-what-s-new-with-bdnf-building-a-faster-stronger-more-resilient-brain/
[v] The Brain-Changing Effects of Exercise with Wendy Suzuki, 2017 https://www.ted.com/talks/wendy_suzuki_the_brain_changing_benefits_of_exercise?language=en
[vi] Wendy Suzuki https://as.nyu.edu/faculty/wendy-suzuki.html
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #149 on  “Focus, Fatigue and Memory Hacks for Students and the Worplace”https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/2-time-guinness-world-record-holder-dave-farrow-on-focus-fatigue-and-memory-hacks-for-students-and-the-workplace/
[viii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #217 on “Science-Based Tricks to improve Productivity and Never Forget Anything.”
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-science-based-tricks-to-improve-productivity-and-never-forget-anything/
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #275 on “The Damaging Effects of Sugar on the Brain and Body” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-the-damaging-impacts-of-sugar-on-the-brain-and-body/
[x] Brendon Burchard’s High Performance Habits Story by Amy Anderson https://brendon.com/blog/success/
[xi]Dr. Wendy Suzuki on The Huberman Lab Podcast #73 “Boosting Attention and Memory with Science-Based Tools”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=099hgtRoUZw
[xii] Dr. Wendy Suzuki on The Huberman Lab Podcast #73 “Boosting Attention and Memory with Science-Based Tools”  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=099hgtRoUZw 38:26 time stamp
[xiii] Taxi Cab Drivers’ Brains Grow to Navigate London’s Streets By Ferri Jabr December 8, 2011 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/london-taxi-memory/
[xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #87 on “The Top 5 Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/do-you-know-the-top-5-brain-health-and-alzheimers-prevention-strategies-with-andrea-samadi/
 

Brain Fact Friday ”Using Neuroscience to Inform the Future of Teaching and Learning”

“The brain has a capacity for learning that is virtually limitless, which makes every human being a potential genius.” Michael J. Golb
I want to welcome you back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. 
For today’s episode #276, we will go back to one of our early episodes, #119[i] on “The Key Ingredients of Learning with the Brain in Mind” and take a look at what I picked out as the key ingredients for learning back then, to see how NEW research has informed this area today. When I went back to review this episode, there were some ingredients in this “learning” equation that we’ve talked about often on this podcast, and the new research I found was eye-opening. The new research took what we covered so beautifully on those early episodes, to a whole new level, showing me why it’s important to go back to the basics and see what strategies are effective, and why. Before we get to what’s NEW, let’s look back at where our podcast began, and what we were focused on, with learning with our brain in mind.
Learning with the Brain in Mind
We can go right back to our very first interview EPISODE #3[ii] with Ron Hall, from Valley Day School, who mentioned how things changed for him when he met Horacio Sanchez and began teaching with brain science in mind. This is the whole reason why we are going back to the basics this season, as we connect the new research to our past episodes, to strengthen where we all are in our process of building a stronger, more resilient 2.0 version of ourselves in 2023 and beyond. It’s always easy to look back, and connect the dots[iii] like Steve Jobs’ famous quote, and trust that these dots will connect again in the future, with new meaning that’s evolved with time, knowledge and understanding.
John Hattie’s Research:
As I glanced at our earlier interviews, Greg Wolcott from EPISODE #7 on “Building Relationships in Today’s Classrooms” was our next guest in this learning equation, as he was the first guest to mention that his work and book, Significant 72[iv], was inspired by New Zealand Professor John Hattie.  John Hattie became known for his two books Visible Learning and Visible Learning for Educators that focused on teaching strategies that have a high probability of being effective.
You can read directly from John Hattie himself, as he connects his dots looking backwards, where he says he believes he got some parts wrong with his approach to learning in the classroom.  He shares he’d like to stop looking at the strategies teachers are using and look closer at the impact we have on our students and how they learn best when he reflects that “we need to switch from saying (I care about how you teach), to saying (I care about the impact of your teaching).”[v]  Hattie goes on to talk about the criticism he faced with the term “visible learning” because learning isn’t visible at all.
As John Hattie now prepares to release Visible Learning: The Sequel[vi] this March, 15 years after his first book that sold out in days of its release and was described as “teaching’s Holy Grail” he’s returning to his ground-breaking work, with a new angle. Like the direction we are taking with this podcast, going back to the basics, this is what Professor John Hattie is doing with his next book where he not only looks at WHAT works best with learning, as he shares the research is his new that is now informed by more than 2,100 meta-analyses (more than double that appeared in his first book, drawn from more than 130,000 studies, and has involved more than 400 million students from all around the world.
He then asks “WHY” did these strategies work so well, with some thoughts of how we can improve learning, using current and future research.
I remember back to my early days of teaching when we were observed by our school principal, and given feedback for how effective our lessons were. I remember thinking this process was such a waste of time as the students were behaving differently knowing their teacher was being evaluated. I knew that there wasn’t much learning happening other than finding a way to beat the system to have my students behave in this artificial environment.
True learning, Hattie points out, happens when a teacher has to adapt a lesson, as they notice the students who might be missing the point, and need a new way to learn. Hattie noticed:  
Professor John Hattie[vii] take this new knowledge and tells us that Australia has now gone with a new method of observation where they “ask expert teachers to consider a lesson they are planning to deliver, and then record themselves talking through their planning. Then the lesson is filmed. The expert teacher then records themselves again, explaining the decisions they made in the moment. The two recordings are then layered over the video. This allows those who watch the videos to hear what the teacher is thinking in real time.” (John Hattie, Why Teaching Strategies Don’t Make You an Excellent Teacher). Hattie believes that this is where the research is turning to, with more thinking aloud and dialogue around learning, and he goes on to project there will be “a massive breakthrough in automation of classroom observation and teachers will improve because of it.”[viii]
I can already see useful technology emerging in the corporate workplace that uses Artificial Intelligence to score a sales employee on their presentations, providing immediate feedback on specific metrics, including content, articulation, and even picking out keywords to help improve presentation skills.
The future of learning is evolving, and it undeniably involves an understanding of our brain.
Learning with the Brain in Mind:
Friederike Fabritius on EPISODE #27[ix] was next to contribute to our formula of learning and “Achieving Peak Performance” as we began to connect the neurochemicals involved in those high levels of achievement where peak performance or flow occurs.
Dr. John Dunlosky’s Research
Our next guest to help us to decipher this formula for learning was Kent State University’s Dr. John Dunlosky, from EPISODE #37[x]  on “Improving Student Success: Some Principles from Cognitive Science.” I’ll never forget when the lights started to go on for me, when I first heard Dr. Dunlosky speak in 2016 of an Edweek Webinar about “deliberate practice” being one of the most effective learning strategies vs cramming to learn something new (whether a new skill in the classroom, or a sport). This led us to EPISODE #38[xi] on “The Daily Grind in the NHL” with Todd Woodcroft, who at the time was an Assistant Coach with the Winnipeg Jets. His episode covered the importance of “the daily grind” or doing the same things every day, for predictable results in the pro sports world.
The Key Ingredients of Learning:
I could keep going through our episodes, and connecting the guests who spoke about the key ingredients of learning, but as we move towards the current research, I want to start with what we first identified with learning with the brain in mind.
On today’s Episode #276 on “Looking Back at the Key Ingredients of Learning” we will cover
✔ A review of the key ingredients of learning from our early episodes (that include motivation and repetition).
✔ A look back on John Hattie’s Research with his ground-breaking book Visible Learning as he prepares to release Visible Learning: The Sequel to see “What’s New” when it comes to teaching and learning in the classroom.
✔ What is NEW with Learning and the Brain? (Dr. Andrew Huberman).
✔ How Can We Learn NEW Skills Faster with the Brain in Mind: A 3-STEP PROCESS
✔ Using Repetition and the NEW Research to Learn NEW Skills Faster: A 4-STEP PROTOCOL
✔ Thoughts on the Future of Learning.
What Dr. Huberman’s Research Says About Learning NEW Skills Faster:
When I looked up what’s new in this area, I didn’t need to go anywhere else, other than with Stanford Professor, Dr. Andrew Huberman and his Huberman Lab Podcast. I found two very thorough episodes that were similar in content, both close to 2 hours in length. You can access each of his episodes by clicking on the link in the show notes, but for today’s episode, I wanted to take the research, and tie it to what we already know about learning, with some steps for how we can use this research in the future.
I took his Podcast #20 on How to Learn Skills Faster[xii] that was published a year ago, in 2022, a year after I took a stab at explaining the key ingredients of learning. I remember listening to this episode while exercising and thinking I really needed to take notes, as he went into depth on the science behind acquiring new skills, affirming that we had uncovered some of the most important ingredients, specifically the repetition of a new skill and the motivation. I remember thinking it would have been good to know this as a former PE teacher, and I’ll be sure to copy my friend Dan Vigliatore[xiii] who trains our next generation of educators with what’s new and innovative for PE teachers in the classroom at York university in Toronto, or even just thinking back over those early episodes, it was clear why doing things a certain way (whether it’s learning a new skill in the classroom, for athletic performance or in the workplace) that tapping into the Science of Learning, improving what we already know works in the learning process, will take everything to a deeper level for all of us.
According to Dr. Huberman: How to Learn Anything Faster:
STEP 1: Open Loop vs Closed Loop
Dr. Huberman explains there are 2 types of skills: open loop and closed loop skills and you’ll want to be able to distinguish between these skills.
Open Loop: is a skill that when it’s completed, you know if you did it right, or not. It would be like if a gymnast is doing a back flip. They either do the back flip, or they mess it up.  The only way to do it correctly, is to attempt it again if they messed up something and were scared halfway through. Or like throwing darts at a dart board. If the darts go on the ground, you missed the skill and the only way to get the skill, is to try it again. Or a free throw in basketball. I think we’ve got the point of this skill type. We can either do the skill, or we don’t. This is an open loop.  
Closed Loop: is a skill that allows for correction while performing the skill, like if you were running and your coach is giving you tips on your stride or something that you change and improve along the way, or if you were playing the drums, and you were given instruction on how to speed up or slow down your tempo.
STEP 2: Ask “what should I focus my attention on?”
Next, Dr. Huberman says we ask ourselves “what should I focus my attention on” and there are three places. It’s either going to auditory attention (you are listening for something), visual attention (you are watching something) or it’s proprioception (sometimes known as our 6th sense) where we think about where our limbs are in relation to our body as we are performing a certain skill (like being able to walk or kick without looking at your feet).
STEP 3: Your Neurology Will Take Care of the Rest
This is where things get exciting, as Dr. Huberman goes into the in-depth explanation of how learning something new translates within certain parts of our brain. Without attempting to teach what he explains so well, I’m going to break it down so we can understand the basic ideas that he covers.  
Central Pattern Generators: exist in our spinal cord and it’s this part of the brain that generates repetitive movements with skills we have learned. Things like walking, running, swimming, cycling, are all controlled by this part of the brain. The CPG also controls already learned behavior. When you have developed a certain skill, this part of the brain is taking over and controls the movement. I thought about something Friederike Fabritius said in her first interview with me when we were talking about her book, The Leading Brain and I asked her about something she wrote about on this topic of understanding learned behavior and how it shows up in our brain after years of repetitive practice.
She gave 2 examples of people who didn’t rely on their conscious thinking brain, but they used their unconscious brain to increase the speed, efficiency and accuracy of their performance. The first example she used was with Sully Sullenberger’s quick thinking with his emergency landing of that plane in the Hudson River and the other was with Wayne Gretzky, who used his unique “hockey sense” to “skate where the puck will be, not where it is.”  Friederike explains in her book The Leading Brain that “there’s a common misconception that intuitive decisions are random and signify a lack of skill, the exact opposite is true. Intuitive decisions are often the product of years of experience and thousands of hours of practice. They represent the most efficient use of your accumulated expertise.”[xiv]   So, if you are executing a skill that you’ve spent years learning, you will be activating this part of your brain, the Central Pattern Generator.
Let’s say you haven’t spent years learning a sport. Like for me, with golf. If I swing a golf club, the parts of my brain that will be working are much different than the brain of a golf pro who would be using the CPG. I’d be using the next part of our brain, the Upper Motor Neurons in our cortex, that are the neural pathways that control movement, and are involved with things like picking up a pen, or a deliberate action, like swinging a golf club. This part of our brain is important to note in the visualization process, with skill building, that we will touch on in a minute.
Then there’s the Lower Motor Neurons in our spinal cord that send messages to our muscles that causes the muscles to move.
When it comes to skill acquisition, I’m sure you’ve heard of the 10,000 hour rule. Someone just said it to me the other day, and while it does explain that work is involved with learning a new skill, it doesn’t explain HOW we learn that new skill, using science.
The secret to NEW skill acquisition Dr. Huberman says is not about the hours you put in, it’s about the repetition. This made me think back to those early episodes where we took Dr. John Dunlosky’s research, connected it to what we know works in the sports world, with the daily grind that’s required for pro sports athletes, and now Dr. Huberman adds something new to this equation.
He says of course “there’s a connection between time and repetition, but there’s new research that states that it’s important what you are focused on as you learn a new skill, and if you can adjust the number of repetitions that you do, adjusting your motivation for learning, and you can vastly accelerate learning.”[xv] He went on the share study after study that backed this idea up, but without going into the weeds with the research, he says the protocol for learning any skill faster, something he says has been dubbed online as “The Super Mario Effect” or “The Test Tube Experiment” with mice or rats has to do with stimulating a certain brain area that can lead to vastly accelerating learning. He goes into where he has seen this being tested with Lewis Howes on his podcast “How to Learn Anything Fast”[xvi] where Lewis Howes almost fell off his chair with what he was learning. The issue with this method is that it’s being tested now in military environments, and not something that any of us could use for immediate results, as we’d have to drill holes in our skull to stimulate a certain part of the brain to get these accelerated learning results (and they are doing this in certain places).
But what can we do right away with this research?
Dr. Huberman says that “whatever it is we are learning, that we are to perform as many repetitions per unit of time as we possibly can, even if we make errors” and this repeat of performance, even if there are errors will help you to accelerate skill learning.”  So, we did get the ingredients of learning correct with the emphasis on repetition, but I didn’t know that the research now shows that making errors would promote plasticity in the brain and accelerate the learning process.
Here’s a 4 STEP Protocol to Help You to Learn Faster with Brain Science in Mind
Get as many repetitions in per session. (whether a sport or even going back to Dr. Dunlosky with his importance of spaced repetition).
Pay attention to the errors you make and don’t worry about bad habits getting engrained. You will know the right actions vs the ones you want to discard.
Know that neurochemicals are being created from the successful repetitions.
After the session: REST. DO NOTHING. Don’t look at your phone for 1-5 minutes to allow the neurons in the brain to replay the sequences you practiced. The errors will be eliminated and the correct sequence will be played back.
What is interesting with Dr. Huberman’s research is that he noted that when you sit and let the brain go idle after this repetition, that the brain will play the sequences backwards as it consolidates learning (and he says they aren’t sure why) but the brain in sleep, plays the sequence forward.
He also covered using a metronome (that tool we know helps you to learn to play the piano) as a powerful tool to increase the number of repetitions. I thought about how I would use this strategy, and think it makes the most sense for sports (thinking of when I was a PE teacher of how I could have used this information), or even apply it to my girls who practice gymnastics, and share with them that it matters how many turns they take to practice their skill. I asked them “how many times do you practice a back flip in one 4-hour practice” and they didn’t have a number for me. If they are messing around in practice, they are taking away from others getting these higher repetitions, as well as themselves. I know their coaches know this, but I’m hoping that the girls understand why these focused repetitions area important for their results and skill learning.
If I were a coach, with this brain science in mind, I’d have athletes count the number of reps they were doing with a certain skill, in a certain time period and see how each practice they could increase this number.
What Does the Research Say About Visualization and Learning:
I’ve spent a lot of time covering Visualization on this podcast, as it’s a part of my daily routine, so of course I wondered what Dr. Huberman and the research says about adding mental rehearsal to your learning.
While he did say that “visualization is a powerful tool and that it works” he added “not as good as the actual experience” of doing the actual physical activity. Dr. Huberman says that “closing your eyes and thinking about a sequence of movements and visualizing it in your mind’s eye creates the activation of the upper motor neurons that’s very similar, if not the same as the actual movement.” He said that visualization is a good supplement to your learning routine, but not a replacement.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this episode on the ingredients of learning, I think we uncovered the main ingredients from our episode 2 years ago (repetition and motivation) that’s crucial for learning, but Dr. Huberman’s research on making sure we get as many repetitions as we can per session, even if we make mistakes in the process, did help me to look at learning with a new lens.
I also couldn’t forget how he said the military is experimenting with stimulating parts of the brain to accelerate learning and know that years down the line, it might be easier for us to learn a new language, or master a new skill in a sport, with advancements in our understanding of brain science.
I hope that this episode helped you to think of what else you could do to accelerate learning for your students in the classroom, whether it’s with John Hattie’s reflections of “thinking through” an effective lesson, or with the tried and true strategies of Dr. John Dunlosky of spaced repetition that have proven to accelerate results in sports and the classroom, or even Dr. Huberman’s idea of increasing the amount of repetitions per unit of time, without worrying about errors.
This episode on learning made me think of more questions than I have answers for. It was only two years after we wrote ep 119, that Dr. Andrew Huberman released his new research, and many studies that have emerged about how to accelerate learning with repetition, and how our brain is involved in this process.
15 years after Professor John Hattie released his ground-breaking Visible Learning book in the field of education, that he reflects back now on AI for classroom observation. 
I’ll close with a quote from Mark Zuckerberg who says that “unsupervised learning is the way that most people will learn in the future. You have this model of how the world works in your head and you’re refining it to predict what you think is going to happen in the future.”
This makes me wonder:
What will we uncover 3 years from now?
Will we ever be able to find the science that gives us answers to other ways we can learn, like finding answers from our dream world?
Will we be able to predict our future somehow like Mark Zuckerberg suggested by refining something in our head?
While Dr. Huberman says that visualization is a powerful tool that works, he still says that it doesn’t work as well as actually doing the skill. He has the data to prove this today but will we uncover something about our brain and places we can stimulate it without having to drill open our skull in the future that could improve our effectiveness, even if it’s a few percentages of improvement? 
Maybe tweaking something with our visualization process could unlock some of the secrets Jose Silva unlocked in his Silva Mind Control Method[xvii] that we dove deep into at the end of last year? 
One thing I know for sure is that I’ll never stop asking questions and searching for answers that can help us to all be a stronger more resilient 2.0 version of ourselves. 
What about you? 
What questions do you have? How has science informed your learning?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the future of learning…
And with that I’ll close out this episode and see you next week as we revisit EP #122 on “Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience”[xviii] 
See you next week!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
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REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #119 on “The Key Ingredients of Learning with the Brain in Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-key-ingredients-of-learning-with-the-brain-in-mind-with-andrea-samadi
 
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #3 with Ron Hall from Valley Day School on “Launching Your Neuro-educational Program” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/interview-with-ron-hall-valley-day-school-on-launching-your-neuroeducational-program/
 
[iii] Steve Jobs https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/steve_jobs_416875
 
[iv] Greg Wolcott Significant 72 https://www.significant72.com/
 
[v] John Hattie: Why Teaching Strategies Don’t Make You an Expert Teacher by John Hattie Jan 11th, 2023 https://www.tes.com/magazine/teaching-learning/general/john-hattie-visible-learning-teaching-strategies-dont-make-you-expert
 
[vi] Visible Learning: The Sequel by John Hattie Published by Routledge, March 20, 2023  https://www.routledge.com/Visible-Learning-The-Sequel-A-Synthesis-of-Over-2100-Meta-Analyses-Relating/Hattie/p/book/9781032462035
 
[vii] IBID
[viii] IBID
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Achieving Peak Performance” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/
 
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #37 “Dr. John Dunlosky on “Improving Student Success: Some Principles from Cognitive Science” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kent-states-dr-john-dunlosky-on-improving-student-success-some-principles-from-cognitive-science/
 
[xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #38 with Todd Woodcroft on “The Daily Grind in the NHL”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/
 
[xii] How to Learn Skills Faster by Dr. Andrew Huberman, EPISODE #20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0IBzCjEPk
 
[xiii] https://twitter.com/PhysEdDynasty
 
[xiv] The Leading Brain, Page 148, Friederike Fabritius https://www.amazon.com/Leading-Brain-Neuroscience-Smarter-Happier-ebook/dp/B01HCGYVM2/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAiAr4GgBhBFEiwAgwORreGYXo-LXa5995xdbpY7AiCFCyjNHxQ842EYgZOf2uGIaCZmtq3T7xoCGc4QAvD_BwE&hvadid=174274111864&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030068&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=1212127332165576286&hvtargid=kwd-262053540231&hydadcr=22536_9636732&keywords=the+leading+brain&qid=1677786313&sr=8-1
 
[xv] How to Learn Skills Faster Dr. Andrew Huberman PODCAST EPISODE #20 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0IBzCjEPk
 
[xvi] Lewis Howes and Dr. Andrew Huberman on “How to Learn Anything Fast” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADygLWbL2M4
 
[xvii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 on “Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
 
[xviii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #122 on Transforming the Mind Using Athletics and Neuroscience https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-transforming-the-mind-using-athletics-and-neuroscience/
 

Brain Fact Friday ”The Damaging Impacts of Sugar on the Brain and Body”

“It’s well understood that this chronic disease (type 2 diabetes) is linked to lifestyle. Combine a diet high in sugar (including fruits, honey, and starch, all of which turn into varying amounts of sugar when digested) with a lack of exercise and the results will be type 2 diabetes with the miserable complications that come with it.” (An excerpt from Dr. Richard Jacoby, co-author of Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage, and Reclaim Good Health.”
I want to welcome you back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. 
For today’s episode #275, we will revisit one of my favorite episodes #117[i] on “The Damaging Impact of Sugar on the Brain and Body” to review what we covered, and see if there’s anything else important that the research has revealed. There’s a lot that’s NEW with this topic, but as I reviewed this past episode, I had completely forgotten some of the details we covered a few years ago, that are very important. 
Today we will cover: 
✔What sugar does to the brain, cognition and well-being.✔How sugar contributes to cognitive decline and Alzheimer's Disease.
✔That we all have individual journeys on our pathway towards optimal health and well-being.
✔Where my health took a turn towards wellness in 2005 and again in 2014 with the hope that my health story will give you some thoughts with your health story.
✔We looked at 2 people’s blood glucose results to see what each person learned from using a glucose monitor.
✔3 Tips You Can Implement Immediately for Improved Health, Clarity and Well-Being.
You can review this past episode by clicking on the link in the show notes but for today’s episode, we are going to dive a bit deeper with what sugar does to the brain, body, cognition and our health by tying in what has emerged since that first episode. We will look at the results of two people who’ve been tracking their blood glucose levels with the Freestyle Libre Glucose Monitor[ii]  to see what patterns emerge eating certain foods. The first individual we will look at, had A1C levels that have recently gone into the danger zone, signaling type-2 diabetes, showing an A1C level of over 8.5 on a recent blood test. I’m the second chart, and am not insulin resistant, but know that sugar doesn’t work for me at all. I don’t need a blood test to know that it makes me feel horrendous. My A1C levels sit around 5.8, which is in line with someone on a lower carbohydrate, and higher fat diet.[iii]
This episode is not about the best diet to choose and when I sat down to write this, I quickly saw that this topic of health, especially as it relates to nutrition is such a challenging and difficult one to cover, as not one size fits all. I do want to acknowledge that there are many different diet plans out there, and that I’m not here to say one is better than another. I recognize that it’s downright frustrating when you are doing everything the right way, (eating clean and exercising) and you are seeing zero results. This seems to be especially true in the area of weight loss, where I recently saw a post from Chris Cornell, who shares his weight loss strategies on Twitter, and asked what ended up being a highly controversial question “why are most people unable to achieve significant and sustainable weight (fat) loss through lifestyle modifications?” He added “I’m guessing some people have something amiss with their regulatory mechanism. For many, I believe it’s that they are unable to regulate the crap foods they’ve been eating.”
I’ll share what I learned over the past few weeks that might shed some light into why it’s so difficult to make shift with what we eat, and why one bad food choice can often set us up to sabotage ourselves to continue making poor food choices with that snowball effect.  Today we will put the focus on what we can control (using the data I uncovered with this glucose monitor) to inform our action steps at the end of this episode. There’s so much to this problem that includes things we can’t control (our heredity, hormones, stress levels to name a few factors) so I’m going to make it easy.   Let’s focus ONLY on what sugar does to the brain and body.
I want to acknowledge that we are all different, and your path is probably going to be different from mine, but I’m sure some of what I will share will resonate with you. We all hit a point where we know something isn’t right, and go to the doctor looking for a solution. I really don’t believe in accidents, and when we “feel” like something is off with our health, I think it’s important to listen to our intuition here, and look into it. My journey towards looking for the “right diet” plan began in 2005 (before I had children) when I was looking for a solution for why my feet were going numb during exercise, and there were many twists and turns along the way, before things began to “click” for me.
When I felt that something was off with numbness in my feet,  I went to a foot doctor to look for answers. Looking back now, this decision, I think moved the needle of health and wellness the most for me personally over the past 2 decades, as the foot doctor I went to see was Dr. Richard Jacoby, the author of Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage and Reclaim Good Health.[iv]
Dr. Jacoby[v] took one look at me and said “you don’t look like the typical patient I usually see.  People come to me in their late 50s and 60s” (I was around 33 back then and people who were in their 50s (like I am today) were ancient to me so I was starting to think I was in the wrong place). He went on to say that people came in with different types of health problems, and his job was to help them solve these problems.” Over the years, he became excellent with his advice for people, leading him to appear in many of those Top Doctor Lists for 2003, 2005, 2008 and 2010) and he just asked his patients to do 2 things. He asked them to eliminate sugar from their diet, and make sure they are taking omega-3 fatty acids, since most Americans are deficient here.[vi]  I started to think maybe my running shoes were too tight and felt bad for wasting his time, as I didn’t think his advice was going to help me, but I looked at him and said, “that’s easy enough” as I was already doing one of his suggestions. Next was to eliminate sugar, which I did, not know how much it would completely change my health.
Of course, our health requires constant work, and this change didn’t last forever. My next turn was around 2014, 10 years later. I remember cooking my children dinner, standing at the stove, and not knowing what I should eat, leading me to google “healthy eating” and that led me to the work of fitness model and trainer, Jason Wittrock[vii], known as the blood sugar king. Jason is on a war against diabetes and obesity, that we will mention a bit later on this episode. The point here is that there’s no straight line. I think we all have our own individual path to figure out with our own “individual secrets” to unlock our optimal levels of health, and I’ve still not figured all of mine out yet, but as I’m approaching age 52, I feel better now, than I did at age 30.
Dr. Jacoby’s book Sugar Crush says it all. He says that: 
It was not an accident that I ended up at Dr. Jacoby’s offices that day, and I thought about him while actually measuring my glucose levels for this episode.
Before I get to the results of what each of us discovered in this process of measuring our glucose levels, I think it’s important to note what we learned on that first episode that I had forgotten because we can’t remember everything, just what’s important to us—and this is very important at the moment. 
Since last week’s episode was about “Building a Faster, Stronger, Resilient Brain, by Understanding Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor (BDNF)”[viii] or the compound that Dr. Ratey says is crucial for preventing cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s Disease. I want to focus this episode on something Dr. Ratey said that really made me think.
He said, did you know that “High glucose levels are toxic to the brain, and limits the production of this glorious compound BDNF that has such a profound effect on cognition and well-being?”
Dr. Ratey’s quote made me think back to a BONUS episode I did for Podbean’s Wellness week[ix] that goes right along with what Dr. Ratey said. It was a quote from Dr. David Perlmutter, who wrote the foreword to Dr. Ratey’s book Go Wild![x] and it was Dr. Perlmutter’s documentary on Alzheimer’s Disease that made me think hard about our Top 5 Health and Wellness staples.
Dr. Perlmutter said DID YOU KNOW THAT: Sugar in the brain “looks like Alzheimer’s” in the brain, and that “60% of cognitive decline is related to how you handle blood sugar?”[xi]  He says that “elevated blood sugar shrinks the brain.”  I had to take these words and create a visual to bring this to light. Sometimes you can hear the words of something, but until you can actually see and feel the words come to life, like the image I put in the show notes, there isn’t as much meaning to what we might be reading. I think the image of a healthy brain, next to a severely shrunken Alzheimer’s brain, is an image I’ll never forget. Sugar can cause a brain to shrink and look like this.
 
Remember that quote from Dr. Dale Bredesen from our last episode that said:
Why would any of us knowingly choose this for ourselves?
Why would we buy each other gifts at holidays that include things that science reveals are toxic to the brain?
Why do teachers reward children with candy at school?
Why do we stand around eating cake at the end of a church service?
I know, because it tastes good. But it’s here we will take the information we are learning, connect the dots to form knowledge and then apply this knowledge to become wise. This is where we go from theory to practice with this podcast.
I might be told I’m a bit on the boring side these days, as I’m cutting out all the food that are fun for us, but I’m doing this with the purpose of improving clarity, focus and performance on a day to day basis.
WHAT DID WE LEARN BY MEASURING BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS?
I’m sure you’ve seen people measuring their blood sugar, and sharing how this data helps them to make better choices with the foods they eat. I first saw this device with Jason Wittrock,[xii] who we mentioned earlier, and interviewed on EP 94[xiii]. If you go to his Instagram page, you’ll see many tests he’s done with a variety of different foods, drinks and snacks to see how each one affects his blood sugar levels, and there were many surprises. 
If you're curious, go to his page and look at his tests, especially when he tested white rice. It was interesting that hot white rice spiked his blood sugar into the danger zone, but when he applied the cooling theory and put the rice in the fridge for 24 hours, it kept his blood sugar in the safe zone. He mentions at the end of every episode that the foods that took his blood sugar into the danger zone should be avoided by someone who is insulin resistant or who has type 2 diabetes.
Week 1: Feb 3-10
 You can see my week one blood sugar averages as very stable, around 96 mg, with no spikes anywhere. 
That first week, I almost gave up measuring as I pretty much eat the same foods every day and I was getting the same spikes every day. Around 9am I eat breakfast (usually Ezekiel bread with peanut butter) and you can see this is typically when my blood sugar spikes the most, around 9am. Since I’m not diabetic, my blood sugar goes back to normal pretty quickly. 
Around 12pm I’ll have a protein shake with almond milk, (with strawberries, avocado, spinach and fiber) that doesn’t spike blood sugar, and usually around 3pm I’ll have eggs (sometimes with bacon) with the other avocado half. Everything on my chart was predictable, no surprises, even on the days that I ate some chocolate, something I do when I have writing blocks. Since I’m not diabetic or insulin resistant, small amounts of sugar don’t seem to do much to my blood sugar.
But look at what happened when I travelled in week 2. 
Week 2, I was away from home, and ate something I don’t usually eat. Normally, I bring food with me when I travel, as it does save money and time trying to find a place to eat, but this time, it was a quick trip, so I didn’t. 
Look at the second graph in the show notes and you can see what happened when I was away for the weekend. You will see 2 times my blood sugar rose up. Once with a turkey sandwich on whole wheat bread from a place called Jersey Mikes around 3pm, and again around 9pm that night. I usually follow an eating schedule where I would never eat past 5:30pm at night (intermittent fasting where I don’t eat for a 16 hour window, and eat healthy foods in an 8 hour window) but the event we were at ended late, so a group of us decided to order food from a local Thai restaurant. I love Thai food (especially Pad Thai) so that’s what I ordered. This meal (that was delicious) but it took my blood sugar way over 200, putting me in the danger zone with this meal. It did stable out in the night, but here’s what was interesting for me. Whenever I eat something off my usual plan, I feel starving the next day. It just messes up the whole next day for me, and while it was worth it to sit and enjoy a meal with others, it is good to know what happens to our body when we overload it with high glucose foods. 
If you look at the second graph, the next day, my blood sugar kept dipping too low (where it dipped low and was showing red, was when I felt insanely hungry) and it would’ve been easy to eat something else off the usual menu, showing how one choice can impact the series of choices you make over the next few days. This was eye-opening to me. 
Now let’s look at the graph of someone who has just crossed the threshold of being diabetic. I didn’t even pick a sugary food for this example, which would have obviously spiked blood sugar. 
What happens to someone who is diabetic? 
“Diabetes is a problem with your body that causes blood sugar (also called blood glucose) levels to rise higher than normal. This is also called hyperglycemia. When you eat, your body breaks food down into sugar and sends it into the blood. Insulin then helps move the sugar from the blood into your cells.”[xiv] 
For a person with diabetes, there is a problem with insulin. But, not everyone with diabetes has the same problem. There are different types of diabetes—type 1, type 2 and gestational diabetes. If you have type 2 diabetes, your body does not use insulin properly. This is called insulin resistance. At first, your cells make extra insulin to make up for it. But, over time your pancreas can't make enough insulin to keep your blood sugar at normal levels. Type 2 diabetes develops most often in middle-aged and older adults but can appear in young people.
WEEK 1 with TYPE 2 DIABETIC PERSON:
Week 1 he noticed spikes with foods that were high in carbs (like bread) that stayed high well into the night and only started to come down to normal levels by 9am.  The obvious take-away from this was that for someone who has passed the threshold with diabetes, or in the danger zone that they will eventually need to see the doctor to take medicine to keep their blood sugar levels stable. For some people, diet and exercise could be the answer to regulate blood sugar, but if your blood sugar is staying high, for too long, remember “glucose in the brain is toxic to the brain” and that “elevated blood sugar shrinks the brain” or even that “sugar in the brain looks like Alzheimer’s in the brain. If you are insulin resistant or have type 2 diabetes, then knowing how your body reacts to sugar could be the difference between life and death.
WEEK 2
 
Be careful of thinking "I've got this" and make a poor food choice. Here's the graph after eating homemade pizza. A better choice for pizza dough would be cauliflower pizza dough that you can find at your local grocery store that keeps blood sugar levels stable.
Once you have seen and felt a blood sugar spike, especially for someone working hard to keep their blood sugar levels stable, this was enough to make this person choose foods that did not cause a blood sugar spike and glucose levels remained under 150. Until they thought “oh I’ve got this blood sugar thing” and made homemade pizza with store bought dough, you will see this raised his blood sugar well into the danger zone over 200, just like my Pad Thai.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
So taking what we learned from our last episode on the damaging impacts of sugar on the brain, we know that glucose is toxic to the brain, so a person with this data would now need to make a data informed decision to not eat foods that spike their blood sugar. 
This is one of those things that’s easier said than done. How do you make huge lifestyle changes like this? I think it gets to the point that you’ll do it if your life depends on it. Like I remember that math teacher, Sergei with tears in his eyes on the hiking trail. You’ll make changes when your doctor tells you loud and clear you have no other option. 
Make room for your health or you’ll need to make room for your illness. 
We will conclude this episode with some tips on how to make actionable changes if you don’t know where to begin in your journey towards improved health and well-being.
TIP 1: LEARN WHAT FOODS ARE LOW-GLYCEMIC and replace what you used to eat (that spiked your blood sugar) with something else that doesn’t. This is going to be the biggest change as I remember looking at Dr. Jacoby and saying, “you mean bananas are high in sugar?” and he said “yes” and handed me a list of low glycemic fruits that included blueberries and raspberries (that Jason Wittrock tested and they kept his blood sugar low).  I found some great resources for low glycemic foods from Dr. Daniel Amen.[xv]
TIP 2: DISCOVER THE MEAL PLAN THAT MAKES YOU FEEL THE BEST: There’s so many different options and I only chose the meal plan I eat because in my late 20s I was diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome[xvi] (the most common causes of female infertility) and who would have known that the diet plan that would work the best for me, and completely reverse this health problem, was to eat a diet similar to someone who is diabetic. I bought the PCOS Diet Book[xvii] that surprisingly was written to also help protect someone against diabetes and heart disease.
TIP 3: READ LABELS Read Labels and Know How to Identify Sugar to Make Better Choices: It’s shocking how many foods have hidden sugars. Did you know “The average American consumes 150 lbs. of sugar a year” (Dr. Amen) This makes sense when there’s so many foods labeled as healthy, with hidden sugars added.
Making the following changes will change your brain, improve cognition, focus and help lead you towards improved results, and away from diabetes and Alzheimer’s Disease.
I hope you find these tips as helpful as I did. I only discovered this pathway because I so happened to book an appointment with a doctor who believes that peripheral neuropathy (that numbness I felt in my feet during exercise) is an early sign for what he’s seen in his patients over the years…
The final thoughts come from Dr. Jacoby, who pleads with us:
I’d love to hear what you think of this episode! Do you know how YOUR body responds to sugar? Have you ever measured your glucose levels? This data will help inform many of your decisions related to the foods you will eat. I know I’m going to stick to eating those low glycemic foods that keep my blood sugar levels and hunger levels stable, until I make it back to my hometown in Toronto, where I’ll order a Hawaiian slice at the famous Pizza Pizza with extra pineapple, and I’ll enjoy every bite of it, because you only live once!
I’ll see you next week as we revisit EP #119 on “The Key Ingredients of Learning with the Brain in Mind”
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
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REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #117 “The ‘Damaging Impact of Sugar on the Brain and Body” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-damaging-impact-of-sugar-on-the-brain-and-body-with-andrea-samadi/
[ii] https://www.freestyle.abbott/us-en/home.html
[iii] Lower carbohydrate and higher fat intakes are associated with higher hemoglobin A1c: findings from the UK National Diet and Nutrition Survey 2008-2016 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7413867/
[iv] Sugar Crush: How to Reduce Inflammation, Reverse Nerve Damage and Reclaim Good Health by Dr. Richard Jacoby (April 2014)  https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00KPVB4OA/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1
[v] http://phoenixfootcarenetwork.com/
[vi] Study finds most Americans low in omega-3 fatty acids Published May 24, 2021 by Danielle Masterson https://www.nutraingredients-usa.com/Article/2021/05/24/Study-finds-most-Americans-low-in-omega-3-fatty-acids-could-impact-mood#:~:text=Subscribe-,Study%20finds%20most%20Americans%20low%20in%20omega,fatty%20acids%2C%20could%20impact%20mood&text=New%20research%20has%20found%20that,on%20the%20US%20Dietary%20Guidelines.
[vii] Jason Wittrock https://www.instagram.com/jason.wittrock/?hl=en
[viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #114 on “Building a Faster, Stronger, More Resilient Brain by Understanding Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor or BDNF”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-building-a-faster-stronger-resilient-brain-by-understanding-brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor-bdnf/
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE “Review of the Top 5 Health Staples Created for Podbean’s Wellness Week” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
[x] Go Wild: Eat fat, Run Free, Be Social, and Follow Evolution’s Other Rules for Total Health and Well-Being by John J. Ratey, MD and Richard Manning (June 3, 2014) https://www.amazon.com/Go-Wild-Free-Afflictions-Civilization-ebook/dp/B00FPQA66C
[xi] Dr. David Perlmutter’s “Alzheimer’s: The Science of Prevention” https://scienceofprevention.com/
[xii] https://www.instagram.com/jason.wittrock/?hl=en
[xiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #94 with Jason Wittrock on “Health, Intermittent Fasting, and the Ketogenic Diet” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-trainer-and-fitness-model-jason-wittrock-on-health-nutrition-intermittent-fasting-and-the-ketogenic-diet/
[xiv] https://diabetes.org/
[xv] 4 Feel Better Food Strategies by Daniel Amen https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/4-feel-better-fast-food-strategies/#:~:text=Most%20vegetables%2C%20legumes%2C%20and%20fruits,blood%20sugar)%20are%20smart%20carbs.[xvii] The PCOS Diet Book by Collette Harris  https://www.amazon.com/PCOS-Diet-Book-nutritional-polycystic/dp/0007131844
 

Brain Fact Friday ”What’s New With BDNF: Building a Faster, Stronger, More Resilient Brain”

“It is impossible to escape the drumbeat of grim news about Alzheimer’s Disease: this it is incurable and largely untreatable, that there is no reliable way to prevent it, and that the disease has for decades beaten the world’s best neuroscientists.”
This is an excerpt from Dr. Dale Bredesen’s book, The End of Alzheimer’s: The First Program to Prevent and Reverse Cognitive Decline.
On today’s Episode #274 we will cover
✔ A review of EPISODE #114 where we covered a thorough overview of BDNF (Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor) and what we should all understand about this protein and its benefits to the brain.
✔How BDNF is reduced in the brain of someone who has developed Alzheimer's Disease.
✔A look at an internationally recognized expert in the mechanisms of degenerative disease, Dr. Dale Bredesen and his book The End of Alzheimer's to take the "fear" out of this disease.
✔ A look back to the Top 5 Health Staples we created after watching Dr. David Perlmutter's Alzheimer's The Science of Prevention Documentary.
✔ An overview of Dr. Dale Bredesen's Protocol where he is seeing significant results with his patients who shows signs of cognitive impairment.
✔A plan for us to think about the prevention of this debilitating disease. 
 
If American Psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist, Dr. Daniel Amen says that “Alzheimer’s is a lifestyle disease”[i] and innovator in medicine, Dr. Dale Bredesen, with over 30 patents in his name, comes up with a protocol to prevent and reverse cognitive decline, you’d better believe I’m going to feature these important findings in the field of neuroscience on this podcast.  If I see anything that could possibly change the course of our lives, improving it in any way, I’ll share what I’m learning with you here on The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast. It’s here where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research with the goal of heightening productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new listeners, I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. 
This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics as we revisit our past Brain Fact Fridays, narrowing in on how anything new from the field of neuroscience (that I’ve seen since releasing those earlier episodes) can be tied to improving our productivity, our results, or our mental and physical health. My hopes are that this review will help us to become better prepared to move forward, with a healthier, stronger version of ourselves, as we move towards our goals, or whatever it is that we are working on this year, with this strong foundation and understanding of our brain in place.
This week, we will look back to our third Brain Fact Friday and episode #114 [ii] on “Building a Faster, Stronger, More Resilient Brain by Understanding Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor or BDNF.” My goal with this episode is that if anyone asks you “what do you know about Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor” that you would have a clear answer with what we covered on this past episode, (what it is, why it’s important for us to know about) and anything new that we will uncover today that will act as a check for us to see if we really are building a faster, stronger and more resilient brain.
On our last episode we covered:
✔What BDNF (brain-derived neurotrophic factor) is and what are its benefits to the brain.
✔What we should all understand about BDNF with Alzheimer's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and how our brain learns.
✔The Connection Between Exercise, Nutrition and BDNF
✔ Why Putting the Body Under Stress is a Good Thing.
✔Sleep, Stress and the BDNF Factor.
If you want to revisit this past episode, you can click on the link in the show notes, and review the basics of BDNF, a protein that’s found in the brain and other parts of the body “involved in plastic changes related to learning and memory[iii] and higher-level cognitive abilities. This signaling protein is the reason why we can sit at our desk with a heightened sense of focus and concentration, after we exercise. It’s what Dr. Ratey from EPISODE #116[iv]  on The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain taught us when he said that “movement places demands on the brain, just as it does on muscle, and so the brain releases BDNF which triggers the growth of cells to meet the increased mental demands of movement”[v] and the whole brain benefits from this movement.
ON THIS PAST EPISODE, WE LEARNED THE BENEFITS OF BDNF
BDNF helps with learning, memory, or other higher-level thinking.
It grows new neurons and synapses in the brain while also supporting the survival of existing neurons.
It increases neurogenesis (the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain) and can help to heal our brain after a traumatic brain injury.[vi]
WHAT WE SHOULD KNOW AND UNDERSTAND ABOUT BDNF ESPECIALLY AS IT RELATES TO ALZHEIMER’S DISEASE?
BDNF is reduced in the brain of someone who has developed Alzheimer’s Disease[vii] and Parkinson’s Disease[viii] and explains why someone with Alzheimer’s has their memory weakened.
Now that we have reviewed what we learned from March 2021, I wonder what else there is about this protein found in the brain and spinal cord that promotes the survival of nerve cells (neurons) that could help all of us with our overall health and well-being and I found something important since that first episode 2 years ago.  For today’s episode, #274, we will be looking at the work of Dr. Dale Bredesen, to see if we can take our health and wellness to new heights.
The goal of this episode is to take the “fear” out of Alzheimer’s Disease, as we gain some understanding about it. While there is no known cure for Alzheimer’s Disease, I want to share with you what Dr. Dale Bredesen has discovered, as “the first person to reverse Alzheimer’s Disease in people, not just with experiments with mice in the lab.”[ix]
About Dr. Dale Bredesen
I first came across his work on Dr. Perlmutter’s Alzheimer’s The Science of Prevention Documentary that we covered when our podcast took a turn towards health and wellness in 2020. After this documentary, we created our Top 5 Health Staples with tips for how they can prevent Alzheimer’s Disease and featured these tips on EPISODE #87.[x] While health and wellness have always been important to me on a person level, this episode opened up many doors for me when I was asked to speak on the topic of health and wellness after this episode. I’m not an expert here, (my schooling began in the field of education) but I do take all of these Top 5 health staples seriously, enough to spend any free time I have researching how we can all improve our health and wellness, and share what I’m learning with you here on the podcast.
I do believe that when you walk your talk, and believe in whatever it is that you are doing, that this curiosity for improvement become contagious, especially if whatever it is you are doing is yielding results. Who wouldn’t want to know what’s working for others, and see how they can apply it to their own life?  I’ve asked health experts over the years on this podcast, what they think is missing from my list of health staples, and the one thing they’ve said, if I can recall my conversation with Dr. Brian Stenzler, from EPISODE #178[xi] on “Dream Wellness: Taking Your Mental and Physical Health to New Heights” is to include something about reducing stress.
REVIEW of the TOP 5 HEALTH STAPLES
I highly recommend that everyone picks up Dr. Bredesen’s book, The End of Alzheimer’s as he has created a pro-active approach to this disease that we “fear like no other disease.” (Dr. Bredesen).
Dr. Bredesen, an internationally recognized expert in the mechanisms of neurodegenerative diseases, has been guided by a simple idea in his career: that Alzheimer’s as we know it is not just preventable, but reversible. His dedicated pursuit of the science that makes this a reality has placed him at the vanguard of neurological research and led to the discoveries that define his Protocol™ that you will see throughout the pages of his book.
Instead of the old-fashioned, outdated approach to health and wellness, where we wait for symptoms to occur, and then we go to the doctor where we will be told “there’s no known cure for this, but here’s a drug you can take that may or may not provide relief of the symptoms you are having” why not think like Dr. Daniel Amen, (that this is a lifestyle disease) and Dr. Bredesen, that this disease is preventable (for those don’t currently have symptoms) and reversible (if you do). If you follow Dr. Bredesen’s work, you will see he is a humble man, who has seen this eye-opening improvement in his patients over the years, who followed his “Bredesen 7 Protocol.” He said that in his most recent study, that “84% of his participants who were in Phase 3 of having symptoms (showing mild cognitive impairment-or people who had symptoms that were quite far along) that things improved significantly with his protocol.”[xii]
WHAT IS THE BREDESEN 7?
Dr. Bredesen believes that Alzheimer’s is a “network insufficiency” that occurs when parts of our brain are not functioning optimally. He says we need “Mitochondrial function (the energy powerhouse in our cells), growth factor support, BDNF, (the focus of this episode) blood flow, oxygen and ketone levels”[xiii] and if you look at the diagram in the show notes, his health staples, or his trademarked protocol include nutrition, exercise, sleep, stress reduction, brain stimulation, detoxing the body, and supplements. You can read more about the importance of each of these 7 protocols on his website.
For today’s episode, my hope was that if at any given time, if we are asked “what are you doing for YOUR cognitive health?” that we all have a thorough answer, using our deep and thorough understanding of this protein, BDNF that:
BDNF helps with learning, memory, or other higher-level thinking.
It grows new neurons and synapses in the brain while also supporting the survival of existing neurons.
It increases neurogenesis (the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain) and can help to heal our brain after a traumatic brain injury.
BDNF is reduced in the brain of someone who has developed Alzheimer’s Disease[xiv] and Parkinson’s Disease[xv] and explains why someone with Alzheimer’s has their memory weakened.
 Since this disease is preventable, I wanted us to think about this. Here’s a passionate and heartfelt excerpt from The End of Alzheimer’s:
If anyone has seen this first hand, Dr. Bredesen’s description of this disease will resonate as very true.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION
So now that we know that BDNF is reduced in someone with Alzheimer’s Disease, and we’ve seen Dr. Bredesen’s work where he’s been able to prevent AND reverse cognitive decline in those who have come to see him, I think that understanding our TOP HEALTH STAPLES with our brain in mind should include a clear understanding of what BDNF is, and why it’s important for our mental and physical health as we age.
Dr. Bredesen gives a good analogy of our brain to a computer, that over time begins to slow down in performance when it runs out of space. Like a computer, we can keep our brain healthy, by doing what we can to prevent this debilitating disease, and like Dr. Daniel Amen said, “it’s a lifestyle disease.” By no means is this episode here to say that these tips will cure you if you’ve noticed cognitive decline in yourself, or someone else, the point of this episode is to direct us all to what we can do today to build a stronger, healthier and more resilient brain, even as we age.
We can all tell when our brain isn’t as sharp as it used to be. I noticed it very clearly while interviewing guests on this podcast. It takes a very clear mind to be able to recall details of past episodes, or book names, or what the book was about, or even the person’s name that I’m speaking with. Every detail matters, and when I noticed a lack of clarity this past summer, I knew it was time to tighten up my own health protocol and take things to a new level.
What about you?
What have you noticed with your ability to think clearly, or recall information on a daily basis?
If you look at the Bredesen 7 Protocol can you see areas you would like to improve?
We don’t need to change everything all at once, one small step at a time can make a huge difference, but the first step, I think is to take a solid inventory of ourselves, and notice if something needs to change.
To conclude this week’s Brain Fact Friday, on our review of BDNF, my suggestion is that we all take note in ways that we can increase BDNF.
PUTTING THE BREDESEN 7 INTO PRACTICE FOR IMPROVED COGNITION:
Dr. Dale Bredesen, who was the first person to reverse Alzheimer’s in humans (not just mice) has come up with his “Bredesen 7” that includes strategies similar to the Top 5 health staples we’ve been covering on this podcast the past few years.
I’ll leave you with some final thoughts of where to begin. Look at the diagram in the show notes, and think:
Are there areas here that you can improve?
If your life depended on it, would that be enough to motivate you to try something new?
Pick one area that you will work on and create a plan to SHIFT this one area.
If it’s nutrition, what can you do to support your cognitive health with the food you are eating?  For exercise, what can you do to move more every day? I just read the other day that “sitting is the new smoking”[xvi] and that over 25% of American adults site for more than eight hours every day, with 44% of these people getting little or no exercise. How are you reducing stress? I use exercise and meditation as ways to reduce stress. Sleep is always something I’m personally working on improving, and so far, I’ve not mastered this one yet, unless I’m on vacation. For mental stimulation, one of the reasons I don’t ever plan on giving up on this podcast, even when time is more limited, is for the fact that I know writing and recording these episodes keeps my brain mentally active. One area that surprised me while researching over the years was with the detox section, and it’s not just about be careful what you put into your body, but also thinking about our oral health. Brushing our teeth and flossing is actually good for our brain. I learned this one from Dr. Daniel Amen[xvii] who is the first to share how proud he is with his excellent oral hygiene.  Supplements are another interesting area to pay attention to, and while I do take certain ones every day, this is something that would be individual to everyone’s needs. I’ll put a link to a recent podcast episode from Dr. Andrew Huberman that he did on a Deep Dive into Supplements, what to take and why.[xviii]
I hope this episode has made you think about your brain in a new light. Like our computer needs the right amount of memory to work properly, so does our body, that’s driven by our brain, and the hope that I’d like to provide is that it’s not too late for any of us to make changes if you’ve gone off track, and notice your memory is not as sharp as it used to be. I made some very small and simple shifts last summer that yielded huge results, and know it just takes the will to find a new and improved way.
And with that, we’ll close out today’s episode, and will see you next week as we revisit one of my all-time favorite episodes on “The Damaging Impacts of Sugar on the Brain and Body.”[xix] This next one is going to be good!
See you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
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RESOURCES:
The Bredesen 7 Protocol https://www.apollohealthco.com/simplifying-the-bredesen-protocol/
REFERENCES:
[i] Alzheimer’s is a Lifestyle Disease by Dr. Daniel Amen Published Nov. 3, 2021 https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/alzheimers-is-a-lifestyle-disease/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #114 on “Building a Faster, Stronger, More Resilient Brain by Understanding Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor or BDNF”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-building-a-faster-stronger-resilient-brain-by-understanding-brain-derived-neurotrophic-factor-bdnf/
[iii] Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor: A Key Molecule for Memory in the Healthy and Pathological Brain (August 07, 2019) by Magdalena Miranda, Juan Facundo Morici, Maria Belen Zanoni, and Pedro Bekinschtein https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2019.00363/full
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#116 with Dr. John Ratey on “The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/best-selling-author-john-j-ratey-md-on-the-revolutionary-new-science-of-exercise-and-the-brain/
[v] Brain Derived Neurotrophic Factor: A Key Molecule for Memory in the Healthy and Pathological Brain (August 07, 2019) by Magdalena Miranda, Juan Facundo Morici, Maria Belen Zanoni, and Pedro Bekinschtein https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fncel.2019.00363/full
[vi] Therapeutic potential of BDNF Published Jan. 2017 by Mary Wurzelmann, Jennifer Romeika, Dong Sun https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28250730/
[vii] BDNF ameliorates learning deficits in a rat model of Alzheimer’s https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25849905/
[viii] Relationship of circulatory BDNF with cognitive deficits in people with Parkinson’s disease https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26944151/
[ix] Peggy Sarlin’s Brain Health Breakthroughs, Awakening from Alzheimer’s https://brainhealthbreakthroughs.com/registered/
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #87 on “The Top 5 Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/do-you-know-the-top-5-brain-health-and-alzheimers-prevention-strategies-with-andrea-samadi/
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #178 with Dr. Brian Stenzler on“Dream Wellness: Taking Your Mental and Physical Health to New Heights”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-brian-stenzler-on-dream-wellness-taking-your-mental-and-physical-health-to-new-heights/
[xii] Peggy Sarlin’s Brain Health Breakthroughs, Awakening from Alzheimer’s https://brainhealthbreakthroughs.com/registered/
[xiii] IBID
[xiv] BDNF ameliorates learning deficits in a rat model of Alzheimer’s https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25849905/
[xv] Relationship of circulatory BDNF with cognitive deficits in people with Parkinson’s disease https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26944151/
[xvi] Sitting is the New Smoking by Hannah, August 10, 2019  https://theheartfoundation.org/2019/08/10/is-sitting-the-new-smoking/
[xvii] Here’s Why Flossing is So Important For Your Health by Keith Rowe for Dr. Amen’s Brain MD https://brainmd.com/blog/benefits-of-flossing-for-gum-health/
[xviii] Dr. Andrew Huberman Supplements: Full List, Deep Dive into What and Why https://fastlifehacks.com/andrew-huberman-supplements-list/
[xix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #117 on “The Damaging Impact of Sugar on the Brain and Body”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-damaging-impact-of-sugar-on-the-brain-and-body-with-andrea-samadi/
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Using Neuroscience to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts, Emotions and Behaviors”

"Self-regulation will always be a challenge, but if somebody's going to be in charge, it might as well be me." Daniel Akst
On today’s Episode #273 we will cover
✔ A review of Brain Fact Friday #112, where we introduced Self-Regulation, and why it's important for our overall mental health and wellbeing. 
✔ One strategy from the work of Dr. Daniel Amen for Self-Regulating Automatic Negative Thoughts.
✔ Two strategies from the work of Dr. Andrew Huberman--One on using self-regulation to calm ourselves down in less than a minute, and the other to strengthen the NO-GO Circuits in our brain to help with impulse control.
 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new listeners, I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. 
This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics as we revisit our past Brain Fact Fridays, narrowing in on how anything new from the field of neuroscience can be tied to improving our productivity, our results, our mental and physical health. Why are we going back to the basics? When we are building something worthwhile, something that we want to last, going back to the foundations will help us to strengthen our understanding of our brain, and our mind, to our results, providing us with the extra strength we will need to overcome the obstacles and challenges that will come our way. My hopes are that this step backwards will help us to become better prepared to move forward, towards our goals, or whatever it is that we are working on this year, with this strong foundation in place.
Today’s EPISODE #273, we are going back to our second Brain Fact Friday, EPISODE #112, released in March of 2021 on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”[i] where we looked at our recent interview with my good friend Horacio Sanchez, from EPISODE #111 on “Finding Solutions to the Poverty Problem.”[ii]
Horacio Sanchez said, “Did you know that when we engage in inner speech, all the mechanisms of outer speech and the auditory process activate in the brain? Therefore, what we say to ourselves is just like hearing it said by someone else to us. Inform students (and ourselves) that inner speech can build them up or destroy them.” (Horacio Sanchez)[iii]
I brought up the damaging effects of Automatic Negative Thinking on one of our early episodes, #14 on Self-Regulation.[iv] This skill of managing our thoughts, emotions and behavior comes under the competency of self-regulation (one of the 6 social and emotional learning competencies that we covered in the beginning episodes of this podcast, to set the foundation for what I envisioned with the content we would be covering here. It’s these 6 pillars that I saw as the foundation for us to build upon, and improve and is the heart of The Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast.
What is Self-Regulation and Why is it So Important to Be Able to Manage Those Negative Thoughts, Our Emotions and Even Our Behavior?
Self-regulation is “the ability to manage your emotions and behavior in accordance with the demands of the situation. It includes being able to resist highly emotional reactions to upsetting stimuli, to calm yourself down when you get upset, adjust to a change in expectations and (the ability) to handle frustration”[v] In other words, it’s the ability to bounce back after a setback or disappointment, and the ability to stay in congruence with your inner value system. 
On EPISODE #111, I gave some examples of how we could teach self-regulation to our children and students, and even gave some thoughts on why it’s an important skill to master in the workplace. You can go back this episode if you want to review these tips by clicking on the link in the show notes, but for today’s episode, almost 3 years later, I wonder, “how good am I at self-regulation” and have I improved this skill at all over the years? Since this is a how-to podcast, where I want to provide tips for us all to use and implement immediately, backed by the most current neuroscience research, I thought I would check in with what Stanford Professor and Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman would say about self-regulation. I’m probably going to reflect back to his work, or anyone else who can explain how to implement the concepts I’m trying to reinforce on this podcast, or anyone who can help me to explain the details of science in a way that we can all understand and apply it. So far, I’ve found Dr. Daniel Amen (who I’ve talked a lot about on this podcast with his idea of controlling our ANTS, or automatic negative thoughts) and will look at Dr. Andrew Huberman’s work to see what he says about self-regulation.
Dr. Amen and Controlling Those ANTS
What I love about Dr. Amen’s work, is that he explains why eliminating negative thoughts is so important. Did you know that “every time your brain has a thought, it releases chemicals? Every time you have a sad, hopeless, mad, cranky, unkind, judgmental, or helpfulness thought, your brain immediately releases chemicals that make your body feel awful.[vi] He goes on to explain the physiological effects of negative thinking saying “your hands get cold and wet, your muscles get tense, your heart beats faster, and your breathing becomes shallower (and all of this activity) in your frontal and temporal lobes decreases which negatively affects your judgement, learning and memory.” (Dr. Amen).
Do what can we do to avoid this pitfall of making ourselves feel rotten? Dr. Amen suggests that we “work on disciplining the mind” to get rid of these Automatic Negative Thoughts to keep ourselves in a healthier frame of mind.
On our last episode, we talked about an effective strategy used in cognitive behavioral therapy[vii] of saying the word “SWITCH” in your head as you focus on switching the negative emotion that you feel to something more positive. This takes some practice, that’s for sure. I’ve always used the strategy of saying “STOP” when this happens and changing the thought pattern in my head to something more productive.
Also, remembering the idea of RESPONDING to situations with questions to dig deeper, and learn more, instead of REACTING with emotion, or jumping to conclusions, or incorrect assumptions, is always a better solution.
Now let’s dive a bit deeper here, and see what Dr. Andrew Huberman has to say about self-regulation.
Dr. Andrew Huberman on Self-Regulation
Dr. Huberman reminds us why self-regulation is important, and says that “knowledge of knowledge can actually help you to intervene” (which is why we are doing this podcast and breaking down the science so we can all use it to improve our lives) and he discusses why self-regulation with our behaviors is important. He notes a question to ask ourselves “when I’m thinking that I’m feeling low, nothing feels good, am I depressed? Maybe (he says) or maybe you’ve saturated the dopamine circuits and you’re now in the pain part of things. What do you do? (He says) you have to stop. You need to replenish dopamine. You need to stop engaging in the behavior (whatever it was you were doing that you noticed lost something for you) and then the pleasure for it will come back. You have to constantly control the hinge, make sure the hinge doesn’t get stuck in the pain or in pleasure.”[viii]
We covered this concept in depth with our interview with Dr. Anna Lembke and her book, Dopamine Nation on EPISODE #162[ix] where she dove deep with us on how we are constantly trying to distract ourselves from the present moment to be entertained” and “that we’re all running from pain—we’ll do almost anything to distract ourselves from ourselves” and that “we’ve lost the ability to tolerate even minor forms of discomfort.” 
Here’s where I notice my inability to tolerate even mild forms of discomfort as Dr. Lembke was saying. Let’s take writing these episodes. I wake up early, go to my desk, and am ready to get back to my notes over the week where I’ve gathered ideas and research, and now I need to put them all in one place for this episode. It’s not as mentally challenging as I’ve already written the first episode, but now I’ve got to see if I can improve it somehow with the latest research, and while writing, the minute I get stuck on what to say next, I will get up, and do something to distract myself, and come back after a few minutes.
Is there a better, more effective, science-backed solution for me to use when I’ve hit a wall, and need a break? Dr. Andrew Huberman explained it beautifully on Mayim Bialik’s Podcast[x] (side-note, do you remember her? She’s an American Actress who was on the NBC Sitcom Blossom, and went on to study in the field of neuroscience, crossing paths with Dr. Huberman along the way. On this episode, she did with Dr. Huberman, he describes an activity he uses for stress reduction in minutes, that we can all use to self-regulate when we need it.
Try This Activity! How to Self-Regulate Your Brain in Less Than a Minute
I loved this episode with Dr. Huberman and Mayim[xi], as she talks about him as being “the smartest human being on the planet” and he talks about remembering her when she was interviewing at Graduate School and he didn’t miss a detail. There’s an obvious respect that each one has for the other.
On this episode, with Mayim, Dr. Huberman shares a quick and easy activity we can all to do calm us down in less than a minute. He says, “Do a double inhale through your nose, one longer inhale and then sneak in a quick second inhale, which re-inflates the sacks in your lungs, and then do a long full exhale to empty out all the air from your lungs” This,  he says “naturally activates the neural circuits in the brain and body that shift that see-saw from sympathetic (alertness and stress) to parasympathetic.”    It looks like this. Just one of these, Dr. Huberman says will return us to a calm state.
While reflecting back to our first episode on self-regulation, we did talk about a couple of examples to say “STOP” or “SWITCH” to stop those negative thoughts from ruminating in our head, but this breathing activity, I think is something I will try moving forward.
What About Self-Regulating Our Behaviors?
So now I think we all have a strategy we can use right away to calm ourselves down when we need to, but how else could we train our brain to self-regulate? This one, I learned from a podcast episode from Jessica Stillman’s INC Magazine’s article[xii] where she picks Dr. Huberman as a resource for this strategy. You can also watch an incredible interview with Shane Parrish[xiii] on this concept.
The important part to understand here is that our Basal Ganglia is vitally important for controlling our thoughts and actions and Dr. Huberman teaches us that “there are two main circuits that are both regulated by dopamine. Some of the circuits are involved in the go functions (where we lean into our work—its action oriented) and the other one is no-go and it involves certain neurotransmitters like dopamine to suppress behavior.”[xiv]
He gives some examples reminding us as adults, that most of the time we are operating with our GO circuits (waking up, making our bed, getting ready, go to work etc) but think of our kids and many of their circuits involves to NO go circuits, like when we tell our kids, sit still, don’t do that etc) and it’s not easy for them to do this. The research behind the whole marshmallow experiment that I re-enacted with my kids[xv] proves how important this skill is for our students’ future success, so I wondered, how can we all improve this NO-GO circuit in our brain?
Activity 2: How to Train Your Brain to Control Your Impulses and Self-Control
This is what Dr. Huberman does to intentionally train his brain to become stronger, keeping his impulses under control. He intentionally plans 20-30 NO-GO activities a day to strengthen this circuit in his brain. He says that the things you choose would be specific to you, and one way we both relate is that when I’m working in a block of time, and get stuck, I have this impulse to look at my phone, or get up and heat up my coffee or something. Anything to take me away for a minute of where I’m stuck. Instead of doing this, he suggests, stay there a minute longer and see if you can get past the block. This will strengthen my NO-GO circuit, and help me to reach those higher levels of productivity.
He mentions another example of how many of us find it difficult to sit and meditate. I remember the first time doing this I really struggled as I could hear the kids running around, and I really wanted to get up. This was because my GO circuits were stronger than my NO-GO circuits. What’s interesting is that you will have to monitor this one over time, because meditation and blocking out the world gets easier with time, so if I want to keep strengthening my NO GO circuit, I’ll have to look for 20-30 things (to replicate Dr. Huberman’s Strategy) that I want to do each day, and not do them, or at least, not do them right away.
Can you think of 20-30 things that you will suppress to strengthen YOUR NO-GO circuit?
If it’s difficult, begin with just 4 things. Here’s some ideas-
Don’t eat the thing you were going to eat.
Don’t get up from working when things are difficult.
Change up a work out and don’t do it the same.
Don’t pick up your phone when you are working.
Whatever you habitually do, do it differently and it will feel strange at first, until you strengthen this part of your brain that Dr. Huberman says is like “keeping the blad sharp on both sides (the get up and go into action side, and the don’t go, leave the phone alone) side.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To Review and Conclude this week’s Brain Fact Friday, we took a deeper dive into EPISODE #112, on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”[xvi] with some tips from Dr. Daniel Amen on how to stop those Automatic Negative Thoughts from making ourselves feeling rotten, and disciplining our mind to stay in the positive.
Then we went to Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research with 2 strategies for calming our mind in one minute with that breathing exercise and the idea of strengthening our NO-GO circuits by suppressing certain actions in our day.
I hope that you find these strategies helpful for improving your day to day work and personal life, and that we all can use the science behind these strategies to strengthen our brain and our results. I have to say that I did use the breathing strategy BEFORE recording this episode, and plan on carving out some NO GO activities within my day today. I’d love to know what you think of this episode.
With that, I’ll see you next week where we will look at what’s NEW for building a faster, stronger, more resilient brain.
RESOURCES TO FOLLOW:
To follow Dr. Andrew Huberman's work https://hubermanlab.com/ 
To follow Dr. Daniel Amen's work https://www.amenclinics.com/ 
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #112 on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-training-your-brain-to-self-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-and-emotions/
 
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast Episode #11 with Horacio Sanchez on “Finding Solutions to The Poverty Problem” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/resiliency-expert-and-author-horacio-sanchez-on-finding-solutions-to-the-poverty-problem/
 
[iii] Horacio Sanchez on LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/posts/hsanchezceo_neuroscience-education-activity-6770706945264386048-BDCn
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #14 with Andrea Samadi on “Self-Regulation: The Foundational Learning Skill for Future Success” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/self-regulation-the-foundational-learning-skill-for-future-success/
 
[v] Edutopia article “Teaching Self-Regulation by Modeling” (January, 2019) https://www.edutopia.org/video/teaching-self-regulation-modeling
 
[vi] The Number one Habit to Develop In Order to Feel More Positive by Dr. Daniel Amen August 16, 2016 https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/number-one-habit-develop-order-feel-positive/
 
[vii] What is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Therapist Kati Morton YouTube uploaded Sept. 23, 2013 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7B3n9jobus
 
[viii] Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman on Self-Regulation https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQ1zYZHg8k4
 
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #162 with Dr. Anna Lembke on “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/medical-director-of-addictive-medicine-at-stanford-university-dr-anna-lembke-on-dopamine-nation-finding-balance-in-the-age-of-indulgence/
 
[x] Mayim Bialik’s Podcast with Andrew Huberman on Regulating Stress in Real-Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk5GC269WT0
 
[xi] Mayim Bialik’s Podcast with Andrew Huberman on Regulating Stress in Real-Time. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mk5GC269WT0
 
[xii] Stanford Neuroscientist: How to Train Your Self-Control So You Don’t Mess Up Your Life by Jessica Stillman https://www.inc.com/jessica-stillman/stanford-impulse-control-no-go-function.html
 
[xiii] How to Control Your Impulses So They Don’t Ruin Your Life https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8wpP1W8eoaI&t=1s
 
[xiv] IBID
[xv] The Marshmallow Experiment with Andrea Samadi Uploaded Nov. 2, 2017 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rq903CXJUpg
 
[xvi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #112 on “Training Your Brain to Self-Regulate Automatic Negative Thoughts and Emotions”https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-training-your-brain-to-self-regulate-automatic-negative-thoughts-and-emotions/
 

Brain Fact Friday ”Priming the Reticular Activating System to Achieve Our Goals in 2023” A Tribute to Bob Proctor

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost: this is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”
--Henry David Thoreau from Walden
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. For returning guests, welcome back, and for those who are new listeners, I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results.
On today’s Episode #272 we will cover
✔ An Introduction to Season 9: Going Back to the Basics by revisiting our past Brain Fact Fridays.
✔ A reminder: What is the Reticular Activating System and How Can It Help Us to Achieve Our Goals.
✔ A Review of The Creative Process or Turning a Fantasy into a Fact.
✔ Priming Our Brain to Set Worthy Goals 
✔ What the Most Current Brain Research Says to Help Us to Improve Our Goal-Setting Process
✔ Research-Based Tips to Prime Your Brain to Achieve Your Goals in 2023
This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics as we revisit our past Brain Fact Fridays, narrowing in on how anything new from the field of neuroscience can be tied to improving our productivity, our results, mental and physical health. Why are we going back to the basics? When we are building something worthwhile, something that we want to last, going back to the foundations will help us to strengthen our understanding of our brain, and our mind, to our results, providing us with the extra strength we will need to overcome the obstacles and challenges that will come our way. My hopes are that this step backwards will help us to become better prepared to move forward, towards our goals, or whatever it is that we are working on this year, with this strong foundation in place.
Today’s EPISODE #272, we will go back to our very first Brain Fact Friday, that we released as a BONUS EPISODE on March 5, 2021[i], called “Using the Reticular Activating System to Set Your Intent and Achieve It” and we will dive a bit deeper into how this system in the brain (our RAS) can actually help us with whatever it is that we want in 2023. But before we get to the science behind our goals, I want to take you on a trip, that goes back to my early days of working in the seminar industry, with motivational speaker Bob Proctor, who taught me how to dream. You can watch our interview on EPISODE #66[ii] where he marvels at how he watched the dream I envisioned all those years ago reveal itself over the years, as I took his work, and created a book for teens to improve their grades, their results with sports, or sharpen their skills, that eventually was made into an online course. I remember talking with Bob about this first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed[iii], (that was really just my notes that I’d gathered over the years listening to him in the seminars helping adults to achieve their goals, written so that a teenager could apply it), and I remember telling him that I thought there was something missing that was preventing kids from embracing the concepts written within the pages. We all know how learning works, and how important it is for a student to be engaged and motivated with whatever it is they are learning.  He picked up on what I was getting at, and affirmed that  “it is missing something very important” and went onto a lesson for me, standing in this hallway at this seminar he was speaking at, about the Creative Process. He said “you’ll want to think about how the creative process works” and then he got on the phone and called someone and put me in contact with someone who would take the words in this book, and help them to come alive, visually, with video, he suggested.
I never did end up working with the person Bob was putting me in contact with, I forget why, but he did open up my mind for how to take the words in the book (the vision I wanted those kids to see), and bring it to life. You can do this with images in a picture book, or other ideas I’ve talked about on recent episodes with innovative and creative ideas, but we did it with video. I worked with Ryan O’Neill, who we met on EPISODE #203[iv] on “Making Your Vision a Reality” and created The Secret for Teen Revealed Online Course[v] that you find today on the UDEMY Platform.
It All Begins With The Creative Process
Before we get to the science behind this idea of goal-achieving for 2023, I think it’s important to go back to the basics here, and revisit what Bob was trying to get me to think about, standing in the hallway, when we were talking about “what was missing” from my book. He wanted me to revisit “The Creative Process” that I’ve been mesmerized by since those days I used to sell those seminars with him. I always wondered “how do people dream up big ideas and then achieve them?” Bob would say that it all begins with this process that starts when the “inventor” of the idea paints of picture of what they see.
He would talk about the Creative Process in 3 Steps: 
STEP 1 FANTASY: Paint the picture of what you really want in your mind. See it clearly on the screen of your mind first.  Dream it all first. We’ve talked in depth about the importance of being able to clearly see your goals on the screen of our mind on past episodes, but most recently with our Deep Dive of The Silva Method[vi].
STEP 2 THEORY:  Next you will need to go from the dream world, or your imagination faculty, to your reasoning faculty, where you will create the plans you will need for the attainment of this goal. If you look at the image in the show notes, you can see that he would say it’s here you need to pass a test. Ask yourself “Am I Able to Do This?” You might look at whatever it is you’ve dreamed up and you think “I can’t do that” as you think about the hundreds of reasons why you CAN’T achieve this goal that you really want. He would say “if you really want it, you’ll find the way.” The second test you’ll need to pass is with the question “Am I Willing” to do what it takes for this goal? Are you willing to pay the price, put in the extra effort needed? It’s here that he would say that “goals are not meant for you to get them, they are meant for you to grow.”
STEP 3 FACT: Now you’ll use repetition, and a change in behavior to turn your fantasy into a fact. Whatever it is that you want, or that you’ve achieved, it wasn’t something that just came to you overnight. It was something that you created, with your imagination, starting as a fantasy, then you turned it into a theory, putting your plans into place, until over time, until your dream became a reality, or a fact.
“When you turn that fantasy into a fact, you are in a position to build even better fantasies. And that, my friend, is the Creative Process.” Bob Proctor
Dreams and Worthy Goals:
I’m hoping that whatever it is that you want, or that you are investing your time on, that it’s something worthwhile. I hope that it’s NOT something that you have achieved in the past, and you’ve just written haphazardly down while setting goals this year. I hope it’s a goal that when you look at it, and have no idea how you will accomplish it.  This is a worthy goal that only comes from dreaming big, that will challenge you to grow and move beyond where you’ve been in the past. I hope whatever it is you are working on, that it’s something that you look at and think “Now how on the Earth am I going to do that?!” This is truly something worth investing your time on as it will help you to grow.
I find the creative process to be fascinating, or watching people achieve what appears to the untrained eye to be impossible, and I do believe there is a science to this process and think that a closer look at the Reticular Activating System is a first step towards unraveling the secrets to our future successes with goal-setting and achieving, with our brain in mind.
The Reticular Activating System, Our Goals and The Research
To bring the most current research in here, I’m going to go to the work of Stanford Professor and American Neuroscientist Dr. Andrew Huberman’s[vii] work, and I‘ve joined his Podcast’s Premium Channel[viii], which I probably should join as a Founding Member for how much I quote him on this podcast.
On our first episode on the RAS, we talked about the fact that in order to achieve our goals, or things that we want in our life, we must learn how to understand and use our Reticular Activating System[iv] which is a filter in our brain that helps us to focus on the things that are most important to us. If you have heard the idea that “energy flows where your attention goes” this explains why putting some focus on what we want to create in our life is so important. In our first episode we explained that Tobias van Schneider explains that the Reticular Activating System (RAS) is a “bundle of nerves at our brainstem that filters out unnecessary information, so the important stuff gets through.”[v] Van Schneider believes that the Reticular Activating System can be trained, and I agree, and it’s here that I’ll bring in Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research to show you how we can use our RAS to move us towards certain things that we want, and away from others that we don’t want.
Dr. Huberman was interviewed on The Mindset Mentor Podcast[ix] where he went much deeper into this explanation, but said to “think of the RAS as a template for what you want, or what you are looking for” and it impacts your perception, helping you to notice what you are paying attention to (or like Van Schneider said, it filters out unnecessary information, so the important stuff gets through.”
It Begins with our Perception or What We Are Paying Attention To:
He gave an example of a car that you want, explaining how the brain first uses its perception ability and notices what I’m paying attention to (this new car that I really want). I used to really want the Audi R8, but am happy with the car I have now, so I can’t say that I’ve been “looking” for R8s when I’m driving around, but if I was, you had better believe I would begin to see them everywhere. We talked about this on our first episode on the RAS with the man who invented the MAXON® Liftgate you see on the back of trucks. Once he brought my attention to this sign on the back of trucks that helps to load and unload a truck with contents, I started seeing this sign everywhere. This was my RAS at work.
Next, Our Brain Gets Involved Based on the Neuromodulator That’s High:
Dr. Huberman says that once we know we are paying attention to, that one of the four neuromodulators (acetyl choline, dopamine, epinephrine or serotonin) come into play, depending on which one is high in your system. He gave an example with if serotonin is high, you’re more likely to feel good about your environment around you, and there will be no seeking involved. You’ll be focused on things in your immediate sphere (or your home life for example) and if your dopamine is high, there’s a sense of ambition involved, where you begin to focus on things outside of your environment, or experience, and is involved in the seeking circuit. He says that “the dopamine system is all about want, desire, craving, motivation and getting more”[x]  and can tie into the goal-setting, achieving experience that Dr. Huberman says is all dopamine-driven.
Our RAS Changes Our World View:
Here’s where the science bridges the gap between many of our past podcast episodes where we’ve talked about the importance of knowing what it is that you want, or even reading your goals out loud every day, that we talked about often with our Think and Grow Rich Book Review EPISODES [xi]last year. If you want to get fancy, listen to our Deep Dive on The Silva Method[xii] to visualize whatever it is that you want on the mental screen of your mind. We dove deep into this method the end of last year and it makes more sense to me now why this method is so effective.  Once you know what you want, the RAS in your brain begins to work FOR you, and it will “cue up the things near you “and “help you to access memory stores about your end goal.” (Dr. Huberman). Or, like Bob Proctor taught us with the Creative Process, it begins with painting the picture of your fantasy, clearly on the screen of your mind. Now that we understand the research behind the Creative Process, thanks to Dr. Huberman, it’s easy to see how we go from Fantasy (with our perception or what we are paying attention to) to Theory (create the plans for what we want, based on the neuromodulator that’s high in our brain) to Fact (where we’ve used an understanding of our brain to create something we wanted).
PUT THIS INTO ACTION:
Try this activity that Dr. Huberman suggests and let me know what happens in your case. Before you go to bed at night, place the intention of whatever it is that you want. Whatever it is that you are working on—maybe you are writing a novel, and you are looking for new ideas (this would be your intention), maybe you are looking for a promotion at work (this would be your intention), you’re a student looking to improve your grades (this would be your intention) or improve your skills in a sport, or even earn more money, you get the picture, clearly visualize your intention before you go sleep at night, and Dr. Huberman says this activity will be “cueing up your brain to the things it should pay attention to” because like we said before, it acts like a filter “since it can’t pay attention to everything.” (Dr. Huberman).
Then the next few days, see what you notice.
Did you have new ideas for the novel you are writing?
Did you notice a new job opening that you could apply for that would be a promotion for you, and seems like a perfect fit for you?
Did you notice something important you forgot to study that could have cost you some grades?
Did you notice something new you could do with your sport to improve somehow?
The funny thing I picked up from watching this interview with Dr. Huberman is that he made a joke about the movie, The Secret, while explaining how the RAS works in this interview. If I wasn’t paying attention to everything he was saying, I would have missed it. He said that once you pay attention to what you’ve set your intention on, “you’ll start to cue up all the things near you from your conscious and subconscious mind…the things you already possess in your mind  from your memory bank (to help you to attain whatever it is that you want to accomplish) and you’ll start to see things in the world (to help you) and there’s nothing secretive about this, no pun intended he says.”[xiii]
I thought it was interesting that he was referring to the movie, The Secret, that my mentor, Bob Proctor starred in, that inspired me to write The Secret for Teens Revealed. I know that Bob didn’t know the science behind goal-setting and achieving, or at least not as in depth that Dr. Andrew Huberman does, but he knew there was something happening that he saw over and over again with people who dreamed up an incredible fantasy, and then turned it into reality.
I’m glad I didn’t miss this detail and made me think of something I saw one of my early influencers mention this week, “Attention to Detail Does Matter”
Review and Conclusion:
To review and conclude this week’s Brain Fact Friday and our FIRST Brain Fact Friday from March 2021, that I think we have more than covered in depth today, DID YOU KNOW that “your RAS is a powerful system in your brain that draws you towards certain things and away from others?” (Dr. Andrew Huberman)
As we close out this episode and review of our FIRST Brain Fact Friday, I hope this understanding of our brain and this filter called the RAS has opened YOUR eyes (like it did mine) to something new, giving you an AHA Moment where you begin to draw that which you want closer to you, using the Creative Process with Science.
TO CONCLUDE THIS EPISODE, THINK ABOUT THESE QUESTIONS:
Has this understanding of our RAS connected to the goal-setting/achieving process in your life, helped you to refine what it is you are working on this year?
Did it help you with the goals you’ve set that seem impossible to achieve, or helped you to dream bigger than you’ve been dreaming? If you look at the notes I took at one of my first seminars Bob taught on the Creative Process, (if you can read them) you will see where I point out that when others see you working on something that’s much bigger than you, that people will come out of the woodwork who will want to help you. You just need to begin, or set the intention of what you want, in order for this to happen.
Some other thoughts: Have you thought about what are YOU paying attention to day to day?
Do you think about the creative process diagram, and what can you turn over to your imagination at the Fantasy Level?
Do you even spend time dreaming?
Have you started to use your Reasoning Faculty and then create the plans that will turn your Fantasy into a Fact?
Are you a DOER, not just a DREAMER?
Do you know the neuromodulators that are high in your brain? This will help you to understand which of the four neuromodulators are driving you (dopamine to look outside of your environment, or serotonin to keep you focused on things in your immediate sphere) that we spoke about, or acetyl choline (that keeps us focused) and epinephrine (for your alertness).
Do you now think about your RAS, or your brain, and how it’s working FOR you in the Creative Goal-Setting/Achieving Process?
Did you try the activity and go to sleep with an intention of something that you want to create, or move towards the next day?
Did your RAS help you in any other way that I haven’t mentioned with what you want to create?
I’ll close with a quote that was inspired by someone who I know understands how the Creative Process Works:
“The difference between something good and something great, is attention to detail” Charles Swindell, and I hope that we can all see that it’s important to notice even the tiniest details.
Where our focus goes, our energy flows, and this understanding of the RAS and our brain can help us to pay attention to what matters most to us, and help us to achieve something we’ve never achieved before in 2023, which will in turn, contribute to our growth personally and professionally.
And with that, we will close out this episode, and we’ll see you next week where we will take a closer look at our next brain fact Friday on regulating our thoughts and emotions.
FINAL THOUGHTS AND REFLECTIONS
This episode made me think deeply about my own creative process as I wrote this over a few days, in an early morning time slot where I have a quiet place to focus. But like my book discussion with Bob, I knew there was something missing so I woke up early, went to my office and took out some old notebooks from the seminar days to see what else I could add to make this episode to make it more than just “hey here’s how we set goals, and cool, look how our brains help us.”
I was looking for something else and a few things stood out to me from those old seminar notes. The Walden quote I opened up with was actually written on the back of one of the old seminar booklets, and I thought it was fitting for what I wanted to convey. I want us to build castles in the sky…I could almost see Bob shouting that out from the stage, using his hands to mold his castle in the sky…he’d look up and paint this image getting us to all look up and “imagine” our dream in the sky. 
I wonder:
What’s your dream?
Can’t you see it painted visually? 
Can you feel it with your heart and soul? 
I highly recommend going back to our Think and Grow Rich Book Study[i] to start off every new year with. There’s so much in those 6 episodes that will set us all up for success with whatever it is we are working on. The Creative Process is summed up nicely in the pages of this book.
After I had recorded this episode I had it all cued up to go out this Friday, and then something weird happened. I woke up in the middle of the night, and was almost jolted out of sleep. I kept thinking “This episode isn’t finished…”
I went to my desk and thought “what else can I add?” not knowing why I had woken up with such a force almost pushing me back to my desk to take another look at this episode. Now this was around 1:30am and I was wide awake, looking for whatever it was that needed to be added-- and then I saw it. 
This Friday when I was planning to release this episode marks the one year Anniversary of the day Bob passed away last year. I’m usually pretty good with dates, but the past month has been a whirlwind, I’m not even sure what time it is often, let alone the day. 
I can’t believe I almost missed it if it, and wrote this episode with many examples about my past mentor, without realizing it would go out on the exact one year anniversary of when he left us. If it wasn’t for that jolt that pushed me back to my desk to take another look at it, I would have missed it.
Details Matter.
So this episode is for you Bob, one year after you moved over from the physical world to the nonphysical where you taught us we will all go someday…and that we are still here, just in different forms of energy, like the goals we bring from the unseen world (from our imagination) to the physical world (our reality). 
This trip back down memory lane was so very special—remembering how he taught many of us to dream, and to honor all those early influencers (many who’ve come on this podcast over the years) who paved the pathway for where I personally ended up today. This is what I want for all our listeners—to get to the place where you’ve given it your all—you’ve stretched yourself, gone beyond your levels of comfort, sat at the edge of your seat, leaning in, accomplished that big dream you had, leading you to things you could never have imagined before. Then I hope that you’ll teach this to others. 
I’ll end this episode with the quote that I ended The Think and Grow Rich Series[ii] with…
“What story do you want to tell? What scenes do you want to shoot? How do you want the movie to end? Be the director of your life.” Bob Proctor
Whatever it is you are going after, you’ll do it when you believe it.
And I’ll see you next week.
RESOURCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 Think and Grow Rich Book Review Deep Dive PART 1 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 Think and Grow Rich Book Review Deep Dive PART 6 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
The Secret https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Rhonda-Byrne/dp/B00DDOWK5I/ref=atv_pr_sw_sc
 
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
RESOURCES TO REVIEW:
Andrea and Bob's Interview Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66 “The Legendary Bob Proctor on “Social and Emotional Learning, Where it All Began” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 Think and Grow Rich Book Review Deep Dive PART 1 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #191 PART 2 on “Thinking Differently and Choosing Faith Over Fear”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-2-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever-by-thinking-differently-and-choosing-faith-over-fear/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #194 PART 4 on “Perfecting the Skills of Organized Planning, Decision-Making, and Persistence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-4-on-perfecting-the-skills-of-organized-planning-decision-making-and-persistence/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 [xxviii] on “The Power of the Mastermind, Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation, and Linking ALL Parts of the Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 Think and Grow Rich Book Review Deep Dive PART 6 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
REFERENCES:
[i]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast BONUS EPISODE on “Using The Reticular Activating System to Set Your Intent and Achieve It” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-the-reticular-activating-system-to-set-your-intent-and-achieve-it/
[ii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #66 “The Legendary Bob Proctor on “Social and Emotional Learning, Where it All Began” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-legendary-bob-proctor-on/
[iii] The Secret for Teens Revealed by Andrea Samadi https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teens-Revealed-Teenagers-Leadership/dp/1604940336
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #203 with Paranormal Researcher Ryan O’Neill on “Making Your Vision a Reality”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
[v] The Secret for Teens Revealed: A 10-Step Blueprint https://www.udemy.com/course/the-secret-for-teens-revealed-a-10-step-success-blueprint/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 A Deep Dive into Applying The Silva Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[vii] https://hubermanlab.com/
[viii] The Huberman Lab Premium Channel https://hubermanlab.supercast.com/new_landing?
[ix] The Mindset Mentor Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruBJYNKKKXY
[x] The Mindset Mentor Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruBJYNKKKXY (1:46)
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 Think and Grow Rich Book Review Deep Dive PART 1 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
[xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 A Deep Dive into Applying The Silva Method https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[xiii] The Mindset Mentor Podcast https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ruBJYNKKKXY (6:26)
 

Kelly Roman, CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories on ”What’s New With The Next Generation of Wearable Devices”

Forbes Magazine said they are “one of four technologies innovating mental health” and Elle Magazine was quoted saying they “couldn’t stop talking about their good mood and hyper charged focus.” They’ve been proven in multiple published studies, treated over 100,000 patients and are prescribed by more than 14,000 doctors and providers.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArUif2kyo9w 
 
On today’s Episode #271 we will cover
✔  A reminder of our first interview with Kelly Roman, CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories from 2021, that remains on our TOP 12 most watched YouTube Interviews on the podcast. 
✔  My Personal Review of The Fisher Wallace Device, that remains our MOST downloaded episode of ALL-TIME! 
✔ Our One Year Later Episode, where I answer the MOST ASKED QUESTION about our podcast.
✔ Kelly Roman updates us on The Next Generation of Wearable Devices: Where They are Now, and Where They are Going.
✔ We discuss Best Practices for Using Their First Generation Device, and HOW it provides a calming effect. 
✔  The Importance of Staying on Top of Our Mental and Physical Health.
✔ How Fisher Wallace is Positioned to Support the Workplaces of the Future.
✔ First responder study, and ways that we can support Kelly's mission of building health, well-being and resilience in the future.
You can see countless reviews on their website[i] where people all over the globe share the relief the device provides for them, and I personally understand the impact that this specific technology can have on our mental and physical health. Our first interview with today’s returning guest, Kelly Roman[ii], CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories[iii], on their wearable medical device that’s cleared by the FDA to treat depression, anxiety and insomnia, came in at #11 of our all-time most watched YouTube interviews[iv].
Then, EPISODE #120[v] from last April 2021, where I posted “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device”[i] remains our most listened to episode of all time with over 6,000 downloads.
You can watch our first interview here https://youtu.be/jCtbngfXoYg that Kelly Roman says is his all-time favorite interview. I think it’s neat to look back now, to when I had no idea that a device like this even existed, to see how it improved my sleep by much more the gold standard of 20 minutes each night. I’m sure as the CEO of this company, Kelly has heard it all. I remember having a deer in the headlights look while first learning about this device, as I didn’t even know there was something I could use at home that could help me to improve my sleep, levels of anxiety, that also supports those people suffering from depression. I’m pretty open on this podcast that depression runs in my family, and is one of the reasons I left Toronto, for AZ where I could find most days where we have sunshine, and I could exercise outside Year-round. This change of location has helped me to find the balance I needed, but not everyone can just pick up and move to a new location for a better climate. Kelly Roman himself was open with his past history with depression, and how the device has helped him as well, so after I released our interview, and then my review of the device, I was surprised at how many emails and correspondence I received from people around the world, with questions. I think most people just wanted to make sure I was a real person, and if you’ve ever emailed me, I answer EVERY email within 24 hours. Most people wanted to know “do you still use the Fisher Wallace Device?” and the answer is “yes, every morning, as a part of my daily routine.” I couldn’t imagine life without it. In fact, I’ve had this question come through so many times that I did a “Review One Year Later: My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Device[vi]” last summer, that I could point people to who asked me this question to.
I’ve said it often on this podcast that most of us will struggle with a mental health issue in our lifetime. We launched the year with EP 268 on “Prioritizing Our Mental Health in 2023: Building Self-Awareness and Resilience in the New Year”[vii]  with a quote from Julie Smith, the author of Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before, reminding us that our mental health is just an important as our physical health. So, when I saw an email from Kelly Roman about a NEW product they were releasing, I immediately emailed him to see if he would come back on the podcast. 
 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. For returning guest, welcome back, and for those who are new listeners, I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics always with a focus on our productivity, results, mental and physical health.
Today, I want to welcome back the CEO of Fisher Wallace, Kelly Roman, to reconnect since our first interview that received more feedback and comments than I imagined, helping all those who have tuned into that first interview, my personal review, or the one year later review. 
Let’s welcome Kelly Roman and see what’s been happening over at Fisher Wallace since our first interview back in February 2021.
Welcome back Kelly, thanks for meeting me today in this early time slot and being so responsive for us speaking again. How’s everything going over there?
Q1: Kelly, I’ve got to say, I was really surprised with the reaction and interest with our first interview. It caught me off guard just how many people around the world are suffering, and looking for a solution. People were very open with how much they are struggling, and asked me how I used the device. What does this reaction mean to you and how have you seen the world responding to this device?
Q2: When I go back to my trial period, I was using the device to improve my WASO scores, as I’ve been trying everything to make sure I go to sleep and stay asleep so was happy to see those improve, but was not expecting my mood to improve, or anxiety levels decrease. Even after using some other tools this past year, there are many times I could see anxiety levels increase, without me even being aware of it. What have you seen as a typical reaction for someone who tries out the device?
Q2B: Does it matter which level you choose?
Q3: I loved the correspondence that came through after the personal review I did. I think most people wanted to know that I’m a real person here, and the biggest thing I noticed was when I said I was not paid to endorse your product. When I go to your website review section, and see wonderful reviews, including the one I did, is everyone there just like me? They tried the device, found it helped them, and they either let you know, or they just keep it, and use it regularly?
Q4: In our interview, I remember you were waiting on the device to be cleared by FDA for insomnia (and I think it has been by now from looking at your website). What has happened since we spoke that first time?
Q5: In our first interview we spoke about some work you were doing with first responders. What are you doing now with the first responders study, in order to validate tools and techniques to improve their quality of life in a profession that needs it more than ever today? (NOTE- I shadowed a team of police officers this year, and after 5 hours on the job, needed to take a break from what I saw. I wouldn’t make it in that industry, and saw first-hand how many officers needed mental health support tools to help them to deal with the stress they must endure, minute by minute). What can you share about this device helping those first responders with the stress they dealt with day to day?
Q6: I was sorry to see the email about the passing of Mitch Rosenthal, MD, the founder of Phoenix House, the largest private, non-profit therapeutic drug-treatment program in the United States. I remember you mentioned him in our first interview when I asked about the research behind the device with substance use disorder. How did Dr. Rosenthal contribute to the world as an “early apostle for treating drug and alcohol addiction?”[viii]
Q7: The reason I asked you back today was because I hear there’s a lot going on with Fisher Wallace. What’s Your Vision for the Future? What’s next for Fisher Wallace? Where are you going now?  What can you tell us about OAK, and the Next Generation of Fisher Wallace Technology?
 
Thank you, Kelly, for coming back on the podcast, and for all you are doing in the world. I’m always going to be a fan of any tool that supports our mental health and well-being and I’ll continue to follow your work and showcase everything you are doing there on the podcast, in addition to continue to use my device on a daily basis. For anyone who listens and wants to try this wearable device, is the best way to go to FisherWallace.com and order one to try?
Thank you for all you do.
FOLLOW FISHER WALLACE
Website:  www.fisherwallace.com
INVEST in FISHER WALLACE https://www.startengine.com/offering/fisherwallace
Twitter: https://twitter.com/fwlabs
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fisherwallace/?hl=en
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/fisher-wallace-laboratories/
FOLLOW KELLY ROMAN:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kellyroman/
First Responder Study:
STILL OPEN FOR PARTICIPANTS https://trials.climb.care/wellness?goal=0_65e2b318c4-414be1b417-410047957&mc_cid=414be1b417&mc_eid=59841bcff4&goal=0_c0f9d91c97-db6d7657e2-423465785&mc_cid=db6d7657e2&mc_eid=d923a60bd6
Dr. Mitch Rosenthal at FD Hearing Talking About His Belief with the Fisher Wallace Device and CES Published on YouTube in 2012. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5GTZ3uNmDg
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Seattle Police Department First Responders Study article by GeekWire Published May 5, 2022 https://www.geekwire.com/2022/seattle-police-department-testing-brain-stimulation-headband-as-part-of-wellness-research-effort/?goal=0_c0f9d91c97-d31de7eb66-422882348&mc_cid=d31de7eb66&mc_eid=dc68c5a284
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Device  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Device://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ceo-of-fisher-wallace-laboratories-on-wearable-medical-devices-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/
[iii] https://www.fisherwallace.com/
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #233 “Top 12 Most Watched YouTube Video Interviews on the Podcast” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/top-12-neuroscience-meets-social-and-emotional-learning-podcast-interviews/
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #120 My Personal review of the Fisher Wallace Device https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #231 ONE YEAR LATER UPDATE: Do You Still Use the Fisher Wallace Device?  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #268 on Prioritizing Mental Health for 2023  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-prioritizing-mental-health-in-2023-improving-self-awareness-and-resilience/
[viii] https://www.nytimes.com/2022/11/19/nyregion/mitchell-rosenthal-dead.html
 

Lucy Biven, Co-author of The Archeology of Mind with Jaak Panksepp on ”A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience”

"Jaak Panksepp was the first and only neuroscientist who focused squarely on the emotional brain. There followed a lengthy and instructive series of emails between Jack and Lucy that ultimately resulted in the publication of this book" Jaak Panksepp and Lucy Biven, authors of the famous book that is often required reading for those studying an Introduction to the Field of Neuroscience, The Archeology of Mind.
Watch our interview on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH3j5WDXvEk
 
On today’s Episode #270 we will cover
✔  An introduction to Lucy Biven, who co-authored the well-known book, The Archeology of Mind, with Jaak Panksepp.
✔ How Lucy went from being the Head of Psychotherapy at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service in England, to writing a leading resource in the field of Neuroscience, with Jaak Panksepp.
✔ How neuroscience gave her answers to a court case she was asked to advise, that 19 experts in the field of child development couldn't solve, without an understanding of how our brain works.
✔ How an understanding of our brain can help us to be better parents, teachers, coaches and managers.
✔ Where Jaak Panksepp's work filled in the missing gaps for Lucy, opening doors with this new understanding of our brain, and emotions.
✔ 3 often discussed Theories about Emotions and Affect (Feedback Theory, Brainstem Theory and Conceptual Act Theory, or Theory of Constructed Emotion and which one Lucy believes in today.
✔ Lucy makes a case for Panksepp's Brainstem Theory, as well as Damasio's work.
✔ Lucy and Andrea discuss the hard question of consciousness and why all traditional attempts to answer this complex question, has failed.
✔ Lucy shares how she uses Panksepp's Brainstem Theory to help 2 boys knowing when to take the role of a coach, versus a traditional therapist, to help them to overcome mental blocks that were holding them back from living a successful life. 
I’m so grateful to have this opportunity today to speak with Lucy Biven, who co-authored The Archeology of Mind, with the one and only, Jaak Panksepp. Those who study the field of neuroscience will know his name, and if you haven’t heard of him, I hope this episode sheds some light on his work, combined with Lucy’s as pioneer researchers in the field of Affective Neuroscience.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics for the next few months, as we welcome some phenomenal pioneers in the field of Neuroscience, paving a pathway for all of us to navigate our lives with more understanding with our brain in mind. My goal with this next season (that will run until the end of June) is that going back to the basics will help us to strengthen our understanding of the brain, and our mind, to our results, and provide us with a springboard to propel us forward in 2023, with this solid backbone of science. With some new and exciting responsibilities on my end, we will be doing one episode a week, going back to the basics each week, that I know will be helpful for all of us.
For today’s guest and EPISODE #270, we will be speaking with someone who many of you who study in the field of neuroscience will recognize. There are those who I would call “rockstar” researchers, whose work has revolutionized the field. If you take a neuroscience course, or like I did, a Neuroscience Certification Program, you are a clinician, a psychotherapist, you will have come across her first book as required reading. Metapsychology Online Review thinks this book should be “essential reading not only for mind professionals, but for teachers, parents, personal and physical trainers and coaches.”
So when I had an email from this next guest, one of the rockstar authors we come across and highlight in our notebooks, letting me know she has recently published a new book, and that her first book she co-authored with Jaak Panksepp, I almost fell off my chair in my office. She could have been Mick Jagger emailing me, as that would be the equivalent in this field of neuroscience research.
Her first book The Archaeology of Mind[i] that she co-authored with Jaak Panksepp “describes the new scientific discipline called affective neuroscience, which seeks to illuminate how our most powerful emotional feelings—the primal emotional affects—arise from ancient neural networks situated in brain regions below the neo-cortical thinking cap.”
"An exhaustive work, covering a neglected and often misunderstood field . . . . Nowhere else will you really find due diligence done on the non-conscious biases of humans and animals . . . . Essential reading, not only to us as mind professionals, but to teachers, parents, personal and physical trainers and coaches. Emotions are still everything, and vital to understanding why we are what we are, and why we do and have done, everything in the past and now. An amazing buy."― Metapsychology Online Reviews
"Panksepp’s perspective on the continuity of animal and human minds has not received the attention it deserves. Here are the collected facts and the reasoning behind that compelling view. An indispensable volume."― Antonio Damasio, author, Self Comes to Mind; David Dornsife Professor of Neuroscience and Director, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California
"This book has the capacity to integrate affective neuroscience into the consciousness of not only therapists, but also those interested in understanding depth motivation that sustains or pathologizes our every action and thought. It is a truly pioneering effort. Its deep truths about the origins of mind and feeling, and the implications for altering how we see ourselves over evolutionary time, connected to our fellow social mammals and birds, also has implications for how we treat our fellow travelers on this planet."― Stuart Brown, MD, Founder and President, The National Institute for Play
 
Our next guest, Lucy Biven, who co-authored The Archeology of Mind with Jaak Panksepp,  is the former Head of the Department of Psychotherapy at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service, part of the National Health Service in Leicestershire, England. 
She became interested in neuroscience about 20 years ago when she was appointed by the Michigan Supreme Court to devise and implement a protocol for the transfer of custody of a 2½ year old girl from the home of a couple whom the child regarded as her parents, to the home of her biological parents. Like most of her colleagues, Lucy worried about the little girl’s psychological development, yet the child progressed well and today is an emotionally healthy young woman. Where did it all go right? 
She looked towards neuroscience for the answers she was looking for and found that, along with meeting Jaak Panksepp who coined the term “affective neuroscience” (a field that studies the neural mechanisms of emotions and how consciousness emerges from strong emotional stimuli).
My goal with this next interview is learn directly from Lucy Biven, how an understanding of our emotions and our brain can help us to be better teachers in the classroom, coaches in the field of sports, or improve our effectiveness in the modern workplace.  Her most recent book A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience was released last summer, and I look forward to learning what this rockstar from the field of psychology and neuroscience can teach us with her work, research and experience.
Welcome Lucy, thank you very much for reaching out to me when you did, it was perfect timing for the direction we are going with the podcast, and going back to the basics to start our year. Welcome.
INTRO Q: To start off with, I must ask, what type of reaction do you typically get from people when you reach out to them, like you did to me. Have most people read The Archeology of Mind? The reason I ask this, is that Antonio Damasio mentioned that "Panksepp’s perspective on the continuity of animal and human minds has not received the attention it deserves” and I had heard that before, so I wonder were you surprised when I knew exactly who you were, with the massive amounts of respect that go along with those who spearhead a field?
Q1: I always like to know what brought people to where they are now, and you explain what brought you to this field in the Introduction of your book A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience[ii]. Can you give a snapshot of your career path (so I don’t think I was crazy that you were in England)? What did your work entail as Head of the Department of Psychotherapy at the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (in England) and why were you appointed that case by the Michigan Supreme Court?
Q1B: The book opens with an incredible example of how neuroscience helped to inform the outcomes of those cases involving children and their caregivers that dated back to 1993. Can you explain how neuroscience explained the outcomes that 19 experts in child development couldn’t see without understanding how the brain works? I’m asking from the point of view not of a researcher who has a sound understanding of how our brain works, but for of those of us who have a thirst to understand this information, that we were never taught.
Q2: The introduction of your book is interesting as neuroscience proved something that 19 experts in child development couldn’t see, even from the point of view of a parent. I always wondered if I had made a mistake when I moved from Canada to the US (only AFTER I had children) but it was with the difference we see with maternity leave in the US where we have about 12 weeks compared to a full year in Canada. I always wondered if I was doing something wrong when I dropped my daughter off at daycare and drove off to work.
I was shocked when I learned that “The hippocampus creates enduring personal memories, but it does not begin to function until a child is about four years old (Newcombe et al. 2000; Gleitman et al. 2007). Babies and young children can retain short-term memories, but the neural pathways that encode these memories dissolve after a few weeks or months and the children forget” (Fivush and Hamond 1990).
So, for all those parents out there who feel guilty dropping their kids off at daycare, or leaving them for a few hours with a caregiver, this bit of research could really have helped me back then to not stress so much about that, right?
How else can you see an understanding of our brain, helping us beyond your Supreme Court Case, or for young parents raising their children? Do you have any other neuroscience tips that surprised you?
Q3: What was it about Jaak Panksepp’s work that filled in the missing gaps for you, and for lay people like me and others listening who want to understand the important workings of the brain (for improved results in our schools, sports environments or modern workplaces?)
Q4: The first 3 chapters discusses different schools of thought about emotion and effect. Can we talk about each one and give an example of how something like a gunshot would be experienced with each theory?
Feedback Theory-affects emerge from cognitive parts of the cortex or cortex creates all forms of consciousness (Kawkabani, 2018) We hear a gunshot, and freeze but why according to FBT are we not afraid?
Brainstem Theory-maintains that all mammalian brains contain genetically programmed emotional systems). I’ve seen Panksepp’s 7 Emotional Systems written out in many places but didn’t realize there was a reason behind the ALL CAPS of each system. What did he want to show with the all caps?
Panksepp’s 7 core emotions:
ALL mammalian brains have these 7 emotions?
Why do you think these 7 emotions have been overlooked by psychologists and neuroscientists if they appear in the upper brainstem, indicating they evolved a long time ago?
With brainstem theory, we hear a gunshot, what happens? We feel fear that originates from the brainstem?
 
3. Conceptual Act Theory (CAT)-claims that emotional systems do not exist and that emotions do not emanate from any brain region. Affects depend on concepts we construct largely on the basis of social experience.
(Lisa Feldman Barrett-Theory of Constructed Emotion-explains the experience and perception of emotion). Her research shows emotions are invented using our memory and imagination (Waldman).
With a gunshot, how would you explain your reaction if emotions don’t exist in the brain? Did my brain create a fearful affect based on what I watched on TV, my memory and imagination?
 
Q5: In chapter 5 and 6 you dive deeper into brainstem theory by looking at 2 different hypothesis—Jaak Pankseep and Antonio Damasio, explaining how affects might be created.  Both are similar, involving the brainstem, but they explain different mechanisms for how this happens.
What is Damasio’s view involving homeostasis/consciousness?
What is Panksepp’s major contribution to affective neuroscience?
Q6: All the research in the first 7 chapters show how the brain creates conscious affective feelings. In chapter 7, you evaluate Damasio and Panksepp’s Hypothesis.
You mention that both Damasio and Panksepp maintain that all consciousness includes a conscious unified sense of self (Ramachandran, 2009) who we’ve come across on this podcast as he inspired the work of Dr. Baland Jalal EPISODE #211.[iii] Ramachandran sites that people with male bodies feel like men, and people with female bodies feel like women.
What does neuroscience research say about our sense of self and our consciousness and what was the point with Ramachandran’s research?
Q7: Chapter 8 we have the hard question of consciousness.
On EPISODE #251, I looked at “Exploring Consciousness” and learned that “consciousness is the most astonishing act our big, complex, interconnected brains pull off and scientists are only just beginning to understand it.”[xiv] (National Geographic, The Brain). I learned that “Some scholars reckon the puzzle of consciousness is something the human mind is incapable of solving” (National Geographic) but that Daniel Dennett, Philospher and Cognitive Scientist from Tufts University (MA) says that this line of thinking is “culpably wrong. It isn’t impossible at all. It’s just that we have to buckle down and do it.”[iv]
Why do all traditional attempts to answer the hard questions of consciousness fail?
Which brain structures and functions correlate with consciousness?
How does the physical brain create nonphysical conscious experiences (like seeing colors, tasting flavors, feeling joy and sorrow, anticipating the future, and remembering the past?
What makes us happy, lonely, caring or curious? (no one knows how this happens Greenfield 2000).
Q8: In chapter 10, you show how neuroscience helped you to treat 2 boys using the SEEKING system. How did you help each boy differently by knowing when to act like a coach, or like a traditional therapist and identifying the 7 emotional sytems that needed help?
NOTE: Lucy wanted to be sure we included a distinction between emotion and affect in the show notes.
Neuroscientists see emotion as purely physical reactions that occur inside the body (influx of stress or calming chemicals) and behavior (smiling, grimacing, approaching, running away). Affects, on the other hand, are private conscious experiences that cannot be directly observed - you can only deduce affects from behavior and verbal reports.
 
How could others use this system to help students, or athletes, who’ve gone off track somehow, or even managers and supervisors in the corporate world who might be having a challenge with their employees?
Lucy, I want to thank you very much for first of all sending me that note before the holidays. For those of us who spend a lot of time learning, someone who can understand these difficult concepts, and explain them in a way that we can all use them, really are rockstars in my eyes. Like Dr. Daniel Siegel[v], who wrote the foreword to The Archeology of Mind and suggested that scientists or researchers would be interested in “the abundance of academic references” but for clinicians, educators or general readers, he suggests to read the pages of that book like a fascinating nonfictional story, and let the words sink in over time.
Thank you for joining the rockstar researchers who have come on our podcast, like Dr. Daniel Siegel and those who have helped us to embrace a world where neuroscience can provide us with answers to move us forward, if we can take the time to stop, think, and understand the research that you’ve gathered, and then see how we can implement your last tip, to impact change in our worlds, backed by science. Thank you for all you have shared today.
If people want to reach you, what is the best way? 
Email Lucy at LucyBiven@gmail.com 
If people want to purchase your books, what is the best way?
A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience by Lucy Biven Published July 6, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Short-Cut-Understanding-Affective-Neuroscience-ebook/dp/B0B69SSNXV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
RESOURCES:
Palaces of Memory by George Johnson https://www.thriftbooks.com/w/in-the-palaces-of-memory-how-we-build-the-worlds-inside-our-heads_george-johnson/572819/item/3589928/?gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT-NyFHlqgUK_OySTM5OHSRM3Ic-W9ocGM_kDYtAqd4dUnj8SIp0kecaAuMREALw_wcB#idiq=3589928&edition=1903120
The Emotional Brain by Joseph LeDoux Published September 22, 201We https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Brain-Mysterious-Underpinnings-Life-ebook/dp/B00AK78PDC/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
 
Who’s in Charge by Michael Gazzaniga Published November 15, 2011 https://www.amazon.com/Whos-Charge-Free-Science-Brain-ebook/dp/B005UD1EVG/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=Cj0KCQiAiJSeBhCCARIsAHnAzT_G3h7DHS5KOnaE-oZBRaqInCY5h6x_azxOw6cDettoKFu73XQ2Om0aAvU3EALw_wcB&hvadid=295460754701&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=9467293520721770679&hvtargid=kwd-564030166002&hydadcr=22594_10348222&keywords=who%27s+in+charge+michael+gazzaniga&qid=1673931510&sr=8-1
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
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REFERENCES:
[i] The Archeology of Mind: Neuroevolutionary Origins of Human Emotion by Jaak Panksepp and Lucy Biven Published September 17, 2012 https://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Mind-Neuroevolutionary-Interpersonal-Neurobiology/dp/0393705315
[ii] A Short-Cut to Understanding Affective Neuroscience by Lucy Biven Published July 6, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Short-Cut-Understanding-Affective-Neuroscience-ebook/dp/B0B69SSNXV/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
[iii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #211 with Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/
[iv] What is Consciousness Published on YouTube Sept. 10, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8XITVmeY4 TIME STAMP 1:31/12:42
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Daniel J Siegel on “Mindsight: The Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
 

Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience Michael S.C. Thomas on ”Educational Neuroscience: The Basics”

WHAT IS THE POTENTIAL OF EDUCATIONAL NEUROSCIENCE?
British Physician, Ben Goldacre, 2013 says “I think there is a huge prize waiting to be claimed by teachers. By collecting better evidence about what works best and establishing a culture where this evidence is used as a matter of routine, we can improve outcomes for children, and increase professional independence.”
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/Uh1BZOTGZQc
On today’s Episode #269 we will cover
✔  Professor Michael S.C. Thomas' new book Educational Neuroscience: The Basics
✔  Where is educational neuroscience NOW? Where it began, and where it's going.
✔ How this book can help students improve how they learn. 
✔ How this look at Educational Neuroscience can help us to become better teachers.
✔ The difference between evidence-based and neuroscience-based.
✔ Where we should ALL begin. What IS the BASICS of Neuroscience?
✔ What makes something forgettable and another thing memorable?
✔ Ways to make learning easier.
 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast almost 4 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. This season (Season 9) we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics for the next few months, as we welcome some phenomenal pioneers in the field of Neuroscience, paving a pathway for all of us to navigate our lives with more understanding with our brain in mind. My goal with this next season (that will run until the end of June) is that going back to the basics will help us to strengthen our understanding of the brain, and our mind, to our results, and provide us with a springboard to propel us forward in 2023, with this solid backbone of science. 
Today’s guest and EPISODE #269, I’ve been wanting to have on this podcast since I came across his work in the field of educational neuroscience around the time we interviewed Dr. Daniel Ansari, back in June 2021 for EPISODE #138.[i] I saw their Annual Research Review: (called) Educational Neuroscience progress from April 2019, written by Michael S.C. Thomas, Daniel Ansari and Victoria C.P. Rowland that provided a thorough overview of the origins of educational neuroscience, outlining where it began, the challenges it faces as a “translational field” and addressed it’s major criticisms.  I immediately wrote down Michael S.C. Thomas’ name, along with his email address, to reach out to him to learn more of his perspective in this field. Since I was interviewing Dr. Daniel Ansari, it brought something to light for me that the people who write these research reports that we find on Pubmed.gov, are working hard somewhere, and not completely out of reach if you really want to find them, and ask them some questions about their work.  When I finally emailed him, I was thrilled to hear he had a NEW book Educational Neuroscience: The Basics[ii] and am grateful to have this opportunity to speak with him about this new book.
Before we meet our next guest, Michael S.C. Thomas, let me orient you to his work.
Michael S. C. Thomas is a Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience at Birkbeck University of London. Since 2010, he has been Director of the Centre for Educational Neuroscience, a cross-institutional research centre which aims to further translational research between neuroscience and education, and establish new transdisciplinary accounts in the learning sciences. In 2003, Michael established the Developmental Neurocognition Laboratory within Birkbeck’s world-leading Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development. The focus of his laboratory is to use multi-disciplinary methods to understand the brain, including behavioural, brain imaging, computational, and genetic methods. In 2006, the lab was the co-recipient of the Queen’s Anniversary Prize for Higher Education, for the project “Neuropsychological work with the very young: understanding brain function and cognitive development”. Michael is a Chartered Psychologist, Fellow of the British Psychological Society, Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science, Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy, and board member of the International Mind Brain and Education Society.
Let’s meet Professor of Cognitive Neuroscience, Michael S. C. Thomas, from Birkbeck University of London and see what we can learn about Educational Neuroscience: The Basics.
Welcome Michael, thank you for sticking with me as we made this interview happen. I’ve been wanting to speak with you for so many years that I was trying to change Wednesday yesterday to Thursday to speed up time because I know how important this new book is, and am so very grateful for this chance to learn more about this topic directly from you. Thank you for being here today.
INTRO: How did you find your way towards studying the brain as it relates to our educational system and establish the Developmental Neurocognition Laboratory within Birkbeck’s Centre for Brain and Cognitive Development?
If I look at Unlocke.org[iii] is this where your research is based?
Moving towards your NEW book, Educational Neuroscience: The Basics that is the reason we are here today, what can you tell us about writing this new book with Cathy Rogers, who moved to this field of neuroscience after years of producing science television shows. I can only imagine how her background in television and film contributed to this book.
Q1: When I first came across your work, it was when I was interviewing Dr. Daniel Ansari, and I found the Annual Research Review[iv] you wrote with him and Victoria Knowland. I don’t often sit and read through Pubmed in my spare time, but I was working on a paper for a Neuroscience Certification that required me to know how to navigate through the research,  and after reading your report, this was the first time I was ever aware of criticisms in this field (this was before I learned about the Reading Wars[v]). Then I read Dr. Ansari’s review Bridges over troubled waters[vi] and I wonder if you could bring our listeners up to speed of where this field began, where it is now (you say “it’s barely out of the gates” and where do you see it going?
Q2: This brings us back to your new book with Cathy Rogers, Educational Neuroscience: The Basics that is an introduction to this interdisciplinary field. British physician Ben Goldacre said that there’s “a huge prize waiting to be claimed by teachers” with this book.
What are your goals with this book, Educational Neuroscience: The Basics, and how do you see it improving outcomes for students, like Ben Goldacre mentioned, while “increasing professional independence” for our next generation of teachers?
Q3: I’ve seen some graphics made over the years that show how Neuroeducation consists of the Pedagogy of Education and Learning, Neuroscience, with the brain and its functioning, and Psychology, combining the mind and behavior. (The 3 circles interconnecting) with Neuroeducation in the middle.  With your research between neuroscience and education, and your background in psychology, how would you draw this diagram? What disciplines would you say make up Educational Neuroscience?
Q3B: I loved seeing a book that really does go back to the basics. This is fundamental for all of us, whether we work in the classroom with our students, in sports environments, or in the corporate workplace. I saw some of your testimonials at the start of the book say that “this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to learn how the brain works to enable learning” and after reading Chapter 1, I wonder “why do we need educational neuroscience, how can it help us to understand how we learn, and help us to become better teachers?
Andrea thinks that Michael has answered this question, with the idea that we want our students to use movement, manage their emotions, and social interactions, so these don’t get in the way of learning, thinking and cognition.
Q4: Can we go next to the research. This question would benefit those who create programs for schools, or for those who are selling programs to schools, or even for those who work in schools to understand this difference. I’ve spent countless hours (from a program creator point of view) trying to figure this out for certain funding buckets. What is the distinction between “evidence-based” and “neuroscience-based and does one provide a more guaranteed outcome for student success?”
Q5: When I read of the survey you mentioned of the teachers of Wellcome Trust (Simmonds, 2014) that found a high level of interest in neuroscience and 60% of teachers said they “knew little” about how the brain works, and
82% said they wanted to learn more, it reminded me of why we launched this podcast to help bring together all the leaders in the field like you said to address this “unmet appetite for neuroscience knowledge.” But then when asked about their current use it was noted there were many tools, and products that claimed to boost a student’s brain level, without the evidence. I know that CASEL has a program rating system for social and emotional learning programs, but what do you is there a rating systems for neuroscience or evidence- based programs?
Q6: I love that you quoted David A. Sousa (Hart, 1999, Sousa, 2011) in Chapter 1 with his quote that “teachers are the only people whose specific job is to change the connections between neurons in their students’ brains.”  He’s been on our podcast twice, most recently EP197[vii] with his 6th edition of How the Brain Learns was our third most listened to episode of 2022. I’ve got to say that when I was first handed his books back in 2014, and asked to add neuroscience to the character and leadership programs I had created for the school market, I took one look at the images of the brain, or even how our memory works, and I felt overwhelmed, and almost didn’t go in this direction. What would you say to someone who looks at the word neuroscience, and feels the same level of intimidation that I felt in the beginning. Where should someone begin? What are the BASICS of Neuroscience?
Plasticity
Learning and Altering Neuron Connections
Memories/Forgetting
Q7: What makes something unforgettable while other things we struggle to remember?
 
Q8: To sum this all up, In chapter 5, Thinking is Hard, and different types of memories perform different types of functions, or working with memory for specific things or events. Then you cover “We feel, therefore we learn.” (Immordino-Yang & Damasio). What should we all take away to help us to all understand Neuroscience: The Basics and make learning easier?
 
 
 
If thinking is hard, why is learning harder? What makes learning easier?
 
Michael, I want to thank you very much for taking the time to come on the podcast (all the way from the UK) and for sharing your new book Neuroscience: The Basics with us. For people who want to purchase the book, is the best place https://www.routledge.com/Educational-Neuroscience-The-Basics/Rogers-Thomas/p/book/9781032028552#
 
 
CONTACT MICHAEL S.C. THOMAS
Email m.thomas@bbk.ac.uk
Research Unlocke.org
 
BUY Educational Neuroscience: The Basics
 
Educational Neuroscience: The Basics by Cathy Rogers and Michael S.C. Thomas Published November 15, 2022 https://www.routledge.com/Educational-Neuroscience-The-Basics/Rogers-Thomas/p/book/9781032028552#
 
Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Educational-Neuroscience-Basics-Cathy-Rogers/dp/1032028556
 
Professor Michael Thomas at Birkbeck University of London https://www.bbk.ac.uk/our-staff/profile/8006159/michael-thomas#overview
 
Center for Educational Neuroscience http://www.educationalneuroscience.org.uk/
 
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCMlW1aThiDY5TB8uxS3DU0w
 
 
 
Stay tuned for Michael’s NEXT book How the Brian Works.
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Thank you!
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/professor-and-canada-research-chair-in-developmental-cognitive-neuroscience-and-learning-on-the-future-of-educational-neuroscience/
 
[ii] Educational Neuroscience: The Basics by Cathy Rogers and Michael S.C. Thomas Published November 15, 2022 https://www.routledge.com/Educational-Neuroscience-The-Basics/Rogers-Thomas/p/book/9781032028552#
 
[iii] https://www.unlocke.org/team.php
 
[iv] Annual Research Review: Educational neuroscience: progress and prospects by Michael S.C. Thomas, Daniel Ansari and Victoria C.P. Knowland (April 2019)  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6487963/
 
[v] The Reading Wars by Nicholas Lemann  https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1997/11/the-reading-wars/376990/
 
[vi] Bridges over troubled waters: education and cognitive neuroscience by Daniel Ansari, Donna Coch March 10, 2006 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16530462/
 
[vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #197 with David A Sousa on “What’s NEW with the 6th Edition of How Your Brain Learns” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/returning-guest-dr-david-a-sousa-on-what-s-new-with-the-6th-edition-of-how-the-brain-learns/

Brain Fact Friday ”Prioritizing Mental Health in 2023: Improving Self-Awareness and Resilience”

Happy New Year, and welcome back to our 9th Season, approaching our 4th year of The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast.  For those returning, welcome back and for new listeners, I’m Andrea Samadi an author and educator, who launched this podcast in June 2019, for many reasons, but the one that stands out the most today, is to amplify the best practices, tools, strategies and ideas, from authors, experts and leaders who’ve risen the top of their field, to improve productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces, by connecting an understanding of our brain to their proven strategies.
On today’s Episode #268 we will cover
✔ An Introduction to Season 9 of our Podcast: Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics
✔ Intro to “Prioritizing Our Mental Health in 2023: Building Self-Awareness and Resilience in the New Year.”
✔ 4 TIPS for Putting our Mental and Physical Health First in 2023 with our Brain in Mind.
This season we will be focused on Neuroscience: Going Back to the Basics for the next few months, as we welcome some phenomenal pioneers in the field of Neuroscience, paving a pathway for all of us to navigate our lives with more understanding with our brain in mind. My goal with this next season (that will run until the end of June) is that going back to the basics will help us to strengthen our understanding of the brain, and our mind, to our results, and provide us with a springboard to propel us forward in 2023, with this solid backbone of science. Going back to the basics is something we do without thought while teaching a lesson in the classroom, or with skill-building in sports, and it’s at the root of our performance improvement plans in the workplace, so before moving forward, I wanted to take some steps back a bit, to intentionally strengthen our direction with this podcast.
Before moving forward, I do want to thank our listeners who have taken the time to post a review of the podcast on Apple iTunes. This helps us a lot, so other listeners can learn about the content, and your take-aways, so thank you to Joseue Diaz from Panama for letting me know you enjoyed the episode with Adele Spraggon, about how habits are formed in the brain, and from a review from a faithful listener who let me know you’ve enjoyed our Deep Dives of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book, and Jose Silva’s Program. Reviews like this make my day, and are extremely motivating to me, especially as I am sitting at my desk, working on finalizing an episode. Thank you for sending the motivation back my way.
 
 
 
For today’s episode, #268, and our FIRST episode of 2023, BEFORE we dive deeper into the Basics of Neuroscience, I want to begin our year on solid footing, going back to the basics of health by “Prioritizing Our Mental Health in 2023: Building Self-Awareness and Resilience in the New Year.” My good friend, and 2-time returning guest Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning, and author of the book, Significant 72: Unleashing the Power of Relationships in Today’s Schools[i] Greg Wolcott, who was on our 7th episode, as well as our #64th[ii] sent me an email this week that got me thinking of how to launch our year. I already had written out “back to the basics” all over my office, but his email gave me some more direction. He sent me the cover of Dr. Julie Smith’s book Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before[iii] and I immediately downloaded her book, and began to connect the dots for this episode. In the beginning of her book, Dr. Julie Smith says,
It was the last line that she wrote “only more recently has it become acceptable to openly and visibly work on your mental health” that got me. She’s 200% right. How many photos have I seen of people working out at the gym at the start of the year, compared to those working on their mindset or mental health? You know, what goes on inside, shows up loud and clear on the outside. We can exercise our body till our legs shake, but if we ignore our mental health, it will, over time, be apparent.
I think back to a review we did on psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist Dr. Daniel Amen’s book The End of Mental Illness[iv] where something Dr. Amen said stuck with me over the years, and that’s that “most of us will have a mental health issue in our lifetime—and that “normal” is a myth..that 51% of us will have a mental health issue (post-traumatic stress, depression, anxiety, addiction, an eating disorder)”[v] showing me that it’s more normal to have a problem, than not.
So today we will focus on our mental health, with a few tools, strategies and ideas that we’ve uncovered over the past few years, to help all of us put our brain health first this year. This is keeping in theme of going back to the basics.
For this week’s Brain Fact Friday, and launch of our New Year,
DID YOU KNOW that “You are not stuck with the brain you have? You can make it better?” –From Dr. Daniel Amen, who said that in his online course Brain Thrive by 25  and he adds, “your history is not your destiny.” He reminds us to be aware of our genetic vulnerabilities, but that “we can change the structure and function of our brain” by doing things a certain way.
Before going into “this certain way” that we can use to change the structure and function of our brain, I wonder, do you know YOUR genetic vulnerabilities?
What steps are you taking to move beyond them? Dr. Amen speaks clearly and openly about his, and I’ve been open about mine on this podcast. I’m fully aware that depression runs in my family, so years ago, I put certain habits like exercise and healthy eating as priority, and it’s not something I even think about anymore. It became a healthy, daily, non-negotiable habit.  When you can focus on brain health first, everything else will fall into place, and family history, or genetics can be changed.
Here’s the Tips We’ve Gathered to Help All of Us Put Our Mental Health First in 2023.
TIP 1: USING EXERCISE TO CREATE MORE BRAIN RESERVE AS WE AGE: Who doesn’t want to look younger, as the hands of time move forward? We covered this one on episode #128[vi] with our review of Dr. Daniel Amen’s The End of Mental Illness book, but just as a review, look at the graphic he created with the ACRONYM BRIGHT MINDS and listen to this past episode if you want to review ALL of the brain tips we have for each of the letters of BRIGHT MINDS but for today, we will cover the first letter, B that stands for BLOOD FLOW.
If your brain doesn't get enough blood flow its function will be compromised”[vii] so Dr. Amen believes “the number one strategy to support your brain and mental health is to protect, nurture, and optimize your heart and blood vessels”[viii] and exercise pumps blood to the brain. I know we hear it everywhere, but daily exercise is often written as a prescription for someone suffering with mental health issues, and this explains why.
DID YOU KNOW THAT “Blood vessels age, not your brain cells? Keep blood vessels healthy so blood flows to your brain.”[ix]
BRAIN TIP:
You can keep your blood vessels healthy with moderate exercise 5 days/week and weight training 3 times/week.  I know we all have heard how important exercise is for our health, it’s one of the top 5 health staples we have been covering on the podcast, and one area we dove deep into recently on EPISODE #252[x], but have you thought about it from this point of view? Keeping our heart healthy, keeps our blood vessels healthy, and helps blood flow to our brain. When you follow Dr. Amen’s work, you will quickly learn how important blood flow is to the brain. When looking at a brain scan from his clinics, you will notice there are places with holes, and the hole you see represents a 45% drop in blood flow to that area. So, it’s important to understand ways to increase blood flow to your brain (like with exercise) as well as what lowers blood flow in your brain (more than 2 cups of caffeine/day, smoking, lack of sleep, excessive alcohol use).[xi]
TIP #2 FIND YOUR BALANCE POINT BY MEASURING YOUR WORKOUTS
This next point I have to add, after tip #1, as each of us will have different needs when it comes to “how much” exercise we will need to do each week. We’ve covered this topic on The Top 5 Health Staples[xii] with tips of where to begin with an exercise plan in addition to the other health staples, but after measuring my workouts using the Whoop device the past 2 years, I think it’s important to note that while daily exercise is important to keep our blood vessels and brain healthy, that finding our own individual balance point will help us physically, as well as mentally. At the end of this year, I received a report from Whoop that showed me loud and clear that while I was in the Top 2% for Strain Levels, of the entire Whoop community, consisting of many professional level athletes, that they recommend I find a better balance between my recovery and strain. In 2023 I don’t need to push so hard, that will be good for short-term fitness gains, but will not help me with long-term performance. Understanding this information was eye-opening, as I use exercise to solve all my problems, (mental health and physical) but this comes at a risk over overdoing it, which won’t help me in the long run. (pun intended here).
DID YOU KNOW THAT “when your recovery is high, your body is primed to take on more strain? (and you can get a green light to workout) But when your recovery is low, you may be at risk of overtraining (during intense workouts)[xiii]”  (Whoop.com) and could use some rest. One quick glance at my yearly recovery rates you can see that I mostly had yellow recoveries (there were actually 192 days where my body wasn’t fully recovered and 122 days where it was recovered (green). These numbers can show me what to change/improve in 2023 so I can have more days where my body is “recovered” strong and ready to take on more strain (mental as well as physical) and that on yellow or non-recovered days, I can focused on less intense workouts to give me more capacity in my day. This will require a change in behavior on my end, but without this data, I’d be at risk of longer-term injury that you better believe would impact my mental health.
BRAIN TIP: I’m sure we’ve all heard that “If you don't make time for your wellness, you'll be forced to make time for your illness” but also too much time focused on wellness isn’t the answer either. FIND YOUR OWN BALANCE.
When you can find a way to measure how well your body is recovering on a day to day basis (I use the Whoop device-you can learn more with EPISODE #134[xiv] with our interview with Kristen Holmes, VP of Performance Science at Whoop) but there are other tools out there that measure sleep in addition to other vital information, so you can see a snapshot of your overall physical health to show you where you are on a daily and monthly basis against your baseline. You can see my report in the show notes measuring respiratory rate (is the amount of breaths I take per minute while at rest-which increases with illness or when I travel to places with higher altitudes) showing me more rest is needed when this number elevates. Resting heart rate (the number of times my heart beats while at rest) is an indicator of cardiovascular health, also alerting me when more rest is needed, and the report shows me that my average night of sleep still falls below the recommended 7 hours of sleep, something I’m still working on improving, that you’ll see with our next tip.
TIP #3 BE OPEN TO TOOLS THAT ARE HELPING OTHERS
When I first interviewed Kelly Roman[xv], the CEO of Fisher Wallace on their brain stimulator device for anxiety, depression and sleep management, I had no idea that my review of this device would have such a strong reach. EPISODE #120[xvi] of “My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Medical Device” has had over 6,300+ downloads and I think there was such an interest in this one since we know that there has been “a global increase in depression and anxiety with tens of millions of additional cases reported globally[xvii] (since the Pandemic) and from the emails I’ve received since this review, it’s clear that people are still searching for answers. Looking back, I remember thinking “I’ll use this device long enough to gather some data for the review” and didn’t plan on using it past the four weeks I was measuring my sleep. I remember being shocked at how much this device made an impact on my WASO (Wa-SO) score (or wake after sleep onset) that I still keep an eye on today as well I noticed it unexpectedly improved my mood, and anxiousness throughout the day.
You can see this review one year later from July 2022, EPISODE #231[xviii] posted on their website, under their review section, and probably why I receive so many emails about this device. To update even further, I still use the Fisher Wallace Device every morning, for 2 20 minute sessions, while meditating, and I do put it on the highest level to maximize the benefits. I also still read every email the company sends out on their mailing list, and just before Christmas noticed that they have a NEW product coming out. I’ve already reached out to Kelly Roman to see if we can have him back on the podcast, but about his email release of this new product, he reveals its name, saying, “OAK (the new wearable device) is the culmination of my 13 years in the mental health industry—everything I’ve learned and dreamed was possible to deliver to patients. I consider it the apex wearable device for harnessing the potential of the human brain.” (Kelly Roman, CEO and Co-founder of Fisher Wallace Labs).
I look forward to sharing what’s NEW with their Next Generation Device, and do want to say that while I was gifted the device to try (if I didn’t like it, I could have sent it back), but I have not been paid in any way to endorse the company or product. In fact, I’ve never been paid to endorse ANY product on our podcast to date). I just happen to be a user who noticed an incredible difference, and used the podcasting platform to share my results.
Be sure to listen to these past episodes if you have missed them.
DID YOU KNOW THAT: “The Fisher Wallace Stimulator® is the most researched wearable brain stimulation device on the market?” They have “conducted research on biomarkers (increased serotonin, lowered cortisol) depression, anxiety, insomnia, patient safety (including pediatric), Parkinson’s disease and the treatment of substance use disorder patients.”  
BRAIN TIP:
Using this device has a similar effect as meditation, calming the brain in two 20 minute sessions. While everyday life stressors seem to be easier to combat with daily meditation, I’m not planning on give up another tool that can help me to stay calm during stressful times. While this device has helped my WASO score (wakefulness after sleep onset) if you look at how long I’m sleeping, I’m still averaging a bit over 6 hours of sleep that I could improve if I could just stay in bed longer. Like anyone else, I’ve definitely got some areas of mental and physical health pinpointed to improve in 2023.
TIP #4 DO YOU KNOW YOUR HRV? The most important biomarker for tracking health and recovery on a regular basis. We covered an introduction to the importance of understanding HRV back in April of 2021 on EPISODE #125[xix] on “What is HRV and Why is it Important for Tracking Health, Recovery and Resilience?” and I learned that a higher HRV score means we have more capacity to perform, versus a lower score.  It’s another way of looking at how recovered we are.
Then we interviewed Rohan Dixit, the founder of Leif Therapeutics, on EPISODE #228[xx] with the wearable device that measures HRV in real-time, and I tried his device, and was able to pinpoint the parts of my day where my body was under high stress, to be able to learn and implement breathing strategies to overcome the stress, in the real time and watch my HRV increase on the dashboard of the device. What stuck to me that I didn’t know before using Rohan’s HRV tracker, is that I began to see where I was stressed or anxious, that I was unaware of before. For instance, the tracker started buzzing like crazy just before I went to sleep at night, when I thought I was relaxed and ready for sleep, but the tracker, connected to my heart rate, noticed the stress, and helped me to train myself to relax by taking deep breaths before sleep. The same thing happened while driving my kids to gymnastics. When we are in the middle of a busy day, it’s sometimes not easy to check in and think “oh, I should probably breathe now” but the device picked up where I need to do this, helping me immensely to change my habits, and improve my HRV score during times of stress.
DID YOU KNOW THAT: “HRV is a magical biomarker of your mental state?” (Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics)
BRAIN TIP: To incorporate this magical bio-marker into our daily life, once we know what it is, (by measuring it some way) we can then use this number to guide us with our workouts. If the next day after a hard workout, your HRV is still low, use it as a sign to go easier the next day. If your HRV is low, and you haven’t been active, this “indicates your body is working hard for some other reason (maybe your fatigued, dehydrated, stressed, or sick and need recovery.”[xxi] UsePrioritizing  this number as a guide to help you to gain more capacity to do the things you need to do throughout your day.
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION:
To review and conclude this week’s Brain Fact Friday, DID YOU KNOW that “You are not stuck with the brain you have? You can make it better?” –From Dr. Daniel Amen we covered four tips for doing things a certain way in 2023, that can tip our needle towards mental AND physical health in the New Year. We also don’t need to do a lot of things all at once, but knowing where to begin is a good first step for improved overall health this year.
TIP 1: USING EXERCISE TO CREATE MORE BRAIN RESERVE AS WE AGE: Showing us that keeping our heart healthy, keeps our blood vessels healthy, and helps blood flow to our brain.
TIP #2 FIND YOUR BALANCE POINT BY MEASURING YOUR WORKOUTS:  Because if we don't make time our wellness, we'll be forced to make time for our illness” and I shared how I’m using the Whoop device to find more balance between strain (with my workouts) and rest.
TIP #3 BEING OPEN TO TOOLS THAT ARE HELPING OTHERS: Where we covered the Fisher Wallace brain stimulator device for anxiety, depression and sleep management that has helped me with much more than just WASO (wake after sleep onset) score. The device, paired with my Whoop device has also shown me that one extra hour of sleep each night in 2023 could help me to find the balance my body needs this year.
TIP #4 THE IMPORTANCE OF KNOWING YOUR HRV: with the Lief Wearable Device that tracks HRV in real-time, helping us to train our body to breathe when we need it the most.
I hope that these 4 TIPS have helped you to think about where you MENTAL and PHYSICAL health could be improved this year, with some steps for getting started. I wanted to share what I’m currently working on, so you can see that we all have areas of improvement. But without knowing WHAT to improve, most of us will do the same thing we did last year, without any change.
Wishing everyone a healthy start to the New Year, and I’ll see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
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REFERENCES:
[i] www.significant72.com
[ii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #64 with Greg Wolcott on “Making Connections with Neuroscience and SEL” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-superintendent-greg-wolcott-on-making-connections-with-neuroscience-and-sel/
[iii] Why Has Nobody Told Me This Before by Dr. Julie Smith Published January 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Why-Nobody-Told-This-Before/dp/0063227932
[iv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #128 on a Review of Dr. Amen’s End of Mental Illness book https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/
[v] Dr. Amen, Brain Thrive by 25 Online Course http://brainthriveby25.com/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #128 on a Review of Dr. Amen’s End of Mental Illness book https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/review-of-dr-daniel-amens-the-end-of-mental-illness-6-steps-for-improved-brain-and-mental-health/
[vii] Dr. Amen on The Dr. Oz Show https://www.doctoroz.com/article/dr-daniel-amens-memory-rescue-plan
[viii] The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders and More by Dr. Daniel Amen  March 3, 2020 https://www.amazon.com/End-Mental-Illness-Neuroscience-Transforming/dp/1496438159 Location 2755
[ix] Tana and Daniel Amen on The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast https://brainwarriorswaypodcast.com/its-not-your-brain-cells-that-age-its-your-blood-vessels
[x] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #252 on Using Neuroscience to Improve Fitness, Longevity and Overall Health https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-neuroscience-to-improve-fitness-longevity-and-overall-health/
[xi] The End of Mental Illness: How Neuroscience is Transforming Psychiatry and Helping Prevent or Reverse Mood and Anxiety Disorders, ADHD, Addictions, PTSD, Psychosis, Personality Disorders and More by Dr. Daniel Amen  March 3, 2020 https://www.amazon.com/End-Mental-Illness-Neuroscience-Transforming/dp/1496438159 Location 2787
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast BONUS EPISODE Top 5 Health Staples and Review of  Season 1-4  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
[xiii] WHOOP Recovery  https://support.whoop.com/WHOOP_Data/Recovery__HRV/WHOOP_Recovery
[xiv]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #134 with Kristen Holmes VP of Performance Science from Whoop https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kristen-holmes-from-whoopcom-on-unlocking-a-better-you-measuring-sleep-recovery-and-strain/
[xv] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #108 with Kelly Roman, CEO of Fisher Wallace Laboratories  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ceo-of-fisher-wallace-laboratories-on-wearable-medical-devices-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/
[xvi] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #231 on “One year later: My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Device for Anxiety, Depression and Sleep”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-medical-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleepstress-management/
[xvii] Global Increase in Depression and Anxiety Oct. 21, 2021 by Karen O’Leary https://www.nature.com/articles/d41591-021-00064-y
[xviii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE  #231 on “One year later: My Personal Review of the Fisher Wallace Wearable Device for Anxiety, Depression and Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/update-one-year-later-on-my-personal-review-of-the-fisher-wallace-wearable-sleep-device-for-anxiety-depression-and-sleep-management/
[xix] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #125 on “What is HRV and why is it important for tracking health, recovery and resilience.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/what-is-hrv-and-why-is-it-important-for-tracking-health-recovery-and-resilience-with-andrea-samadi/
[xx]Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #228 with Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics on Measuring HRV in Real Time for Stress Relief”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/rohan-dixit-founder-of-lief-therapeutics-on-measuring-hrv-in-real-time-for-stress-relief-from-the-inside-out/
[xxi] Everything You Need to Know About Heart Rate Variability August 11, 2021 https://www.whoop.com/thelocker/heart-rate-variability-hrv/#:~:text=However%2C%20if%20you're%20not,a%20presentation%20at%20work%2C%20etc.
 

The Top 10 Most Listened to Episodes of 2022

“Before you look at your future, reflect on your past.” (Sam Ade, author of the book Wisdom Untold[i]).
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast for a special EPISODE #267, where we will look back over the past year and review the TOP 10 most listened to episodes of 2022, as chosen by you, the listener.  For those of you returning, welcome back, and for those new here, I’m Andrea Samadi, an author and educator who launched this podcast 3.5 years ago, to share how important an understanding of our brain (and mind) is for our everyday life and results. We’ve pulled in some of the world’s leading experts, authors, and researchers in the field of education, sports and workplace productivity, and while I knew we had hit the Top 20 Best Neuroscience Podcasts over the years, I had no idea until recently that we’ve now been included on the 35 Best Neuroscience Podcasts to Follow in 2023[ii], or that we’ve been rated in the top 1.5% of all podcasts, globally,[iii] out of 3 million.  As I’m reflecting back at the end of this year, I have to say that I couldn’t have hit these accomplishments with the brilliant guests who come on the podcast, or without you, the listener, tuning in, so a huge thank you to our past guests, and listeners for making our show a success as we move into a New Year, and approach our 4th year anniversary of this podcast.
 
To reflect on this past year, I first pulled this report in December, and 4 episodes made the TOP 10 list in the past year, that were recorded in December 2021, so I ‘ll be mentioning these important episodes that came in at the end of last year after at the end of this countdown.
As we are approaching a New Year, many of us have our first few quarters (or beyond) of 2023 planned out already, but before we leap into the freshness of a New Year, if you haven’t reflected on the wins you’ve attained in the past year, this is probably the most important step of closing out an old year, and moving into a new one. I learned this year-end ritual from Jim Bunch[iv], who has been walking me through this year-end wrap up for the past 8 years at least, preparing those who tune in all over the world, for a fresh mind moving into the New Year. I put the REPLAY of his event from earlier this month, in the show notes, and did cover his process of creating energy from your 9 environments on EPISODE #103[v]  that launched our year back in 2021, with “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain.” On this episode, we review the process of self-reflection, and evaluate the areas of your life (your 9 environments) to notice where energy might be leaking, that you could direct somewhere else in the New Year.
This self-reflection activity is a good way to close out an old year, and move into a new one, as it allows you to put some thought into your WINS, and what worked well for you in the past year. He has a printable download that goes with this activity, and what’s interesting, is that without looking at your calendar, just by going off the top of your head, see if you can write out some of your wins. Without some deep reflection, you will notice that it’s EASY to see the things that went wrong last year (the losses) but to see the WINS, it takes serious thought, because of our built-in negativity bias, that Dr. Rick Hanson tells us to remember---“our brain is like Velcro for negative experiences (we are attracted to the negative experiences) but our positive experiences, slide off like Teflon.” We must be intentional about reflecting on the positives that we incurred, and integrate these wins into our identity, before moving into a New Year. This practice will guarantee that you are building a stronger, better, more improved version of you, each year.  
Now for the TOP 10 most listened to episodes of 2022-as voted by you, the listener!
#1: We have our review of Napoleon Hill’s bestselling Think and Grow Rich book, “How to Make 2022 Your Best Year Ever” with over 1600 downloads. I absolutely love that you loved this episode as much as I did, as I thought long and hard about what I could write that could possibly make an impact on ALL of us. While thinking about what to write at the start of the year, that would be better than what we did last year, EPISODE #103[vi], “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain” I wanted to cover something that would go beyond where we went last year. I’m sure I’m not the only competitive one out there who wants to beat prior year’s results, so I looked long and hard around my office, with a blank WORD document open on my computer, thinking about what I could possibly cover that would take us ALL to new heights, or levels of thought, and then I saw it. I’d been studying Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book, every year, with Paul Martinelli, since 2019. Each year, I’d use the same notebook, and would add something new to help launch my year. Instead of keeping these notes in this notebook, for myself to read, I put everything I’d studied, in this 6 PART review of this classic book that to date has sold over 70 million copies since it was published in 1937.
This is the same book, that my mentor Bob Proctor had spent his entire lifetime studying.
#2 PART 6 of Our Think and Grow Rich Book Review EPISODE #196[vii] “In Memory of Bob Proctor: The Neuroscience Behind the 15 Success Principles of Think and Grow Rich”
Little did I know when starting this book review, that Bob would become gravely ill, as I was completing the FINAL PART of this review, PART 6, and our 2nd most downloaded episode #196, that I recorded on February 3rd, 2022, the day before Bob passed away.
I was in constant communication with Patti Knoles, who worked with me in those early days in the seminar industry, so I knew that this final episode needed to be dedicated to Bob, but I changed the title to “In Memory of the Legendary Bob Proctor” the next day, when he passed away, and I must have read the ending to this episode 100 times.
The final episode of this book review ends like this…
 
What a legacy this man left the world, and I’m grateful that you chose the final part of this book review, as #2.
#3 On a lighter note, we welcomed back David A Sousa to the podcast, for EPISODE #197[viii] on “What’s NEW with the 6th Edition of How the Brain Learns” where Dr. Sousa dove deeper into his popular brain-based series that’s been helping educators around the world to connect neuroscience to learning together.
#4 We covered “The Neuroscience Behind Self-Belief and Our Identity” on EPISODE #199[ix]
that I dedicated to my friend Patti Knoles, after meeting up with her for coffee where we reminisced about how much we had learned over the years from all of the speakers in the motivational speaking industry, but most of all, that it gave us an unwavering belief about where we would go from here. It was powerful for me to see where self-belief and awareness exists in the brain, and this  will help us with whatever it is that you are working on, so that you can leave an important legacy in the world with your talents and ideas.
#5, you chose EPISODE #198[x] with Mood and Stress Expert Erika Ferst on “Using Your Brain to Prevent Workplace Burnout” showing me how important it is that we all have strategies to reduce stress in the workplace and #8, you chose EPISODE #188[xi] with Nick Jonsson on “Strategies to Overcome Isolation, Stress, Anxiety in the Workplace” reaffirming that with the rise of mental health issues, of the important of making mental and physical health a priority in our daily lives. This is what led me to end the year focusing on The Silva Method, with strategies that we can all use to implement a mediation practice into our day, or improve it, if we have one in place.
#6 you chose emotional intelligence pioneer Joshua Freedman, and EPISODE #202[xii] who has connections to Daniel Goleman’s earliest work.
#7 was EPISODE #210[xiii] with Dr. Jon Finn, the author of the best-selling book, The Habit Mechanic, which has over 20 years of Dr. Finn’s experience on maximizing human potential using an understanding of how our brain and body work.
#8 we mentioned already with Nick Jonsson.
#9 was our 200th milestone episode[xiv] with my husband, Majid Samadi, who first appeared on EPISODE 1, and returned to review why we started this podcast in the first place.
#10 EPISODE #208[xv] with Blaine Oelkers, is a good episode to launch a New Year with as he made many connections to our book review of Think and Grow Rich.
4 EPISODES that missed the 2022 list, because they were recorded in December 2021 were:  
EPISODE #189[xvi] on “Understanding Hormesis: Why Stress and Adversity Make Us Physically and Mentally Stronger” was at the top of the list, and a good reminder to ALWAYS include something difficult or arduous in your daily or at least weekly schedule, to build resilience.
EPISODE #186[xvii] on “Using Neuroscience to Understand the Introverted and Extroverted Brain” surprised me when I saw this one at the top, but it shows me that it helps us to find ways that we can learn to understand each other.
Dr. Simone Alicia, The Self-Esteem Doctor, EPISODE #183[xviii] on “Self-Esteem: Why We Have It to Succeed” and finally, there was EPISODE #185[xix], “Using Neuroscience to Repattern Our Brain” based on our interview #184[xx] with Adele Spraggon, on “Using Science to Break Up with Your Bad Habits for a Successful 2022” that I just received a comment about yesterday.
If you’ve missed any of these episodes, these were all TOP RATED by you, the listener.
My Personal Favorites That Impacted Me the Most:
The top 10 list, was chosen by you, but to close out this episode, I want to include the episodes that made an impact on me this year. I can’t reflect back on this year with mentioning #207 with the Co-founder of CoveyLink, Greg Link on “Unleashing Greatness with Neuroscience, SEL, Trust and the 7 Habits” with over 1300 downloads, because this interview was a clear example of “The Speed of Trust” that “is the shortest route to results” (Robert Allen). I hadn’t spoken to Greg in years when I asked him to do this interview but “when trust is high, communication is instant and effective.” There’s nothing like the speed of trust. When you see it, know it’s something very special, and rare and it’s “a performance multiplier which takes your trajectory upwards, for every activity you engage in, from strategy to execution” (Dr. Stephen R. Covey). When you have the Speed of Trust, know that is has been earned, so treasure and nurture it, as it can also be lost quickly and is very difficult to get back.
I also loved reconnecting with Paranormal Researcher, Ryan O’Neill on EPISODE #203[xxi] this year, as his story is one of true dedication where he has now rose to the top of his field, experiencing wild success, that might appear to look like it happened overnight but in reality, it took 15 years of hard work!
Then there was #201[xxii] on the “Lessons Learned from Our Top 10 All-time Episodes on The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast” took me on a trip down memory lane over the past 3.5 years, and finally, EPISODE #233[xxiii] where we covered the Top 12 Most Viewed YouTube video interviews of all time. Just looking at this list, I can see why these interviews were highly engaging for those watching, and I hope that you can review all of our previous YouTube videos[xxiv], if you have only ever listened to the audio versions.
To close out this EPISODE, and our review of our TOP 10 most listened to podcast episodes of 2022, I want to again thank you, the listener for tuning in, and helping us to reach the milestones we hit each year. Without our brilliant guests, or engaged listeners, there is no podcast.
I look forward to continuing to share what’s new in the field of neuroscience, as it connects to our schools, sports and modern workplaces in the New Year…and with that, I’ll see you next year.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
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REFERENCES:
[i] Wisdom Untold, by Sam Ade Published April 30, 2011 https://www.amazon.com/Wisdom-Untold-Sam-Ade/dp/1462858228
[ii] Top 35 Best Neuroscience Podcasts to Follow in 2023 https://blog.feedspot.com/neuroscience_podcasts/
[iii] Global Rank Top 1.5% of all podcasts https://www.listennotes.com/podcasts/neuroscience-meets-social-and-emotional-OJ-fLpuId2C/
[iv] Jim Bunch 2022 Year End in Review REPLAY https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?ref=watch_permalink&v=564195548861072[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #103 “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Your Best Year Ever” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-leadership-3-ways-to-reset-recharge-and-refuel-your-brain-for-your-best-year-ever/[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #103 “The Neuroscience of Leadership: 3 Ways to Reset, Recharge and Refuel Your Brain for Your Best Year Ever https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-of-leadership-3-ways-to-reset-recharge-and-refuel-your-brain-for-your-best-year-ever/
[vii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 of the Think and Grow Rich Book Review in Memory of Bob Proctor https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
[viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #197 with David A Sousa on “What’s NEW with the 6th Edition of How Your Brain Learns” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/returning-guest-dr-david-a-sousa-on-what-s-new-with-the-6th-edition-of-how-the-brain-learns/
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #199 on “The Neuroscience of Self-Belief and Our Identity” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-the-neuroscience-behind-self-belief-and-our-identity/
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#198 with Mood and Stress Expert Erika Ferst on “Using Your Brain to Prevent Workplace Burnout” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/mood-and-stress-expert-erika-ferszt-on-using-your-brain-to-prevent-workplace-burnout/
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #188 https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/nick-jonsson-on-strategies-to-overcome-isolation-stress-anxiety-and-depression-in-the-workplace/
[xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #202 with Joshua Freedman on “Getting Results with Emotional Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/joshua-freedman-ceo-of-6-seconds-on-getting-results-with-emotional-intelligence-in-our-schools-and-workplaces/
[xiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #210 with Dr. Jon Finn on “The Habit Mechanic” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-jon-finn-author-of-best-selling-book-the-habit-mechanic-on-how-to-fine-tune-your-brain-and-supercharge-how-you-live-work-and-lead/
[xiv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #200 with Majid Samadi on “Why We Began This Podcast”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/our-200th-milestone-episode-with-majid-samadi-returning-guest-from-episode-1-on-why-we-began-this-podcast/
[xv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #208 with Blaine Oelkers on “Mastering Your Thoughts, Goals and Life” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/blaine-oelkers-on-mastering-your-thoughts-goals-and-life-with-the-wytaba-strategy-what-you-think-about-you-bring-about/
[xvi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #189 “Understanding Hormesis: Why Stress and Adversity Make Us Physically and Mentally Stronger” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/understanding-hormesis-why-stress-and-adversity-make-us-physically-and-mentally-stronger/
[xvii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #186 “Using Neuroscience to Understand the Introverted and Extroverted Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-neuroscience-to-understand-the-introverted-and-extroverted-brain/
[xviii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #183 Dr. Simone Alicia, The Self-Esteem Doctor on “Self-Esteem: Why We Must Have it to Succeed”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-simone-alicia-the-self-esteem-doctor-on-self-esteem-why-we-must-have-it-to-succeed/
[xix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #185 Brain Fact Friday on “Using Neuroscience to Repattern Our Brain” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-using-neuroscience-to-repattern-our-brain/
[xx]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #184 with Adele Spraggon on “Using Science to Break Up with Your Habits in 4 Simple Steps” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/adele-spraggon-on-using-science-to-break-up-with-your-bad-habits-in-4-simple-steps/
[xxi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #203 with Paranormal Researcher Ryan O’Neill on “Making Your Vision a Reality”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/case-study-with-paranormal-researcher-ryan-o-neill-on-making-your-vision-a-reality/
[xxii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #201 on “The Top 10 All-Time Episodes on the Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-top-10-all-time-episodes-on-the-neuroscience-meets-social-and-emotional-learning-podcast/
[xxiii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#233 on our Top 12 Most Watched YouTube Interviews https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/top-12-neuroscience-meets-social-and-emotional-learning-podcast-interviews/
[xxiv] ALL Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast YouTube interviews https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLb5Z3cA_mnKhiYc5glhacO9k9WTrSgjzW
 

Psychologist Darshan Pindoria on ”Bringing Mindfulness and Meditation to Our Daily Lives”

"Life gives you exactly what you need to awaken."
Watch this interview on YouTube here: https://youtu.be/wpxogphAQqw
On today’s Episode #266 we will cover
✔  Tips from Darshan Pindoria, who spent 9 months as a monk, for those beginning their meditation practice.
✔ How open-minded meditation vs focused meditation can help us to become more creative and innovative in 2023.
✔ How to "think like a monk" and ask questions of others, to learn and grow.
✔ How to teach mindfulness, focus and meditation to our younger generations.
✔ How to use our mind to change habits, and improve our levels of anxiety, happiness and emotional stability.
 
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, ports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. 
For today’s episode #266, we will be speaking with Psychologist Darshan Pindoria[i], who contacted me around the time I was working on PART 4 of The Silva Method[ii] book review.  While writing this final part of this review, I mentioned that I had no idea just how deep the Silva Method would take me. This final part of Jose Silva’s book review sat opened on my computer, unfinished, for more than a week, as I knew there was a lot to this book that I was still learning myself. My hopes were that this review would help all of us to improve our meditation practice, and give us more capacity, especially around how we approach stress, problem solve, or use our mind for creativity and innovation in the New Year, and in Darshan’s introduction email, he let me know that he had trained 9 months as a monk. Darshan’s email came at the perfect time, allowing me to ask him the questions I had after completing this book review.
Thank you for all the feedback I received on this 4 PART review of The Silva Method, from around the world. I know this is just the beginning, and there will be another episode in the future, covering his online program.
For now, I want to welcome Darshan Pindoria to our podcast, where we can dive deeper into ways that we can use our mind, in NEW ways, in the New Year, for improved health, productivity, creativity and innovation.
Welcome Darshan. Thank you for reaching out to me, with perfect timing. Where have we reached you today?
INTRO QUESTION: Darshan, many of our listeners resonated with this 4 PART review of a Jose Silva’s popular book The Silva Method[iii], where he says “Once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things.
Then I watched your travel VLOG[iv] of your trip to the Himalaya Mountains, and as someone who spends every day in the mountains, I wondered how did it feel to sit in those mountains, and why do you think it would be different for you there, over sitting and thinking in any other mountain? What tips would you have for someone beginning this practice?
INTRO: Can you tell me what you learned from being a monk for 9 months? Or even what you felt just sitting in the Himalayas for 2 hours? You said so much…time went really fast there, you were lost for words. What did you discover/learn from your time sitting and thinking here?
Q1: We just covered a book review that was based on the work of Jose Silva, and his program that really is based on what the research today would call “open monitoring meditation” where we close our eyes, and pay attention to our thoughts without judgement. Dr. Andrew Huberman recently did a podcast episode on how this type of mediation can help us to improve our divergent thinking, to help us with creativity and innovative ideas. Why does this “open-minded” meditation help us to become more creative?
Q2: I noticed that the monk in your video was sitting a certain way, and he was touching his first 2 fingers together with his palms open. Jose Silva talked about this method as a way to access the Alpha Brain state, and reach deeper levels of creativity. Can you tell me why monks place their fingers this way? Is there something else to this pose that induces creativity?
Q2B: Can you tell me about your time as a monk and what led you there?
Q2C: What does someone who has spent a lot of time meditating want for others?
Q3: Did you do other types of meditation, other than this open monitoring type? What about more focused meditation that I’ve seen where it’s proven to improve focused attention (like staring at a flame of a candle). Dr. Huberman mentioned this type of meditation improved convergent thinking, greatly increasing focus and memory. Did you practice focused attention meditation, and what results did you see from this?
Q3B: How would you teach focus to a teenager?
Q4: How are you helping people change their results and habits fast, with how you understand the brain and mind?
Q5: Mental health is an important topic no matter what part of the world we are living in. How are you helping people to handle stress, emotional stability, addictions, confidence, self-esteem, Phobias, insomnia, health and diet? This is quite a list. Is there something that’s beneath all of these mental health concerns that we could all use for improved results in 2023?
Q5B: Andrea wonders what Darshan thinks of the podcast, and the questions we’ve asked him and other guests.
Q6: Is there something important, that I’ve missed that would help all of us jumpstart our new year?
Darshan, I want to thank you very much for reaching out to me at the right time. You video in the Himalayas was absolutely beautiful, and gave me a breath of fresh air at a time I needed it. I know there is so much you can offer people with your services for health and wellness. If someone wanted to reach out to you, is the best way through your website? http://deeppsyc.com/mini-services/
Thank you for all you are doing for the world.
CONNECT with DARSHAN PINDORIA HERE
FREE CONSULTATION WITH DARSHAN http://deeppsyc.com/the-fix-consultation-call/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/darshan-pindoria/?trk=public_profile_browsemap&originalSubdomain=uk
YouTube  https://www.youtube.com/@DeepPsyc
Website http://deeppsyc.com/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
 
RESOURCES: REVIEW OF JOSE SILVA’S MIND CONTROL METHOD FOR IMPROVED CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION:
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1
“A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#262 PART 2 “A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method: Dynamic Meditation and Improved Memory”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#263 PART 3 “Applying the Silva Method for Speed Learning and Creative Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-speed-learning-and-creative-sleep-part-3/
 
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #265 PART 4  “The Neuroscience Behind the Silva Method for Improving Creativity in Our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
REFERENCES:
[i] http://deeppsyc.com/darshan/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #265 PART 4  “The Neuroscience Behind the Silva Method for Improving Creativity in Our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-silva-method-improving-creativity-and-innovation-in-our-schools-sports-and-modern-workplaces/
[iii] The Silva Method https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Silva-Mind-Control-Method-of-Mental-Dynamics-Audiobook/B0038EX534?source_code=GO1GB547041122911G&gclid=CjwKCAiAjs2bBhACEiwALTBWZTnfUfB3QDDXIgJvcVhjOFuS5Mf3HrnZnviFsh0tpaqjEU8tt3lA4hoCx1cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
[iv] Badrinath The Land in the Heavens-Travel Vlog by Darshan Pindoria Published in 2018 on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx8nhicnB0c
 

”The Neuroscience Behind the Silva Method: Improving Creativity and Innovation in Our Schools, Sports and Modern Workplaces” BOOK REVIEW PART 4

Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast and PART 4, our FINAL part, of our Review of Jose Silva’s Mind Control Program. I’m Andrea Samadi an author and an educator, who like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind ANY high-performance strategy proven to increase our results in our schools, sports, or modern workplaces. If there’s something NEW that I come across that can help us in any way, I’ll investigate it, connect it with the most current research, and then share what I learn with you here.
My goal with this 4 PART review of the popular program from the 1980s and 1990s, The Silva Method[i], is to help all of us to learn something new to refine our current meditation practice whether we are working in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved results towards a specific goal, or in the corporate workplace to generate new ideas. I wouldn’t have picked this book to review if it hadn’t made such an impact on the world, like Napoleon Hills’ Think and Grow Rich book that currently sits as our most downloaded episode of 2022 after we reviewed it last January to kick off our New Year. Before starting this review, that I hoped would give us a running start to 2023, I had no idea the concepts I would learn each week, would be so powerful, deep, and life-changing requiring more thought than usual while writing each episode.
I began this 4 PART book review the end of November, around Thanksgiving in the United States, and shortly after releasing the first episode, I began receiving emails from around the world from people who were interested to learn more about The Silva Method. Some were remembering it from the 80s/90s when Jose Silva ran this program globally, and others were asking me where they could find a live seminar. It was Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram, EPISODE #260[ii] who held up an old copy of The Silva Mind Control Method book, sharing how it had impacted his life, jogging my memory of Jose Silva, who I had heard of years ago, while selling seminars in the motivational speaking industry.
Then my good friend Hans Ajay from the UK, urged me to sign up for the full program through MindValley[iii], where the course sits today after Vishen Lakhiani (the founder) revised and improved it in this current version. Hans wrote “It’ll be transformative” and little did I know just how transformative it would be.
As I’m writing this episode now, and the final part of this review, I’m nearing the end of Vishen Lakhiani’s Silva UltraMind Course[iv] through the MindValley website. I can now see that this is a program that you never really complete, like I noticed with Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich[v] book, for Hill intended the book to be read more than one time for the concepts to be mastered in one’s lifetime.  Jose Silva’s book is exactly the same way, and his online UltraMind Course, the experiential side of the program (that consists of the lessons from his book, mixed with meditations) bring the pages of The Silva Method to life in a way I never imagined just by reading the book. I’ve got to say, this course has really blown my mind, and expanded my thinking in a way I hadn’t imagined at the start of this review.
REMEMBER:
“When a person learns to function mentally at this deeper level, creativity is enhanced. Memory is improved and a person is better able to solve problems.” (Jose Silva).
Today I plan finish the review of The Silva Method, and while I won’t be going into every chapter, I’ve picked the ones that I think are relevant to help all of us with “The Basics” of what Jose Silva intended us to learn. Then we will take these basic concepts that Jose Silva found to be transformative, (like my friend Hans Ajay noticed) and APPLY them to our daily life, connecting the science to our creativity and innovation, using Dr. Andrew Huberman’s most recent podcast episode on “The Science of Creativity: How to Enhance Creative Innovation.”[vi] Finally, I will provide clear examples of innovation and creativity from three of our past guests; one in each of the sectors we study here, our schools, sports environments and corporate workplaces with the goal to inspire YOU to enhance your own creativity for improved results in 2023, using the Silva Method.
I just wish Jose Silva could have seen the mounds of research that prove what he knew to be true with his Meditation Method, and that he wouldn’t have to disguise it as “bio-feedback” in the corporate world today.
DISCLAIMER: I want to mention that while I’m enjoying the Online UltraMind Course, I am not at all affiliated with Mind Valley, or the CEO Vishen Lakhiani, but I did hear my mentor Bob Proctor talking about his organization over the years, knowing he supported their work, but I had no idea that Jose Silva’s program would end up there.
While I’m only reviewing the book here, (and not what I’m learning in the online course-I might do this at a later date after implementing the concepts) I do think it’s important to include some of the meditations I found online in PART 3 of this review, to show you what they consist of. I’ve listed them in the resource section below for you to use.  I’ve also put a snapshot of the topics covered over the 28 day online program, and while I’m currently at DAY 21/28, I can say that mastering the ideas in the book are a good place to start if you would like to improve your current meditation practice and then I will show you how this will enhance your creativity and ability for innovation.  I think this 4 PART review could be used to jumpstart us all on the right foot for 2023. If you would like to go deeper into The Silva Method, I do suggest taking the online Silva UltraMind System, but caution that to get the most out of the program, that daily practice will be required. This is a course that you would want to carve out some time for.
PUTTING THE 4 PARTS of THE SILVA METHOD TOGETHER:
TO REVIEW PART 1 of THE SILVA METHOD EPISODE #261:
We covered:
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method. If you have begun using your mind to create a mental screen for heightened visualization, you could end this book review here and still be miles ahead in 2023.
Central to Jose’s Silva Method of Mind Control is with the power of visualization, and he says “right from the beginning, from the very moment you reach your meditative level (what he calls accessing the Alpha State), you must learn to practice visualization. The better you learn to visualize, the more powerful will be your experience with Mind Control.”
With time and practice, it will be this screen that you will learn how to help yourself and others. You begin with creating simple things, until you are ready to solve small problems in your daily life, from work, to health, and improve learning/creativity. As you progress through this program, you can learn to use the screen of your mind to for more advanced innovative and creative ideas. There is no limit to what you could create here.
✔ What this program has done for others.
The late Dr. Wayne Dyer has said that anything with the name Jose Silva as the author has his vote before I open to page one. He said “Read it with a pen for underlining.”
Jose Silva himself noted that:
✔A marketing company used it to create 18 new products.
✔14 Chicago White Socks players used it to boost their scores.
✔ Celebrities have used it and credit Jose Silva for improving their focus and creativity.
✔ Colleges and universities have used it to help students study less, but learn more.
And during the Silva UltraMind course, (the online program I joined while doing this book review) I had the chance to participate on a training call one evening with all the new students who had recently come on board with MindValley, (that has over 10 million students worldwide, studying over 200 speakers and authors on the site), and the moderator asked what course people were studying, and people started chiming into the chat from the US, Canada, UK, Australia, and remote countries around the world…that they were ALL here to study The Silva Method. I was floored! Mostly because I had thought this training call would have just a handful of people coming on board. I didn’t expect so many participants globally, and ALL of them were there to study the same course I was there for. It took mind-boggling to a whole new level when I started to put together that this program was something that people are still very interested in learning about.
✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva and learned about his passion for helping others to improve their ability to learn. He was a humble man who worked very hard to develop the ideas within his program, and was very careful about how he presented his ideas as visualization was not something that was widely accepted in the corporate world in the 80s and 90s. In his live events, he was smart to introduce his concepts as bio-feedback (that had more credibility at the time) and were more readily accepted, before introducing business executives to more advanced concepts of the mind (like using visualization) on the second day of the training.
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA). He learned that we spend most of our waking time at the BETA brain state, where we can feel the stress and anxiousness of daily life, so finding ways to relax (that he calls going to the Alpha State) can be helpful. His online program does cover how to access the Theta level of mind for increased intuition, and offers a strategy for solving problems in your sleep at the Delta level.
✔ We were Introduced to Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization. It Will Be This Screen That We Will Use to Help Yourself and Others in Future Chapters.
*** I would say developing the use of this screen is the KEY to the entire program. It’s where your goals will begin to form, or where you will work with NEW ideas that come into your mind. I’ve heard it be called “your workshop” or where you create something new in your mind, and with time and practice, what you put on this screen becomes clearer and clearer.
TO REVIEW PART 2 of THE SILVA METHOD EPISODE #262:
We covered:
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation (where we actually DO something while meditating, instead of it being a passive practice). We learn how to be more in control of our life using visualization.  Dr. Andrew Huberman’s research does tie in the importance of using meditation to improve our creativity, and I will expand on this at the end of this episode.
✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE we visualize a goal. (We must desire the event to take place that we want, we must believe the event we want will take place, we must EXPECT the event to take place, and we must ONLY be working with something that will benefit ourselves and others.
✔ I noticed How these 4 Laws mirror Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book and wondered if Jose Silva did this intentionally.
✔ 3 STEPS to SOLVE ANY PROBLEM Using the Silva Method on the Screen that We Build in Our Mind.
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
✔ Where Silva's Memory Hacks have been seen on previous episodes and in the motivational speaking industry.
TO REVIEW PART 3 of THE SILVA METHOD EPISODE #263:
We covered:
✔ Chapter 6 on Speed Learning:
Using the mental screen paired with the 3-finger technique if you want to learn something quickly, using the Alpha Brain State.
Silva also covered recording your voice, or creating what I knew of as the “loop tape” of whatever it is that you want to remember. You would record what you want to remember in the BETA State, and then listen to it in the Alpha state (using the 3 finger technique or counting backwards).
✔ Chapter 7 on Creative Dreams where we covered 4 strategies for remembering our dreams, and taking them seriously like Jose Silva himself did.
For PART 4 and today’s episode, of the SILVA METHOD, Episode #265 we will finish looking at the book, and will cover:
✔ Ch 8-Your Words Have Power
✔ Ch 9-The Power of Imagination
✔ Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health
✔  We will connect the most current neuroscience research to Jose Silva’s program, using Dr. Andrew Huberman's podcast on "The Science of Creativity"
✔  The 3 Parts to Your Creative Brain (Central Executive Network, Default Mode Network, Salience Network).
✔ 2 Types of Thinking Involved with Creativity (Divergent and Convergent)
✔ Putting Creativity to Practice with an example from our schools, sports and modern workplace environments. 
with some clear examples and next steps for all of us to APPLY the Silva Method for improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus…right in time for a New Year.
Chapter 8: Your Words Have Power
I’m sure we’ve all heard of the importance of thinking and speaking positive words over negative ones, and Jose Silva would agree with this.  In this chapter, he talks about a nurse-anesthetist (and one of his eventual lecturers) from Oklahoma, Mrs. Jean Mabrey, who puts this knowledge of the mind to use to help her patients. As soon as they are “under”—in deep anesthesia—she would whisper in their ears instructions that would speed their recovery, and in some cases save their lives.
Jose Silva would say “First, words have special power at deep levels of mind; second, the mind has much firmer command over the body than it is given credit for; and third, as I noted in Chapter 5, we are always conscious.”
Here’s another one if Silva’s principles that I learned from the speaking industry. Bob Proctor used to tell a story on stage, of how he would whisper success secrets into the ears of his children when they were little. While they are grown now, this story stuck with me, as we want the best for our own kids.
So when I had children, this is the first thing I did. I would drop into my child’s room just before they were about to drift off to sleep and tell them something that would go deep into their subconscious mind. I’d say something like “you’ll do whatever it is you want. Whatever you can dream you’ll do it!”I did this almost every night with my first…and with my second, not as often. She needed it more…. Now to think about it, I even spoke to my girls before they were born, letting them know how excited we were to meet them and how much fun we would have when they arrived.
Be very careful about the words we use and how they trigger our brains. We are always conscious. Since this concept was drilled into my head early on in the speaking industry, I learned early on to be careful of everything I say, and everything I think. If someone says “How are you?” and I’m not feeling 100%, the best way to answer this question is with a positive angle like “Getting better and better every day” to move myself in that direction. An answer like “not bad” would according to Silva, hit the brain in a negative way, as it would only hear “bad” instead of “good.”
I can tie the research to this as well, with my mentor Mark Robert Waldman who wrote Words Can Change Your Brain with Andrew Newberg, MD[vii]. In this book, they explain that
“the more you stay focused on negative words and thoughts, the more you can actually damage key structures that regulate your memory, feelings, and emotions.You may disrupt your sleep, your appetite, and the way your brain regulates happiness, longevity, and health. That’s how powerful a single negative word or phrase can be. And if you vocalize your negativity, even more stress chemicals will be released, not only in your brain, but in the listener’s brain as well. You’ll both experience increased anxiety and irritability, and it will generate mutual distrust, thereby undermining the ability to build empathy and cooperation. The same thing happens in your brain when you listen to arguments on the radio or see a violent scene in a movie. The brain, it turns out, doesn’t distinguish between fantasies and facts when it perceives a negative event. Instead it assumes that a real danger exists in the world.” Words Can Change Your Brain
Jose Silva had it right when he said  “Words have special power at deep levels of mind, the mind has a firmer command over the body than it’s given credit for, and third, we are always conscious.” Jose Silva
Be careful with every word that you think, and speak. Words do have power.
Chapter 9: The Power of Your Imagination
We dove deep into this concept in part 3 of our review of Think and Grow Rich[viii] earlier this year that I can now see was of high interest to listeners as it had over 1400 downloads. On this episode, we looked at the fact that our lives reflect how well we use our imagination, because when we hit one plateau of success, it will be our imagination that will take us to what’s next. Author Earl Nightingale said that “imagination is everything” and as we will see with the Silva Method, all great inventions are created in two separate places: the mind of the inventor, and the physical world when the inventor creates it.
There is no doubt in my mind that Silva was influenced by Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book. He says it himself in this chapter that “imagination seizes directly on the goal; it gets what it wants” and elaborates by saying this is why he “placed so much emphasis on your learning true-to-life visualization at the deep levels of mind. If you spur your imagination with belief, desire and expectancy, and train to visualize your goals so that you see, feel, hear, taste and touch them, you will get what you want.” (Ch9, The Silva Method).
This is why mastering your mental screen for visualization is so important. If there is ONE part of the Silva Method that I think we could all benefit from, it’s this one. Learning to use the mental screen on our mind. It’s this mental screen where you will solve small and larger problems, and learn to help yourself and others in many different ways. It’s the starting block that must be mastered over time, and not rushed.
Chapter 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health
We’ve covered this topic in a few places on this podcast, on EPISODE #234[ix] with Ashok Gupta on “Health and Happiness: Getting to the Root of Chronic Pain and Illness” where Ashok Gupta showed us how chronic pain or illness occurs in the brain with a vicious loop of inflammation/irritation that he has successfully been treating with patients with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Long-Haul Covid, Fibromyalgia, Chemical or Mold Sensitivities, Gut Issues, Anxiety, Lyme Disease and many more, with a meditation program he designed called The Gupta Program that combines brain-training in conjunction with working with a medical doctor for healing. Then physician and neurologist Dr. Phillippe Douyon shared his story of overcoming illness on EPISODE #241[x] with positive thinking at the root of his recovery.
Jose Silva was far ahead of his time with his understanding of using mind control for self-healing. This chapter is near the end of the book, and is mastered by students with time and practice, and I have to say that I had heard of using the mind for healing when my Mom was undergoing treatment for Cancer in the late 1990s. I told Dr. Douyon about her strategy for healing, and he said he had heard of many patients of his, successfully overcoming serious health challenges, and that positive thinking and visualizing health were at the very root of their healing, like Silva believed.
In this chapter, Silva talks about cancer specialist, O. Carl Simonton, who
Simonton who was trained by Silva and his Mind Control techniques was featured in Prevention Magazine in an article called “Mind Over Cancer” where he shared that the patients who recovered all had something in common. He said they were “often positive, optimistic, determined people.” (Ch 10, The Silva Method).
In this chapter Silva talks about the idea of self-healing using your mental screen, but he also touches on something that goes a bit beyond our usual level of thinking, in Chapter 12 that Silva called “ESP” or Extra Sensory Perception that he believed we all had. He worked closely with J.B Rhine at Duke University to understand this subject, and bring his experiments into his understanding, but it’s important to note that Silva believed this concept could be developed and strengthened over time to help his students improve self-healing, healing of others, improve their intuition, and strengthen their mental screen practice. He touches on this in the book, and his online program goes into great detail of how exactly this is done with activities using the screen of our mind, to psychometry, and is something I’ve been fascinated with since I first heard about this over 20 years ago.
I’ll be sure to cover this topic again in the future, as it one I’m still learning and exploring. I’m sure you can see now what Silva meant when he said “Once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.”
This brings me to the end of PART 4 and our REVIEW of The Silva Method:
To conclude this 4 PART REVIEW of The Silva Method, I want to look at how we can use what we’ve learned throughout this review of the Silva Method, to improve our Creativity in 2023 for Innovation in your specific line of work. This is where I’ll take the research, and tie it to The Silva Method, showing us that we all have the ability to be creative, and how to improve this area of our life in the New Year.
This is a deep topic, requiring some thought, that goes along with just how comprehensive Silva’s Method is. To make this applicable for all of us, I’ll be using concepts from Dr. Andrew Huberman’s most recent podcast on “The Science of Creativity and How to Enhance Creative Innovation” tying in Jose Silva’s Method to bring these 4 PARTS of our book review applicable to all of us, whether we are educators working in our classrooms, working in the sports industry, or in our modern workplaces.
WE CONNECT DR. HUBERMAN'S RESEARCH TO THIS EPISODE FROM HIS EPISODE ON ENHANCING YOUR CREATIVITY.
HOW CAN WE USE THE SILVA METHOD TO ENHANCE CREATIVITY AND INNOVATION IN 2023?
To close out this episode, let go straight to the research. Did you know that according to American neuroscientist and associate professor at Stanford School of Medicine, Dr. Andrew Huberman “the ability to be creative resides in everybody? We know that because the neural circuits that underlie creativity have been somewhat defined and the steps and processes in the brain that lead to creativity are well known.”
What Makes Something Creative?
Jose Silva would have loved this research, especially when Dr. Huberman ties many studies to meditation and the brain/creativity, but let’s begin with the idea of defining creativity. What makes something creative? Dr. Huberman spent over 2 hours on his podcast diving thoroughly and deeply into this topic, that I will narrow down for this episode. He explains that “most people don’t know how to access creativity” or “they do it in a limited manner” and I’ll agree with him here. As you will see, coming up with an idea that’s creative, and innovative takes time, effort and years of work, making connections, using your executive functions in your brain to cross off what’s not relevant and then testing these connections, to see what’s left over that you will keep, hoping they are creative and relevant to others.
Dr. Huberman explains that “when we see something that’s truly creative, it reveals something to us about the natural world and about how our brains work….It must reveal something that surprises us” for it to be truly creative.
Then, “something pops out at us” he says, “we hear something in the words with music, or if we see something, feel, or experience something” “and something pops out to us as exciting….this reveals something about our brain/our auditory system, creating NEW meaning for us.” AND “when we see, hear, feel or experience something that’s truly creative, the way our neural circuits function is changed. When our neural circuits are changed simply by what comes into our eyes, ears of the way we experience our feelings, there’s a release of chemicals like dopamine that make us feel surprised, delighted or excited in anticipation that we will see it again.” (Dr. Huberman)
So when I say that “the ability to be creative resides in everyone” it does, since we ALL have the same structures in our brain, but some people have learned to use certain parts of their brain to foster creativity in ways that others have not.  This is where practicing the Silva Method comes in.
THE 3 NETWORKS TO YOUR CREATIVE BRAIN:
Dr. Huberman went on to explain that there are 3 networks in the brain that are involved in coming up with a CREATIVE idea, and we’ve covered these 3 parts of the brain extensively on EPISODE #48[xi] on “Brain Network Theory.” It was here where we covered The Default Mode Network, The Central Executive Network, and the Salience Network that are all involved with coming up a truly creative idea. While I’m not going to dive into each part of the brain and what it’s doing (you can review episode 48 where we show how these 3 parts of the brain must work together to improve our imagination and creativity), I just want to point out that coming up with a creative idea takes some brain power.
When you are working with the screen of your mind in the Silva Method, you will be using all three of these parts of your brain to come up with new ideas. Your CEN (Central Executive Network) will help you to suppress ideas, actions or choices, your DMN (Default Mode Network) will help you to access your library of previous memories that you will be using to create your NOVEL idea, and your SN (Salience Network) will help you to make choices of what’s most relevant to you.
You will use your brain to create something NEW and USEFUL by rearranging existing elements (from your memory bank) into new combinations that reveals something fundamental about how we and the world works.
2 TYPES OF THINKING ARE INVOLVED:
The final part of creating something CREATIVE and INNOVATIVE is that it’s done by going back and forth between two types of thinking:
Divergent Thinking: Where we take a known object in the world, and expand upon this idea, the more ideas the better, wandering through your ideas that you already know (from your memory bank) with the hopes that the connections you make reveals something new to others.
Convergent Thinking: That’s the opposite of divergent thinking, but it’s where we use focus and persistence to narrow in on an idea that makes sense in the real world.
If you want to dive deeper into Dr. Andrew Huberman’s thorough explanation of Creativity and the Brain[xii], he takes things much deeper than I will here, in his recent episode that goes well over 2 hours. He doesn’t miss anything and even goes on to show us the parts of the brain that light up when we are involved in divergent vs convergent thinking, and the 2 types of meditation that are proven to improve each of these ways of thinking. He says that “open monitored meditation” (like just closing your eyes and paying attention to your thoughts without judgement) is well documented to improve our divergent thinking capability, and focused attention meditation (like staring at a flame of light) is a way to improve our convergent thinking capabilities.
PUTTING CREATIVITY INTO PRACTICE:
When thinking about how to close out this 4 PART review, and make it applicable to all of us, I had to spend some time thinking hard about this one. I didn’t want to just end this review without some solid research backing up the validity of The Silva Method, with some clear examples of those who have shown innovation and creativity who we’ve come across on this podcast. It wasn’t difficult to find someone in each of the three sectors we cover, and now that I’ve tied the research to creative thinking, I’m sure you will agree with me that the examples I will share here all show true innovation and creativity, and that coming up with a creative idea like each of these, took years of experience, work and thought. It wasn’t like I remember the commercial for the guy who invented peanut butter cups who just tripped and his chocolate bar fell into the jar of peanut butter and bam, he had a new invention. These are 3 examples that I hope will inspire you to put some of your own thought into how you can use the Silva Method, and come up creative and innovative ideas of your own.
For Schools: I chose our guests from episode #215[xiii] who have shown innovation in the field of education by launching a podcast to elevate student and teacher voice.
Remember, To Show Creativity—It must Reveal something new to us (entertaining, thrilling or useful) and it changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.
I couldn’t have found a clearer example that these two Canadian podcasters who published a book called The Magnificent Microphone[xiv] that when a student connected to it, it opened up a whole new world of confidence, creativity and success. These two leaders in education have discovered true creativity and innovation in the podcasting space, bringing student-led podcasts to the field of education.
For Sports: I chose a forward-thinking coach from an early EPISODE #38[xv] who has shown innovation with his sports team when he redesigned their locker room and uniforms with a vision beyond what has typically been done before.
Remember, To Show Creativity—It must Reveal something new to us (entertaining, thrilling or useful) and it changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.
This one you’ll see more if you watch the 30 second snapshot of their locker reveal[xvi] that takes the team on a journey from the minute they walk into the new room, where the players are taking in the many visual cues they see, making connections to past players, where they are today, and their future.
For the Workplace: I chose our recent EPISODE #264[xvii] where our guest was able to look at ways to create breakthroughs in the workplace, bringing to light something that was left off the table in the past. He looked at EQ and IQ and found that experience was left off, and coined the term “XQ” for Experiential Intelligence. This guest also mentioned his love of “making connections” which is something he noticed I do intentionally on this podcast, and now after hearing Dr. Huberman’s explanation, he talks about the fact that true creativity or innovation could not occur without let’s say an architect coming up with incredible plans for buildings without a thorough understanding of how buildings are put together in the first place.
Remember, To Show Creativity—It must Reveal something new to us (entertaining, thrilling or useful) and it changes the way we access the world—acting as portals into the world and ourselves.
Once we know what novelty/creativity and innovation looks in the brain, you can only imagine what’s happening at the brain level with each of these examples. Just like the complexity of the reading brain, with 4 parts of the brain working together as a student learns how to read, someone coming up with a creative, innovative idea, has specific (Dr. Huberman lists 3 networks in the brain) working together to create what the rest of the world will come to see as novel, or innovative. This is what makes some things go “viral” online.
The NEW experience actually changes the circuits in the brain with whatever it is a person sees, feels, hears or experiences. Dopamine is released (with the surprise and delight) with whatever it is they make connections to, and there’s the hope or anticipation that they will experience it again.
I hope all 3 of these examples have given you a glance into the world of innovation that’s possible for you, as a product of going through the simple steps in the Silva Method.
To conclude this episode, and PART 4 of our Review of the Silva Method, we looked at
✔ A Review of all 3 PARTS of The Silva Method Review.
✔ Today, in PART 4, we looked at
Ch 8-Your Words Have Power
Ch 9-The Power of Imagination
Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health
✔ We connected The Silva Method to the Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Neuroscience Research on Creativity and Innovation.
✔ We gave an example of innovation from our past guests in the fields of education, sports and the modern workplace.
The goal of this 4 PART review of Jose Silva’s Program, was to encourage all of us to see if we could learn something new, to take our results to new heights in 2023. I had no idea just how deep the book and program would go, and I know I’ll review the online course at a later time, but for now, this review has given me some new ideas for how to improve my visualization/mental screen method to help me with my short term and long term goals.
I’d love to hear from you what you have thought of this episode, where we tied in the most current research to Jose Silva’s work, reminding me that “once we learn to use our minds to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.”
I do want to add something before we close about the importance of honoring other people’s creative and innovative ideas. Now that we’ve seen what’s involved at the brain level with coming up with an idea that’s truly novel, I’m sure you’ll agree with me that while we all have this ability to create something new, that this comes naturally to some, and is more difficult for others. If you see someone else’s creative or innovative idea, please never approach it as your own.
PLAGIARISM CAUTION[xviii]: CAN WORDS OR IDEAS REALLY BE STOLEN?
When you are the creator of an idea, I can tell you first hand, as someone who worked very hard on something, and then saw it pasted on a reputable company’s website the day after I shared my “new ideas” with them. I was very disappointed, mostly as they had taken something I had permission to use from someone else who wasn’t referenced, because they stole the quote from me!
If you see something from someone else that you like, and want to use it somewhere, always credit the source where it originated from using the proper format with quotation marks. If it’s something that’s more than a quote, or it’s an idea, I would contact the creator first hand, and see what they think about what you would like to do.
I wanted to use an assessment based on American Psychologist Howard Gardener’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences in my first book, The Secret for Teens Revealed[xix], and emailed him directly at Harvard to ask him. He was shocked I even asked, and said that most people don’t. He told me he didn’t mind if I used it, but wanted me to be sure I portrayed the Intelligences in a way that showed that we can develop them all with effort, not that we are inclined for some and not others. I never forgot this. If you ask the creator directly, you can find out what they would prefer to keep original, and what they don’t mind sharing, with their name attached to it as the originator.
With this in mind now, I’d love to hear what you CREATE this year.  I’ve put the meditations that I found online, that are a good place for all of us to begin this process, in the show notes below, and I’ll see you next week with our REVIEW of the TOP 10 EPISODES from 2022, and some surprise interviews that I had to squeeze in before the end of the year.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
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RESOURCES:
MEDITATION  1: How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind, Step by Step Process, The Silva Method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMJWT6EsNs
MEDITATION 2: Jose Silva Method Alpha Exercises by Sommer Leigh Published on YouTube June 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SY0kajVITA
MEDITATION 3: 20 Minute Silva Centering Exercise with Vishen Lakhiani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4GDXWBPCk
 
REFERENCES:
[i] The Silva Mind Control Method https://silvamethod.com/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #260 with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram on “Breaking Down the Mindset of the Million Dollar Monk” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/serial-entrepreneur-and-computer-scientist-hasan-ibne-akram-pd-d-on-breaking-down-the-mindset-of-the-million-dollar-monk/
[iii] www.mindvalley.com
[iv] Mind Valley the Silva UltraMind System https://home.mindvalley.com/quests/en/ultramind
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
[vi] Dr. Andrew Huberman, “The Science of Creativity: How to Enhance Creative Innovation.”   https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-of-creativity-and-how-to-enhance-creative-innovation/
[vii] Andrew Newberg, MD and Mark Robert Waldman Words Can Change Your Brain Published June 14, 2012 https://www.amazon.com/Words-Can-Change-Your-Brain-ebook/dp/B0074VTHMA/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAiAnZCdBhBmEiwA8nDQxYXGNQeXA7fr8xVxnL3ns3s4ViPL46_aU6zL-rULfnX1cn9mSSD8ARoCENQQAvD_BwE&hvadid=281463219015&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030068&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=5072060704672722834&hvtargid=kwd-337464396698&hydadcr=22593_10356183&keywords=words+can+change+your+brain+book&qid=1671724020&sr=8-1
[viii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #234 with Ashok Gupta on “Health and Happiness: Getting to the Root of Chronic Pain and Illness” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/ashok-gupta-on-heath-and-happiness-getting-to-the-root-of-chronic-pain-and-illness-long-covid-fibromyalgia-chronic-fatigue-and-others/
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #241 with Dr. Philippe Douyon on “How to Rewire Our Brain for Health and Happiness”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/physician-and-neurologist-philippe-douyon-md-on-how-to-rewire-our-brain-for-health-and-happiness/
[xi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #48 on Brain Network Theory “Using Neuroscience to Stay Productive During Times of Change and Chaos” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-network-theory-using-neuroscience-to-stay-productive-during-times-of-change-and-chaos/
[xii] Dr. Andrew Huberman, “The Science of Creativity: How to Enhance Creative Innovation.”   https://hubermanlab.com/the-science-of-creativity-and-how-to-enhance-creative-innovation/
[xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #215 on “Chey Cheney and Pav Wander from the Chey and Pav Show” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/chey-cheney-and-pav-wander-from-the-chey-and-pav-show-on-their-vision-to-identify-and-amplify-the-voices-often-left-behind/
[xiv] Chey and Pav Podcast
https://publish.twitter.com/?query=https%3A%2F%2Ftwitter.com%2FStaffPodcast%2Fstatus%2F1575644124396789760&widget=Tweet
[xv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #38 with Todd Woodcroft on “The Daily Grind in the NHL”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/assistant-coach-to-the-winnipeg-jets-todd-woodcroft-on-the-daily-grind-in-the-nhl/
[xvi] UVM Men’s Hockey New Locker Reveal  
https://twitter.com/UVMmhockey/status/1564327008775151617?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1564327008775151617%7Ctwgr%5E1a6ca076211cde6d14d4567e7c32bc7d54ac2002%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FUVMmhockey2Fstatus2F1564327008775151617widget%3DTweet
[xvii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #264 with Soren Kaplan on “Experiential Intelligence: The Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/innovation-author-and-speaker-soren-kaplan-phd-on-experiential-intelligence-the-power-of-experience-for-personal-and-business-breakthroughs/
[xviii] What is Plagarism? https://healthsciences.nova.edu/studentaffairs/success/forms/apa-what-is-plagiarism.pdf
[xix] The Secret for Teens Revealed by Andrea Samadi
https://www.amazon.com/Secret-Teens-Revealed-Teenagers-Leadership/dp/1604940336
 

Innovation Author and Speaker, Soren Kaplan, Ph.D. on ”Experiential Intelligence: The Power of Experience for Personal and Business Breakthroughs”

“Any new beginning is forged from the shards of the past, not from the abandonment of the past.” Craig Lounsbrough
 
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/M45pacbfyqA
On this episode we will cover:
✔ Soren Kaplan's background, and how he became interested in helping high level businesses breakthrough to new heights.
✔ How he has met and worked with some of the world's most well known experts in leadership and innovation.
✔ Where his innate strengths, talents and skills emerged from, skyrocketing his career and personal success.
✔ How we can ALL tap into the missing ingredient he discovered that leads to high levels of success and breakthroughs.
✔ How we can use this missing ingredient that he calls EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE (XQ) to become better leaders, increase collaboration, innovation and results at home or in the workplace.
✔ How EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE (XQ) compliments IQ and EQ.
✔ A simple formula for decoding our own EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE (XQ).
✔ How to use EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE (XQ) with teams, or individuals.
✔ The research behind EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE (XQ).
✔ How companies like Google, Apple, IBM and Tesla are embracing EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE (XQ).
When it comes to closing out an old year, and moving into a new one, goal-setting and mindset is at the top of mind for all of us, to jumpstart our New Year on the right foot. This week, I’m in the middle of writing out our TOP 10 episodes of 2022, and getting my head around the final PART of our book review of the Silva Method and I’m thinking about how I can personally improve where we are now with the podcast, to keep moving us all forward with engaging content and speakers that can us to reach new heights with our brain in mind in 2023 and beyond.
I wondered, “what am I missing that I haven’t covered yet, that could help move all of us to greater heights?”
We have gone deep on this podcast in the past year with using an understanding of our brain to improve our mental and physical health and wellbeing, especially as this all relates to our learning, and we’re now slowing down the year for the holidays, uncovering some new ways to meditate with The Silva Method,[i] and other episodes that we’ll be releasing over the last few weeks of this year to help us to improve creativity, our intuition and focus, but before we close out this year, I wonder, what else is there that can help drive transformation in our schools, sports environments and workplaces?
I’ve been thinking about this for the past few weeks, and then I met our next guest, Soren Kaplan, Ph.D., a bestselling and award-winning author, a Columnist for Inc. Magazine, and an affiliate at the Center for Effective Organizations at USC’s Marshall School of Business. Business Insider and the Thinkers50 have recognized him as one of the world’s top management thought leaders and consultants.  I was introduced to Soren Kaplan via email letting me know about his NEW book called Experiential Intelligence: (that’s about how to) Harness the Power for Personal and Business Breakthroughs[ii] that follows his other successful books Leapfrogging: The Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs[iii] and The Invisible Advantage[iv].
I immediately thought, “This is it! This is what I’ve been looking for. Something else that we can tap into that can be used to transform ourselves, our teams, and our organizations” and something entirely NEW, giving us that “breakthrough” advantage, or quantum leap that I’ve been mentioning all year with Price Pritchett’s You2 book.
When I began reading Soren’s book, I noticed from the praise and testimonials at the start, that his supporters were all high levels leaders, sharing what they had learned from Soren’s book, and how “the ability to understand your inherent capabilities as a product of life experiences is the essence of (what Soren has called) experiential intelligence” and how “leaders can harness XQ to unlock their own hidden strengths and that of their teams to drive transformation.” –Valencia Bembry, VP of Philanthropy, United Nations Foundation
Today’s Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #264 will cover Soren Kaplan Ph.D on “Experiential Intelligence: The Missing Ingredient for Unlocking Personal and Professional Success.” This will give me some more time to think a bit deeper on our final part of our review of The Silva Method that I could really use. I’m Andrea Samadi an author and an educator, who launched this podcast to help us to understand the science behind ANY high performance strategy proven to increase our results in our schools, sports, and modern workplaces.
Before we meet Soren Kaplan, I want to share a bit about what he has discovered after 25 years of working with thousands of business leaders around the world. He says that Experiential Intelligence reveals how our past life experiences impact our present success and future opportunities in ways we often don’t recognize. While we can’t change what’s happened to us or how we’ve responded to it, within our unique stories are hidden strengths waiting to be discovered. He says we can all do just that by uncovering our unique Experiential Intelligence (XQ)—or our internal fingerprint, that is a combination of the mindsets and abilities gained from our personal and professional life experiences.Just as memorizing facts doesn’t give you a high IQ, your Experiential Intelligence isn’t merely what you’ve learned over time. It’s how you view opportunities, perceive challenges, and tackle goals.XQ can be leveraged for you to:
Become a better leader
Hire and develop talent using more strategic criteria
Increase collaboration, innovation, and results
Transform your organization's culture
I had to sit and think for a moment after coming across Soren Kaplan’s work, as we’ve covered emotional intelligence on the podcast, with EPISODE #202[v] most recently with Joshua Freedman on “Getting Results with Emotional Intelligence in our Schools and Workplaces” that remains on our TOP 10 most listened episodes of 2022, so I wondered how this NEW book could help us to uncover our hidden assets, remove invisible barriers limiting peak performance, and amplify strengths to achieve breakthroughs for ourselves personally, our teams, or our organizations.Let’s meet Soren Kaplan and find out how we can all use Experiential Intelligence to breakthrough to new heights as we prepare to launch a new year.
Welcome Soren Kaplan, thank you for coming on the podcast to share what you have discovered about this unique fingerprint that we all have-- that when tapped into, can transform our results.  Thanks for being here today! I’m excited to uncover some NEW breakthroughs with you.
INTRODUCTION Q: Before I ask you WHAT you’ve discovered that you cover in your NEW book, Experiential Intelligence, I’ve got to start out with a SURPRISE question for you, that wasn’t in the script, because I started reading your second book, Leapfrogging, about using the Power of Surprise for Business Breakthroughs that ties back to one of our earlier interviews on The Power of Surprise.
Can we begin with a progression of your three books, and how you became interested in helping people “break through” to new heights and results?
Q1: Looking through your website, and the praise of your best-selling and award-winning books, I saw leaders in business from around the world from 3M, to the CEO of PBS, to School Superintendents, but there was one person who caught my eye, as he was recognized as the world’s most influential leadership thinker and then I saw that he wrote the foreword to book, Leapfrogging. How did you get to meet Dr. Marshall Goldsmith, who listeners might know as the author of the book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There?
An excerpt from Dr. Marshall Goldsmith’s foreword from the book, Leapfrogging.
Q1B: How have you brought “lateral thinking” into the workplace?
Q1C: Understanding XQ and all of its parts: how do we even begin to implement this concept that holds so many moving pieces that have been left out of our educational system and workplaces for years?
Q2: Now that you have given us some history of what got you here, can you explain Experiential Intelligence and how it’s different from IQ (Intellectual Intelligence) and EQ (Emotional Intelligence)?
It's how you perceive challenges, view opportunities, and tackle your goals.
Street Smarts
The greater self-awareness you gain around your own Experiential Intelligence, the more you actually develop it and can use it to your advantage.
Q2B: How does "XQ" complement IQ and EQ (Emotional Intelligence)?
XQ introduces the third leg of the intelligence stool that’s been there all along but is now equally important to recognize as a critical success factor in life and business.
To deal with today’s disruptive world, we need to first understand and then develop certain mindsets, abilities, and know-how to ensure we survive and thrive. These are the components of XQ
Q3: For those of us who want to now look at our own XQ, How do we decode our own talents and strengths that come from our individual XQ?
How exactly do life experiences create this "intelligence" and help develop our Experiential Intelligence? 
To help our audience tap into their “XQ” what would you suggest?
How can we tap into this intelligence for increased collaboration at work, leading to more innovation in 2023?
Q3B: How does a team work with XQ?
Q3C: Where do we begin to work with XQ?
Q4: What research supports the ideas behind XQ?
Q4B: How do you take into mind the research in this work, like connecting Dr. Bruce Perry and Oprah’s book, What Happened to You with everyone we work and connect with?
Q4C: Soren asks Andrea where she got the ability to make connections across different sectors, and why does she think these connections are important?
Q5: What is the role of Experiential Intelligence in business, i.e., for leadership, teams, and organizational culture?  How does XQ play out in our workplaces?
Companies including Google, Apple, Tesla, IBM, Home Depot, Bank of America, Starbucks, and Hilton no longer require a university degree for an interview.
Many organizations haven’t fully tapped into the mindsets, abilities, and know-how that inherently exists across their people and teams. Leaders first need to recognize that the reality of life, including in business, is that everyone brings the whole of who they are with them wherever they go, including both their strengths as well as self-limiting beliefs. Until companies embrace this fact, they’ll never reach their full potential.
Q6: Experiential Intelligence seems to have broad relevance and implications beyond business, is that true?
Just like IQ and EQ, we all have XQ. That makes it relevant for parenting, education, personal relationships, psychology and more.
Q7: Is there anything important that I’ve missed?
How can we best assess or measure our Experiential Intelligence?
XQ can be measured at the individual, team, and organizational levels.
Teams and organizations are simply collections of individuals, so collective “team XQ” or “organization XQ” represent the collective Experiential Intelligence of a group.
For example, if a team or organization shares a specific mindset around something, it influences the collective culture in the form of shared attitudes and beliefs.
Soren Kaplan created an assessment that measures four dimensions of Experiential Intelligence. ‘Ability Appreciation’ is your recognition that you possess specific strengths in the form of attitudes, assumptions, knowledge, or skills due to your unique experiences. ‘Impact Awareness’ is your attunement to the impacts you’ve experienced in life and how to view and use them to your advantage. ‘Mindset Flexibility’ is your awareness that your attitudes and beliefs will change over time based on your experiences. ‘Amplification’ involves sharing your personal XQ journey while providing a safe, trusted space for others to openly share and receive your insight and encouragement at the same time. How an individual or group scores on these dimensions indicates whether they have a lower or higher level of XQ.
Soren, I want to thank you very much for coming on the podcast, and sharing the work you’ve done with leaders around the world, to help our listeners to improve their QX this year for heightened results. For people who want to access the book, is the best place to go to your website?
Andrea’s Final Thoughts:
I couldn’t end this interview without sharing how much Soren’s new book, Experiential Intelligence made me think. I was caught up in thought throughout the entire interview, and working on making XQ applicable for all of us.
I was also surprised when Soren asked me a question. That’s only ever happened ONCE in the three years I’ve been hosting this podcast. Dr. David Sousa surprised me with a question at the end of our first interview, asking me “what else can I answer for you?” and I had thought long and hard about the questions we had covered, and I wasn’t expecting it, so I came up with something that really mattered to me at the end of our interview.
I thought it was interesting that Soren noticed the connections I try to make during interviews.  It’s something I’ve noticed comes naturally when I’m listening to someone, I’m looking to see if what they are saying could be applicable for us in any way, especially if I can tie in something important to neuroscience research. I recently noticed that staying sharp with this skill requires me to be well rested, eat a clean diet and stay as healthy as possible, tying in the health and wellness side to our podcast that’s always there. Without our mental and physical wellbeing, everything else is impacted and I noticed it with my inability to make these connections with ease in the summer months, prior to changing some things in my diet. I shared this with Soren at the end of the interview, and he agreed that diet and nutrition have impacted his results as well. It’s an undeniable difference for both of us.
While editing this interview, I wanted to see if I could decode my XQ for an example, and if you watch the YouTube interview, you can see where I took a high impact experience from my high school years, when I was cut from playing basketball (after being on the team in previous years), and this experience conveyed to me that I wasn’t good at sports, and the belief I formed over the years is that I need to work extra hard when it comes to sports. It’s where I draw most of my resilience, strength and never give up attitude from. So instead of being mad at the coach who cut me from the team (Mr. Stein), I can now look at the wealth of experience learned that contributed to my knowledge and skills over the years.
Try this activity yourself, and for those who want to access Chapter 1 of the book, you can get it for FREE from sorenkaplan.com The book comes out Jan. 24th, but if you have time over the holidays, this would be a good time to sit back, reflect and decode your unique fingerprint that contributes to your unique talents and strengths.  If you figure out anything eye-opening, I’d love to know, and Soren did say that mediation is another way to think and ponder about your life experiences, to help you to come up with your unique fingerprint.
And with that being said, I'll close out this episode and see you again for PART 4 of The Silva Method in a few days. See you then.
EXPERIENTIAL INTELLIGENCE BOOK:
https://www.sorenkaplan.com/experientialintelligence/
FOLLOW AND CONNECT WITH SOREN KAPLAN, Ph.D.
Website https://www.sorenkaplan.com/overview/
Twitter https://twitter.com/sorenkaplan
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/sorenkaplan/recent-activity/posts/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/dr.sorenkaplan/?hl=en
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/SorenKaplan/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1
“A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[ii] https://www.sorenkaplan.com/experientialintelligence/
[iii] https://www.sorenkaplan.com/leapfrogging-book/
[iv] https://www.sorenkaplan.com/invisibleadvantage/
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #202 with Joshua Freedman on “Getting Results with Emotional Intelligence in our Schools and Workplaces” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/joshua-freedman-ceo-of-6-seconds-on-getting-results-with-emotional-intelligence-in-our-schools-and-workplaces/
 

A Deep Dive into ”Applying the Silva Method: Speed Learning and Creative Sleep” BOOK REVIEW PART 3

“A genius is a man who has discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to a point when he can freely communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought.” –Napoleon Hill, author of the Best Selling Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich.
In PART 3 we cover:
✔ A look at Speed Learning with 2 strategies we can all use right away to learn faster, and remember what we have learned longer.
✔ Creative Sleep, and how to use our sleep to solve problems, improve creativity and intuition in our waking hours, with 4 steps to improving your ability to use and remember your dreams.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast and PART 3 of our Review of Jose Silva’s Mind Control Program. I’m Andrea Samadi an author and an educator, who like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind ANY high-performance strategy proven to increase our results in our schools, sports, or modern workplaces. If there’s something NEW that I come across that can help us in any way, I’ll investigate it, connect it with the most current research, and then share what I learn with you here.
If you’ve been following the past few episodes, you’ll know that I came across Jose Silva’s work with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram, from EPISODE #260[i], who has launched 7 successful companies, and mentioned that this book completely changed his world. I had heard of this book and Silva’s Program over the years, and many of the concepts that Jose Silva mentions in his book, but had not read it cover to cover, or practiced the audio training that goes along with the book, so I decided to do a complete review of the program, like we did with Napoleon Hill’s book at the start of this year, and see how this book, that was popular in the 80s and 90s could connect to the interviews we’ve done previously on this podcast. Especially when Friederike Fabritius mentioned on EPISODE #258[ii] that our mind can be trained to produce flashes of insight, that can help us in business and our personal lives and what Jose Silva would say could reveal “some astounding things” with a trained mind.
I wondered how exactly could our mind be trained...
Was daily meditation not enough?
If it was, how do I even know if I’m meditating the right way?
What was I missing from my current practice?
What can we learn from the years of research behind Jose Silva’s popular program that could help all of us to refine our current meditation practice?
Then I thought back to a class I took with Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of mindfulness, who reminded us in this class that we are already perfect, (as we are) and that mindfulness is not about “attaining a certain state, (that brings us to this new level of perfection) but that we are already whole and perfect.” Whatever program we are doing now, the idea of this book review is not to say that Jose Silva’s method is better, or that we might be missing something from what we are already doing, but to see if there’s anything NEW that we cover here, that interests us to dive deeper into, to further enhance our current practice.
Jim Kwik, the founder of Kwik Learning[iii], has said that “we’ve discovered more in the past 20 years about our brain than we’ve known in the previous 2,000 years combined” and I think it’s so exciting to share new strategies to help us all, which is the purpose of this podcast. When I learn something new, something that can help me to improve in any way, this energizes me, this gets me all jazzed up, and I know I can’t be the only one like this. I’m sure for those of you who tune into this podcast, can relate to what I’m saying and I’m honored that you’ve chosen me to study with, wherever you might be tuning into this podcast around the world. I love looking at the statistics to see where listeners are tuning in from in over 168 countries, which is a Geography lesson for me when I look at the map of the world.
NOTE TO LISTENERS: Thank you to everyone who tunes into our podcast around the world. I can see all the countries you are tuning in from, and am grateful you have chosen to study with me.
For this book review, little263-INTRO did I know just how powerful Silva’s program would be, when I recorded PART 1 of this series.  As I began reading each chapter that Jose Silva wrote many years ago when he was on a quest to increase learning for his own children, I began piecing together many of the strategies that we’ve covered on this podcast for improving learning, focus, creativity, imagination and productivity, all backed by science, right within the pages of The Silva Method.
I made many connections to past episodes and research, including Dr. John Dunlosky from EPISODE #37[iv] where he spoke about using “spaced repetition” as an evidence-based method for improving recall for students, that we will cover today. This research also appears in John Almarode, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher’s recent book, How Learning Works: Translating the Science of Learning into Strategies in Your Classroom that we covered on EPISODE #161[v].
Or even the importance of mindfulness and meditation in the classroom, for athletes or in the workplace. The connection to current research was enough for me to see that Jose Silva was on to something with the methods he wrote about, years before the research would take off exponentially in this area.
Daniel Goleman wrote about this in his book Altered Traits[vi] where he showed a visual with the research on Mindfulness and Meditation going up exponentially from the year 2000, to 2020.
My goal with this review of The Silva Method[vii], is to help all of us to learn something new to refine our current meditation practice whether we are working in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved results towards a specific goal, or in the corporate workplace to generate new ideas. I wouldn’t have picked this book to review if it hadn’t made such an impact on the world, like Napoleon Hills’ book, but I had no idea the concepts I would learn each week, would be so powerful, and life-changing.
After releasing the first 2 PARTS of this program, I began to receive messages from our listeners around the world who have used Silva’s Program, even from those who used it years ago. Then my good friend Hans Ajay from the UK, urged me to sign up for the full program through MindValley[viii], (where the course sits today after Vishen Lakhiani (the founder) revised and improved it in this current version. Hans wrote “It’ll be transformative.”
I don’t need anyone to twist my arm if there’s going to be transformation and learning occurring, so I signed up immediately taking what I’m learning in the pages of Silva’s book to a whole new level. I’ll stick to covering each chapter, but have to say that the experiential exercises have brought each chapter to life in a way that I don’t think it’s possible for me to show with my writing. I’ll connect as many exercises as I can find online with each chapter review, and encourage those of you who want to learn more to explore the entire program further through MindValley. This course is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in all my years of studying and learning.
To REVIEW,  In PART 1[ix] we covered:
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method
✔ What this program has done for others.
✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA, ALPHA, THETA, DELTA).
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition.
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization
✔ How to Help Yourself and Others Using a Mental Screen in Our Mind
UNDERSTANDING HOW TO ACCESS THE ALPHA BRAIN STATE:
Once we understand the different brain states, and how to access them, it makes more sense as we dive into the Alpha State, and practice visualizing on the screen of our mind in this state with the meditation exercises. Understanding the Alpha Level of Mind is the first step in Silva’s Mind Control Program, and used by itself, had tremendous health capabilities.
When you are daydreaming, or just going to sleep but not quite there yet, or just awakening but not yet awake, you are in Alpha Brain State that Silva calls the "inner consciousness” where he says is our mental world exists, with no time or space. With Silva’s Mind Control training you can enter the Alpha level at will and still remain fully alert, which is where the exciting part of his program begins.
I found 2 meditations on YouTube that I’ve listed below to help us to gain access to the experiential activities and take the first steps to applying Jose Silva’s program into our daily life.
ALPHA MEDITATION 1
How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind,  
This first video is an introduction, helping us to understand how to enter the Alpha state of mind easily. Jose Silva explains what one needs to do to reach the Alpha, or meditative, level of mind, and this video illustrates his words beautifully.
ALPHA MEDITATION EXAMPLE 2:
Here’s a second example I found on YouTube of entering the Alpha State and practicing our Mental Screen, with the 3, 2, 1, countdown method in a (25 minutes meditation) with Sommer Leigh, who reads Silva’s Alpha Meditation exactly as he would, but obviously this time, it’s with a female voice and peaceful music. Sommer does address the fact that someone new to meditating should begin with counting down from 100 to 1 to reach the Alpha level, using the countdown method that Silva suggests.
If you prefer a male voice for this activity, you can sign up for MindValley.com where Vishen Lakhiani goes through this same exercise, that he calls “Tapping into Alpha with a Centering Exercise” or you can hear Vishen’s YouTube version of The 20 Minute Silva Centering Exercise here from MindValley’s Channel.
Once you reach the Alpha level, (either in the morning, or a night or any time of day that you have to spend 15 minutes) Silva explains this is where we envision a peaceful place to help us to relax our mind, and body for improved health. This is also the place where we can practice solving a problem that we will go deeper into in PART 2. This meditation ends with the 1-5 countdown method to exit the meditation, where we feel better than we did before.
Jose Silva reminds us that if we did nothing other than practice going to this peaceful state of mind, it would have tremendous health and wellness benefits that research now proves to be true.
In PART 2[x] of our review, on our last episode, we covered:
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation (where we actually DO something while meditating, instead of it being a passive practice).
✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE we visualize a goal.
✔ How these 4 Laws mirror Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book.
✔ 3 STEPS to SOLVE ANY PROBLEM Using the Silva Method on the Screen that We Build in Our Mind.
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
✔ Where Silva's Memory Hacks have been seen on previous episodes and in the motivational speaking industry.
In PART 3 of our review, today’s EPISODE #263, we will cover:
✔ Ch 6-Speed Learning
✔ Ch 7-Creative Sleep
For Chapter 6: Speed Learning
I couldn’t begin writing about Silva’s strategies, without referring to Jim Kwik[xi] first, the founder of Kwik Learning, who created his entire business around how to reader faster, work smarter and think better by accelerating your learning and your life by unlocking what he calls our “superbrain.” Jim Kwik reminds us something I’m sure we’ve all heard of a million times, that school teaches us WHAT to learn (History, Math, Science, Languages) but “there are ZERO classes on how to learn, listen, focus, concentrate, solve problems, read faster or remember things.”
We mentioned Howard Berg, The World’s Fastest Speed Reader on our last episode, who taught us on EPISODE #189[xii] many skills that school never taught us, like speed reading or memory tricks.
Jose Silva was ahead of his game when he began looking for ways to teach his children, and eventually thousands of others who studied his methods, to learn faster, and be able to remember what they learned for longer periods of time.
He offers two strategies in his book:
STRATEGY 1: THE MENTAL SCREEN FOR LEARNING PAIRED WITH THE 3 FINGER TECHNIQUE
Silva suggests using our Mental Screen for learning, to speed up and deepen what we learn. He also uses the 3 Finger Technique to help us to reach the Alpha State quicker, which can be done while reading to help with focus, concentration and retention, and he outlines a teacher from Denver who used this Three Finger Technique to teach her students spelling with a list of 20 words. To test them, she would ask them to write down the words they studied that week, recall the words using the Three Finger Technique, and see the words on the screen of their minds. She was able to teach all of her students to remember their spelling list with this method.
STRATEGY 2: RECORD YOUR VOICE
The second method for Speed Learning, I’m most interest in, as I had heard about this strategy in the past. Silva suggests recording your voice when you need to learn something new. When I worked in the seminar industry, we called this a “loop tape” and this strategy was for anyone who wanted to take their results to new heights. Whether they were studying for a test, and needed to learn something new, or an actor who needed to memorize their lines quickly, a loop tape was recommended.  I even remember it was suggested to me when I first moved to the US, and found life in this new country to be challenging. The first thing our offices said was “has Andrea created a loop tape of what she wants her life to look like?” Sounds a bit off the wall, but if you don’t think something first, on the screen of your mind, you’ll be less likely to know what you are looking for when you see it. It’s crazy to look back now, because my current life looks pretty much the way I imagined it to look 20+ years ago, when I created my first loop tape, and even drew a sketch of what I envisioned the house I would live in, would look like.
PUTTING THIS INTO PRACTICE:
For someone who want to apply this strategy to learning something new, Silva suggests to read the chapter that you are studying out loud (or whatever it is that you want to remember) and record it while you’re in the beta brain state, or wide awake and focused. Next, he says, go to the alpha brain state (by counting backwards using the 3, 2, 1 method, or with the 3 Finger Technique and listen to what you recorded while in this state, concentrating on your voice. 
For added reinforcement, he suggests to let a few days pass and then do it again. Read the material in your beta state and play it back in alpha. This is also in line with Dr. John Dunlosky’s research, using spaced repetition.
Chapter 7 of The Silva Method on Creative Sleep.
Silva took the dream world very seriously, and he was interested in using dreams to solve problems. His programs teach us to first of all remember your dreams and suggests writing them down as soon as you wake up.
We’ve covered dreams on this podcast with EPISODE #224[xiii] with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions” or EPISODE #104[xiv] with Antonio Zadra and his book “When Brains Dream” and I even took a stab at explaining “Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten” on EPISODE #226[xv] as I’m personally been interested in deciphering the messages that come through in our dream state.
I mentioned on our recent episode with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram about how motivational speaker Bob Proctor would encourage all of us to write down our dreams to see what we could learn from them. I’ve got quite the dream log that goes back to the late 90s, and while no one other than myself would understand the significance within my scribbles, they are very clear to me.
Here’s an example: I was planning to move from Toronto, Canada, to Arizona, USA in January 2000. I had applied to come to the USA on the H1BI VISA for the work I was doing with teenagers, and I didn’t get the paperwork I needed until April 2001. You can see a dream I recorded Dec 14th, 2000 where I wrote “Bob at office putting in new computer telling me how I should set up my Phoenix office” that to someone else might be just a bunch of jumbled words, but to me, that was a clear sign that I was going to eventually finally make it to Arizona, with some suggestions on how to set up my office when I got there. I remember this dream clearly, with Bob actually hiding the wires behind my computer under my desk.  With each log I’ve written, I can now go back over the dream in my head whenever I want, and the messages within each dream are obvious…at least to me.
 
HOW TO USE YOUR DREAMS AS GUIDANCE:  
I’ve used this dream log to guide me in my personal and professional life and highly encourage anyone who wants to gain more self-awareness to try this activity.
Silva began using dreams to solve his problems back in 1949 and said the more he studied, the more humbling it became as he realized he knew less and less as time moved forward. He was always looking to learn more to help others with his research.
He writes an incredible story about how he dreamed of 3 numbers, and couldn’t figure out what they were, until a string of events led him to a gas station, where someone he was with saw the numbers on a lottery ticket. He bought the ticket, and went on to win $10,000 that he used to fund his research over the years.
This isn’t the only story where dreams have had a significant importance. Richard Bach, the author of the book “Jonathan Livingston Seagull” an important book in the field of personal development, was almost never was written. Richard Bach explains that he couldn’t figure out the ending to this story, until he saw the ending in a dream he had, helping him to finish the book. This book made the cover of Time Magazine, and Bach credits The Silva Method for the mental discipline and visualization he needed to complete this book.
PUT THIS STRATEGY INTO PRACTICE: BEGIN BY 
WRITING DOWN YOUR DREAMS as soon as you wake up. I used to keep a notebook next to my bed, to do this, but now, with a phone nearby, I wake up and use the notepad on my phone.  But what if you don’t recall your dreams? Dreams are hard to remember, and Stephanie Gailing, the author of The Complete Book of Dreams says that “on average, within 5 minutes we forget 50% of what we dream and within 10 minutes, only 10% may remain”[xvi] and “there are certain neurotransmitters (brain chemicals)  necessary to transform short-term memories into long-term ones; some of these including norepinephrine are at a very low level while dreaming, therefore create an innate blockade to having our nighttime visions etched in our mind.” 
TAKE THE DREAM WORLD SERIOUSLY: If you can be like Silva, and put value on your dreams, Gailing says “those who revere their dreams and accept them as an integral part of their life remember them more often.” I learned from Vishen Lakhiani, in the Silva Ultramind Online course that some indigenous cultures that he’s come across in his studies, wake up and begin their day by discussing their dreams and what messages they can see from their dream state. I know we are far off from starting our corporate meetings this way, but if you can do this on your own, I do promise you will see things that will help you in your everyday life.
MAKE SURE YOU ARE SLEEPING LONG ENOUGH: Gailing reported in her Complete Book of Dreams that “since dreams that arrive in the early morning are thought to be more vivid and complex” be sure you are sleeping long enough that you don’t miss out on this last REM stage of sleep. How would you know WHEN your REM sleep is? You can use a sleep tracker to see. I put a screen shot of my REM SLEEP from last night that shows at what points in the night I was in REM. My report showed last night’s REM sleep to be 21% higher than my 30 day average, but I unfortunately did not remember my dreams from last night.
HAVE CONFIDENCE THAT YOU WILL REMEMBER YOUR DREAMS: The strategy of having the intention of remembering your dream works well, and also not worrying if you don’t remember them every night. My dream log has weeks of gaps where I didn’t remember anything at all, or it just wasn’t something I thought was important to remember at the time.
To bring this episode to a close, and REVIEW Chapter 6 on Speed Learning and Chapter 7 on Creative Dreams,
In Chapter 6 on Speed Learning we looked at 2 Strategies that included
Using the mental screen paired with the 3-finger technique if you want to learn something quickly, using the Alpha Brain State.
Silva also covered recording your voice, or creating what I knew of as the “loop tape” of whatever it is that you want to remember. You would record what you want to remember in the BETA State, and then listen to it in the Alpha state (using the 3 finger technique or counting backwards).
In Chapter 7 on Creative Dreams we covered 4 strategies for remembering our dreams, and taking them seriously like Jose Silva himself did.
In the resource section, I’ve put the links to the three meditations I found online that can help you to take Silva’s ideas to new heights in your own life.
I hope that you take the time to go through the meditations where you will see what Hans Ajay told me. They are transformational.  I wanted to learn something new with my current meditation practice, and had no idea just how deep Jose Silva’s Program would take me.
Next episode we will cover:
Episode #164
✔ Ch 8-Your Words Have Power
✔ Ch 9-The Power of Imagination
✔ Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health
Will see you next episode.
RESOURCES:
MEDITATION  1: How to Enter the Alpha Level of Mind, Step by Step Process, The Silva Method https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpMJWT6EsNs
MEDITATION 2: Jose Silva Method Alpha Exercises by Sommer Leigh Published on YouTube June 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5SY0kajVITA
MEDITATION 3: 20 Minute Sila Centering Exercise with Vishen Kakhiani https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h_4GDXWBPCk
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
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Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
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REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #260 with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram on “Breaking Down the Mindset of the Million Dollar Monk” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/serial-entrepreneur-and-computer-scientist-hasan-ibne-akram-pd-d-on-breaking-down-the-mindset-of-the-million-dollar-monk/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 3258 Neuroscientist and Wall Street Journal Best Selling Author on “The Brain-Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Quit and How to Make Them Stay” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/neuroscientistwallstreet-journalbestselling-authorfriederike-fabritius-onhernew-bookthe-brainfriendly-workplacewhy-talented-peoplequitand-how-tomake/
[iii] https://kwiklearning.com/
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #37 with Dr. John Dunlosky on “Improving Student Success with Some Principles from Cognitive Science”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/kent-states-dr-john-dunlosky-on-improving-student-success-some-principles-from-cognitive-science/
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #161 with John Almarode, Nancy Frey and Douglas Fisher on “How Learning Works: Translating the Science of Learning into Strategies for Maximum Learning in Your Classroom” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/johnalmarodedouglas-fisherand-nancyfreyon-how-learning-works-translatingthescience-oflearningintostrategiesformaximum-learning-inyourclassroom/
[vi] Altered Traits: Science Reveals How Meditation Changes Your Mind, Brain and bod Published September 5, 2017  by Daniel Goleman  https://www.amazon.com/Altered-Traits-Science-Reveals-Meditation/dp/0399184384
[vii] The Silva Mind Control Method https://silvamethod.com/
[viii] www.mindvalley.com
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1
“A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[x]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#262 PART 2 “A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method: Dynamic Meditation and Improved Memory”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-2/
[xi] https://kwiklearning.com/
[xii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #145 with Howard Berg, the World’s Fastest Speed Reader on “Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension and Recall”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-worlds-fastest-reader-howard-stephen-berg-on-strategies-to-improve-reading-comprehension-and-recall-for-educators-and-the-workplace/
[xiii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #224 with Harvard Neuroscientist Dr. Baland Jalal who Explains “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming and Premonitions: Expanding Our Awareness into the Mysteries of Our Brain During Sleep” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/
[xiv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #104 with Antonio Zadra on “When Brains Dream” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/sleep-scientist-antonio-zadra-on-when-brains-dream-exploring-the-science-and-mystery-of-sleep/
[xv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#226 “Using Neuroscience to Explain Why Our Dreams Are So Weird, Highly Emotional and Often Forgotten”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-neuroscience-to-explain-why-our-dreams-are-so-weird-highly-emotional-and-often-forgotten/
[xvi] The Complete Book of Dreams: A Guide to Unlocking the Meaning and Healing Power of Your Dreams by Stephanie Gailing Published October 20, 2020  https://www.amazon.com/Complete-Book-Dreams-Illustrated-Encyclopedia/dp/1577152131
 

A Deep Dive into ”Applying the Silva Method: Dynamic Meditation and Improved Memory” BOOK REVIEW PART 2

“Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method.
On today’s Episode #262 we will cover
✔ A Review of PART 1 of this series (How to access the ALPHA BRAIN STATE, Creating A Mental Screen for Visualization and Problem Solving).
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation
✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE we visualize a goal.
✔ How these 4 Laws mirror Napoleon Hill's Think and Grow Rich book.
✔ 3 STEPS to SOLVE ANY PROBLEM Using the Silva Method.
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
✔ Where Silva's Memory Hacks have been seen on previous episodes and in the motivational speaking industry.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast and PART 2 of our Review of Jose Silva’s Mind Control Program. I’m Andrea Samadi an author and an educator, who like many of you listening, have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind ANY high performance strategy proven to increase our results in our schools, sports, and modern workplaces. If there’s something NEW that I come across that can help us in any way, I’ll investigate it, connect it with the most current research, and then share what I learn with you here.
At the start of this year, I reviewed Napoleon Hill’s Best-Selling Think and Grow Rich[i] book, with a deep dive into many of the concepts that have been put to a practical test by millions of people around the world over the years. This is THE book that my mentor Bob Proctor spent his lifetime studying, and it remains on my desk as a resource to visit when I need some inspiration, or some wise words of wisdom to push me forward. Then I came across Jose Silva’s work on our resent EPISODE #260, a fascinating program that I had heard about when I worked in the seminar industry, and I knew it was time to slow down the podcast, and see what Jose Silva’s program covered, and if his work could help us all with whatever it is that we are working on.
My goal with this review of The Silva Method[ii], is to help all of us to learn something new to refine our current meditation practice whether we are working in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved results towards a specific goal, or in the corporate workplace to generate new ideas. I wouldn’t have picked this book to review if it hadn’t made such an impact on the world, like Napoleon Hills’ book.
In PART 1[iii] of our review, on our last episode, we covered:
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method
✔ What this program has done for others.
✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA, ALPHA, THETA, DELTA).
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition.
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization
✔ How to Help Yourself and Others Using a Mental Screen in Our Mind
After recording this episode, there were some important parts that I forgot to add in, but since each of these episodes is cumulative, building off the last episode, I’ll be sure to add in anything important along the way. As I’m writing these episodes, as I’m also learning along with you.
***If you are listening to this episode, and have not yet listened to PART 1, please do begin with PART 1 of this series, to maximize each concept we will be learning, and practicing. Each lesson builds off the next, in The Silva Method, which to me could be described as a combination between meditation, and self-hypnosis all in one. I’ll be sharing Silva’s Method, chapter by chapter, with clear examples of how to put it into practice, and how his method can help all of us to train our brain to do some astounding things.
I wanted to cover The Silva Method on this podcast, as years ago, no one spoke about the power of hypnosis, or meditation, in our corporate workplaces, or in our schools. It’s taken some time, but now these concepts are no longer weird, they are mainstream, embraced worldwide, and have helped millions of people from celebrities, and high level CEOS, to regular people in search of their own personal breakthroughs. I hope this episode series will help all of us to sharpen our saw with our own meditation practice, and help us to reach new heights in our personal and professional lives.
On our last episode #261, we practiced accessing the Alpha Brain State using the countdown method, were introduced to the use of the Mental Screen for Heightened Visualization, and learned that it would be this mental screen where we would utilize the power of Silva’s Mind Control Program, that is about controlling our own mind for the betterment of mankind. The idea is that we will be learning sequential exercises, created by Jose Silva, and tested by thousands of others, endorsed and practiced by many of the world’s most well-known and respected scientists, and thought leaders.
On today’s Episode #262 we will cover: 
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
and we will build off from where we left on the last episode, where we were practicing building mental images on the screen of our mind, while in the Alpha Brain State.
Chapter 3 on Dynamic Meditation involves “training your mind for organized, dynamic activities” that Jose Silva thinks is what our mind was designed for.  He says “once you have reached the meditative level, to simply stay there and wait for something to happen is not enough. It is beautiful and calming and it does contribute to your good health, but these are modest accomplishments compared with what is possible.”
This is where The Silva program gets exciting as we step past passive meditation techniques, to use it dynamically to solve problems. Now we’ll see why it’s so important to perfect what we see on the Screen of our Mind, and why daily practice of these skills is crucial.
Let’s Do This!
Let’s use our mind for something that’s useful for us—something of value. It all begins with our imagination, on this screen of our mind, but Silva says there are 4 important laws we must follow next.
The Silva Program says that --Whatever it is that you want, you must:
Law 1: You must desire that the event take place.
Law 2: You must believe the event can take place.
Law 3: You must expect the event to take place.
Law 4: You cannot create a problem.
When I heard these laws, that Silva wants us to consider BEFORE we begin visualizing what we want, I connected them to Napoleon Hill’s best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich, probably because this book review is still fresh in my mind.
Law 1: You must desire that the event take place. (Which reminds me of the Second chapter of the TAGR book. If you recall, this is the chapter where Barnes had a burning desire to work with Edison, so intense that he “burned all bridges behind him. He stood by his desire until it became the dominating obsession of his life.” (TAGR, Ch 2, Page 20).
BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO USE THE SCREEN IN YOUR MIND, THINK ABOUT THIS.
Do you have a burning desire for whatever it is that you want to create? If not, keep thinking for what you REALLY want, and choose this to focus on for this activity.
Law 2: You must believe the event can take place. (This reminds me of Chapter 3 in TAGR, the chapter of Faith: Visualizing and Believing in the Attainments of the Desire. Napoleon Hill said that “every person who wins in any undertaking must be willing to burn his ships and cut all sources of retreat” (TAGR, Ch 2, Page 21) and you’ll do this, because you won’t believe in any other outcome.
In PART 2 of our TAGR Study, I wrote an example I saw while researching Dr. David Sinclair, who we covered on EPISODE #189[iv] (and he’s come up a few times on the podcast with his pioneering work in the field of anti-aging). While researching him, I found out that he had to self-funded his trip from Australia to MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) to interview to work in their lab, which he did. He didn’t let his lack of funds stop him from finding his way to MIT. He had a clear vision of what he wanted, and he BELIEVED in his vision, and didn’t let any obstacles get in his way.
BEFORE YOU BEGIN TO USE THE SCREEN IN YOUR MIND, THINK ABOUT THIS:
Do you BELIEVE the event you’ll create on the screen of your mind can take place? Unwavering belief drives behavior, and it will come through, and be obvious by the way you walk (with purpose), the way you talk (with conviction) and finally, by the actions you will take, directed towards the attainment of whatever it is that you want. You will NEVER outperform your self-image. Without belief, you’ll miss the boat.
Law 3: You must expect the event to take place. While reading Silva’s laws, I couldn’t believe that these were all a part of the Napoleon Hill’s best-selling book. I wondered if Silva learned them from Hill? I’ll never know for sure, but expectation connects everything we are doing and when we expect something to happen, when it eventually does, we’ll recognize it because it’s been in our mind all along. In Silva’s program, you will have spent some time with what you want on the screen of your mind, so expecting it is the next step.
Law 4: You cannot create a problem. This law says a lot about who Jose Silva was as a person. He says “there is plenty of evil on this planet, and we humans perpetrate more than our share of it. This is done in Beta, not Alpha, not Theta, and probably not in Delta.” He says his research has proved this and I believe him. I don’t believe in time wasting to prove what Silva has already proven, but it you want to use the Alpha Brain State to wish ill-will on someone else, you’ll be wasting your time, as you will quickly snap out of Alpha in this process. You must only visualize something that’s for the betterment of mankind.
LET’S USE THE POWER OF OUR MIND TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
***To practice this, choose an event that’s a solution to a problem you have. Something you desire, believe can come about, and can learn to expect it, with this exercise.
STEP 1: PICK A PROBLEM
Follow the steps that will get you into the Alpha Brain State, from our last episode (counting backwards from 100-1) and then lift your eyes upwards, and with your mind, create a mental screen where you will re-create the problem you want to solve. Relive the problem by seeing it and feeling it.
For Schools: A problem could be a poor grade on a test, resulting in a low overall grade.
For Sports: The problem could be a losing streak, or poor performance leading with the loss.
For the Workplace: The problem could be a lack of sales in your organization, or poor performance somewhere.
Pick the problem you want to solve, and visualize it on the screen of your mind.
STEP 2: TAKE SOME SORT OF ACTION
Next, you will gently push the problem scene off to the right which Silva explains in his book will represent the PAST. The past is now over, so push the problem aside.
To the left of the problem, (that represents the FUTURE), create a NEW mental screen with the SOLUTION. Whatever you imagine will require ACTION of some sort showing you solving the problem.
Most of us don’t spend time thinking about the present moment or the future. We can easily get bogged down in what happened in the past. This is what I love about Silva’s Method. The past is over, moved off to the side and we now focus ONLY on the present (taking action to solve the problem) and the FUTURE, which will highlight the changed outcome.
For Schools: A solution could involve a student studying with more focus.
For Sports: A solution could involve practicing a skill that is known for needed improvement.
For the Workplace: A solution could involve presenting your product to a group of people who see its value, and decide they will purchase a large order.
STEP 3: THE SOLUTION
Finally, the action you have taken pays off, and you will envision the solution on the screen of your mind. Everything here is positive, and all of the feelings associated with the problem have been resolved. You celebrate the WIN here in as much detail as you can. What does this win feel like? Who’s there watching you? What do you hear? What do you see? Involve all of your senses.
For Schools: Picture the student celebrating when they see their efforts were rewarded with an A+ grade. This A+ will lead to many more, eventually allowing the student to receive an honor roll award at the end of the year.
For Sports: You’ll picture your team celebrating when the practice pays off with a WIN that eventually leads to a trophy or award at the end of the season.
For the Workplace: You’ll picture your team celebrating when they receive the large order that came from the hard work from the recent presentation. The team celebrates by hosting a lunch where all those involved are recognized for their efforts.
These are some examples of using The Silva Method to train your brain towards your desired outcome. Does it always work? No, Silva says, but with time and practice, you’ll start to see improvements that you might chalk up to be coincidences. He suggests stopping this practice altogether, and the coincidences will also stop. Start back up again, and they will reappear.
You’ll see…just practice this, and let me know what YOU see.
With practice, the results you will see will be more and more astounding.
The part that I forgot to mention was that in this Mind Control Exercise, “you will establish two routines. One for going to your level (with the countdown method) and the other for coming out of it.” Silva suggests at the end of STEP 3, after you’ve successfully visualized your solution, to say “I will slowly come out as I count from 1-5, feeling wide awake and better than before. One, two, prepare to open your eyes, three, open your eyes, four, five, eyes open, wide awake, feeling better than before.”
This entire exercise, with practice, can be done with just 15 minute blocks of time, especially once you’ve reached the countdown method from counting from 5-1 to enter your level. You can also reach this state at any point in the day (morning upon wake, night, before sleep, or any time of day that you can a block of time where you can close your eyes and visualize yourself solving your problem).
Chapter 5: Improving Memory
We’ve covered memory hacks on this podcast with EPISODE #145[v] with Howard Berg, The World’s Fastest Speed Reader on “Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension and Recall” or EPISODE #149[vi] with Two-Time Guinness World Record Holder Dave Farrow on “Focus, Fatigue, and Memory Hacks.”  
I’ll use what Howard Berg said in our interview together[vii] as he said “take a list that you know, and link it to what you want to remember” which is exactly what Jose Silva suggests with his memory strategy. Howard had me remember a list from 1-10 using words and images (1 looks like pole, 2 is shoe, 3 is a tricycle since it has three wheels), 4 is a car (four wheels), 5 is a glove (five fingers in a glove)…etc.   Next, Howard had me speed learning this list of numbers using imagery, showing me how to remember longer lists of numbers with these images.
If you had ever attended a seminar with Bob Proctor, he also did this activity, linking words that we want to remember to a list of 10 words we already know by what he called ridiculous association. With the audience, he would pick a list of 20 words they wanted to recall (the audience would shout out 20 things). I wrote them down in my notes you can see (if you can read my writing). Then Bob would tie the words we want to recall to the numbers we already knew, by ridiculous association.
1-run, the audience picked a water bottle to remember and he’d say, (imagine a water bottle running around the room) 2-zoo (imaging a whole bunch of watches behind the glass with the lions as they are walking around them at the zoo 3-tree (growing a whole bunch of telephones), 4-door (with eye-glasses on the handle balancing there about to drop off when someone opens the door)…Bob’s memory technique was like Howard’s linking images (ridiculous images that were difficult to forget) to a list of numbers we already knew.
Silva also believed in creating visual images to remember words and called these images “memory pegs” and mentioned this type of learning is a whole other area. To keep it simple, he says, to remember something
He says that “all that you have to do, once you’ve learned to work with your mental screen, is visualize a past event that surrounds an incident you believe you have forgotten, and it will be there. I say an incident you believe you have forgotten because in reality you have not forgotten it at all. You simply do not recall it. There is a significant difference.” (Ch. 5, Silva Silva Method).
He says that our brains record far more than we realize, and goes on to give some fascinating examples of what people have remembered while under general anesthesia, which is a whole other area I’ll cover another time.
3 Finger Technique: 
In this chapter, Silva shows us how we can use what he calls the 3 Finger Technique to help us to quickly access the Alpha Brain State and solve simple things, like memory recall.
He says, “Here is how simple it is: Just bring together the thumb and first two fingers of either hand and your mind will instantly adjust to a deeper level” to accomplish what you want.
Try it for yourself.
STEP 1: Join together your thumb and your first two fingers. What do you notice? He says this instantly brings us into the Alpha State.
STEP 2: REPEAT silently or out loud “Whenever I join my fingers together like this”—now join them—“for a serious purpose I will instantly reach this level of mind to accomplish whatever I desire.” 
I heard Vishen Lakhiani, the CEO of MindValley say that he calms himself down during public speaking with this method. I agree that it’s very calming, and use this technique to relax when I’m feeling stressed or anxious. I just used it yesterday while driving my girls to gymnastics in heavy traffic.
Silva says that teacher from Denver used this Three Finger Technique to teach her students spelling with a list of 20 words. To test them, she asks them to write down the words they studied that week, recall the words using the Three Finger Technique, and see the words on the screen of their minds. She’s able to teach all of her students to remember their spelling list with this method.
This concept is not new. It’s often how people place their hands during meditation, while sitting crossed-legged, but Silva has taken this technique to new heights, and those who have applied to to their line of work have noticed a significant improvement with memory/recall.
REMEMBER:
“When a person learns to function mentally at this deeper level, creativity is enhanced. Memory is improved and a person is better able to solve problems.” (Jose Silva).
 
TO REVIEW PART 2 OF THE SILVA METHOD: We covered
✔ REVIEW of EPISODE #261 PART 1
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation
✔ The 4 Laws that must be in place BEFORE you visualize something.
✔ We Solved a Problem with 3 STEPS (Problem, Action, Solution) with ideas to use this method for schools, sports or the workplace.
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
✔ The 3 Finger Technique
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS:
As we close out this episode, I want to reinforce that solving problems using the screen of our mind is something that takes some practice. This isn’t something I’ve mastered yet, but as I have said, the purpose of these episodes are to see how we can improve our own meditation practices.  It’s only been 9 days for me now practicing the countdown method, and I’m noticing that I can access this beautiful Alpha Brain State quicker than I was from day 1 with improved focus, and clarity. My current goal is to be in better control of the images that I see on the screen of my mind. Right now, it’s taking a lot of effort to override what I can see there already, and put something new on the screen that I want to create. When I need to access this state in the day, I’m using the 3 Finger Technique and finding another solution to instantly calm my brain. I’d obviously love to solve all of my problems overnight, but that’s not how The Silva Program was designed.
It’s a journey of the mind, that I think is fascinating.
“Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva
I can see how many of Jose Silva’s techniques have created geniuses, as Howard Berg, The World’s Fastest Speed Reader used similar strategies, as well as the 2-time World Guinness Record Holder, Dave Farrow.  
Thank you for listening, and coming on this journey with me. I’d love to know what you notice if you have tried out the exercises with your field of work.
With that, I’ll close out for now, and will see you in a few days with
Episode #163 on
✔ Ch 6-Speed Learning
✔ Ch 7-Creative Sleep
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
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REFERENCES:
[i] Think and Grow Rich Book Review with Andrea Samadi
 
 Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #191 PART 2 on “Thinking Differently and Choosing Faith Over Fear”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-2-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever-by-thinking-differently-and-choosing-faith-over-fear/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #194 PART 4 on “Perfecting the Skills of Organized Planning, Decision-Making, and Persistence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-4-on-perfecting-the-skills-of-organized-planning-decision-making-and-persistence/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 on “The Power of the Mastermind, Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation, and Linking all Parts of Our Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 in Memory of Bob Proctor on “The 15 Principles Behind Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich Book” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
 
[ii] The Silva Mind Control Method https://silvamethod.com/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #261 PART 1
“A Deep Dive into Applying the Silva Method for Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/a-deep-dive-with-andrea-samadi-into-applying-the-silva-method-for-improved-intuition-creativity-and-focus-part-1/
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #189 on “Understanding Hormesis: Why Stress and Adversity Make Us Physically and Mentally Stronger” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/understanding-hormesis-why-stress-and-adversity-make-us-physically-and-mentally-stronger/
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #145 with Howard Berg, the World’s Fastest Speed Reader on “Strategies for Improving Reading Comprehension and Recall”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-worlds-fastest-reader-howard-stephen-berg-on-strategies-to-improve-reading-comprehension-and-recall-for-educators-and-the-workplace/
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #149 with Two-Time Guinness World Record Holder Dave Farrow on “Focus, Fatigue and Memory Hacks”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/2-time-guinness-world-record-holder-dave-farrow-on-focus-fatigue-and-memory-hacks-for-students-and-the-workplace/
[vii] Howard Berg’s Memory Trick with Andrea (40:20) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Al0B6HzxtEk

A Deep Dive into ”Applying the Silva Method: For Improved Intuition, Creativity and Focus” BOOK REVIEW PART 1

“Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, as you will soon see.” Jose Silva (August 11, 1914-February 7, 1999) author of The Silva Mind Control Method.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast I’m Andrea Samadi and like many of you listening,  have been fascinated with learning and understanding the science behind high performance strategies to increase our results in our schools, sports, and modern workplaces.
As we are in the midst of holiday season here with Thanksgiving this past week in the US, and Christmas fast approaching, we will be narrowing our focus here on the podcast and resuming interviews in the New Year.  Until then, this episode will launch a series where I’ll be taking us on a deep dive into the benefits of developing a meditation practice. While I’m sure those who tune into this podcast already have a practice in place, I wanted to cover a meditation method that I came across years ago, that our last interview, with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram reminded me about.
The goal of this series is to help all of us to reduce stress with this practice, but also to see if we can learn something new, and refine our practice for those who work in our schools to improve learning, in our sports environments for improved focus and concentration towards a specific goal, and in the corporate workplace for ideas to improve creativity and focus. We will begin this series reviewing Jose Silva and Philip Miele’s The Silva Mind Control Method[i] that’s based on the Revolutionary Program by the Founder of the World’s Most Famous Mind Control Course.
Ch 1: Using Our Mind in Special Ways
This course is something I came across while working in the seminar industry, and while interviewing Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram, on our last EPISODE #260[ii], he reminded me of Jose Silva’s program, that helped him with his self-esteem as a teenager, in addition to his studies, and a few other areas of his life, and this reminded me that I had come across Jose Silva’s work years ago. I’d actually forgotten about this book, and many of the techniques we learned that were adaptations of Silva’s work, and I thought that since meditation is helping so many people around the world, and it’s now mainstream in our schools, with athletes, and in the corporate world, it would be fascinating to look closer at Jose Silva’s Method, to see if it could help all of us to enhance our current meditation practice, myself included. Then I dove into The Silva Method, and realized his work is going to need to be broken up over a few episodes, like we did with The Think and Grow Rich[iii] book review, just to make it applicable for all of us, and give each chapter careful consideration as we look to see what parts of The Silva Method, could help us to improve our own lives.  I wanted to release this episode last Friday, but in order to cover this topic properly, I knew I had to review the Silva Method thoroughly myself, do exactly what he instructs us to do, and not cut any corners. So this weekend, instead of recording, I reviewed and practiced the strategies in the first three chapters of this book, making more connections to past episodes, and increasing my learning and understanding before sharing these ideas with you.
If you listened to our episode #258 with Friederike Fabritius, on her new book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace, I asked her what science has to say about those flashes of insight that we ALL have access to for improved creativity and performance, and she explained that “when you are relaxed, your brain waves slow down to the alpha state.”
Friederike further explained that we can measure these brain waves with EEG scans and that at moments of insight, or those AHA Moments, the brain has “gamma oscillations” that can be trained and measured that she called “The Gamma Insight Effect.”
After speaking with Friederike, I wondered HOW we could ALL train our brain to reach these levels to gain those flashes of insight on demand, or at least more often, to help us with our lives and work?
Whenever I’ve had a flash of insight about something, it’s often during times where I’m relaxed (during a massage, in the shower, or during meditation) but they happen when I’m not expecting them, so I’ve learned to write them down, to see I can learn the meaning behind them, and determine if the insight is useful.
Have you had flashes of insight? When do they happen for you? How do you make use of what you are seeing?
Next, I remembered our interview #148[iv] with Dr. James Hardt and his Biocybernaut Alpha One Training that helped people (like Tony Robbins)  to access the zone, or peak performance, on demand, and increase those heightened levels of awareness for reduced stress and increased productivity.
I wondered if there was a way we could do this ourselves, without having to pay the money to attend a training somewhere.
Dr. Hasan spoke about attending Dave Asprey’s 5 Day 40 Years of Zen Training[v], that was life-changing, but he also mentioned The Silva Method on EPISODE #260, that’s designed specifically to help us to tap into the Alpha (deeply relaxed brain state) with other parts of the program that could train us to reach the Theta State (relaxed consciousness, deep meditation, light sleep, REM state) and the Delta State where we are in a deep sleep.
Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram, who has successfully built 7 companies, believes that the Silva Method launched his mind to a whole new way of thinking and spoke about how Einstein and Edison would gain flashes of insight from relaxing their minds in a certain way, something that we ALL have access to do. Dr. Hasan is a huge believer in The Silva Method, that shows us how to access these creative brain states, and then give us some ideas of what to do with them once we are there. Jose Silva himself believed that once we learn how to use the tools in his program, that we all have the ability to become geniuses.
Napoleon Hill even wrote about this in his best-selling book, Think and Grow Rich, when he said that a better definition of genius “is a man who had discovered how to increase the intensity of thought to a point where he can communicate with sources of knowledge not available through the ordinary rate of thought.”
Read that quote a few times and keep thinking.
How could YOU benefit from diving a bit deeper into your meditation practice?
We have covered meditation on this podcast, beginning with Dr. Dan Siegel all the way back to EPISODE #28[vi] where we spoke with Dr. Siegel about something he calls Mindsight, or seeing the mind in another person, and he says this is the “basis for social and emotional intelligence.” Then on EPISODE #60[vii], we dove deeper into his Wheel of Awareness Meditation, and the science behind a meditation practice, which is evident to anyone who goes to www.pubmed.gov and types in the word “meditation” as they will see over 9,000 results showing that mindfulness and meditation clearly improves our health and wellness. Dr. Dan Siegel has mentioned the research often with his Wheel of Awareness Meditation, that “integrates the structure and function of the brain.” By integration, he meant moving towards well-being.
But with ALL of these episodes, we’ve focused on WHAT meditation does (improves mental and physical health and well-being) but I’ve never covered exactly HOW to access these altered states of consciousness, or what to do when we get there, mostly because until I read Jose Silva’s book, I had no idea what I was doing when I was meditating. I’d been doing many of the exercises in Silva’s Program, that I had learned from different seminars and sources over the years, without fully understanding exactly what I was doing, and noticed I could use some improvement with my own practice.
When Friederike Fabritius said that accessing these different brain states could be trained, and then suddenly Dr. Hasan mentioned HOW he trained his brain all those years ago, I thought it was time to take a closer look at our brain states. My goal with this episode is to help me to be more intentional with my meditation practice, and then share what I learn with you here. Just keep an open mind. As I share my insights with you from each chapter, see how the ideas could help you to improve YOUR practice, and perhaps give you some new insights along the way.
On PART 1 of this book review we will cover:
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method
✔ What this program has done for others.
✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA).
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition.
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization
✔ How to Help Yourself and Others With this Practice
 
What This Program Has Done for Others:
For this episode, #261, we will begin our DEEP DIVE into Jose Silva’s Mind Control Method, used by over 10 million students around the world, to see if we can all use his work, that’s based on accessing altered states of consciousness, to train our brain in ways where school just never taught us. The only reason I had heard about Jose Silva’s Method, was that when I sold seminars for Bob Proctor, back in the late 1990s, many of the seminar attendees asked me if I had heard of Silva’s Training. Over the years, I learned that parts of Silva’s Methods were used in many of the seminars I had attended in the personal development industry, but I had never looked at the entire program as Jose Silva had written it. Much like I had only read parts of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book, until I decided to review it myself on this podcast earlier this year. We will be going through the chapters together, and see what resonates with our current practice enough to dive deeper into.
Now, there are two ways you could learn about these concepts. You can either learn with me here on the podcast, or, if you want to go deeper, you could pay to do one of the trainings like Dr. Hasan Akram did (with Dave Asprey), or what Tony Robbins did, with Dr. James Hardt and his Biocybernaut Alpha One Training, or even dive deeper into The Silva Method as this Method is now called The UltraMind System[viii] that you can purchase through Mind Valley which is where the program exists today.  It’s here that the CEO of Mind Valley, a New York Times Best-Selling author himself, Vishen Lakhiani[ix] was asked to be the face of Jose Silva’s work, just a few years after he passed away.
PART 1 of My Review of the Silva Method:
Remember when Dr. Hasan held up his copy of Jose Silva’s book, from our last episode? The book is actually written as a book within a book, as the outside chapters 1 and 2, and 17-20 were written by Philipe Miele, who orients us to Jose Silva, and the millions of graduates who have benefitted from the program, while the inside of the book consists of the techniques we will learn, written by Jose Silva.
We will learn more about the type of man Jose Silva was, but I have to clarify the title of the program, that is based solely on learning to control our mind for “the betterment of mankind.” (Page 6, The Silva Mind Control Method). The program cannot be used in any other way and is not meant to be used to “control” anyone, other than our own minds. As we saw with the quote we opened up with, once we can learn how to use our mind, it will do some astounding things. Throughout this series, we will see how it can be used to improve our own intuitive and creativity skills, solve large and small problems that we might have in business and in life, and will even uncover ways we can use the tools to improve our own health, or the health of others. Just keep an open mind as we go through the chapters, and I’ll show you how I’ve either used the tools myself, or have seen them being used by others for results that cannot be denied.
What This Program Has done for Others
Now, don’t just take my word for the deep work we will uncover in the next few episodes, here’s what some of the leading experts have said about Jose Silva’s Method as well as what Jose Silva himself has said that his program has done for others.
✔ A marketing company used it to create 18 new products.
✔ 14 Chicago White Socks players used it to boost their scores.
✔  Celebrities have used it and credit Jose Silva for improving their focus and creativity.
✔  Colleges and universities have used it to help students study less, but learn more.
To access the research[x] that has been done on this program to date, I’ll link it in the show notes. The late Dr. Wayne Dyer has said that “anything with the name Jose Silva as the author has my vote before I open to page one. Read it with a pen for underlining.”
The Founder of Precious Moments, Jon Butler said that “Any CEO who is not using altered states of mind is at a competitive disadvantage.” (from Vishen Lakiani’s Masterclass).[xi]
As you go through this book review with me, think of where The Silva Program could help you. There will be some areas that will resonate with you, that you can practice and refine, and others that you can set aside for a later time. At the end of each of these review episodes, I’ll have a section for you to put the ideas into action with clear examples of how I have used these exercises.
REMEMBER:
“When a person learns to function mentally at this deeper level, creativity is enhanced. Memory is improved and a person is better able to solve problems.” (Jose Silva).
Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva
What’s crazy for me to see, looking back at Silva’s work, is that he began The Silva Method, with his children while he was working on a way to improve learning. Like any parent, he wanted the best for his own children and their academics. But Jose Silva went above and beyond what most of would do for this to occur.
He took his knowledge of working with radios and electronic circuitry, (what he did for his work that he excelled at) and combined this knowledge with the fact that we know that the mind generates energy, and developed a program that he hoped would help the brain to work more efficiently. He tested his ideas on his children.  Imagine Jose Silva, as a young man, with young children, who would work his job in radio repair until 9pm every night, come home, eat dinner, help put his children to bed, and then when his house was quiet, he would go on to study until midnight. He would learn the ideas that would eventually help his own children improve their grades, extending the course to other children, who achieved even better results with his program, as he refined and improved it along the way, and then within 3 years, developed the course that we know today. This is where The Silva Method began, that has now been validated by over 500,000 experiments, providing the results that no one could ignore.
Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA).
A Review of the Brain States:
Beta Brain States: are where most of us spend our waking time, in normal and alert consciousness with brain waves at 15-30 cycles/second. It’s here that we can feel the stress and anxiousness of daily life, so finding ways to offset this stress can be helpful.
***Alpha Brain State: where our brain slows down and we begin to feel healing, a sense of relaxation, or bliss, at around 9-14 cycles/second with our brain waves. This brain state is where most of Jose Silva’s Programs are centered around.
Theta Brain State: involves deeper relaxation with access to problem solving while these waves slow down to 4-8 cycles/second. If we can train our brain to stay awake here, we will be able to access heightened levels of creativity and intuition for solving problems. In chapter 7 of the book, Jose Silva covers Creative Sleep. He says “Understand a Man’s Dreams, and You Understand the Man”  
Delta State: our brain waves slow to 1-3 cycles/second while we are in deep dreamless sleep.
How Do We Use the Silva Method to Access the Alpha State Where All the Magic Begins?
STEP 1: HOW TO ACCESS THE ALPHA STATE:
YOU CAN ACCES THE ALPHA STATE WHEN YOU FIRST WAKE UP, BEFORE BED, and ANY OTHER TIME YOU HAVE 15 MINUTES TO RELAX YOUR MIND. The Alpha State is the easiest state to access as we will already be in this state the first 5 minutes after we wake up.
Jose Silva suggests:
Jose Silva suggests the 40 Day Technique to guarantee you are at the Alpha Level where you begin by counting backwards from 100 to 1 for 10 mornings, then you can count from 50-1 for the next 10 mornings, then from 20-1 for 10 mornings, and then 10-1 until you get to 5 to 1. I’m currently in the first 10 days of counting backwards from 100-1 to allow myself to drift deeper into Alpha in the morning as well as before I go to sleep at night. I noticed that I’m more focused on my morning meditation, whereas before, I was just sitting there, not as focused as I know I could have been. I practice Dan Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation each morning, and going into the Alpha State FIRST, has deepened my brain state into the Alpha level, where I no longer drift off when I hear a noise or something.
PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE: Begin using the 100-1 countdown to at night, in the morning, or whenever you plan to access the alpha level to begin to improve your current practice.
I’m in my first few days of practicing this method before sleep, and the first couple of nights, fell asleep before I could get to 1. I’ll keep trying, as I’d like to get to the point where I can just count from 5-1 to access the Alpha State, like Jose Silva suggests. If you are as serious about accessing this level as I am, I suggest keeping a note card next to your work place to check off where you are in this process. After 10 days, you can progress to the next step, until you are able to access the alpha state from counting from 5-1.
STEP 2: ONCE YOU REACH THE ALPHA STATE, THEN WHAT?
Next, You will learn to use a Mental Screen for Heightened Visualization
Once you have accessed the Alpha State, Silva reminds us:  
 
 
Central to Jose’s Silva Method of Mind Control is with the power of visualization, and he says “right from the beginning, from the very moment you reach your meditative level (what he calls accessing the Alpha State), you must learn to practice visualization. The better you learn to visualize, the more powerful will be your experience with Mind Control.”
He also believes that his process goes far beyond what many of us have come across with other meditation programs, and as I go through each chapter, I’ll leave it to you to pick and choose which parts of his program resonate with you to use and practice, but this part is important to master for EVERYTHING else we will be learning.
PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE: When you close your eyes, what do you see? Raise your eyes up a bit (about 20% upwards above the horizon of what you see). Is it black, or can you use your mind to create things? Begin with simple things like an orange or an apple. This takes time and practice. This mental screen will help you in many ways as we move through different lessons, and is important, but don’t be tied to what you think you should see. We are all at different stages of learning. I started seeing things on the screen of my mind starting in my late 20s, and things would flash sometimes when I was relaxed. I never did have control over what I was seeing. It just happened, and I would either know what I was seeing, or be wondering “what on the earth is that” so I’m hoping that with time, effort and practice, I will gain better control over what I’m able to visualize, so I can put it to better use.
STEP 3: Now Utilize This Power
With time and practice, it will be this screen that you will learn how to help yourself and others. You begin with creating simple things, until you are ready to solve small problems in your daily life, from work, to health, and improve learning/creativity.
PUT THIS INTO PRACTICE:
Just begin here with playing around with what you can create on the screen of your mind in the Alpha State. If you do nothing else, other than these 3 steps, you will experience what William Wordsworth called “a happy stillness of mind.” (Page 27, The Silva Method).
Think of this as a journey within your mind. Each day you will be getting better and better, mentally stronger and stronger, and remember the quote we opened this episode with?
“Once we learn to use our mind to train it, it will do some astounding things for us, you will soon see.” (Jose Silva)
TO REVIEW PART 1 of THE SILVA METHOD:
We covered:
✔ CH 1- Using More of Our Mind in Special Ways: An Introduction to the Silva Mind Control Method
✔ What this program has done for others.
✔ Ch 2- Meet Jose Silva and learned about his passion for helping others to improve their ability to learn.
✔ Ch 3- How to Meditate: A review of the brain states (BETA,ALPHA,THETA,DELTA).
✔ How to quickly access the ALPHA STATE to improve creativity, and intuition  using the countdown Method.
✔ Using A Mental Screen in Your Mind for Heightened Visualization
✔ It Will Be This Screen That We Will Use to Help Yourself and Others in Future Chapters.
 
SOME FINAL THOUGHTS:
As we close out this episode, I wanted to share that while there are many programs out there, and I’m not here to say that one is better than the next.  If you have studied the father of mindfulness, Jon Kabat-Zinn, you’ll recall that he reminds us that we are already perfect, and that mindfulness is not about “attaining a certain state, (that brings us to this new level of perfection) but that we are already whole and perfect.” Whatever program you are doing now, see if there’s anything we cover that interests you to dive deeper into to further enhance what you are already doing.
And with that, I’ll post the topics in upcoming episodes on the show notes, and I’ll see you in a few days, with EPISODE #162 on Dynamic Meditation and Improving Our Memory.
COMING NEXT:
Episode #162 we will cover
✔ Ch 4- Dynamic Meditation
✔ Ch 5- Improving Memory
 
Episode #163
✔ Ch 6-Speed Learning
✔ Ch 7-Creative Sleep
 
Episode #164
✔ Ch 8-Your Words Have Power
✔ Ch 9-The Power of Imagination
✔ Ch 10-Using Your Mind to Improve Your Health
 
Episode #165
✔ Ch 12- You Can Practice ESP
✔ Ch 13- Form Your Own Practice Group
✔ Ch 14- How to Help Others
Episode #166
✔ Ch 16- A Checklist
✔ Ch 17- A Psychiatrist Works with The Silva Program
✔ Ch 18- Your Self-Esteem Will Soar
✔ Ch 19- Mind Control in the Business World
✔ Ch 20- Where Do We Go from Here?
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] The Silva Mind Control Method https://silvamethod.com/
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #260 with Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram on “Breaking Down the Mindset of the Million Dollar Monk” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/serial-entrepreneur-and-computer-scientist-hasan-ibne-akram-pd-d-on-breaking-down-the-mindset-of-the-million-dollar-monk/
[iii] Think and Grow Rich Book Review with Andrea Samadi
 Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #191 PART 2 on “Thinking Differently and Choosing Faith Over Fear”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-2-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever-by-thinking-differently-and-choosing-faith-over-fear/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #194 PART 4 on “Perfecting the Skills of Organized Planning, Decision-Making, and Persistence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-4-on-perfecting-the-skills-of-organized-planning-decision-making-and-persistence/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 on “The Power of the Mastermind, Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation, and Linking all Parts of Our Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 in Memory of Bob Proctor on “The 15 Principles Behind Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich Book” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
 
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #148 with Dr. James Hardt on his “Biocybernaut Alpha Training” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-james-hardt-of-biocybernaut-alpha-training-on-change-your-brain-waves-change-your-life/
[v] https://40yearsofzen.com/dave/
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #28 with Dr. Daniel Siegel on “Mindsight, the Basis for Social and Emotional Intelligence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/clinical-professor-of-psychiatry-at-the-ucla-school-of-medicine-dr-daniel-siegel-on-mindsight-the-basis-for-social-and-emotional-intelligence/
[vii]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #60 on “The Science Behind a Meditation Practice with a Deep Dive into Dr. Daniel Siegel’s Wheel of Awareness Meditation https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-science-behind-a-meditation-practice-with-a-deep-dive-into-dr-dan-siegel-s-wheel-of-awareness/
[viii] Mind Valley The Silva UltraMind System https://www.mindvalley.com/ultramind/sales?utm_source=google-paid&utm_medium=ocpm&otag=%5Bgg-ads%5D-%5Bvsl%5D-%5B17753276300%5D-%5B%5D-%5B%5D-%5Bsums%5D&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLvitYEzBdYZUiIjVD6DfQhvBjckA4peckfGlr0NpnXnvs0dK2jXTLEaAiZoEALw_wcB
[ix] Mind Valley The Silva UltraMind System https://www.mindvalley.com/ultramind/sales?utm_source=google-paid&utm_medium=ocpm&otag=%5Bgg-ads%5D-%5Bvsl%5D-%5B17753276300%5D-%5B%5D-%5B%5D-%5Bsums%5D&gclid=Cj0KCQiAsoycBhC6ARIsAPPbeLvitYEzBdYZUiIjVD6DfQhvBjckA4peckfGlr0NpnXnvs0dK2jXTLEaAiZoEALw_wcB
[x] Research on The Silva Method https://silvamethod.com/research
[xi] Vishen Lakiani’s Masterclass on The Silva Method https://www.mindvalley.com/ultramind?itm_source=storefront_w2.0&itm_campaign=sums_evergreen_evergreen_sums&otag=storefront_sums&itm_medium=email&itm_content=%5Bwatch_later%5D
 

Serial Entrepreneur and Computer Scientist, Hasan Ibne Akram, Pd. D. on Breaking Down the Mindset of ”The Million Dollar Monk”

“If you’re going to live, leave a legacy. Make a mark on the world that can’t be erased.” Maya Angelou
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/oxdz07FUMOc
 
On this episode we will cover:
✔ How Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram found The Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast, and what resonated with him, with our content.
✔ Why after building 7 companies, Dr. Hasan is looking at leaving a legacy that lasts far beyond this lifetime.
✔ Where Dr. Hasan has been focused in the business world (Brainvincible and Matrickz) and why he wants to help others to achieve financial freedom.
✔ For the man known to be "The Most Disciplined Man in Germany" what discipline means to him.
✔ What he thinks discipline can do for someone over long periods of time.
✔ What he cautions us about with being tied to the outcomes of our daily results.
✔ How this book he came across when he was 16 (that I also read) completely changed who he was, increased his self-esteem and skyrocketed his success in business and life.
✔ How he thinks people like Edison, Einstein and Michael Jackson used the principles in this book, to reach breakthrough levels in their life and work.
✔ About the strangest longevity strategy he's ever heard!
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. It’s probably taken me 3 and a half years  of hosting this podcast, (looking back now) to see how much these weekly interviews have expanded my own self-awareness by picking the brains of some of the most brilliant minds on the planet in high performance, connecting their strategies to the most current brain research, and then sharing what I’m learning with you here on the podcast. If our results really are tied back to our level of awareness, then it makes sense to me that we keep sharing the success secrets, used by those who have risen to the top, with the goal that we can ALL do the same, and take our results to those higher levels of achievement.
For today’s EPISODE #260, we will be speaking with a serial entrepreneur from Munich, Germany, Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram[i], someone who has been obsessed with high performance and biohacking for years. Since 2005, he’s created disruptive companies in multiple industries (automotive with his company Matrickz[ii], brain and performance, with his company Brainvincible[iii], and real estate to name a few) that are changing the way we live, think, and work. Dr. Hasan reached out to me as he had been enjoying our podcast, and wanted to share his perspective and journey, that he thought could bring value to our audience and I agreed.
I watched a few of his other interviews, and one that he did a year ago, with Craig Ballantyne[iv] (who’s a well-known business coach and entrepreneur from my hometown, Toronto, Canada)  called “The Millionaire Monk’s Abundance Formula[v]” stuck out to me, so I listened to it. It was here that I learned Dr. Hasan and I have a lot of our influencers in common that he mentioned opened his mind to the possibilities that exist when you fully optimize the power of your brain and mind.
The program he created, Brainvincible helps those in schools, sports or the workplace to improve their communication and creativity skills, helps athletes to optimize their skills and abilities to achieve precision and regeneration, as well as helping students to improve their study habits to achieve higher grades.  I had to look at who Dr. Hasan studied, and what motivated him to create a course like this, and low and behold, Dr. Hasan, from Munich, Germany, took the same course that I took many years ago, where we both learned how to use the power of visualization to create what we wanted in our life, and use our imagination to solve problems.  Dr. Hasan learned about The Silva Method[vi] when he was 16 and I came across this method while working in the seminar industry, and used it in many different ways over the years. Dr. Hasan used this method to skyrocket his grades and self-confidence, and years later he began searching for ways to further enhance his brain’s capacities.
I can’t wait to ask Dr. Hasan about his unique perspective after he’s dedicated years of study to bio-hacking to improve performance, with some of the most unique brain-training strategies I’ve ever come across. Let’s meet Dr. Hasan Akram, who’s been called “Germany’s Most Disciplined Man” and learn from his experience, to see how we can further improve our own brain’s capacity, and skyrocket our results to new heights.
Welcome Dr. Hasan, it’s incredible to meet you.
INTRO Q: Dr. Hasan, I feel like we are kindred souls, even though this is just our second time meeting. When I listened to your interview with Craig Ballantyne, who you mentioned is from my hometown, I felt instantly connected, with everything you were saying, from where you began to see the power of your mind and brain with The Silva Program, to Dave Asprey’s Biohacking, to even your practice of using the early morning time to find answers to questions—I thought, this guy seems like me (except I don’t run 4 companies). I’ve got to ask you, when you found our podcast, what resonated with you, and our content, enough that you took the time to send me a note?
I’m very glad you did. It’s been nothing short of transformational hearing what you have created, from very humble beginnings, using many of the strategies we’ve been talking about on this podcast.
It’s clear from your background that there’s a lot we can all learn from your experiences. Instead of starting with where this all began for you, I wonder if we could connect the dots, looking backwards and explore some of your best success secrets that could help our audience, myself included?
Q1: So here you are, you’ve built 4 successful companies, (CORRECTION: Dr. Hasan has built 7 companies) and then I heard you say that you want to help people beyond your lifetime. This is an incredible legacy to leave, but I wonder, looking back now, at what point were you clear with your purpose, and the legacy that you want to leave? And what is your legacy?
There’s more to what we are doing here than the money we make, or the things we can buy with it.
Can you give an overview of your businesses so we can all get an idea of what you have built with Brainvincible[vii] and Matrickz?[viii] And have I missed something that you’ve created that’s important to highlight?
Q2: My next question is about discipline. I love watching people who have this trait. I heard it mentioned the other day and I wrote it down, knowing it was important to take a closer look at its meaning. Then I saw it again, as I was interviewing Friederike Fabritius (from Germany) on EPISODE #258[ix], she hit the Wall Street Journal’s Best Selling List for business books, and a couple of books under hers was Ryan Holiday’s book, Discipline is Destiny: The Power of Self-Control[x]. Then I saw that you were referred to as Germany’s “most disciplined man.”
What has this word meant for you over the years, and what do you think is possible for someone who can execute discipline over a long period of time?
Q2B: I know that doing the same thing day in and out can get boring, and difficult. It’s the way many people’s days go if they are in sales, or looking for their next breakthrough. What do you think leads to those jumps in results that we see that took years of work, and finally snowball into a huge success story, but many people might think “oh that person was just lucky” if they hadn’t seen the years of blood, sweat and tears behind the scenes? How have you seen leaps in results occur within your companies, and is there something you would caution us against from being tied to the outcome of our results every day?
Q3: Can we go back to your childhood now, and what your mindset was like back then? I saw that we both studied The Silva Method. Jose Silva’s methods were an integral part of many of the courses I studied over the years.  How did this program help you back then, (maybe beginning with confidence-building) and how have you incorporated these ideas into the programs you’ve created?
Q3B: I just asked Friederike Fabritius about where people get these “flashes of insight” and how science ties to this concept,  and she explained when we are relaxed, we can into the Alpha Brain State, just like the Silva Method taught us.  
I’ve been looking for a simple way to explain how these insights occur in the brain, and I’ve heard you share how important that early morning time of 3am-4am is. How have some famous people we know, (like Thomas Edison, or Einstein), used this time to solve their greatest scientific problems, and how could ANYONE use this time period to gain answers to questions or problems they want to solve?
Q4: Like you, I’m a huge Dave Asprey[xi] fan, the Father of Biohacking, and follow his podcast and his work over the years. What was it about his work that you say changed your life?
Q4B: Dr. Hasan, all of this stuff we’ve been talking about can seem way out there. You know, solving big problems in the alpha brain state at 3am, or biohacking our health and increasing our longevity. I’ll never forget where I was on the freeway when I heard Dr. David Sinclair say he could “make a mouse out of stem cells” on Dave Asprey’s podcast. I had to stop and think “wait, what did he just say?”
Q4C: A lot of the tools and strategies I’m sharing on this podcast are not strategies that were accepted in the workplace 20 years ago, but advancements in science can show us how they can be beneficial today.  What would be the strangest, but most productive strategy you’ve come across over the years?
Q5: What would be your final thoughts or your message for those listening who are building something? What mindset should we all embrace when starting something from nothing to hit the high levels of achievement you’ve hit?
Q6: Is there anything important I’ve missed?
Dr. Hasan, it’s been incredible meeting you, and learning about your work. I’m so grateful to have found you, and you’ve just made the world a smaller place as we connected over our podcast, from the other side of the world. Your message is inspiring, uplifting and helpful, for all of us who might be looking for some new and refreshing ideas to help us finish the last quarter of our year on strong footing, and launch us into a successful 2023. Thank you for your time and knowledge today!
FINAL THOUGHTS
Some final thoughts at the end of this episode, I had no idea that Dr. Hasan would expand my level of awareness with some areas my mind has never gone before. If you want to learn more from Dr. Hasan’s company’s, I have put links in the show notes to follow his work, his Brainvincible programs and nootropic that I am trying, and where you can find his book, The Million Dollar Monk. Prior to speaking with Dr. Hasan, I didn’t realize he had started 7 companies, (I thought it was 4!) but what was interesting is that this was not uncommon with people I met in the seminar industry. Most people who I met back in those early days did what they loved in the day, whether they were truck drivers, teachers, or working some sort of corporate job, they all did something they enjoyed, but had other business ideas that they ran outside of what they spent their days doing. Dr. Hasan challenged me to think there isn’t a limit to how many “sources of income” we can create but that in this quest for helping others with whatever it is that we do, to not be tied to our outcomes (that will come with time) and while we are putting in the daily effort, enjoying whatever it is that we do with our day, that we can also put an emphasis on our relationships and health, because science is revealing that many of the most common chronic diseases are “lifestyle diseases” and are reversible. Something I’m going to keep studying and learning more about, so we can all move our needle towards health and wellness, and healthy relationships, to enjoy not just this year, but for many years to come.
And with that, I’ll see you a bit later this week, for Brain Fact Friday, where I will share what exactly The Silva Method is, and how you can use it in your daily life. See you then.
FOLLOW DR. HASAN IBNE AKRAM
Instagram Brainvincible Nootropic https://www.instagram.com/brainvinciblegmbh/
Matrickz Daily Tech Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/matrickz-daily-tech/id1490915309
Autonomous Vehicle Safety and Security Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/evolution-automotive-advancements-in-industry-2020/id1449184734?i=1000474441158
The Million Dollar Monk Website: https://themilliondollarmonk.com/
The Million Dollar Monk Book on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Monk-Spiritual-Entrepreneurial/dp/1737929805/ref=tmm_hrd_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1667496609&sr=8-1
Brainvincible Daytime Nootropic: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07T1DPKNT?ref=myi_title_dp
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
How Science Discovered The Silva Method https://www.silva.nl/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/science-discovers-the-silva-method.pdf
Dave Asprey 40 Years of Zen https://40yearsofzen.com/dave/
REFERENCES:
[i] The Million Dollar Monk by Dr. Hasan Ibnr Akram Published Nov. 9th, 2021  https://www.amazon.com/Million-Dollar-Monk-Spiritual-Entreprenuerial-ebook/dp/B09LHR83TR/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1669135056&sr=8-1
[ii] https://www.matrickz.de/en/home.html
[iii] https://brainvincible.com/about/
[iv] https://www.craigballantyne.com/about/
[v] “The Millionaire Mon’s Abundance Formula[v]” Dr. Hasan Ibne Akram with Craig Ballantyne https://www.earlytorise.com/212-the-millionaire-monks-abundance-formula-how-to-find-your-passion-purpose-and-motivation/
[vi] The Silva Method https://www.audible.com/pd/The-Silva-Mind-Control-Method-of-Mental-Dynamics-Audiobook/B0038EX534?source_code=GO1GB547041122911G&gclid=CjwKCAiAjs2bBhACEiwALTBWZTnfUfB3QDDXIgJvcVhjOFuS5Mf3HrnZnviFsh0tpaqjEU8tt3lA4hoCx1cQAvD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds
[vii] https://brainvincible.com/about/
[viii] https://www.matrickz.de/en/home.html
[ix] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#258 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Brain-Friendly Workplace”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/neuroscientistwallstreet-journalbestselling-authorfriederike-fabritius-onhernew-bookthe-brainfriendly-workplacewhy-talented-peoplequitand-how-tomake/
[x] Discipline is Destiny by Ryan Holiday Published Sept. 27, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Discipline-Destiny-Power-Self-Control-Virtues-ebook/dp/B09PB1SB72/ref=sr_1_1?gclid=CjwKCAiAjs2bBhACEiwALTBWZUoeFX3MnNVRB4QOWsUg1uvIUKq9Pkxz6Bb7s2yOtYcJsuXRBQSt1xoCds0QAvD_BwE&hvadid=596389425996&hvdev=c&hvlocphy=9030091&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10963384709549795411&hvtargid=kwd-1655571139839&hydadcr=22166_9764349&keywords=discipline+is+destiny&qid=1668545416&sr=8-1
[xi] https://daveasprey.com/about/
 

World Record Holder, Mike Van Theilen, Ph.D. on ”The Keys to Your Success: Optimizing Productivity and Focus”

“One can only perform at maximum potential when in optimal health. Optimal health can easily be obtained and maintained.” --Dr. Mike Van Thielen, whose mission is to help those who really and truly want to regain their health and live longer. Dr. Mike, has written many books[i], in the field of health, wellness, productivity, and biohacking, that all cover important topics that I know we are all interested in on this podcast.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY0nOaiQVFc 
On this episode we will learn: 
✔ Some of the secrets to Dr. Mike's success as a World Record Holder (swimming).
✔ How he learned to optimize his productivity and focus to achieve higher levels of success/laser focus in school/sports/work.
✔ Why he believes "failure is not an option" and why he doesn't practice one of Michael Phelp's training secrets.
✔ Advice he would offer to anyone looking to make an explosive leap with their results.
✔ How to develop discipline.
✔ The importance of knowing your purpose, and discovering what you are passionate about in life.
✔ The role of dopamine as it relates to focus and concentration.
✔ Forward thinking preventative health and why it's important for everyone to put their health first.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their research, books, ideas and resources to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or in the corporate environment.
As a podcast host, I do come across many people, in different areas of the world, and to stay focused, I do stick to a certain theme each season, or I’d be all over the place with researching guests and questions. For this season, we are focused on brain health as it relates to learning, and I’m looking to show how important an understanding of our brain is, for our results and productivity.
When I came across Dr. Mike’s work, I didn’t even read all of his credentials, as I saw two things that caught my eye. He was the assistant coach and therapist for the Belgian Olympic swim team for the Olympic Games in Atlanta in 1996. Dr. Mike himself is a current World Record Holder in swimming[ii]. He also holds 28 U.S. National Titles and 2 YMCA National records. He is a proud member of the exclusive WSA – World Sports Alumni, holds a PhD in Holistic Nutrition and is also the Founder of Health Freedom movement. He’s a sought-after speaker who has often shared the stage with celebrities who I’ve met during my time in the motivational speaking industry, like Les Brown, Brian Tracy, and Darren Hardy, owner of Success Magazine.
He’s also an entrepreneur with vast business experience and a proven track record of establishing and developing successful business operations. Dr. Mike owned several anti-aging clinics in central and northeast Florida and was the CEO of an innovative stem cell clinic, treating top athletes including NFL players and heavyweight boxing champions.Along with his successful career he has managed to be a philanthropist by raising money through many charity events to those who need it most.
While I speak often about my time in the motivational speaking industry on this podcast, I haven’t mentioned that I spent many of my high school years teaching swimming lessons to pay for my University degree, and would watch these two Belgium swim coaches who would come in every Saturday morning, at the crack of dawn, and run the most incredible swim practices that I’ve ever seen. They had these kids zipping up and down the lanes. I always wondered what was their secret for success (like the ideas that I’m gathering here now on this podcast years later) and I would often watch these coaches, wondering what they were doing differently from the others. When I saw that Dr. Mike is from Belgium, I wondered where his passion to succeed began.
Let’s meet Dr. Mike Thielen, where we’ll narrow down on some questions for him, based on all of the books he has published, and with his upcoming book, The Keys to Your Success, and see what secrets he will share with us on the importance of our health, our brain, and breaking through to new levels of achievement.
 
Welcome Dr. Mike Thielen, it’s incredible to meet you after I was blown away by all of your credentials while researching your work.
Intro Q: Dr. Mike, I like to open with a question that ties all of your work together, and this podcast is focused on providing the most current brain research to optimize results in our school, sport environments, and modern workplaces, I wanted to ask you something that covers all these areas. With all that you’ve accomplished, it’s clear you are doing something different, that has clearly set you apart from the rest. When did you notice you were doing things differently to reach the high levels you have reached (sports and business) and who taught you these important life-success hacks?
Intro B: Why is failure not an option for you?
Q1: Since most of us see the value in putting our health first these days, especially after the Pandemic, can you share your secret for “how to think faster, move quicker, and become laser focused to become a top athlete?” I know your answer will help all of us with whatever it is we are working on.
After reviewing your website, I was moved. It’s not often that a person’s website can grab your attention, and capture it. I watched your races, and was captivated. You must have incredible retention rates! That aside, I wrote down “failure is not an option” after reviewing your work. What does this phrase mean to you, and how could it help someone going after something important to them this year?
Q1B: Was there a recipe you could share for hitting the World Record in swimming? If someone is looking to make a Leap with their results (I’m a huge fan of Price Pritcett’s You2 Book[iii]) or an explosive jump in their results, what would you tell them?
Q1C: Have you ever focused or visualized on how you would handle failure, like Michael Phelps has been known to do?
Q2: The other day, I wrote down the words “focus”  and “disciple” as something to look deeper into. What do you do to improve your focus and get more completed in less time?
Q2B:  Where does discipline come in for you? What does this word mean to you?
Q3: After 6 years of working in the motivational speaking industry (I did sales for Bob Proctor), my eye was caught with your connection to your time sharing the stage with Les Brown, Brian Tracy, and Darren Hardy, owner
of Success Magazine. This industry changed my thinking, and I love meeting people who have had the opportunity to experience the “behind the scenes” that no one gets to see. Can you share a story of a time that changed YOUR thinking while you were speaking and changing others? 
Q4: We just did an interview with Friederike Fabritius, whose book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace talks about different brain signatures, and how to use them to optimize our happiness and productivity in the workplace. One of the brain signatures that she mentioned was someone who had a high dopamine neurosignature. It’s something I noticed I needed to pay attention to creating as I can only sit and work at my desk after exercise that boosts the chemicals I need to focus. What are some ways (other than exercise) that you know of where we can access the Dopamine in our brain to improve our concentration, motivation and drive with our work, and life?
Q5: I’m sure by now most people have seen the movie, Limitless[iv], and I would take a pill if I knew it wouldn’t harm my brain, to improve mental focus and physical performance. With over 3 decades working with best optimal health practices, anti-aging and regenerative medicine, sports performance, nutrition and supplementation, and biohacking strategies helping people to regain control of their health, what would you suggest that everyone know in this area of preventative health?
Q6: What are you doing with STEM cells that you cover in your book STEM CELLS 101[v] and how could this help people with chronic pain or healing injuries? I’m asking as my husband and I looked at STEM CELLS as a business years ago, but we didn’t invest in it. Now I wonder what we missed out on especially as we are aging and have weird pains all over, or even peripheral neuropathy in our hands every morning. What results is your company seeing with STEM cells?
6B: How did you decide which book to write next?
Q7: Over the years,  I learned how much of my results are mental. It begins from the minute I open my eyes, to the seconds before I go to sleep. But I’ve used this training for productivity in the workplace. You’ve done it in many places, but specifically as an athlete. What percentage of winning as a sports athlete is mental and what percentage is physical? Is it a different formula for each sport?
Q8: I’m always looking for tips to improve cognition that leads to improving results. I even went to Amen Clinics to get a brain scan to see what areas of my brain my husband and I could improve in the next 50 years of our lifetime. With your experience as an athlete, coach and business leader, I wonder, how do you think we can improve our ability to think faster, move quicker, and become laser focused, to become the best that we can as an athlete or in the workplace?
Q8B: Does what you suggest change if we want to be the best at sales? Or as a coach or teacher?
Q9: Is there anything important that I’ve missed? Your work as Medical Director at ClariGenZ Health or your new book? What are you focused on now?
Dr. Mike, I want to thank you very much for taking the time to come on our podcast. I was moved to a whole new level when I watched the videos of you on your website hitting those world records. I think it hit a chord for me because I want everyone to hit their own world record. You’ve accomplished so much in your lifetime, personally, documented your journey in your books, and I wonder, what else would you like to accomplish? What’s next for you? I saw you have a NEW book coming out The Keys to Your Success that focuses on stress reduction.
For people who want to reach you, for any of your services, is the best place your website https://mvtonline.com/
Thank you Dr. Mike. I’ve got quite a book list to complete now, but will read them all, and do appreciate the time you have spent with me here, to help me and our audience reach higher levels with whatever it is we are working on.
I hope we all take away many AHA moments from you—including “Failure is not an option.”
FINAL THOUGHTS
There was a lot to think about for me during this episode with Dr. Mike, and it might be because we just covered Peak Performance with Friederike on our last episode, but I’m always looking for ways we can all move the needle closer towards our goals. If you do want to try his supplement, go to TrySmartPill.com and you can put your address in for a free trial. You would just need to pay $4.99 for shipping. I am not an affiliate for this product and just a reminder to always consult your doctor when trying anything new. We are not medical doctors offering advice, but sharing what is working for others. I do plan to try the supplement myself as writing these episodes each week doesn’t seem to be getting easier as I’m getting older. I’m pretty clear on what breaks my focus, so to keep producing episodes that are helpful, meaningful and useful to you, I’ll try anything to give me that edge. I’ll do a follow up later down the line on this episode.
If you do want to reach out to Dr. Mike and take him up on a 20 minute zoom session, you can find that link on the home page of his website. The incredible part of doing these podcasts, is that I feel like I’m getting free coaching, learning valuable life lessons and information, and then I share it with you, wherever you live in the world. Then it’s up to you if you want to dive deeper into the work of the guests I share.
Next week, I’ll be speaking with someone who is known as “the most disciplined man in Germany” who found our podcast on YouTube, and we’ve connected as his work and pathway in life, closely connects with mine. He’s just running 4 businesses globally, but the insights he will share on our interview, will take all of our thinking to new heights, revealing many of the secrets we’ve both learned over the years, that have shaped our lives and careers in different ways. We can now show how these success secrets are backed by science.
And with that in mind, have a good weekend, and will see you next week.  
MORE ABOUT DR. MIKE
Dr. Mike is the Medical Director at ClariGenZ Health, an innovative medical company with a new pill providing all the benefits of Adderall without any of the harmful side effects. He is also a treating physician for Boston Neuro Pain and Psych Centers, helping tens of thousands of patients with chronic pain and mental health conditions.
I’ve added a screen shot of his credentials from his website, as he done so much, in many different areas, and I really had my work cut out for me while researching Dr. Mike, as he’s written so many books[vi], in the field of health, wellness, productivity, and biohacking, that all cover important topics that I know we are all interested in on this podcast.
RESOURCES:
ClariGenZ Focus Plus https://www.clarigenz.com/products/clarigenz-focus-plus?utm_source=google_ads&utm_medium=performance_max&utm_campaign=focus_plus_tof&utm_source=google&utm_medium=paid&utm_campaign=17289983468&utm_content=&utm_term=&gadid=&gclid=Cj0KCQiA1NebBhDDARIsAANiDD1n1JPfgDjvCazOByD6D2DrgfS_UvkRUBaI0xEe83yl7hY8ICFOXdcaAjpWEALw_wcB
The Pomodoro Technique Actually Works by Kat Boogaard Published Jan. 24, 2022 https://www.themuse.com/amp/advice/take-it-from-someone-who-hates-productivity-hacksthe-pomodoro-technique-actually-works
Michael Phelps on Preparing for the Worst  by Sarah Davis https://medium.com/@sarah_j_davis/michael-phelps-shows-why-we-should-prepare-for-the-worst-59ba2a401c60
CONNECT WITH DR. MIKE
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikevanthielenphd/
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/clarigenz/?hl=en
ClariGenZ https://www.clarigenz.com/
Website https://mvtonline.com/
FREE TRIAL OF FOCUS PLUS+ www.trysmartpill.com
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] https://mvtonline.com/author
[ii] https://mvtonline.com/world-record-holder
[iii] Price Pritchett You2 https://www.pritchettyou2.com/?gclid=CjwKCAiA68ebBhB-EiwALVC-NqYJlRCr03rhA3EDXpsGE2d_S8zK4BmWy_95QwWnhuCGdsYdnSsSjRoCo-AQAvD_BwE
[iv] https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1219289/
[v] Stem Cells 101 by Dr. Mike Van Thielsen
[vi] https://mvtonline.com/author
 

Neuroscientist, Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Author, Friederike Fabritius on her NEW book ”The Brain-Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Quit and How to Make Them Stay”

"The old corporate paradigm of extreme hours, little sleep, endless meetings, and nonstop travel is dead. No one wants to go back to that. It's bad for performance and for everyone's mental and physical health. The future of business is hybrid and requires a flexible new paradigm that helps everyone reach peak performance: the brain-friendly workplace." (Friederike Fabritius)
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/Mmv9PmuioFs
On this episode we will learn: 
✔ How to create a workplace of the future. A Brain-Friendly Workplace.
✔ How an understanding our brain-type, can help us to be happier and more productive in the workplace.
✔ What is causing the "Neuro-Gap" and why is it important to have different brain-types represented at the higher levels of corporations or organizations.
✔ How can someone with ambition and persistence, move forward into a management position? What should they be prepared to show if their brain-type isn't often represented in these higher level positions?
✔ What is lateral or creative thinking, versus linear thinking, and why are both important in the workplace?
✔ Where do those "flashes of insight" come from, that creative people can see? Can science prove this type of thinking to be useful?
✔ What are the 4 brain types, or neurosignatures, and how can we be sure we understand them for ourselves, and for others?
✔ Why is understanding our optimal level of stress important for our workplace productivity and happiness?
✔ An example of when Friederike used her neurosignature under pressure.
✔ What to expect from some of the interviews in The Brain-Friendly Workplace
✔ An important tip from John Medina on the "power problem" that happens at the brain level, for people in positions of leadership.
 
 
FOLLOW FRIEDERIKE FABRITIUS
Website https://friederikefabritius.com/
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/friederikefabritius/
Twitter https://twitter.com/FriederikeFab
YouTube https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8wD4PRM2RablIfUVDzT2WA
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/FriederikeFabritius
Amazon: www.amazon.com/author/friederikefabritius
SEE PAST NEUROSCIENCE MEETS SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL LEARNING PODCAST EPISODES https://www.achieveit360.com/episodes/
There’s much more to this new workplace, overriding old, outdated paradigms, than meets the eye, and Friederike Fabritius’s NEW book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace is FULL of ideas to help all of us adapt our workplace, so that our brains will work at their best.  
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their research, books, ideas and resources to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or in the corporate environment. Be sure to listen to the EPISODE prior to this one, #257, as I do cover a DEEP DIVE to put us all in the right mind-set, or should I say, brain-set, for today’s interview.
I’m so very excited for today’s interview, EPISODE #258, as we have a returning guest, from one of our early episodes, #27[i], Friederike Fabritius, all the way from Germany, who dove deep into her book, The Leading Brain: Neuroscience Hacks to Work Smarter, Better, Happier when we first launched our podcast back in 2019. What was crazy about finding Friederike back then, is that I found her on YouTube, from a presentation she did on Leadership and the Brain, and it really helped me to understand the chemicals involved in the brain during peak performance, and what it looks like when the brain is involved in FLOW, which is something I think we all want to master.
What Friederike might not know, is that I watched her presentation many times over, back in 2017, taking notes OVER my notes, as it helped me to understand why people perform the way they do at work, why some people excel, and others seem to be missing something, and why certain people gravitate towards certain positions based on the chemicals predominantly in their brain. What became clear to me from this diagram, from this presentation where you can watch Friederike[ii], on “Fun, Fear and Focus” is that some positions in the workplace (at the beginning of the curve) are routine, and require people to do the same thing every day, (and some people are wired this way) but for those who are not, they will find themselves to be under-challenged and bored, without a brain strategy in place. Similarly, some positions that require NEW daily challenges are designed for those workers who enjoy constantly putting out fires and would be bored if their work was routine, the same way every day, but these positions often lead to burnout, without a brain strategy in place.
We ALL need to find our optimal stress point, so that our work challenges us just the right amount, leading us to that place of optimal workplace happiness. I could see clearly with this example, why I was very unhappy when I left my “exciting” job in field sales, covering Higher Education/University Campuses in the southwest region, moving to “inside” sales where I sat at a desk, and was bored and under-challenged until I figured out that I needed to offset my desk time, with exercise.
This diagram also comes into my mind when I see someone working very hard, or burning the candle at both ends, as Friederike cautioned that this type of work pattern isn’t sustainable and can lead to depression, burnout and even changing the brain to where people under these high levels of stress begin to see stress in places where there isn’t any, or experience “hyper arousal.”
 
I’m always looking for productivity tips that we can all use, and it’s clear that stress in our workplaces is at an all-time high, globally. We know that “2/3 of people report being stressed at work, to the point they can’t sleep at night”[iii]  so I was thrilled to see that Friederike’s new book was focused on changing the workplace, not the employee, to create the best environment for happiness and productivity.
Let’s welcome back, returning guest, and my friend from EP #27 Friederike Fabritius[iv], a neuroscientist, author and public speaker, who works with leaders to help them to understand how their brain works, and like I mentioned from that first presentation I saw with high level business executives, she will share how we can all find our optimal stress points,  with the secrets from her NEWLY released book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace that hit #3 on The Wall Street Journal Best-Selling Books List, and remains on this list today, and show us how we can all adapt our workplaces, for optimal productivity, health and happiness.  
Welcome back Friederike! It’s incredible to see you again. Congratulations on your new book hitting the Wall Street Journal’s Best-Selling List!! That’s AWESOME!!
INTRO Q: So, I was reading your book, and you know, I feel like we can think we know someone, but when you read their book, you get a whole new layer of understanding behind someone with knowledge you might not have known before. I felt like I knew you fairly well from studying everything I could find online about your work, interviewing you with your first book back on EP #27, and then I’m reading your NEW book, preparing for this interview, and I come to the part in the Introduction on “Happy to Be Fired” and I knew you came from the Max Plank Institute[v] where all the Nobel prize winners came from, but I had no idea why you left. Your story gave me so much insight into my own neurosignature, or what I need to be happy with work, and I think this understanding is a HUGE missing link in the workplace. Can we start with why you were “Happy to be Fired” and why understanding our brain is the first step towards being happy with our work?
Q1:. My next question is kind of long, but it will help set up how to Address the Neuro-Gap from Chapter 1 of your book. Can I share how I see the “Neuro-Gap?”
I’m always learning something, and trying to make connections with this learning. Last week I took this fascinating course called “How to Think Like an FBI Profiler”[vi] with Special Agent John Douglas who they created the Netflix Series Mindhunter after his cases. I learned so much from him, but one part that stuck out to me was he spoke about how he brought creativity, intuition, keeping an open mind to solving his cases, something that the FBI lacked before he came on board because women were under-represented in the FBI.[vii] He talked about solving a case when a female investigator said she wanted to go with her gut, and blow up a note from a murderer and place it on a billboard to see if anyone would recognize the writing.  Creative, out of the box thinking wasn’t a usual strategy within the male dominated FBI agents, but he was known for his out of the box thinking, and went with this woman’s idea, and this method is how they identified their criminal and were able to put him behind bars. Is this what you call “The Neuro-Gap?” (overrepresentation of high dopamine/high testosterone brain systems, and systems thinking, at the executive level) that would have ignored this type of creative thinking to solve problems that came from this one female agent?
Q1B: Of course, I saw the Neuro-Gap in the corporate world when I was there. My creative, intuitive ideas for building curriculum that covered social and emotional learning connected to neuroscience was something that our curriculum team couldn’t even fathom 13 years ago, when I worked in the publishing field, so I had to leave, and highlight this space on this podcast years later. What about others in different fields? Women in sports? Female actors? Or even like the example I used with female agents in the FBI? How do you see change occurring here in our present-day workplaces? Not everyone can just quit and start over like we did. How can people move forward if their brain signature is not what’s usually at the top?
Q1C: Can you give some examples of lateral thinking vs linear or systems thinking and perhaps ways that you’ve seen creative thinking emerge in The Brain-Friendly Workplace? I was definitely told my ideas were lateral. Can you explain this type of thinking and why it’s important to embrace people who think this way in the workplace?
Q1D: Where do these flashes of insight come from? Can science give us some insight to why some people can “see” things that others might think to be crazy?
Q2: What’s a quick and simple way to discover what our neurosignature is? I know that my brain is high with dopamine, as I get bored easily, need autonomy, and challenge on a daily basis, and there’s also this intuitive, creative side to me, that’s the estrogen/oxytocin signature that I think is the same as yours? How can we pinpoint what our signature is?
IMAGE CREDIT: Carolin Nischwitz
Q2B: I had to laugh at the Testosterone Signature, because it’s my husband to a “t.” Not to name call or anything, but I would take out direct and put the word that starts with an a in there. It’s actually something I admire in strong people (male or female) because I wish I was like this more myself. The strong drive to succeed at any cost even if they come off as being abrupt, I like people who are decisive and direct. You say that 1/3 of women have a high testosterone brain, yet women don’t make up 1/3 of corporate leaders. How would you suggest women with this neurosignature embrace their brain and move into leadership positions to change this in the future?
Q3: Can we review your incredible presentation that I mention in the backstory, where I first found your work back in 2017 with what we should all know and understand about ourselves, to achieve peak performance/find our optimal stress point?
Q4: When I got to Chapter 4 of your book, and you were talking about your first-ever TEDx talk, I had to look through my LinkedIn messages, as I thought I remembered chatting with you just BEFORE you went onstage for that event as we were planning our first interview, and you mentioned that your technology had failed.  How did your neurosignature help you in this situation? This has been the STORY of 2022 for me.
Q5: Your book is something I’m going to be studying for some time. I could ask you a question on each chapter, each interview, and each brain tip but we’d be here for a long time. I loved seeing some of the researchers I most admire, like Dr. Andrew Huberman, from Stanford, and Mathew Walker, the Sleep Diplomat, but I most loved seeing your interview with John Medina, as I remember you asking me for his contact information. I was thrilled to see him in there in Chapter 7 and so glad you were able to reach and connect with him. I forgot how absolutely funny  he can be, but also, he covers a serious topic, of some brain “power problems” that I think are important to understand for those in positions of leadership. What would be one “power problem” John Medina mentioned, and how can those in leadership positions mitigate this problem?
NOTE: Andrea asked John Medina if there's a way he would suggest this "power problem" could be mitigated. He said:
"You pose a great question, and I have one piece of bad news and two pieces of good news to share in response. To date, there is no randomized blinded trial of which I am aware that has been shown to successfully force someone to understand the consequences of their actions, especially when they think normal rules don’t apply to them. 
The first piece of good news is that the research world isn’t clueless about the issue. Connecting one’s behaviors to the consequences of those behaviors is the hallmark of a cognitive gadget called executive function. There is a wealth of solid behavioral work discussing how to improve executive function. 
The second piece of good news concerns the concept of prophylactic education, essentially warning people in advance of what is likely to happen to them if they’re not careful. Prophylactic education can go along way towards neutralizing certain bad behaviors, from reducing the number of medical malpractice lawsuits in surgical units to reducing sexism in the workplace." John Medina
This was exactly what Friederike suggested as a solution. Make people aware of the consequences of their actions. John Medina called this "prophylactic education."
Q6: Is there anything important I’ve missed?
Friederike, I want to thank you very much for coming back on the podcast for a second time, and for creating such an engaging and important book that I know will help all of us to become happier in the workplace. For people who want to reach you, is the best place your website? Thank you! 
About The Brain-Friendly Workplace
The Brain-Friendly Workplace[viii] envisions a new kind of office where thought-diversity is acknowledged, invited, and supported. Complementing racial and gender diversity, and coinciding with shifting employee trends following the Great Resignation and remote work revolution, “diversity of mind” can lead to better employee retention, higher innovation and creativity, and increased sales. 
In The Brain-Friendly Workplace, Friederike Fabritius makes the case for a radically different kind of environment that recognizes the unique “neurosignature” of each person and supports employee wellbeing by shifting from “hustle” to “outcome” culture. These cultural and environmental changes naturally create pathways for more diverse executive leadership. Especially for women who have long had to choose between high-impact careers and having a family.
Where “lean-in” trainings and countless DEI initiatives have failed to make material differences in corporate diversity, The Brain-Friendly Workplace is a science-backed, field tested approach with proven impact at leading companies like EY (formerly Ernst & Young), thyssenkrupp, and Boston Consulting Group. Rather than approaching diversity from a numbers perspective, Fabritius demonstrates that supporting neurodiversity naturally leads to better gender and racial representation at the top. 
THE BRAIN FRIENDLY WORKPLACE https://friederikefabritius.com/books/the-brain-friendly-workplace/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Achieving Peak Performance.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/
[ii] Friederike Fabritius “Neuroleadership: A New Approach” YouTube Published Dec. 11th, 2016 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2g4XhlLZ5ak
[iii] Intro to The Brian Friendly Workplace Published on YouTube September 2022  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=La9yqt0v9f4
[iv] Friederike Fabritius on The Brain-Friendly Workplace  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wI3XxIkNSOQ
[v] Max Plank Institute https://www.mpg.de/institutes
[vi] How to Think Like an FBI Profiler https://www.masterclass.com/classes/john-douglas-teaches-how-to-think-like-an-fbi-profiler/chapters/
[vii] Women Agents in the FBI: In Their Own Words https://www.fbi.gov/video-repository/own-words.mp4/view
[viii] The Brain Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Qui and How to Make Them Stay by Friederike Fabritius Published Oct. 11th, 2022  https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Friendly-Workplace-Talented-People-Quit/dp/1538159538/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3NVHQ2JCDQ2NP&keywords=brain+friendly+workplace&qid=1667939024&sprefix=brain+friendly+%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-3

Brain Fact Friday: A DEEP DIVE into The Brain-Friendly Workplace by Friederike Fabritius ”Understanding Our Neurosignature for Improved Happiness at Work”

Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results.
On this episode we will cover: 
✔ What are the 4 neurosignatures that Friederike Fabritius identifies in her NEW book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace.
✔ How to use these neurosignatures to improve workplace productivity, happiness and flow.
✔ 3 TIPS for using neurosignatures in YOUR workplace.
✔ Preparing for EPISODE #258 with Friederike Fabritius. 
 
ALL IMAGES FROM THE BRAIN-FRIENDLY WORKPLACE ARE CREDITED TO CAROLIN NISCHWITZ
For this week’s Brain Fact Friday, and Episode #257, I want to cover Friederike Fabritius’s new book The Brain-Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Quit and How to Get Them to Stay[i] as I’ve been reading her book, preparing for our interview Friday morning, and our NEXT episode, and I know I won’t be able to cover everything in one interview. This book is beyond comprehensive and has enough science within it to cover our Brain Fact Fridays for the rest of this year.
Friederike has been carefully writing this book since our last interview EPISODE #27[ii] back in 2019, when we first launched this podcast, and there are many Aha moments, and connections I’ll highlight on the next episode, when we speak with her, but for today’s Brain Fact Friday, I want to cover something important that her book taught me. It’s the title of her book, The Brain Friendly Workplace, that explains what we all need to happy at work. My goal with this episode is to share Friederike’s science-backed brain discovery of the “neurosignature” that she introduces in the introduction of this book, and how we can all use it to increase our awareness, the meaning we create throughout our day, and add a sense of autonomy with our work. Then I’ll share an example that shows how her discovery of the “neurosignature” will highlight what we all need to be successful and happy in the modern workplace, with our brain in mind, and that it’s not about changing the people (with more training) but it’s about changing the workplace.
With this paradigm shift in mind, I’ll get straight to the point here—-
For this week’s Brain Fact Friday, Did YOU KNOW THAT:
We all have our own “neurosignature,” a unique mix of four key brain chemicals that strongly affects our personality and how we process stress and information?”
Once we understand our unique “neurosignature” we can learn how to hit our “optimal stress point” and manipulate our “fun, fear, and focus” which is the recipe for reaching peak performance in the workplace.
In this place of peak performance,  
Ideas will flow. 
You’ll feel energized, inspired, and alive.
You’ll also gain a valuable framework for understanding colleagues and those you interact with their different “neurosignatures.” 
You’ll get more done in less time 
You’ll see why changing the workplace is needed, over expecting employees to change with more training. 
Understanding our unique “neurosignature” is a technique that provides a competitive advantage allowing you work with the flow, rather than against it. 
This is the whole premise of Friederike Fabritius’s NEW book, The Brain Friendly Workplace where she’s created a new vision for the future of our modern workplaces.
What are the 4 Neurosignatures?
Friederike says there are 4 brain systems that we can fall into. Can you recognize yourself? Others you work with? What about those you live with?
THE DOPAMINE NEUROSIGNATURE:
Friederike says that “people high in dopamine are curious, energetic, and future-oriented. Inventors and entrepreneurs tend to have this neurosignature. They get bored easily and are always looking for the next new exciting project.” This one feels like me, as the host of this podcast, thriving with the creation of each episode.
THE TESTOSTERONE NEUROSIGNATURE:
People high in testosterone are tough-minded, direct, and enjoy wielding power. They tend to be analytical and use systems thinking, which involves moving logically from one step to the next to solve a problem, based on a system’s “rules.” They enjoy tinkering with “systems” such as car engines or computers. This signature describes my husband to a “t” and we often joke around about his quality of being direct. I call it something else starting with the letter A—I mean it as a compliment as I do find direct people to be refreshing as they rarely waste time (a pet peeve of mine).
THE ESTROGEN/OXYTOCIN NEUROSIGNATURE:
People high in estrogen are empathetic and good at building personal connections and community. Estrogen increases the secretion of oxytocin, which enhances feelings of bonding and trust. People with this neurosignature excel at nonlinear “lateral thinking,” which involves examining a problem from multiple angles until insights emerge. Lateral thinkers are also good at envisioning long-term implications of a decision. I’m thinking this also seems like me, as I know I’ve been told I think this way, and then there’s this highly intuitive side to me that I tap into as I’m creating these episodes with the goal of helping others, wherever you might be listening in the world.
Are you ALSO noticing that you show up in more than one signature as well?
Psychologist Scott Barry Kauffman, who wrote the foreword of The Brain Friendly Workplace, reminds us that “Neurosignatures are fluid, and they should serve as guidelines, as a helpful framework in understanding people, rather than as categories and boxes to classify people” and he shared how his “testosterone neurosignature is very high (in the morning). But by evening, it’s almost nonexistent.” As you are thinking of what neurosignature you are, take note to how it might be different throughout your day.
THE SEROTONIN NEUROSIGNATURE:
In the final brain system, Friederike says that “people high in serotonin are reliable, detail-oriented, cautious and loyal. They thrive on routine and structure and enjoy consistency and stability.”
What’s YOUR Neurosignature?
Where do you fit in?
While I recognized myself with a dopamine neurosignature, I could also see I fit into the Estrogen/Oxytocin Signature.  While I admire those who naturally possess the Testosterone Signature, I probably try to rock the boat with those with a Serotonin Neurosignature, who are tradition-oriented and cautious, hoping they’ll lean in a bit to some of my crazy adventurous ideas.
How Does This Translate into YOUR Workplace for Increased Happiness and Success?
It’s always easy to look back, connecting the dots backwards, (like Steve Jobs reminds us) but if you asked me what corporate environment I enjoyed the most over my career, or when did I have the most fun with my work, (excluding my time working in the motivation speaking industry where I earned commission sales) I would hands down say that it was when I was operating from the Dopamine Neurosignature, and had fun, was creative, had complete autonomy with my day, was curious, which led to increased self-motivation and high productivity on my end. What job was I doing where I was working with this neurosignature?
I was the happiest was when I was a field sales rep, working with Pearson Education, covering the southwest region of the country, selling books and software to Higher Ed (college/university campuses) and K-12 schools in the 5 States surrounding AZ. Work felt like play to me back then. This job hit all the requirements of my Dopamine Neurosignature but the only problem was that it required me to be on the road 4 days/week, so when I wanted to start a family, I had to leave this brain friendly field sales position, and go to inside sales to stay with the company.
It’s easy to see it all looking back, but I’ll never forget the manager who looked me straight in the eye and said “this is a huge mistake for you.” I’m guessing he didn’t need to know my neurosignature to see that I’d learn to understand what he meant a few years later when it all sunk in.
I noticed the discord when I no longer had the chance to use my creativity, or curiosity in my day, working in this cubicle, that felt sort of like a prison when I was used to the open space of driving on endless open roads, navigating campuses to find my customer’s offices, to suddenly sitting in a small space with just a telephone and computer—my neurosignature went haywire. I wouldn’t have said it was the easiest transition until I figured out how to bring fun and creativity to an office space when our sales team started to go to the gym at lunchtime, breaking us out of our offices, and activating all of our brains mid-day. I’d say this revised work environment was the second most enjoyable corporate environment I’ve ever experienced.
Like Friederike said “change the workplace, not the people.” Our sales team was highly productive and creative with this autonomy and we were all very happy. Here’s my sales team from 2006, all of us with different neurosignatures (some of us were dopamine driven-enjoying the break away from our desks, others were serotonin driven, requesting to go dancing after work, and others testosterone driven—just there for the moment and planning to take over the world, or looking for the next open position in management/leadership). We all worked together, towards a common goal, helping each other to manage our optimal levels of stress, and even without knowing each other’s neurosignatures, we knew what each of us needed to be successful.
“Change the workplace, not the people.”
What Happens if You Don’t Have This Type of Synergy in YOUR Workplace?
The crazy thing that happened to this sales team, is that our workplace changed about 2 years after this photo was taken. Our company boasted of these huge offices that we would all have moving from Scottsdale, right next to the base of Camelback Mountain (where we often hiked together) to Chandler, where back then, was known for their dairy farms and the wonderful scent you could catch in the air if you drove past one of these farms with your car windows open.
Our offices moved and we all lost our synergy. The workplace changed, but not for the better. Management thought replacing our cozy cubicles that looked out to Scottsdale road, and the mountains nearby with a more corporate location (that you can see from the highway if you ever visit AZ). Pearson Education exists on the 101 near the Ray Road exit, but the culture that was created in the  Scottsdale location never made it there.
The people were the same, but the workplace changed for the worse, taking the culture we had built with it. I remember using my creative mind, in our new offices, to change the energy of this location, and presented many forward-thinking ideas that were never received well from the Testosterone-led management team. Even the managers who made the old location a success, tried to change the culture, but something had changed with this new location, that would never be captured again.
There is a solution to this problem, and Friederike captures it in her NEW book.
To Review This Week’s Brain Fact Friday, based on Friederike Fabritius’s book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Quit and How to Get Them to Stay[iii]
DID YOU KNOW THAT: We all have our own “neurosignature,” a unique mix of four key brain chemicals that strongly affects our personality and how we process stress and information?”
Once we understand our unique “neurosignature” we can learn how to hit our “optimal stress point” and manipulate our “fun, fear, and focus” which is the recipe for reaching peak performance in the workplace.
 
HOW DO WE USE OUR NEUROSIGNATURE TO OPTIMIZE PRODUCTIVITY AND HAPPINESS IN OUR WORKPLACE?
The first step of creating a Brain-Friendly Workplace is to recognize your own neurosignature, as well as those you work with, to optimize what each person on your team needs to reach peak performance with their work. I highly suggest reading the entire book, The Brain-Friendly Workplace, as I’ve only scratched the surface of this topic, and be sure to listen to our next episode where Freiderike dives deeper into her book with me.
The next step is to remember that it’s about changing the workplace, not the people, with more training. Think of ways that the workplace can be changed, replacing old ways of thinking (like how many hours you must sit at your desk) with the outcomes you expect employees to achieve. Remember my example of our sales team that left the office every day at lunch to exercise, increasing our productivity, happiness and loyalty to the company.
REMEMBER: When were YOU the happiest with YOUR work? It took me some time to think back to all the workplaces I’ve ever worked in, but the ones where I was the happiest were easy to remember. Through trial and error I now know that I perform best working at a desk if I am able to exercise BEFORE I have to sit for long periods of time. How do you perform best? How do those you work with perform best? How can you use the neurosignature to improve your workplace productivity and happiness?
I’ll leave you with these questions, and will see you on our next episode, with Friederike Fabritius, as we dive into The Brain Friendly Workplace. See you next week. 
REFERENCES:
[i] The Brain Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Qui and How to Make Them Stay by Friederike Fabritius Published Oct. 11th, 2022  https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Friendly-Workplace-Talented-People-Quit/dp/1538159538/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3NVHQ2JCDQ2NP&keywords=brain+friendly+workplace&qid=1667939024&sprefix=brain+friendly+%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-3
[ii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Achieving Peak Performance.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/
[iii] The Brain Friendly Workplace: Why Talented People Qui and How to Make Them Stay by Friederike Fabritius Published Oct. 11th, 2022  https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Friendly-Workplace-Talented-People-Quit/dp/1538159538/ref=sr_1_3?crid=3NVHQ2JCDQ2NP&keywords=brain+friendly+workplace&qid=1667939024&sprefix=brain+friendly+%2Caps%2C213&sr=8-3

Brain Fact Friday: ”Think Like an FBI Profiler: Using the Neuroscience of Curiosity to Improve Learning.”

 
 
“What interests me in life is curiosity, challenges, the good fight with its victories and defeats.”--Paulo Coelho
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. Like you, I’m interested in learning and applying the research, to our everyday life.
On today’s episode #256 and this week’s Brain Fact Friday, I wanted to take what we learned from Dr. Chantel Prat earlier this week on EP#255[i], and her book The Neuroscience of You[ii], and dive a bit deeper to increase our learning with whatever it is we are interested or curious about.  At the end of our interview with Dr. Prat, I shared how much I learned about myself from reading her book, and how learning inspires me (which is why I am motivated to keep producing podcast episodes that can help all of us take our results to new heights—with what we are learning and applying here, and why I’m always looking to fill in the gaps in with my knowledge). Do you know what I mean here? Have you ever found someone who knows something that you don’t know, (you notice the knowledge gap) and then you were motivated, or even energized to glean their knowledge to enhance your life?
I know that each of us will be curious about something in the world and I’m so grateful that you’ve chosen this podcast to learn from, along with me.
I’m always looking to answer the question “What is it that YOU’RE curious about?” so I can create episodes that are helpful, and Chapter 7 of Dr. Prat’s book dives much deeper into the research behind curiosity and the brain, that I know will help you with whatever it is you are working on, or those you hope to motivate around you, but today, my goal to inspire you, even energize you a bit, when I show you WHAT happens in our brain when we are curious, WHY being curious prepares our brain for learning, and how we can use this to inspire those around us to naturally want to learn more.
On this episode we will learn: 
✔ What happens to our brain when we are curious.
✔ Why being curious prepares our brain for learning.
✔ How we can inspire OURSELVES and OTHERS to naturally want to learn more and make learning unforgettable.
Now, just before writing this episode, something caught my eye, and my curiosity was piqued, pulling my attention towards something I found to be interesting. NOTE—this is why it’s important to turn off your phone (or put it away) when you need to focus.  I didn’t do this, and my eye was caught by an ad that was right in line with my area of interest (which is a whole other story how we are all targeted daily to buy things based on what we search for on the internet, or even what we are talking about)  but this ad drew me to a class from Former Special FBI Agent John Douglas (where the Netflix series MindHunter[iii] was created based on his work, and his book MindHunter[iv]). This class, called How to Think Like an FBI Profiler[v] changed how I saw this week’s Brain Fact Friday and I’m grateful that I had a chance to learn something new from being curious. On today’s episode I not only want to cover the psychology and neuroscience of curiosity, and how we can use this trait to improve our learning, but I want to do this through the eyes of an FBI Profiler and what my curiosity helped me to learn.  Former Special Agent John Douglas (and his masterclass) taught me many tips for becoming a MindHunter and recognize the signs of bad people, or ways to avoid violent criminals, but for this week’s Brain Fact Friday, I want to focus on how to use our curious mind to understand ourselves better, with our brain in mind, by profiling OURSELVES first. Once we have a solid understanding of WHO we are, how our own brains are wired, and what drives us to perform on a daily basis, then we can extend our knowledge to improve our understanding of others we live with, work with, or interact with. Like Dr. Prat’s book said, it all begins with “The Neuroscience of You.”
So for this week’s Brain Fact Friday, it’s about YOU.
DID YOU KNOW that “curiosity is a mental state that both precedes and facilitates learning? Put simply, curiosity is the subjective feeling one gets when their brain wants to take in a piece of information in front of them. As a result, the more curious you feel in any given situation, the more prepared your brain is to remember what happens next.” (Chantel Prat, The Neuroscience of You).
“When you explore, and satisfy your curiosity, your brain floods your body with dopamine, which makes you feel happier”[vi] and Mattias Gruber tells us in his TED Talk that “current research says it’s not only intellect that predicts academic achievement, but our levels of curiosity that predict success in school.”[vii]
DID YOU ALSO KNOW “that when we are curious, 2 parts of the brain light up (our midbrain and nucleus accumbens)” (Dr. Gruber)  and these are the SAME areas that light up when we anticipate a reward, like food or money? Dr. Gruber says this is the brain’s “wanting” system which is another way to look at why being curious motivates us to want to learn, driving us to study, persevere and seek new information.
Dr. Prat wrote about Dr. Gruber’s work in her book. She said that “according to the Prediction, Appraisal, Curiosity  and Exploration (PACE) Framework recently developed by Matthias Gruber and his former mentor, your curiosity in any given situation depends on what you already know about the world….(and that) your curiosity gets piqued when something either surprises you based on what you thought you knew, or because you experienced a knowledge gap—a type of mental conflict that occurs when you need more information before deciding what to do in a given situation.” Prat elaborates with what curiosity looks like in the brain by saying that
I interpret this to mean that our brain thinks that what we are learning, eventually will lead to something rewarding, and it releases dopamine to keep us motivated to learn whatever it is we’ve deemed to be important, or this thing we are curious about. I think this is a HUGE discovery when it comes to understanding our brain and learning.  
So how can we inspire curiosity in those around us (those we are teaching, or coaching) or even those we live with and interact with to inspire learning?
Think Like an FBI Profiler, and Profile Yourself: Or keep studying, learning and improving your knowledge of yourself. Do you know how you learn best? Not just your learning style, but Dr. Prat’s book covers reinforcement learning, and how some people learn equally as well from when things go better than expected or from disappointing things. Some people she says are “carrot learners” and move through life with their brain strengthening the connections between good actions and the context they were in, and some people are “stick learners” or avoiders and move through life avoiding disappointing situations. Once we know how we learn best, it’s much easier to take this knowledge and apply it to how others learn best.
Build Lessons Around What Your Students Are ALREADY Interested In: The research did show that “curiosity increases learning and acts like a vortex that draws in what you’re interested to learn and also sucks in a lot of things around it” so if you are creating lessons for your students, tie in something you know they are already interested in learning, the new information you want to teach, and it will better chance of being remembered. This is exactly what happened to me when I sat down to write this episode, and got sucked like a vortex into taking the How to Think Like an FBI Profiler course. We had already been talking about Theory of Mind with Dr. Prat, (what I already know about the world) so I naturally wondered what else could I learn from a pioneer in criminal profiling. Nothing could have ripped me away from listening to this course, and filling in my knowledge gaps.  Do you know what are your students interested in? How can you fill in their knowledge gaps and make your lessons stick? Tie this concept into what you are teaching it will make learning unforgettable for those you’ve connected with at this deep, brain level.
To review this week’s Brain Fact Friday,
DID YOU KNOW that “curiosity is a mental state that both precedes and facilitates learning?” (Dr. Prat)
DID YOU ALSO KNOW “that when we are curious, two parts of the brain light up (our midbrain and nucleus accumbens)” (Dr. Gruber) and these are the SAME areas that light up when we anticipate a reward, like food or money?
Curiosity energizes us by tapping into the brain’s “Wanting System” urging us to want to go out and seek new information. So, if we want learning to stick for our students, piquing their curiosity is one way, that brain research says will do this, inspiring learning, so it’s unforgettable.
After writing this episode, I wonder, what made you curious to learn more?
Once you know this, you have a powerful “secret” that you can use for yourself and others.
I’ll see you next week!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #255 with Dr. Chantel Prat, on “The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Wired Differently and How to Understand Yours” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/chantel-prat-phd-on-the-neuroscience-of-you-how-every-brain-is-wired-differently-and-how-to-understand-yours/
[ii] The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Different and How to Understand Yours by Chantel Pratt, Ph.D published August 2, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-You-Every-Different-Understand/dp/1524746606
[iii] Netflix Series Mindhunter https://www.netflix.com/title/80114855
[iv] MindHunter: Inside the Elite Serial Crime Init by John Douglas Published November 26, 1998 https://www.amazon.com/Mindhunter-Inside-Elite-Serial-Crime-ebook/dp/B000FC0RRY
[v] How to Think Like an FBI Profiler by Former Special FBI Agent John Douglas https://www.masterclass.com/classes/john-douglas-teaches-how-to-think-like-an-fbi-profiler
[vi] The Science of Curiosity https://curiosity.britannica.com/science-of-curiosity.html#:~:text=When%20you%20explore%20and%20satisfy,curiosity%20again%20in%20the%20future.
[vii]This is Your Brain on Curiosity | Matthias Gruber | TEDxUCDavisSalon
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SmaTPPB-T_s&t=464s

Chantel Prat, Ph.D. on ”The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Wired Differently and How to Understand Yours.”

“As human beings, our job in life to help people realize how rare and valuable each of us really is, that each of us has something that no one else has—or ever will have.” Chantel Prat, PhD who quotes Fred Rogers, in her new book, The Neuroscience of You.
Watch this interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/JCpD9vGe4As 
On this episode we will learn: 
✔  How to understand ourselves better, before understanding others, with our brain in mind.
✔ Why Dr. Anna Lembke said "The Neuroscience of You" is "smart, funny, and irreverent" and a "must read for any budding neuroscientists out there."
✔ What happens at our brain level when we are out of synch with someone else?
✔ A review of Theory of Mind and why it's crucial for our success and "predicts the way a team will perform."
✔ How to improve our Theory of Mind and learn how to "Read the Mind" in others.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their research, books, ideas and resources to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or in the corporate environment.
For today’s EPISODE #255, we will be speaking with Dr. Chantel Prat, Ph.D.,[i] who I’ve mentioned a few times on this podcast. I came across Dr. Prat’s NEW book, The Neuroscience of You[ii] that she just released this August while researching for EP #245 back in September, on “Using Neuroscience to Recognize Individuality and Uniqueness”[iii] because her name kept coming up when I was searching for “using neuroscience to understand diversity.”  When I started reading her book, it was clear to me that Dr. Prat is heavily invested in the research that helps all of us to first of all understand ourselves on a deeper level, which will help us to understand others. If you look at the Levels of Consciousness Model that I drew out from EP 151, you can see that I have listed Dr. Prat’s work in the fully aware column, as I think this is what her work prepares us for.  While you can see our podcast has touched on different levels of consciousness, and since this is such a difficult concept that many scientists still cannot explain, I think it makes things easier if we can map concepts out so we can see what we are talking about visually. I know that after today’s episode, Dr. Prat will open our eyes and awareness a bit more to see who we are, in relation to those around us, with some new ideas for creating synergy with those we are no in synch with.
Here’s a bit about Dr. Prat.
Chantel Prat is a Professor at the University of Washington in the Departments of Psychology, Neuroscience, and Linguistics, and at the Institute for Learning and Brain Sciences, the Center for Neurotechnology, and the Institute for Neuroengineering. A cognitive neuroscientist by training, her interdisciplinary research investigates the biological basis of individual differences in cognition, with an emphasis on understanding the shared neural mechanisms underpinning language and higher-level executive functions.
In English…I would translate that to “Dr. Prat helps us to understand ourselves and others” which is why she kept coming up when I was search for understanding unique differences, or that all brain are not alike.
Dr. Chantel Prat was the first neuroscientist to directly link two human brains through technology. Her research has explored virtual reality, neural linking, and the diversity of our brains throughout development. Learning about the science of our brains and nervous systems empowers us with greater ability to build the lives we want. Some of the power within Dr. Prat's work is that she highlights that neuroscience truly is not a one size fits all field. As Dr. Chantel Prat explains, "being equal does not require us to be the same." 
She is featured in the 2019 documentary, I Am Human and her studies have been profiled in media ranging from Scientific American, Psychology Today, and Science Daily to Rolling Stone, Popular Mechanics, Pacific Standard, Travel + Leisure, and National Public Radio.
Let’s meet Dr. Chantel Prat, and see what we can learn about embracing each other’s differences, at the brain level, and what this really means and looks like. I’m sure this discussion will change our perspectives of how we think of others who we aren’t on the same page with, and hopefully help us to all find common ground with those we work with, live with and interact with on a daily basis, with some new strategies to improve our daily results, with our brain in mind.
Welcome Dr. Prat, thank you for coming on the podcast today, and sharing a deeper look at your NEW book, The Neuroscience of You, that I’ve already been promoting since I saw it come out this summer.
Intro Question: Dr. Prat, I’ve already mentioned you many times on this podcast, tying your work to past episodes and speakers, but what caught my eye while reading your book, and researching you further, was the reason “Why” you wrote this book. What was it that motivated you to dive into the importance of understanding ourselves better, as well as others, with our brain in mind?
Q1: When I saw Dr. Anna Lembke’s review of your book, that it’s a began with “smart, and funny” which is not a usual combination for books about the brain, and a “must read for any budding neuroscientists out there and anyone else who wants to know how our brains work and why it matters.” (This review says a lot about you, your work and ability to connect with everyone who want to learn this topic that can be difficult, dry and confusing). We had Dr. Lebmke on the podcast last September for EPISODE #162 on her book Dopamine Nation[iv] and going on the theme of her insightful review of your book, I wondered what would you say is important for us to all know (Neuroscience 101) BEFORE we read what was also noted to be “one of the best books on neuroscience for the lay person.”
Q2: Dr. Prat, when I heard you mention “Theory of Mind” as something that can predict how well a team will perform, you took me back to one of our early episodes #42 with Dr. John Medina the author of “Brain Rules”[v] mentioned Theory of Mind in our interview, with ways we can all improve it, in order to relate to others on a deeper level. What happens to us initially when someone’s brain is making them behave in a way that we don’t understand, and why is being able to “model the mind of someone else” crucial for our success, like you said “it most predicts the way a team will perform?”
Q2B: I took a stab at writing an episode when I first launched this podcast on Theory of Mind, back in March 2020[vi] that talks about when I first learned about ToM when I asked my Mom to explain to me how I could recognize a murderer from a regular person, as there were these horrific murders in Toronto happening at the time, and the killers didn’t “look” like bad people to me. My Mom, I’m not kidding gasped when I asked her this, and said “did you not look at their eyes?” which led to her working with me every week on reading facial cues, and reading the mind in someone’s eyes. John Medina talked about ways we could improve this skill (he said by reading literary fiction books and studying well crafted, award winning writing). What do you think? How can we further improve our ToM, and how can this tool help us all to connect with others on a deeper level/improve our results or even keep us away from bad people?
Q3: In PART 1 of the book you describe some of the biological features that shape the way we experience our personal reality. I LOVE this concept you mention about story-telling, as I worked 6 years in the motivational speaking industry, that’s all about the importance of “the stories we tell ourselves” or keeping a positive mindset or even being careful of the things we say out loud that could be limiting. Until seeing your book, I didn’t realize just how integral our brain’s design is for shaping our story-telling process. Can you explain what how our brain creates and produces the stories we experience, and how can we use an understanding of our brain to create the story with the outcome that we desire? (Landing the successful job, or achieving a huge win at work).
Q4: Is there anything important that I’ve missed? 
Dr. Prat, I want to thank you very much for coming on the podcast, and sharing your deep and thorough research that you’ve been doing over the years and explaining it in such a way that we can all understand and use it, in a way that’s been fun, entertaining and memorable. Thank you so much for this.
For people to connect with you, and buy your book, is the best place to go to your website? https://www.chantelprat.com/
Thank you!
Final Thoughts:
I had no idea while writing these questions for Dr. Prat that I would learn so much about myself. She really did have it right. Her book is called The Neuroscience of YOU for a reason, and I hope as YOU read the book that you learn something about yourself, that helps you to understand others. I also highly recommend going to Dr. Prat’s website and taking the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test. I did talk about this on EP #36 but see how you do, and see if you can take what you’ve learned here, or when you’ve said “I’m not wired that way” to understand what exactly that means for YOUR brain.
RESOURCES:
Chatel Prat, How Every Brain is Wired Different and How to Understand Yours Talks at Google Published August 26, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=idloD9qYYCE
Chantel Prat on The Curious Minds at Work Podcast with Gayle Allen https://www.gayleallen.net/cm-223-chantel-prat-on-how-every-brain-is-different/
Research https://www.chantelprat.com/research.html
Social Intelligence Test Scored 28/36 http://socialintelligence.labinthewild.org/
 
FOLLOW CHANTEL PRAT
Website https://www.chantelprat.com/
Twitter https://twitter.com/ChantelPratPhD
BUY The Neuroscience of You https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/624256/the-neuroscience-of-you-by-chantel-prat/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Two Years Later, We Finally Know Why People Saw “The Dress” Differently by Pascal Wallisch Published April 12, 2017 https://slate.com/technology/2017/04/heres-why-people-saw-the-dress-differently.html#:~:text=Remember%2C%20the%20dress%20is%20actually,Because%20shadows%20overrepresent%20blue%20light.
 
 
REFERENCES:
 
[i] https://www.chantelprat.com/
 
[ii] The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Different and How to Understand Yours by Chantel Pratt, Ph.D published August 2, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-You-Every-Different-Understand/dp/1524746606
 
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #245 on ““Using Neuroscience to Recognize Individuality and Uniqueness”
https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-using-neuroscience-to-recognize-individuality-and-uniqueness/
 
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #162 with Dr. Anna Lembke on “Dopamine Nation: Finding Balance in the Age of Indulgence”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/medical-director-of-addictive-medicine-at-stanford-university-dr-anna-lembke-on-dopamine-nation-finding-balance-in-the-age-of-indulgence/
 
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #42 with John Medina on his book “Brain Rules”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-john-medina-on-implementing-brain-rules-in-the-schools-and-workplaces-of-the-future/
 
[vi]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #46 on “Mind-Reading: Developing Theory of Mind in Your Daily Life: As Close as Brain Science Gets” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/as-close-to-mind-reading-as-brain-science-gets-developing-and-using-theory-of-mind-in-your-daily-life/
 

CASE STUDY with Ryan Brady ”Life Lessons Learned While Recovering from a Traumatic Brain Injury: A Story of Hope, Opportunity and Inspiration”

“The best way to predict your future, is to create it!” Abraham Lincoln
Watch this inspiring interview on YouTube here https://youtu.be/aG_B3aLSLEc
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their research, books, ideas and resources to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or in the corporate environment.
For today’s EPISODE #254, we’ll be speaking with Ryan Brady[i], an avid public speaker who has put into practice many of the concepts that we’ve covered on this podcast. Ryan went from having a traumatic brain injury when he was a teen, to re-learning how to walk and talk. What caught my eye with Ryan’s story is that as a young man, he was able to see the positive side of his brain injury, that occurred when his car went over an 80-foot cliff, flipped 6 times, breaking his neck, back, wrist and collar bone. This resulted in a Traumatic Brain Injury, that listeners to this podcast will understand the horrific impacts of this injury to his brain on learning, memory and his ability to function in the world.
But what he did while recovering is mind-blowing! He studied, learned, and then created a company, Digital Prodigee (that creates mobile apps for businesses) and took his company to 7 figures of revenue in 7 months. His story is a true story of resilience in the business world and you can hear it for yourself with his TED Talk[ii], that I think everyone on the planet should listen to.
I’m personally excited to speak with Ryan, as I began interviewing young entrepreneurs back in 2012, years before launching this podcast when I ran The Teen Performance Magazine, and hearing Ryan’s story took me back to many of the young leaders I interviewed when I was first launching this magazine, hoping to inspire our next generation of entrepreneurs with these interviews. This idea didn’t take off as well as I had hoped, but it was a valuable experience to learn from some of the youngest leaders and most brilliant minds I’ve ever come across, many who I’ve kept in touch with, or watched their results skyrocket over the years.
Let’s meet Ryan Brady, and see what we can learn from this entrepreneur about mindset, vision, and brain health, for a refreshing new perspective on life. Something I think we could all use today.
Welcome Ryan Brady, thank you for joining me on the podcast today. What part of the world are you in today?
Ryan, I’m always looking for new perspectives on this podcast, and hadn’t even listened to your TED Talk when I replied to your team that I wanted to speak with you as I saw something unique about your ability to help others start their own business…then I saw the whole TBI story, that took your story to a whole new level.
INTRO Q: Can you begin with what type of kid you were BEFORE your car flew off an 80 foot cliff?
I’m curious if your positive/forward-thinking mindset was there BEFORE the accident, or do you that the accident changed your perspective?
Q1: I couldn’t tell your story even close to how you tell it. Can you give us a quick synopsis, and I’ll put your TED Talk in the show notes for those who want to hear the whole story? What’s the short version of your accident and how it helped you to see things in a different light?
Q1B: Did you have a positive mindset BEFORE the accident, or do you think it came as a result of it?
Q2: Like I just said, I’m always looking for a unique story to share on this podcast, to help all of us to improve our mindset, with an understanding of our brain at the heart of this podcast. BEFORE your TBI, what did you know about your brain?
NOTE: After recording, Ryan let me know that he’s had many influencers that he’s learned from but he learned from AJ Osborne[iii] who 5 years ago was told he was paralyzed from the head down, and they said he would never walk again. He not only re-learned how to walk again, but his company now earns over 300M in Real Estate and he now teaches OTHERS how to achieve financial freedom.
He also learned from Memory and Executive coach Jim Kwik[iv], the author of the book, Limitless.
Q3: For me, this was the most impressive part of your TED Talk, probably the entrepreneur in me, who wants others to find their way, forging their own path with a very soft spot for young entrepreneurs. How did you create a NEW path, thinking with your heart, brain and pure gut instinct while you were recovering?
Q4: Having an idea, and then having your idea generate 7 figures, in 7 months, is mind-boggling. I’m not the best at math, and still have nightmares about it, but that’s $1M right? How did you do this?
Q5: I absolutely love your story, as I caught the entrepreneurial bug when I was in my late 20s, and have never looked back, but I learned a lot from working in the motivational speaking industry and I share a lot of this on the podcast.
Once our mind has been expanded to NEW opportunity, you can only keep moving forward, never backwards. But sometimes when we’ve been working in one place for a long time, it’s difficult to see the amount of opportunity out in the world, especially for young people (before kids take over their lives).
sold real estate in Dubai, in the middle of the night before the big RE crash.
What advice would you give to a young person starting their career today?
Q6: What is Digital Prodigee? Who is it for?
Q7: I know your story will empower everyone who listens to this episode to think in a different way and provide hope at a time we could all use some. What message would you like to leave as we wrap this up?
For people out there, listening, perhaps in the business world, who want to learn more about your mobile app, is the best place for that your website? https://www.digitalprodigee.com/
Thank you for your time, ideas, and inspiration today, Ryan. I can’t wait to see where you end up in the next 10 years.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Some final thoughts at the end of this episode, I’m sure you could see that I was inspired by Ryan and his vision as a young entrepreneur. I wish we all could see the vast amount of opportunity in the world, and not get bogged down with doubts and fears when working on something new, or while forging a new path where no one has gone before you. While there are times entrepreneurship, or even leadership can be lonely, Ryan gives many tips for how he found inspiration from those around him. If I was still running the Teen Performance Magazine today, I would have grabbed Ryan Brady for an interview, and although that business idea is long gone today, the soft spot I have in my heart for young people who take the difficult path in life, choosing challenge over fear, is what keeps me moving forward. If you know anyone looking at creating a mobile app, I do hope you look at his company DigitalProdigee as a solution.
 
Will see you next week as we continue to use Neuroscience to explore and take our results to new heights.
FOLLOW RYAN BRADY
LinkedIn https://www.linkedin.com/in/ryan-brady-14b451157/
Website https://www.digitalprodigee.com/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Tim Ferris The Four-Hour Work Week Published December 28, 2008 https://www.amazon.com/4-Hour-Workweek-Anywhere-Expanded-Updated/dp/B0031KN6T8
The Mindset Mentor Podcast with Rob Dial https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-mindset-mentor/id1033048640
 
REFERENCES:
[i] Digital Prodigy(Mobile App Company)  https://www.digitalprodigee.com/
[ii] How Traumatic Brain Injuries Can Reveal More Than They Remove with Ryan Brady Published on YouTube July 19, 2021  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TDsZx8iqy1w
[iii] The Story of AJ Osborne https://www.instagram.com/p/CjGvKTjoDEG/?hl=en
[iv] Jim Kwik https://www.jimkwik.com/
 

Michael Gaskell, Ph.D on ”Radical Principals: A Blueprint for Long-Term Equity and Stability” for Schools and the Workplace.

“Radical approaches are the sorts that are crazy the day before they are brilliant. The payoff is enormous, especially for children who are disadvantaged. Students are the real winners of fearlessly Radical Principals” Dr. Michael Gaskell
And I will add that “our world needs radical thinking, creative ideas and imagination.”
On this episode we will cover:
✔  How "radical approaches" are beneficial for those in a position in leadership for building creativity, and breaking through to new heights.
✔ How timing, idea stacking and mentoring  can be used to conserve time and energy needed for leaders to generate new ideas by freeing up time/resources.
✔ What are some strategies for handing negative misinformation, or managing the negative forces of online exchanges? 
✔  How are you using support networks (mastermind groups) to empower Radical Principals to create safe zones, leading to more innovation?
✔ What is Radical Loyalty and how can you build this to breed more success in your school or organization?
✔ How to tackle difficult topics like countering the effects of institutionalized inequities.
✔ How to help our next generation to recognize the consequences of their online presence.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. My vision is to bring the experts to you, share their research, books, ideas and resources to help you to implement their proven strategies, whether you are a teacher working in the classroom or in the corporate environment.
Today’s EPISODE #253, we have returning guest, Michael Gaskell, a veteran principal from NJ, USA, whose episode #172 on “Leading Schools Through Trauma”[i] sits in our TOP 10 most downloaded episodes at #6, with over 1500 downloads.
Dr. Michael Gaskell is Principal in East Brunswick, NJ., and he models the pursuit of lifelong learning as he serves to mentor new principals through the New Jersey Leaders to Leaders program. An NJPSA Stars recipient, he has been published in over 3 dozen articles in education journals and blogs, including Education Post, eSchoolNews, NASSP, Edtech and ASCD Smartbrief, and has made the most-read section of ASCD Smartbrief numerous times, which coincides the fact his last episode remains in our TOP 10 all time most listened to episodes.
Mike presents at national conferences, and started his own podcast in January of this year, where  he interviews successful adults like Diamond Dallas Page, how he conquered his dyslexia and anxiety associated with it. Mike has published two books: Leading Schools Through Trauma and Microstrategy Magic. Dr. Gaskell works tirelessly to support instructional excellence and student success, for his school community, and most importantly, for the wellness and equity of all children.
He’ll be joining us today to share his new book, Radical Principals[ii]: A Blueprint for Long-term Equity and Stability at School, that will be released November 2022, but is currently available for pre-order through the link in the show notes.  Dr. Gaskell obviously loves writing and intends to continue offering his contributions to support learners and educators in written and presentation format. Let’s welcome back Dr. Michael Gaskell for a second  time, and learn together about his new book, Radical Principals, and how we can all inspire change in our schools and workplaces, with radical thinking, creative ideas and imagination.
Intro Q: it’s so good to have you back here, Michael/Dr. Gaskell, especially after your first interview made such an impact on our audience, sitting in the top 10 all time most listened to episodes. 
I’ve got to commend you on writing another book since that episode. I know that fitting this in is something that I know first hand to be a challenge in todays world, but you’re accomplishing where many would give up. Thanks for inspiring us to keep going…
Intro Q- what’s your secret to writing books? How did you do this one so quickly? I ask because I have a book on my desktop that’s been grueling for me to complete. Do you have a secret? Or is it just the passion you have for helping others?
Q1: I opened the backstory with your quote about radical approaches being crazy before they are brilliant and you say in the first chapter of your book that “Finding innovative solutions to unnecessary and unproductive procedures is part of being radical”.
I wonder, what you do to keep a “radical approach” as a school leader. How is this way of thinking beneficial to you, the students you serve and your community? 
Q2: How can radical thinking help others in different sectors to break through to new heights with this creative, and often imaginative way of thinking? 
Q3: Can you explain why “timing and stacking of ideas” is important from Chapter 3?
Q4: How do you use mentoring programs to focus your time and energy (to help students) and allow you to write more books? 
Q4B: can you give some examples of negative misinformation we all deal with on a daily basis and best practices to handle this?
Q5: In chapter 5 you mention “Learning to manage the most negative forces of online exchanges on email and social media and that “reply only twice” is your mantra to help you model effective communication. Can you give an example of how you put this into practice? We’ve only ever had positive email exchanges, with lots of replies, but I’m sure this is not always the case. 
Q6: I think having a team of supporters behind all of us is crucial these days, especially in a world where there’s so much upheaval already. Life is hard. How are you using support networks (mastermind groups) to empower Radical Principals to engage with other leaders in safe zones, leading for more innovation? 
Q7: Loyalty—this is a huge topic and important for me. What is radical loyalty and how does this concept breed more success in schools beyond what you’d normally see?
7B: How can we encourage loyalty towards others we work with vs some of the behavior I know happens in schools and workplaces which is why I would avoid the staffroom when I was a teacher, and even noticed I did the same thing in the corporate world? 
Q8: In Ch 8 you talk about “helping faculty to how to counter the effects of institutionalized inequities.” Where do you even begin to cover this topic? How do you create solutions for the problems you see in our schools and workplaces on this topic? 
Q9: In chapter 9 you bring to light a topic that many Netflix shows have attempted to address and that’s the consequences of bad online behavior. This is a topic of interest for anyone who has a student or child using technology, as it only takes a quick glance at someone’s social media account to form a quick opinion of you, that we all know could potentially hurt their future. How are you helping our next generation to recognize the consequences of their online presence? 
Q10: Is there anything I’ve missed, or final thoughts about Radical Principals, or how to lead in today’s world? How would you close this out?
Dr. Gaskell, I want to thank you very much for coming back on the podcast, and sharing your guidebook, for K-12 leaders, Radical Principals, that I know could be applied in the workplace as well to create change. If someone wants to pre-order a copy, is the best way through the publisher?
Book Summary:
Radical Principals is a guidebook for K-12 leaders looking for creative ways, beyond the status quo, to support and nurture school communities in the wake of unprecedented obstacles. In-service principals understandably rely on existing protocols and district policies to solve day-to-day problems, but do you ever wonder whether these quick fixes are preventing you from making a more lasting, transformative change? Radical Principals are those school leaders who recognize that every child, especially disadvantaged ones living through inequities, need adults lighting their path with inventive and evidence-based opportunities for success.
This inspirational yet pragmatic book provides novel strategies and solutions for balancing common concerns—curriculum, school safety, high-stakes testing, parental concerns, among others—while advancing your long-term vision for your school. These audacious, yet controlled approaches will help you maneuver around both the stubborn obstacles facing children in the greatest need of supports and your own blind spots and unintended biases. Spanning bureaucratic roadblocks, systemic injustice, communication breakdowns, and more, each chapter is rich with scenario-based challenges and leadership practices that don’t merely resolve the issues at hand but further help you advance your school towards a holistically equitable and supportive climate.
PRE-ORDER RADICAL PRINCIPALS HERE
Radical Principals: A Blueprint for Long-term Equity and Stability at School by Michael S Gaskell  https://www.routledge.com/Radical-Principals-A-Blueprint-for-Long-Term-Equity-and-Stability-at-School/Gaskell/p/book/9781032229287
FOLLOW MICHAEL GASKELL, EdD
https://twitter.com/GaskellMgaskell
https://www.linkedin.com/in/michael-gaskell-922711100/
https://www.facebook.com/Mikesmicrominute/
www.mikesmicrominute.com
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EP 172 with Dr. Michael Gaskell on “Leading Schools Through Trauma” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-michael-gaskell-on-leading-schools-through-trauma-a-data-driven-approach-to-helping-children-heal/
[ii]Radical Principals: A Blueprint for Long-term Equity and Stability at School by Michael S Gaskell  https://www.routledge.com/Radical-Principals-A-Blueprint-for-Long-Term-Equity-and-Stability-at-School/Gaskell/p/book/9781032229287
 

Brain Fact Friday on ”Using Neuroscience to Improve Fitness, Longevity and Overall Health.”

It’s one of the Top 5 health staples that we’ve covered often on this podcast, but Dr. Peter Attia[i], Canadian-American physician, known for his medical practice that focuses on the science of longevity, says that “exercise might be the most potent “drug” we have for extending the quality and perhaps quantity of our years of life.”
On this episode we will cover:
✔  What the current research says for improving fitness, longevity and overall health.
✔ Look at the workouts from Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Andrew Huberman, who dive deep into this topic on their recent podcast episodes.
✔ Compare their workouts to mine, and look for gaps using the most current research to see if we can all improve our workout routines with longevity in mind.
✔ Use Attia's Rule in this process.
Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. Like you, I’m interested in learning and applying the research, to our everyday life.
On today’s episode, I want to share the research I saw recently to improve fitness, longevity and overall health, with Dr. Peter Attia’s work who was recently featured on Dr. Andrew Huberman’s podcast. Dr. Attia, has a fascinating origin story, as he started his career as a cardiac surgeon, and then found he had a heart condition, so he began to dive into the research to see how he could improve the quality of his own life. On today’s episode #252, and this week’s Brain Fact Friday, we will take Dr. Attia’s advice, look at what he does himself, and what he recommends for others he trains, compare it to how others, like Dr. Huberman are training, and then how I’ve been training. I’m hoping we will find areas to tweak or improve, with Dr. Attia’s research in mind, that focuses on longevity and overall improvements in health and fitness. The overall goal with this episode is to have all of us use the research to inform our current exercise program, uncover our gaps, and see if there are any ways that we can improve what we are doing, with longevity research in mind.
I wanted to cover this topic, as I’m always looking to improve what I’m doing, but find that when there’s so much to do, or so many different exercise or nutrition plans to follow, I notice I don’t do anything new at all, and just do the same thing, which changes nothing.  The point of this episode is to look at moving our needle even just a little bit, and see if there is something we can all do, even if it’s a small tweak, to build a better 2.0 version of ourselves, to make this year our best year ever, or at least give us a running start at 2023.
Biohack Tip Advice
For this episode, I plan on following Attia’s Rule[ii] which Dr. Huberman coined that basically addresses the ton of exercise and nutrition advice flying around out in the world. This rule says “don’t quibble about nutrition or supplementation until you’ve dialed in your own exercise/strength protocol,” and I wouldn’t even consider writing this episode, if I wasn’t putting my own health first, using Attia’s Rule as a guide.
Dr. Attia says that nutrition and health arguments are a waste of your time until you’ve completed a certain set of criteria. He says don’t bother unless you can:
Dead hang for a minute
Wall sit for two minutes
Have a VO2 max of at least 75th percentile for your age group.
Before writing this episode, I wanted to be sure that I qualified for Attia’s Rule.  Here’s how I fared with his criteria.   
Dead Hang[iii]: I had to find a park down the street from my house to try a dead hang, as I’ve never done one before. In Canada, I remember doing fitness testing for running in school, but I don’t remember ever having to hang from a bar to see how long we could do this. When I got to park I scared away some kids who were on the bars to do this activity.  I set my timer for one minute, closed my eyes, and had to pretend if I let go, I’d fall from a skyscraper or something (maybe why they are called dead hangs) so that I could keep going, and hit that one minute mark. Dead hangs are as difficult as they sound, and I can see how practicing this skill would increase overall body strength. I felt every muscle in my body shake as I got closer to the end. I did complete this task, but after raving about how I could do this one minute challenge that night at dinner, my kids who both train every night in competitive gymnastics started listing all the kids at their gym who can dead hang for more than 7 minutes!  I’m just going to stick to improving my one minute hang one second at a time.
Wall Sit[iv]: This one was easy for me, even with one injured quad. Was able to sit against a wall at a 90-degree angle for 2 minutes, and switch weight away from the injured leg when needed and completed this criteria.
V02 Max[v]:
I’ve been watching this number using my IPhone in the Activity App. If you are exercising, doing cardio, this number should show up under Trends. If you are not doing enough cardio to grab this data point, you will see “needs more data” next to this item, so you just need to keep training and watching this number.
My VO2 Max currently sits at 37, which is considered Superior for my age (51) and in the top percentile. This is a very important bio marker to track for health and longevity, and we’ll cover why a bit later in this episode.
So, I completed the criteria for Attia’s Rule, and continued the research for this episode.
What About YOU?
If you are measuring your workouts—have you ever wondered
How your workouts fare compared to what the longevity research says?
Have you wondered if your workouts are as effective as they could be?
Are you reaching the goals you’ve set for yourself?
What/how can you improve? 
While by no means do I consider myself an expert in this area, I’m just someone who puts a high value on health and have been measuring the data with my workouts for the past 2 years.  While tracking my results, I see the same thing every month, so I know it’s time to look at what I’m doing to see where I can improve what I’m seeing. Every week I see “Strain was overreaching, sleep fell short.”
Before we analyze my data, I wanted to look at Dr. Attia’s exercise regimen that he’s built specifically for optimizing health and longevity. You can learn more about his programs on his website, but here’s a quick overview of how he trains.
 
What does Dr. Peter Attia do? 
What’s the optimal dose of exercise for longevity? Dr. Attia lists a framework on his website that is “built upon four pillars: stability (the foundation) that he notices this is often lacking, strength and muscle mass, aerobic / zone 2 training, & anaerobic / zone 5 (high intensity) training.”[vi]
His workouts are simple and straightforward (it’s the research that’s intense and a bit more complex). His workouts consist of:
4 sessions/week cardio (45 min sessions) low intensity zone 2 (I’ve put a heart rate chart in the show notes that shows Zone 2 is 60-70% of your max heart rate) or exercising where you can carry on a conversation with someone else. He defines zone 2 more in depth by saying “it’s the highest metabolic output or work that you can sustain (like running fast) while keeping lactate”[vii] below a certain level. This is where he says the most time should be spent. (3 hours)
one session of vo2 max training a week higher intensity (40-60 min) high intensity Zone 5 training.
4 strength sessions/week (60 x4) 4 hours 
8 hours total (7-9 hours is advised for endurance training).
This is simple and easy to understand.
I also thought I would list Dr. Andrew Huberman’s suggestion for what he does for his workouts, using science to optimize his physical health to compare.
Dr. Huberman’s fitness protocols are similar, just laid out more specifically:
Sunday: Long endurance workout
Monday: Leg resistance/strength training
Tuesday: Heat/Cold exposure for recovery
Wednesday: Torso/neck resistance training
Thursday: Moderate intensity cardio
Friday: High intensity cardio (max heart rate) Like Attia’s Zone 5 High Intensity
Saturday: Arms, calves, neck training
You can listen to Dr. Andrew Huberman’s entire episode[viii] where he breaks this down his fitness protocols to the most clear and granular level to optimize health and longevity, referencing Dr. Attia’s research[ix], but for this episode today, I wanted to give a snapshot of what longevity workouts look like (connecting the research) so we can all see if there’s anything we can do to tweak or improve what we are doing.
What does the research say? 
This is where it gets interesting. I’m sure we’ve all heard of different workout routines, and know that if we’ve seen a trainer that we’ve got to combine cardio with strength training. Then we can add in some of the recent discoveries about heat and cold exposure for recovery, but what exactly does the research say we should know to improve our longevity?
Brain Fact Friday
Which brings us to this week’s Brain Fact Friday.
We opened this episode with a quote from Dr. Attia that we’ve all heard before, that said “exercise might be the most potent “drug” we have for extending the quality and perhaps quantity of our years of life” but did you know that “exercise reduces the risk for all-cause mortality? (or death from all causes)” (Dr. Peter Attia).
Research from the National Institute of Health found that, compared with taking 4,000 steps per day, a number considered to be low for adults, taking 8,000 steps per day was associated with a 51% lower risk for all-cause mortality (or death from all causes)[x]. Taking 12,000 steps per day was associated with a 65% lower risk compared with taking 4,000 steps.
What caught my attention was when Dr. Attia put all of the research into perspective.
We know:
Exercise has a huge impact on disease and death from all causes (all-cause mortality).
We know it does something to reduce aging, and improve longevity right down to the ends of our telomeres.
We know exercise is like a drug, and hormones are released that provide neurogenesis, or create new brain cells. (BDNF).
But Did You Know:
“Smoking is approximately a 40% increase in the risk of ACM (which means at a given time, there’s a 40% chance that you will die compared to a non-smoker).”[xi] (Dr. Attia)
High Blood Pressure has a 20-25% increase in all-cause mortality?
Type 2 diabetes has a 25% increase in all-cause mortality?
These numbers are shocking, especially if you or someone you love, suffers from chronic disease. It caught my attention especially when high blood pressure was not far off from ACM of a smoker, and made me stop in my tracks to think “what can we do to improve these numbers?”
What Can We Do?
Dr. Attia suggested the answer lies with comparing low to high achievers and the findings are significant.
Did you know that “low muscle mass people compared to high mass people have a 200% increase in all-cause mortality (or dying of any cause) as they age?” (Dr. Attia) who adds that “it’s less about the muscle mass but the high association with strength.”
“It’s a 250% greater risk if you have low strength to high strength.” (Dr. Attia)
So the answer, (from the research) is to prioritize strength training, and get stronger, while keeping an eye on the 4 pillars of exercise that Dr. Attia mentions (stability, strength, aerobic and anaerobic training).
Dr. Attia goes on to say that “if you look at cardiorespiratory fitness, it’s even more profound.”
“For the bottom 25% in terms of V02 Max (for your age and sex) compared to people at the top (elite) for a given age, there’s a 400% difference in all-cause mortality.” (Dr. Attia) which he says “is the single most strongest association” he’s ever seen for any modifiable behavior.
With this research in mind, I know I want to keep doing cardiovascular exercises to keep my VO2 Max in the elite/superior group for my age.  
What do I do?
You can see my September workout results broken down into the framework Dr. Attia suggests for longevity.
AEROBIC:
Most time spent on aerobic exercise:
1.5 hour hikes daily, mostly zone 3. (STRAIN 15-17)
7.5 hours
ANAEROBIC:
High Intensity Training usually Tuesday/Fridays where you see strain is highest (18-20). 2 hours/twice/week= 4 hours
STABILITY: Have been using Joshua Gillis’s NeuroFuctional Training Program from EPISODE #238[xii] that Centers the Mind-Body Connection to Release Our Highest Potential. I’ve also found this program difficult to sustain. The exercises help strengthen parts of my body I don’t use often, and I notice it’s very challenging. 12 minutes a couple times/week.
STRENGTH: Weight training 4x week 30 min using a system created by Vince Sant, called Vshred.[xiii] I’m not an affiliate of this program, but have used this system since 2019.
****STRENGTH IS THE AREA I WILL LEAVE OUT WHEN BUSY.  According to the research, this is a huge mistake.
****Looking at the research, can you find your gaps, or areas that you would like to improve?
REVIEW AND CONCLUSION This Week’s Brain Fact Friday:
Did you know that “low muscle mass people to high mass people have a 200% increase in all-cause mortality as they age?” (Dr. Attia) who adds that “it’s less about the muscle mass but the high association with strength.”
“It’s a 250% greater risk (of all-cause mortality) if you have low strength to high strength” so cutting out my strength training is not something I will do moving forward.  I’ve been following Monica[xiv], whose a phenomenal trainer on physical and mental fitness for new ideas for strength and peak performance training.  
Don’t forget to follow Dr. Attia’s work https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD
Sign up for Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Newsletter to receive all his workout tips through his website https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network/
 
IMPROVING WORKOUTS WITH LONGEVITY RESEARCH IN MIND?
While I do want to keep my VO2 max in the elite or superior range for my age, I can definitely lower the intensity of my daily hikes that are pushing me to see the daily message “strain too high, not enough sleep” as sleep is required to repair the body from high strain days.
Using the research, I plan to spend more time on easier, low intensity cardio, strength training and with a bit of high intensity training added in, and I’ll keep the 4 pillar framework that Dr. Attia created in mind for longevity training to include Aerobic, Anaerobic, Strength and Stability Training.
I’d love to know if there was anything in this episode that helped you to tweak your weekly exercise routine, with health and longevity in mind. Please do visit the resources and references in the show notes if you would like to go deeper into the research we’ve covered today.
I’ll see you next week with a returning guest, who amazes me with his ability to complete the books he is writing. Have a good weekend.
 
RESOURCES:
How to Dead Hang  June 27, 2019 https://www.fundamentalsportsandfitness.co.uk/blog/how-long-can-you-deadhang-for
STRENGTH TRAINING (Mental and Physical Fitness) Follow Monica @Fit_Pump on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fit_pump_/?hl=en
Don’t forget to follow Dr. Attia’s work https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD
Sign up for Dr. Andrew Huberman’s Newsletter to receive all his workout tips through his website https://hubermanlab.com/neural-network/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
REFERENCES:
[i] Peter Attia https://peterattiamd.com/
[ii] Attia’s Rule Published August 29, 2022 by  Logan Gelbrich https://www.deucegym.com/community/2022-08-29/the-attia-rule-weve-all-been-waiting-for/
[iii] Dead Hang Exercise https://theworkoutdigest.com/dead-hang-exercise/
[iv] 90 Degree Wall Sit https://www.verywellfit.com/the-wall-sit-quad-exercise-3120741
[v] V02 Max Testing August 29, 2022 by Elizabeth Quinn https://www.verywellfit.com/what-is-vo2-max-3120097
[vi] The framework for exercise https://peterattiamd.com/category/exercise/
[vii] he framework for exercise https://peterattiamd.com/category/exercise/
[viii] Dr. Huberman breaks down the research with his top fitness tools to optimize health https://hubermanlab.com/fitness-toolkit-protocol-and-tools-to-optimize-physical-health/
[ix] Best Exercises for Overall Health and Longevity Dr. Andrew Huberman with Dr. Peter Attia Published on YouTube August 18, 2022 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN0pRAqiUJU
[x] Higher Daily Step count linked with lower all-cause mortality March 24, 2020 https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/higher-daily-step-count-linked-lower-all-cause-mortality
[xi] Best Exercises for Overall Health and Longevity Dr. Peter Attia and Dr. Andrew Huberman Published Aug. 18, 2022  on YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jN0pRAqiUJU
[xii] Neuroscience Meets SEL Podcast EPISODE #238 with Joshua Gillis on his “Neuro Functional Training: Centering the Mind-Body Connection to Release Our Highest Potential”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/joshua-gillis-on-neuro-func-tional-training-centering-the-mind-body-connection-to-release-our-highest-potential/
[xiii] World Class Training Programs to Build Strength https://vshred.com/
[xiv] Follow Monica on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/fit_pump_/?hl=en

Brain Fact Friday on ”Exploring Consciousness: Using Neuroscience to Expand Our Awareness”

Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. Like you, I’m interested in learning and applying the research, to our everyday life.
On this episode we will cover:
How can being “mindfully aware in the present moment” benefit us?
An overview of the Levels of Consciousness that take us from coma, unaware, to full wakefulness and awareness.
How to expand our level of awareness through effective study (using the most current neuroscience research).
Break down this complex idea of consciousness, so we can all improve an area on the map, moving us towards full awareness.
Use this understanding to better understand ourselves and others.
This week’s Brain Fact Friday came to me this week while on a training call with Mark Waldman, in his neurocoaching program, that consists of all of the students he has worked with over the years[i] all over the world. Some students have been certified, and share their knowledge with others, like Michael Kirton, an Australian clinical psychologist and author who specializes in child development, mental health issues and trauma, and he often joins the calls to share how he is making an impact in his community with the understanding of mindfulness based coaching, training or therapy. I tune into these calls as I’m always looking for something new to share on the podcast, that we could all use to improve our results.
This week, were talking about what it means to be “mindfully aware in the present moment” that Jon Kabat-Zinn coined in his definition of mindfulness to be the “awareness that arises through paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment, non-judgmentally”[ii] which Waldman says is a key secret for experiencing optimal health and wellbeing.  We covered an overview of Brain Network theory on EP #48 and the importance of being able to mindfully shift between our imagination, (DMN) awareness (SN) and thinking (EN) to increase our creativity and results, while reducing stress.  The funny thing I’ve noticed with writing these episodes, and implementing what I’m writing, I’ve got to say that when I’m in a high stress situation, the last thing I’m thinking about is being “mindfully aware” in the present moment. But with time, small things like learning to breathe properly while experiencing stress, that we learned from Rohan Dixit, on EP #228[iii] is putting me miles ahead of where I used to be without a mindfulness-based stress reduction strategy. While I wish I had the opportunity to study and learn directly with monks deep in the Himalayas, like Rohan Dixit did before he founded Lief Therapeutics, and invented a wearable device that tracks HRV in real-time to help us to learn how to breathe when we are stressed, interviewing those who’ve taken the time to do the research, and then sharing this research on the podcast, is my next best option.
We’ve all heard of the research that backs up how important these brief moments of mindfulness can be, whether it’s in our everyday life, or even in the classroom, during learning, as Professor Kimberly Shonert-Reichl’s research (from The University of British Columbia) shows that these brief moments “promote curiosity, creativity and pro social behavior.”[iv] The key to being mindfully aware is to focus on the present moment, instead of what’s happened in the past, or what we think might happen in the future, and learn to breathe, or focus on our breath, which brings our mind into this present moment.
While on this training call with Mark Waldman, a new student asked “what about when I’m dreaming” where’s my level of awareness here?” and we could go down many rabbit holes for hours, on this topic and while Waldman refocused the new student on this complex question, I glanced at the September issue of National Geographic on my desk,  on “The Brain” that covers “the complex neural networks that make the brain so unique” and Chapter 4 of this series, covers “The Easy Problems of Consciousness” which was obvious from our call, that many of us, including this new student, finds this topic anything BUT easy, as we wonder how our conscious awareness works, what it is, and how an understanding of this awareness can benefit us in some way.
Which brings us to this week’s Brain Fact Friday.
DID YOU KNOW THAT “consciousness is the most astonishing act our big, complex, interconnected brains pull off when working properly and scientists are only just beginning to understand it?”[v] (National Geographic, The Brain).
I thought about the new student in our group asking about our awareness level when we are dreaming, and of what we have been covering on this podcast, and it became clear to me that this was a very important question and topic. It didn’t take me long to find some research that covered this question with an article called “Are There Levels of Consciousness”[vi] published by Tim Bayne in 2016 that are in line with what I was reading in the most recent National Geographic publication from September 2022.
What Are the Different Levels of Consciousness?
To bring light to this complex question, (what are the different levels of conscious awareness that our brain experiences) the only way I know how to break it down, is by mapping it out. Drawing something out helps me to see the bigger picture, especially when ideas are complex, or even noted to be “a mystery that some of the greatest minds have been unable to solve.”[vii]
This idea of being consciously aware, or thinking in the present moment, is complex, (because consciousness studies are still trying to find answers to the hard problems, like “where does my inner experience come from” (Page 74, National Geographic) but I’m hoping that this visual will give us all a new perspective of the different levels of consciousness we can experience, and provide us all with a frame of reference to “think” about.
If you look at the diagram in the show notes, that came from my interpretation of “The Easy Problems of Consciousness” from National Geographic’s article on the Brain, you can see how our levels of consciousness can go from low awareness, like when we are in a coma, under general anesthesia, that we have not investigated at all on this podcast. (YET). This is a fascinating area to explore, and I will on a later episode, since I do wonder how on the earth can we stay awake for brain surgery.
The next level of consciousness, is that time just before sleep, where we experience drowsiness, called a hypnagogic state of consciousness.[viii] We’ve covered sleep paralysis and lucid dreaming on the podcast with our interview with Dr. Baland Jalal[ix], bringing us into the next level of consciousness: sleep, that is one of the top 5 health staples we’ve covered often, beginning with Dr. Shane Creado, from EP #72[x] on “Sleep Strategies That Will Guarantee Us a Competitive Advantage.” We’ve also quoted English scientist and professor of neuroscience and psychology, Matt Walker and his research from his best selling book, Why We Sleep, on a Brain Fact Friday earlier this year on “Science Based Tricks to Improve Productivity.”[xi]   The final stage of consciousness is full wakefulness or awareness, that Chantel Pratt’s book, The Neuroscience of You dives into, as well as this whole idea of Mindful Awareness that we opened this episode with. I think you can see from the topics that we cover on this podcast, that besides understanding our sleep, or messages in our dreams, or health tips to improve our productivity, I’m most interested in ways we can all expand our conscious awareness, and become a better version of ourselves, with an understanding of our brain and how it works.
How about you? Have you ever wondered,
Who am I?
Why am I here?
What’s my purpose?
These are all deep questions but Jon Kabat-Zinn, the father of mindfulness would say that these questions (like who are you) are “more important than the answer.”[xii]
The key here, is that expanding our level of awareness is a crucial component of our work in this thing we call life, so that we can better understand ourselves, and others, and provide the best service we can in our lifetime. It’s the message in Chantel Pratt’s recent book, The Neuroscience of You: How Every Brain is Different and How to Understand Yours[xiii], where she says that even after writing this book, she’s still trying to expand her awareness of who she is.
Even my mentor, the late Bob Proctor, would say that “awareness is everything” and he could talk for hours about the importance of our conscious awareness or our ability to sit, think and expand our awareness even a dot, saying that this small shift could change the world—or at least your world to start with. He’d often say that our “results are an expression of our awareness” reminding us to open up the keyhole, and expand our level of awareness when we are stuck, or to keep “thinking” to move us forward. Never stop thinking, learning and expanding. Invest the time to develop YOU, (your awareness) and this could take our entire lifetime.
So, the question (“Who am I?”)  is more important than the answer. It requires our conscious thought and thinking is the highest function we are capable of, and it’s very difficult. Most people think the same thoughts over and over again, which isn’t thinking at all, but like a hamster spinning on a wheel, or playing old movies in our head.
How to Expand our Awareness and Break Through to New Levels:
Have you ever been stuck and you can’t seem to find the answer to your problem? I know we all have. The fastest way to expand our thinking, and find new solutions, is to ask someone who has achieved what you want to do, (because it’s easy for them to connect the dots looking backwards) as they can give you thousands of ideas, showing you that there’s not just one way to get to where you are going. Thinking new thoughts, opens up our awareness (even if it’s just a dot) to new ideas, and possibilities, but how do we do this?
How Do We Expand Our Level of Awareness?
On Today’s episode, I have just one strategy, and that’s to expand our awareness through study. If you look at the diagram I drew, look and see where your area of interest is.  You can see where mine is from the episodes we are covering.
STUDY: Find the podcasts that you connect with (for those listening, thank you for choosing mine), read books, study people who are winning, and glean whatever you can from what you are learning to expand your conscious awareness.
What I love seeing is people who break through what seems to be impossible, or where most people would give up.  
For a minute, let’s review this week’s Brain Fact Friday. On today’s episode we covered:
How being “mindfully aware in the present moment” can benefit us?
An overview of the Levels of Consciousness that take us from coma, unaware, to full wakefulness and awareness.
How to expand our level of awareness through effective study (using the most current neuroscience research).
Break down this complex idea of consciousness, so we can all improve an area on the map, moving us towards full awareness.
Use this understanding to better understand ourselves and others.
Reminder—for this week’s brain fact Friday
DID YOU KNOW THAT “consciousness is the most astonishing act our big, complex, interconnected brains pull off and scientists are only just beginning to understand it?”[xiv] (National Geographic, The Brain).
After looking into this a bit, I learned that “some scholars reckon the puzzle of consciousness is something the human mind is incapable of solving” but Daniel Dennett, Philospher and Cognitive Scientist from Tufts University (MA) says that this line of thinking is “culpably wrong. It isn’t impossible at all. It’s just that we have to buckle down and do it.”[xv]
Imagine going back to 1973 (I was only 2) but let’s go back in time and I’m going to explain to you that there’s this thing called the internet, that’s in the ether. I send you something, and you get it pretty much at the same time as I sent it to you. You’d think I was crazy.
But not now that our level of awareness has been expanded, and we use the internet every day to function in this society.
While we might never understand why we have consciousness, we can continue to study, learn and expand our conscious awareness, (on this topic and others)  and like Cognitive Scientist Daniel Dennett suggests, “buckle down” and do whatever it is we are working on. Whether it’s something as difficult as breaking down something so complex as our consciousness, or something less complex, it just takes our effort, and continual study to blast through to new levels of awareness, and results.
Wishing you success in whatever it is you are working on. Like that new student in our neuroscience course, keep asking questions, and searching for answers, and I’ll see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
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REFERENCES:
[i] Certified Neurocoaches with Mark Robert Waldman https://www.markrobertwaldman.com/students-2/
[ii] Jon Kabat-Zinn defining Mindfulness by Mindful Staff Jan 11, 2017 https://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-defining-mindfulness/
[iii] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #228 with Rohan Dixit, Founder of Lief Therapeutics on “Meaasuring HRV in Real-Time for Stress Releif From the Inside Out.” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/rohan-dixit-founder-of-lief-therapeutics-on-measuring-hrv-in-real-time-for-stress-relief-from-the-inside-out/
[iv] Enhancing cognitive and social-emotional development through a simple to administer mindfulness-based school program for elementary school children by Kimberly Schonert-Reichl Published 2015 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2014-56463-002
[v] Page 74, Chapter 4, The Brain by Julia Sklar, National Geographic https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Brain-Editors/dp/1547859121/ref=asc_df_1547859121/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598244665656&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9016464077537371621&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030091&hvtargid=pla-1672909059785&psc=1
[vi] Are There Levels of Consciousness? Published by Tim Bayne June 2016 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S136466131630002X
[vii] What is Consciousness Published on YouTube Sept. 10, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8XITVmeY4
[viii] What is Hypnagogia, the State Between Wakefulness and Sleep? By Raj Dasgupta,MD Published Oct. 26, 2020 https://www.healthline.com/health/hypnagogia
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #224 with Dr. Baland Jalal on “Sleep Paralysis, Lucid Dreaming, and Premonitions: Expanding our Awareness into the Mysteries of the Brain”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/harvard-neuroscientist-drbaland-jalalexplainssleepparalysislucid-dreaming-andpremonitionsexpandingour-awareness-into-the-mysteries-ofourbrainduring-sl/
[x] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #72 with Dr. Shane Creado on “Sleep Strategies That Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-shane-creado-on-sleep-strategies-that-will-guarantee-a-competitive-advantage/
[xi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #217 on “Science-Based Tricks to Improve Productivity and Never Forget Anything” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/brain-fact-friday-on-science-based-tricks-to-improve-productivity-and-never-forget-anything/
[xii] Jon Kabat-Zinn defining Mindfulness by Mindful Staff Jan 11, 2017 https://www.mindful.org/jon-kabat-zinn-defining-mindfulness/
[xiii] https://www.amazon.com/Neuroscience-You-Every-Different-Understand/dp/1524746606
[xiv] Page 74, Chapter 4, The Brain by Julia Sklar, National Geographic https://www.amazon.com/National-Geographic-Brain-Editors/dp/1547859121/ref=asc_df_1547859121/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=598244665656&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9016464077537371621&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9030091&hvtargid=pla-1672909059785&psc=1
[xv] What is Consciousness Published on YouTube Sept. 10, 2015 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ir8XITVmeY4 TIME STAMP 1:31/12:42

Brain Fact Friday on Success is Nonlinear: Using Neuroscience to Achieve Quantum Leaps, the Kaizen Way.

Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results. Like you, I’m interested in learning and applying the research, to our everyday life.
For this week’s Brain Fact Friday, I want to look at the Japanese term “Kaizen” that means “change for the better” or “continuous improvement” as we enter the last quarter of 2022. If you follow this podcast, we launched our year with a 6 PART study of the bestselling book, Think and Grow Rich, that ended with EPISODE #196[i] on “The Neuroscience Behind the 15 Success Principles of Napoleon Hill’s Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich” ensuring that we all make 2022 our best year ever with this detailed study. I’ve been studying this book chapter by chapter, at the start of every year, since 2019, which doesn’t seem like a long time, but if you go back to this book study, you’ll see that it’s quite intensive. The notes I share came from 2 of my mentors who have studied this book for their entire life. It took me to the beginning of February to properly cover these 15 success principles, with enough content in this series to continue to study this book, every year, for the rest of OUR lives, and we will still pick up something new. We will cover this on today’s episode, but success with these principles doesn’t happen immediately. But it will happen, with time, which is why I think it’s crucial to revisit this book (and success principles) throughout the year, to be sure the concepts are being applied, not just in January, when we are starting our year, but every month of the year, right through to end of Q4. There are 6 STEPS in this book, that I’ve written on my wall, that when read aloud every day, causes an increase in the amplitude of our thinking, until eventually, our goals become so engrained in our mind, that they become on autosuggestion in our thoughts throughout our day. Napoleon Hill intended this book to be studied over and over again, not just once, but multiple times, for results to occur.
We opened this 6 PART series at the start of the year with a quote from Undercover Billionaire Grant Cardone, who said, “In order to get to the next level of whatever we’re doing, we must think and act in a wildly different way than we previously have been” and I know I’ve repeated this quote often throughout the year, (on various episodes) but I’m doing it on purpose, since making any sort of change takes time. It doesn’t happen overnight, or immediately, or how our brain wants to see things unravel, because success is nonlinear[ii]. I heard this concept the other day, and it made me stop and think for a minute. When you hear “success in nonlinear” what do you think about? I thought about that image of the person riding their bike with their plan in mind, towards their goal, but in reality, there are many obstacles along the way.
 
We all will have our ups and downs, but what I’m hoping to show with this episode, is that our results will happen predictably, by taking certain actions, day in and day out, with our desired outcomes in our mind, that eventually become on autosuggestion, as we move towards our goals, overcoming the obstacles along the way. This will encourage all of us, that no matter what results we see today, in front of our eyes, that we must never give up, as you might just be giving up 3 feet before gold,[iii] (which is a concept from Chapter 1 of Napoleon Hill’s Think and Grow Rich book) that says “one of the most common causes of failure is the habit of quitting when one is overtaken by temporary defeat.” (Napoleon Hill, Chapter 1, Think and Grow Rich). Which brings to my mind another image of this guy giving up as he was almost about to hit it big, discovering the diamonds underground, when another guy, (right above him in the image) who is determined to keep moving forward.
When you hear “success is nonlinear” what comes to your mind?
Stop and think about this for minute, because there is much more to this concept than meets the eye. When I’m looking at the images that come to my mind (the guy on a bike with the obstacles, or the guy digging for diamonds) these images are missing something important—they are missing the huge quantum leap in results that occur for those who don’t give up. After digging a bit, (pun intended here) I found an article that explained what I was looking for from Thomas Waschenfelder and I’ve put his image in the show notes.
IMAGE CREDIT: Success is Not Linear by Thomas Waschenfelder
Waschenfelder’s diagram “Success is Not Linear” shows two places where people often give up, right before their results were about to shoot up, exponentially.
How Does This Apply to Us at This Point in the Year?
What if we are in Q4 of 2022, and it’s not panning out to be our best year ever? We listened to many different podcasts for new ideas, we took notes, and applied what we could, but life looks pretty much the same in October as it did in January. Most of us would be tempted to give up as we can’t see the quantum leap (your end result) when you’re looking forward. It will only be evident once we hit our goal, and it will be at that point that you’ll be able to explain it to others.
If you’ve attained your goals this year, that’s awesome! You held your vision to the end, and now you can now share your strategy with others. But what if you haven’t? I’m working on something over here, and I haven’t achieved it yet, either, despite all the effort. And there were two specific times (just like in Waschenfelder’s diagram) where things didn’t go my way, where most people would throw in the towel. But when you look at “how success isn’t linear” you can expect the obstacles to appear, and keep going, if you believe in the process.
Do You Believe in the Process?
I can say honestly that I wouldn’t be spending the time to sit at my desk, thinking of how else we could all move the needle forward (myself included), and study the most successful people I know, looking for how science can help us to understand our lives a bit better, if I didn’t believe in this process myself.  If you look at Thomas Waschenfelder’s image that describes how most of us think that the more effort we put in (we listen to podcasts, gather ideas, but them into action) so success should follow. But this isn’t exactly how it works. Waschenfelder describes the process reminding us that “the amount of work you put in does not correlate to the success you enjoy at any given moment.” Most people will give up when they don’t see the immediate rewards, and this made me think back to the book You2 by Price Pritchett that I covered on EPISODE #109, February 2021[iv] that was a high velocity formula for multiplying our personal effectiveness in quantum leaps. If you look at Waschenfelder’s image, you can see two places where most people give up. But look at what happens if they kept going! He says it himself. “With one additional move, they see a giant, disproportionally huge impact.” If this is you, doing the work, and not yet seeing the results, go back and listen to EP 109 on the principles of YOU2 that will guarantee you “an explosive jump in your personal performance that puts you far beyond the next logical step.” (Price Pritchett, Page 5, You2). Then when you think that “success is not linear” you’ll have a new image formed in your mind, with all the obstacles along with the way, and the goal, right next to that exponential, quantum leap at the end.
And Now What? (you ask).
This brings us to this week’s Brain Fact Friday and how the Japanese term Kaizen, can help us.
DID YOU KNOW that “the Japanese term Kaizen, or the practice of using small steps for continuous improvement “actually originated with the U.S Military?” (Friederike Fabritius, points this out in her book, The Leading Brain: Work Smarter, Better, Happier) that we covered when we interviewed her way back on EPISODE #27[v] one of our early episodes. I’m thrilled to share that she will be joining us again soon with her new book coming out October 11th (next week) called The Brain Friendly Workplace[vi] but until then, I wanted to tie this powerful concept of Kaizen, that’s used by the U.S. Military (so we know it must be good) with our brain, so we can all benefit from this concept, for the remainder of 2022, and see if it can help us to make a “Quantum Leap or Explosive Jump in our personal or professional performance, that puts us far beyond the next logical step.” (Pritchett)
Friederike, in her book, The Leading Brain says that “procrastination is the principle impediment to initiating any habit change. Large goals can seem intimidating unless broken down into manageable steps. Kaizen, the practice of using small steps, can help you to avoid the threat response (in our brain) that frequently drives procrastination.”
When I saw the concept of Kaizen, I thought we could easily apply it to our health and wellbeing, (in addition to our professional lives). Or any place where there’s too much for our brain to handle, so we don’t do anything at all. This strategy can be used in any field to take our results to the next level.
I saw Dr. Mark Eley[vii] point out that the Kaizen cycle could be used in education with PLC, as the steps can help educators “to achieve better results for the students they serve.” (DuFour, DuFour & Eaker, 2002).[viii]
Whatever sector you are working in, (education, sports, health and wellness) I hope you can see how the Kaizen approach is one way of finding solutions, and breaking through to new levels of achievement, creating your quantum leap.
How Can You Use the Kaizen Strategy in the Workplace?
STEP 1: Get Your Team Together
STEP 2: Write Out Your List of Problems
STEP 3: Brainstorm Solutions, Then Choose Yours.
STEP 4: Test the Solution
STEP 5: Regularly Measure and Analyze the Results
STEP 6: If Successful, Adopt the Solution
STEP 7: Repeat the Process
Keep in mind Thomas Waschenfelder’s image as you are working through the 7 steps to break through to new levels of achievement in your workplace, as there will be times throughout that members of the team will want to give up, if they can’t see the end results a quantum leap that’s miles ahead of where they are now.
How Can You Use the Kaizen Strategy for Improved Health?
For our health, it looks a lot like what I’m doing when I’m testing products and sharing them with you here on the podcast. When our podcast took a turn towards health and wellness during the pandemic, we began to focus narrowly on the TOP 5 health staples[ix] (exercise, sleep, healthy diet, optimizing our microbiome, and intermittent fasting). Narrowing in on these health staples makes it easier to pinpoint where our challenges are.
While recently reading Dr. Tom O’Bryan’s book, You Can Fix Your Brain: Just 1 Hour a Week to the Best Memory, Productivity, and Sleep You’ve Ever Had[x] he mentioned how intimidating it can be to improve our health, with all the different theories, diets, and advice, that often contradicts each other and it’s not uncommon to “find ourselves immobilized with minimal results, or not getting better at all.” (O’Bryan, You Can Fix Your Brain).
Dr. O’Bryan talks about dedicating just one hour a week to make significant changes with our health, and I wondered how he could guarantee change in this way. In the first few pages of the book he offered a tip that I’ll never forget, that will change my brain health forever.  He offers this brain health tip in the first few pages of his book called “A Note from the Author: Progress, Not Perfection” that reminds us that significant gains can occur when we do things the “Kaizen” way.
This is just one brain health tip he shares, but I’ll never forget it. He says--
This one simple maneuver every time you pump gas, over a lifetime, dramatically reduces the amount of benzene we are exposed to. The Kaizen way. Small actions add up over our lifetime.
So to conclude this episode and review this week’s Brain Fact Friday,
DID YOU KNOW that “the Japanese term Kaizen, or the practice of using small steps for continuous improvement “actually originated with the U.S Military?” and that “the secret for kaizen is that it operates below the radar of your brain’s threat response and that the actions you are taking are so small, so incremental, and seemingly inconsequential that psychologist Robert Maurer, (says they really) Can Change Your Life: The Kaizen Way” (Friederike Fabritius).
Whether we are using the Kaizen way for our professional or personal lives, we can take small steps towards progress, every day, that one day, will yield our Quantum Leap that puts us far beyond the next logical step.
When you hit your Quantum Leap, I’d love to hear about it.
Until then, I’m still working on mine! I’ll see you next week. 
RESOURCES:
Think and Grow Rich Book Study with Andrea Samadi
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE 190 PART 1 “Making 2022 Your Best Year Ever”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-1-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #191 PART 2 on “Thinking Differently and Choosing Faith Over Fear”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-2-how-to-make-2022-your-best-year-ever-by-thinking-differently-and-choosing-faith-over-fear/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #193 PART 3 on “Putting Our Goals on Autopilot with Autosuggestion and Our Imagination”   https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-3-using-autosuggestion-and-your-imagination-to-put-your-goals-on-autopilot/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 4 on “Perfecting the Skills of Organized Planning, Decision-Making, and Persistence” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-4-on-perfecting-the-skills-of-organized-planning-decision-making-and-persistence/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #195 PART 5 on “The Power of the Mastermind, Taking the Mystery Out of Sex Transmutation, and Linking ALL Parts of Our Mind” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/think-and-grow-rich-book-review-part-5-on-the-power-of-the-mastermind-taking-the-mystery-out-of-sex-transmutation-and-linking-all-parts-of-our-mind/
Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 PART 6 “The Neuroscience Behind the 15 Success Principles of Napoleon Hill’s Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
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REFERENCES:
[i] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #196 “The Neuroscience Behind the 15 Success Principles of Napoleon Hill’s Classic Book, Think and Grow Rich” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/the-neuroscience-behind-the-15-success-principles-of-napoleon-hill-s-classic-boo-think-and-grow-rich/
[ii] Success is Nonlinear: Why Most People Give Up Before the Rewards Published June 5, 2020 by Thomas Waschenfelder https://www.wealest.com/articles/success-is-nonlinear?format=amp
[iii] Napoleon Hill’s 3 Feet from Gold https://www.selfhelpdaily.com/napoleon-hills-three-feet-from-gold/
[iv] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #109 on “Achieving Quantum Level Results Using Pritchett’s You2 Principles” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/achieving-quantum-leap-results-using-price-pritchetts-you-squared-principles/
[v]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #27 with Pioneer in the Field of Neuroleadership, Friederike Fabritius on “The Recipe for Achieving Peak Performance”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/pioneer-in-the-field-of-neuroleadership-friederike-fabritius-on-the-recipe-for-achieving-peak-performance/
[vi] The Brain Friendly Workplace by Friederike Fabritius published Oct. 11, 2022 https://www.amazon.com/Brain-Friendly-Workplace-Talented-People-Quit-ebook/dp/B0B627QGWB/ref=tmm_kin_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
[vii] Dr. Mark Eley https://twitter.com/1atatym
[viii] What is a PLC by Martin Yan Sept. 25, 2020 https://www.illuminateed.com/blog/2020/09/what-is-a-plc/#:~:text=The%20term%20%E2%80%9CPLC%E2%80%9D%20stands%20for,DuFour%20%26%20Eaker%2C%202002).
[ix]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE#87 Top 5 Brain Health and Alzheimer’s Prevention Strategies  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/bonus-episode-a-deep-dive-into-the-top-5-health-staples-and-review-of-seasons-1-4/
[x]Dr. Tom O’Bryan You Can Fix Your Brain: Just 1 Hour a Week to the Best Memory, Productivity, and Sleep You’ve Ever Had https://www.amazon.com/You-Can-Fix-Your-Brain-audiobook/dp/B07GTBMFMH
 

World renowned Neuroscientist Dr. Caroline Leaf on ”Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple, Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety and Toxic Thinking.”

Today we have a special BONUS episode on the Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast with a very insightful backstory for how we came to meet our next guest. But first,  if you are new here, my name is Andrea Samadi, and I’m a former educator who created this podcast to bring the most current neuroscience research, along with high performing experts who have risen to the top of their field, with specific strategies or ideas that you can implement immediately, whether you are an educator, or in the corporate space, to take your results to the next level. If we want to improve our social, emotional and cognitive abilities, it all starts with an understanding of our brain. 
You can watch this interview on YouTube here. 
----------------BACKSTORY-----------------
I first heard our next guest on Dr. Daniel and Tana Amen’s Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast[i] right at the start of the Pandemic last May 2020 where I learned about a “Step 5 Process to Managing Trauma.” At the time of this interview, many people around me were just beginning to feel the stressors and pressure that this global pandemic was having on the world, and I began to pay attention to what this speaker was saying. I usually listen to my podcasts early morning and takes notes on my phone, and I began quickly writing what I was learning on this podcast.
This speaker caught my attention because she mentioned that she had spent 25 years in the in South Africa in the worst areas—working with local schools, and community centers where she would teach them about their brain and their mind, and her work had such an incredible impact on those around her, they would fill these rooms, with standing room only. I know what it takes to fill a room, coming from my work in the speaking industry, working closely with Bob Proctor Seminars, so I knew she had to be doing something outstanding to draw this much interest. This podcast episode ended and I went back to my usual work life and interviewing new speakers. At that time, I was referred to a publisher and was working with many of authors connected to this polisher (Corwin Press), and my interview schedule filled up through the summer, and I wasn’t looking for new guests, I was just trying to keep up with the demand to interview the ones I had in cue.
Then I had an email from one of my LinkedIn contacts, John Prucha[ii], from Atlanta, GA, who I heard from occasionally as he was enjoying the podcast episodes and often would send me his thoughts and feedback. One day he sent me a private message asking if I had considered reaching out to Dr. Carolyn Leaf[iii] for the podcast. At the time he sent me the message, I was swamped with the line-up of guests, but I do take all referrals seriously, and wrote down Dr. Leaf’s name on my desk.  And went back to work as usual.
A couple of weeks later I was working on a Character Book that I am creating, and this time, I am doing the interior design of the book, instead of sending it to a publisher, and I was looking for some headings to go along with the lessons I was creating. For each Character Trait, like Attentiveness, I have created ways to learn this attribute, and had the heading THINK (with some tips on what to think about before studying how to become more attentive), LEARN (the actual lesson on attentiveness), TAKE ACTION (with an activity to implement attentiveness into your daily life) and I was searching for the last heading. What happens to people after they learn a new skill? When I don’t know the answer to something, I usually type it into Google and see what comes up. I typed in THINK, LEARN, and the FIRST thing to come up was a book called Think, Learn, Succeed: Understanding and Using Your Mind to Thrive at School, the Workplace and Life[iv] by Dr. Caroline Leaf!  If you had been in my office, you would have seen me glance at the note on my desk as my brain processed, “Hey, wasn’t that the same person who John Prucha from LinkedIn asked me to contact?” Then I typed Dr. Leaf’s name into my notes, and there she was, on the Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast, so I put down what I was doing, and emailed her offices to request her as a guest on the podcast. I don’t believe in accidents, or that things happen by chance or luck. I believe that when there is an opportunity that we can easily miss it if we are not aware. I really should have reached out to Dr. Leaf the minute I knew of her background with education and the brain, which is the whole entire theme of this podcast, for those who have been following us.  I did hear back from her offices, from someone named Jessica, who let me know that Dr. Leaf was currently swamped, but for me to reach back to her in January. Of course I put a note up on my calendar on my wall to contact Dr. Leaf then, and circled it so I wouldn’t forget.
And went on with my work and life, until I was contacted by Podbean, who hosts this podcast, to see if I could be interested in moderating an event that was coming up in November of 2020, called Wellness Week. I wrote back that I would love to do this and asked to learn more about the session I would be moderating. I received an email back that I would be running the session about Neuroscience, Mental Health and Coaching with John Kim, and….Dr. Caroline Leaf!
Of course I did a deep dive into Dr. Leaf’s work prior to that session, and loved every minute of speaking with her, learning more, taking more notes, and knowing that it would be so much fun to one day interview her face to face on The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast.
And today is that day.
World-renowned neuroscientist and best-selling author Dr. Caroline Leaf, is a communication pathologist and cognitive neuroscientist with a Masters and PhD in Communication Pathology and a BSc Logopaedics, specializing in cognitive and metacognitive neuropsychology. Since the early 1980s she has researched the mind-brain connection, the nature of mental health, and the formation of memory. She was one of the first in her field to study how the brain can change (neuroplasticity) with directed mind input. 
During her years in clinical practice and her work with thousands of underprivileged teachers and students in her home country of South Africa and in the USA, she developed her theory (called the Geodesic Information Processing theory) of how we think, build memory, and learn, into tools and processes that have transformed the lives of hundreds of thousands of individuals with Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI), Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), learning disabilities (ADD, ADHD), autism, dementias and mental ill-health issues like anxiety and depression. She has helped hundreds of thousands of students and adults learn how to use their mind to detox and grow their brain to succeed in every area of their lives, including school, university, and the workplace.
Dr. Leaf is about to release her NEW book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress and Toxic Thinking (March 2, 2021) where the solution is offered in five action-oriented steps called the Neurocycle, where she shares practical application and strategies for readers. Backed by clinical research and illustrated with compelling case studies, Dr. Leaf provides a scientifically supported plan to find and eliminate the root of anxiety, depression, and intrusive thoughts in reader’s lives so they can build a healthy new and automated neural network in 63 days, the length of time to properly build a new habit.
“I truly believe that mental mess is something we all experience often,” writes Dr. Leaf, “and that it isn’t something we should be ashamed of. This is my profession, and I still have to clean up my mind daily. The events and circumstances of life aren’t going anywhere; people make a lot of decisions every day that affect us all, suffering of some sort for you and your loved ones is inevitable. That said, I wholeheartedly believe that although the events and circumstances can’t be controlled, we can control our reactions to these events and circumstances. This is mind-management in action!”
Dr. Leaf leverages the strategies she has developed working with patients over the last 38 years to teach readers how to foster and cultivate the power of their own thinking and direct their own brain changes. Mind-management, when done correctly, helps facilitate talk between the conscious, the subconscious, and the nonconscious mind. This, in turn, gets brainwaves flowing in a healthy way, optimizing brain function. This is done by implementing the Neurocycle, a simple, clinically researched mind-management tool for personal use to address and ameliorate such warning signals as anxiety, depression, toxic thinking, inability to concentrate, irritability, exhaustion and burnout before they take over someone’s mind.
In CLEANING UP YOUR MENTAL MESS, you will learn:
What happens when we don’t use our minds properly
Mind-management and why we need it
How the 5 steps can help reduce anxiety and depression by up to 81% according to clinical studies
Why mind-management is the solution to cleaning up your mental mess
How the science can help us transition from being aware of toxic thoughts, to catching and managing them in their early stages
How our thoughts physically affect ourselves and others
How to capitalize on directed neuroplasticity using the Neurocycle
To apply mind-management to unwire toxic habits and trauma
How to leverage the lessons in the book for their daily lifestyle, including connection, brain-building, sleep, diet, exercise, people-pleasing, toxic perfectionism, overthinking, toxic emails and texts
Why mindfulness is not enough and how strategic mind-management through the 5 steps can take a reader beyond mindfulness
You can order your copy of Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess[v] starting March 2nd (and pre-order your copy if you are listening to this podcast on March 1st).
Welcome Dr. Leaf, it’s such a pleasure to meet you face to face after working with you during Podbean’s Wellness Week for our session back in November last year.
Intro:
Dr. Leaf, before we get to the questions I have for you, I wanted to ask if you could give us a quick history of how you came to study the brain and how did you come to believe that if “we direct our mind, we can change our brain.” How did you set out to prove those 2 professors wrong who told you this concept was ridiculous?
My Thoughts: I first heard about the importance of studying the mind with Bob Proctor, who I worked for through his seminars for 6 years. I learned about the mind, the importance of positive thinking, and how we could change our conditions, circumstances, environment and results with the power of our thoughts. Schools/educators were not ready for this, so when I began working with schools, I had to change the word “mind” to “brain” to make what I was saying science based. Like you, I believe that with the right strategy, we can learn anything.
PART 1 of the BOOK “The Why and the How”
Q1: When we release this podcast episode, it will be the day before you NEW book, Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess: 5 Simple Scientifically Proven Steps to Reduce Anxiety, Stress and Toxic Thinking comes out. This book takes the research you have done over the past 38 years and teaches us exactly how we can make the most of our mind and brain, taking us to new heights. Can you explain what our mind is, and what happens to it if we don’t keep our thoughts clean? What is the interconnected mind? What’s the difference between the mind and  brain? Can we measure or see what “mind” is?
My Thoughts: On episode 23[vi], we take a close look at “Understanding the Difference Between the Mind and the Brain” with Dr. Daniel Siegel’s definition of the mind and brain. It’s a topic I’ve been interested in learning more about since learning of the importance of positive thinking from Bob Proctor in the late 1990s.  I know that our thoughts control our conditions, circumstances, environment and results. I just never had the science to prove it, other than one person I met, Dr. Joesph Guan (Clinical Director at the Brain Enhancement Center in Singapore) who studied with Dr. Bruce Lipton[vii] said he saw machines (called SQUID machines) that could measure a positive and/or negative thought and prove how negative thinking caused poor results.
Q2: I know I heard you mention on your podcast with Dr. Amen that if we are anxious while eating, that our pancreas will not secrete the peptides needed to digest our food, just like the importance of our thinking on our telomeres/aging. What happens when we don’t use our minds correctly and have doubts and worries occupying our mind, like most of us do on a daily basis?
Q3: Listeners of this podcast all know of the importance of self-regulation with regards to our results, but these days, we seem to get hit with something new every week that makes positive thinking really difficult. Can you explain what your research suggests to be the best way to manage our minds during stressful times?
PART 2 of the Book, The Practical Application of the Neurocycle
Q4: I heard you speaking about this concept of using your brain to change negative thinking a few times before I really understood it. I heard it first on the Brain Warrior Way Podcast, then again on Ed Mylett’s podcast, and you went into detail about this strategy during our session on Wellness Week and I was furiously writing notes to understand this concept.  I will link all of these episodes in the show notes for people to find, so you don’t have to go into detail, but can you explain the metaphor that you use of how our worries are like branches on  a tree, with the goal of identifying FIRST what we are worrying about, pick one worry to fix, get a new perspective of this worry, and then actually get to the root cause or origin of our worry to eliminate it?
My thoughts: I downloaded the SWITCH app after watching the Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast again and have just started to work on one thing I worry about.  After just one day, I am learning so much about why I think I worry about this one thing, and even just thinking/analyzing it, has helped. (Name it to tame it idea).
Q5: It seems that every day we have a new challenge to overcome and many of us our experiencing some sort of anxiety that can lead to depression which is completely normal.
How can we use neurocycling to build mental toughness, resiliency, or even emotional toughness to overcome how difficult times are these days?
Q6: How can we use these 5 steps to break bad habits and build good lifestyle habits?
Q7: How can we use these steps to detox from trauma or memories that we habitually play over in our minds—those Automatic Negative Thoughts?
Thank you very much Dr. Leaf for the years of research you have done in this field, for the books and resources you have created, and your Switch app where anyone can go and begin to immediately implement these ideas. For people who want to learn more about your work, is the best place https://www.cleaningupyourmentalmess.com/ 
If someone wants to purchase your book, out March 2nd 2021, I will put the links in the show notes. 
Also, you have an incredible podcast, Cleaning Up the Mental Mess[viii] where you go into detail on using the neurocycle in specific areas of your life (most recently for reclaiming the loss of self and your identity).
Other than the NEW book, your APP, website and podcast, have I missed anything that people should see?
Thank you!
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/Achieveit360com  
Neuroscience Meets SEL Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/2975814899101697  
Twitter: https://twitter.com/andreasamadi  
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/andreasamadi/ 
RESOURCES:
Neuroscience Meets SEL Episode #106 with Andrea Samadi "Review of Dr. Leaf's Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Book and App" https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/book-and-app-review-of-neuroscientist-and-best-selling-author-dr-caroline-leafs-cleaning-up-your-mental-mess-coming-march-2-20201/ 
What is Qeeg Brain Mapping https://www.mountainvistapsychology.com/qeeg/
REFERENCES:
[i] The 5-Step Process to Managing Trauma with Dr. Caroline Leaf on The Brain Warrior’s Way Podcast Published on YouTube May 22, 2020 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u_sHPAvOXh4&t=2661s
[ii] John Prucha, Graduate Student from Liberty University https://www.linkedin.com/in/john-p-2160661b2/
[iii] https://drleaf.com/
[iv]Think, Learn, Succeed: Understanding and Using Your Mind to Thrive at School, the Workplace and Life by Dr. Caroline Leaf (August 7, 2018)  https://www.amazon.com/Think-Learn-Succeed-Understanding-Workplace/dp/0801093279
[v] Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess by Dr. Caroline Leaf (March 2, 2021) https://www.amazon.com/Cleaning-Your-Mental-Mess-Scientifically/dp/0801093457
[vi] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Episode #14 “Understanding the Difference Between the Mind and the Brain” https://www.achieveit360.com/understanding-the-difference-between-your-mind-and-brain/
[vii] Dr. Bruce Lipton https://www.brucelipton.com/
[viii] Cleaning Up Your Mental Mess Podcast with Dr. Leaf https://drleaf.com/pages/podcasts

Brain Fact Friday on ”Using Neuroscience to Understand the Narcissistic Brain”

“When I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the shame-based fear of being ordinary. I see the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be loveable, to belong, or to cultivate a sense of purpose.” Brené Brown.
And when I look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, I see the spirit in that person, desperately trying to be seen for their talents, skills and abilities, but something keeps this person’s spirit in the shadows and I wonder what that is.
On today’s episode we will examine:
✔ Narcissism through the vulnerability lens
✔ What is narcissism and how is it diagnosed.
✔ What the narcissistic brain looks like.
✔ 3 STEPS to move you forward if you think you are a narcissist, if you live with one, or if you work with one.
 Welcome back to The Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast where we bridge the gap between theory and practice, with strategies, tools and ideas we can all use immediately, applied to the most current brain research to heighten productivity in our schools, sports environments and modern workplaces. I’m Andrea Samadi and launched this podcast to share how important an understanding of our brain is for our everyday life and results.
For this week’s Brain Fact Friday, I want to look at something I saw this past week about the narcissistic brain. We hear this word so often these days, thrown around when describing someone who is self-centered, someone who is unlikeable when they exclaim, “That person is such a narcissist!”
Narcissistic personality disorder (NPD) is “a condition where people have an inflated sense of self-importance and a deep-seated need for attention and admiration. Those living with NPD show a distinct lack of empathy for the feelings and needs of others.”[i]
In writing this episode, I want to come from the “vulnerable” angle (like Brené Brown mentioned in her quote) and look at what we can learn about the brain of someone who meets at least 5 of the criteria for what we call narcissistic personality disorder.[ii] My goal with this episode is to help all of us to understand the “why” behind narcissism,  a personality disorder that is not difficult to miss when you either work with, or live with someone who shows even a few of the criteria that’s needed for a clinical diagnosis.
American psychologist, and brain disorder specialist, Dr. Daniel Amen, from Amen Clinics, says that “6.2% of the American population has a narcissistic personality disorder” that often begins in early adulthood.
What’s interesting, is that “Psychologically speaking, narcissism is a personality trait that every person possesses to some degree. Like any characteristic, it exists on a spectrum. We all fall somewhere along the narcissistic continuum” and a certain amount of self-centeredness is healthy.”[iii]
While writing this episode, I remembered something sleep medicine physician, and sports psychiatrist Dr. Shane Creado from EP #72[iv] said to me when he analyzed my brain scan from Amen Clinics, and I went back to that episode #84[v] to look at what he saw. I remember he said something about my deep limbic system being the brightest part of my emotional brain and that he saw this area overactive in people who hold themselves to high standards. I wondered for a minute. Oh no, does this make me a narcissist? Curious, I sent him a text late last night to double check what he meant by that and he sent me a wonderful explanation this morning, affirming that narcissism is complex, and operates on a spectrum. He explained why we all need a certain amount of it, to be focused on our goals, or things that we want to achieve, which explained why he saw this area light up brightly with people who are perfectionists, like I tend to be with this podcast.
When releasing content out to the world, I have to be careful of what I say, and how I say it, especially when I’m interviewing someone, and what I create goes into the world for anyone to watch, and will become a reflection of that person from that moment on. I’m incredibly picky with how I produce my video interviews, (and will probably never outsource them) as I want to highlight that person in a certain way--in the brightest light possible, not just for that minute, but for the rest of their lifetime that the video is online, representing them.  Thank goodness that the perfectionist in me doesn’t make me a narcissist, according to Dr. Creado, as this would be expected of anyone who wants to do their best on anything (a test, an interview, or whatever it is they are working on).
Where he cautioned me, was that if for some reason something doesn’t meet my high expectations, to watch that I don’t go down the path of self-doubt, shame, or guilt which would lead to depression. He reminded me that this topic is complex, and to be careful of taking a brain scan that “looks” a certain way, and then label of person because of it. He recommended credible personality testing to diagnose someone with a personality disorder, like the Minnesota Multi-Phasic Personality Inventory (MMPI)[vi] that is one of the most researched psychological tests in existence.  He did say this topic was complex, and I’m starting to see why.
So for this episode, I want to stay on the surface of this complex brain disorder, to see if we can improve our own awareness of the narcissistic brain—what the research sees in a brain with someone who has been diagnosed with this personality disorder, and what can we learn from this. Dr. Amen, from Amen Clinics[vii]   where I had my brain scanned, has a section for understanding personality disorders on his website[viii], and notes that Narcissistic Personality Disorder is characterized by “an inflated sense of self-importance, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy.”  
He lists symptoms that include:
An exaggerated sense of self-importance
A need for excessive and constant admiration
A lack of empathy
Being preoccupied with grandiose fantasies of unlimited success, money, or power
A need to be recognized as superior or special and a belief that they can only keep company with people of equal exceptionalism
A sense of entitlement to special treatment
A tendency to exaggerate accomplishments or talents
Manipulation or exploitation of others
A belief that others are envious of them, while deep down being envious of others
An arrogant, haughty, or demanding attitude
While this topic is complex, as Dr. Creado shared, there are many books that one can read to learn more about the different types of personality disorders that are on a spectrum, meaning that not all types are the same, for today’s Brain Fact Friday, I want to focus on a trait that is common to all types of narcissism, and that is that they lack empathy. When I saw this, my need to understand “why” came to my mind, as I thought, “why do some people not care about others?”   
Which leads us to this week’s Brain Fact Friday where we can gain tremendous understanding with questions just like this, when we look at why people behave the way they do, and connect it, to the most current brain research.
DID YOU KNOW “that people who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder have less gray matter volume[ix] in a region of their brain believed to be involved with empathy”[x] and they also have “increased activity in baseline images in brain regions associated with self-directed and self-absorbed thinking.” Dr. Daniel Amen.
In the show notes I put an image of an fMRI scan that reveals the lower cortical thickness in the NPD brain vs a normal brain, as well as lower cortical volume, which explains why someone who has been diagnosed with this disorder would show impairments in the social brain.
WHY DO NARCISSISTS LACK EMPATHY?
It’s starting to make more sense to me now, almost like an AHA moment. When someone says “I don’t care” they really do mean it.
A closer look at the narcissistic brain can explain why.
SO NOW WHAT?
Dr. Amen, who has been on a mission to help people improve their health since he began looking at the brain back in 1991, now adds in a recent Instagram post with international DJ, producer and neuroscience fan, Steve Aoki[xi], that he’s on a mission to make brain health cool, and his clinic is where anyone can go to find answers. He states that what makes personality disorders complex is that “many environmental factors can impact brain function and lead to symptoms of mental illness” and he shares that he has seen “how environmental toxins (such as toxic mold) infections like Lyme Disease, extremely low thyroid, anemia, anoxia (lack of oxygen) and even chemotherapy can alter brain function and contribute to changes in someone’s personality.”[xii] Like Dr. Creado mentioned, since there are so many factors at play, it’s very important to investigate this disorder with someone who can perform a comprehensive evaluation that includes brain imaging, lab testing, and other assessments, and that we don’t jump to conclusions, and label someone as “bad” with this disorder. Looking at any disorder with the brain in mind puts a whole new perspective on our brain health, as we look to see beyond the behavior to what could be at the root of the problem.
Since I’m not a doctor, and a clinical diagnosis of this personality disorder is needed, the goal of this episode is to bring awareness to help all of us understand others that might show signs of this brain disorder whether it’s someone you work with, live with, interact with, or even (gasp) in ourselves.
How can we use this new understanding of the narcissistic brain to help us?
Go back and look at the list of symptoms that are present in this disorder, and see if there is someone in your life that is making your life challenging in some way, with this trait.
An exaggerated sense of self-importance
A need for excessive and constant admiration
A lack of empathy
Being preoccupied with grandiose fantasies of unlimited success, money, or power
A need to be recognized as superior or special and a belief that they can only keep company with people of equal exceptionalism
A sense of entitlement to special treatment
A tendency to exaggerate accomplishments or talents
Manipulation or exploitation of others
A belief that others are envious of them, while deep down being envious of others
An arrogant, haughty, or demanding attitude
What can we do next?
1: BECOME CURIOUS TO LEARN MORE: KNOWLEDGE IS POWER
Use this new understanding of the narcissistic brain to learn more. As you gain more awareness, you also gain more confidence with how to deal with challenging or high conflict people in your home or work life. I could list all the books I have found, but jut type narcissism into Amazon, and you will find hundreds of books to help guide you to understand:
What is narcissism
What causes it
How it’s diagnosed
Different types
How to move beyond the damage
2: THINK WITH YOUR BRAIN HEALTH IN MIND: Even someone like high performance author and expert Brendon Burchard[xiii] noted that after an ATV accident, his personality changed dramatically, and he went straight to Amen Clinics to look for the reason behind the personality change, with his brain health in mind. The key is to look for what might be at the root of the personality change and not to rule out accidents, injuries, or environmental factors. When we look at our health with our brain in mind, we also look at the supplements we can take, or what else we can do to improve our health, outside of taking medication that’s often prescribed for someone when they don’t need it.
3: USE THE CURRENT RESEARCH TO BACK-CAST YOUR LIFE: Once you begin to look at something you want to learn more about (like this topic-The Narcissistic Brain) go deeper into the research to see what this could mean for you in the future. As I began to research the narcissistic brain, I started to learn that someone with this disorder is at higher risk for dementia.[xiv] If I had someone in my life that were showing signs of this disorder, I would be using the technique I learned from Peter Attia[xv] calls back casting, and think about what we want our life to be like as we age. I would also begin to research this topic from as many of the experts like Dr. Ramani[xvi], to see what other people in similar situations have gone through.
To review this week’s Brain Fact Friday,
DID YOU KNOW “that people who suffer from narcissistic personality disorder have less gray matter volume[xvii] in a region of their brain believed to be involved with empathy”[xviii] (Dr. Amen) and they also have “increased activity in baseline images in brain regions associated with self-directed and self-absorbed thinking.”
In this episode we looked at why someone with this disorder lacks empathy, with what science reveals with brain scan technology and my hope is not to label or shame someone who fits the wide spectrum of narcissism, but to open up our awareness and use this new understanding of The Narcissistic Brain to show us this issue is “biological, not moral” (Dr. Amen) and with this new understanding, help us to find new ways to move forward, and create more balance, peace and equilibrium in our everyday life.
This episode was created to help us to see why some people behave the way they do. Like Brene Brown said, this doesn’t make us naïve, but allows us to look past what some would call “bad behavior” and see the spirit or soul in every person. She reminds us--When we look at narcissism through the vulnerability lens, we see the shame-based fear of being ordinary or the fear of never feeling extraordinary enough to be noticed, to be loveable, to belong, which we can all understand on some level.
I hope this episode has helped you to see Narcissism in a new light, like it did for me, so we can all keep learning, and looking for the latest research to inform our decisions, thinking with brain health in mind.
I’ll see you next week.
FOLLOW ANDREA SAMADI: 
YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/AndreaSamadi  
Website https://www.achieveit360.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samadi/ 
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RESOURCES:
What’s Going on in a Narcissistic Brain? https://writemindmatters.medium.com/whats-going-on-in-a-narcissistic-brain-4ea5331b2696
Narcissists Lack of Empathy Detected on Brain Scans by Denise Chow June 24, 2013  https://www.livescience.com/37684-narcissistic-personality-disorder-brain-structure.html
REFERENCES:
[i] The Neuroscience of Narcissism Published June 13, 2020 https://www.learnaboutdid.com/2020/06/13/the-neuroscience-of-narcissism/
[ii] Dr. Amen 5 Signs You Are in a Relationship with a Narcissist Oct. 16, 2019  https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/5-signs-youre-in-a-relationship-with-a-narcissist/
[iii] I’m a professor of human behavior and I have some news about the narcissist in your life by Melody Wilding, Published Nov. 14, 2018 https://www.businessinsider.com/narcissism-vs-narcissist-2018-11#:~:text=Psychologically%20speaking%2C%20narcissism%20is%20a,of%20self%2Dcenteredness%20is%20healthy.
[iv]Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #72 with Dr. Shane Creado on “Sleep Strategies That Will Guarantee a Competitive Advantage”  https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/dr-shane-creado-on-sleep-strategies-that-will-guarantee-a-competitive-advantage/
[v] Neuroscience Meets Social and Emotional Learning Podcast EPISODE #84 on “PART 3: How a Spect Scan Can Change Your Life” https://andreasamadi.podbean.com/e/how-a-spect-scan-can-change-your-life-part-3-with-andrea-samadi/
[vi] The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI) by Kendra Cherry Sept. 02, 2021 https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-the-minnesota-multiphasic-personality-inventory-2795582
[vii] www.amenclinics.com
[viii] https://www.amenclinics.com/conditions/personality-disorders/
[ix] Gray matter abnormalities in patients with narcissistic personality disorder Published October, 2013 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23777939/
[x] Dr. Amen 5 Signs You Are in a Relationship with a Narcissist Oct. 16, 2019  https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/5-signs-youre-in-a-relationship-with-a-narcissist/
[xi] Dr. Amen with International DJ Steve Aoki https://www.instagram.com/p/Ci_k8NhLrYN/?hl=en
[xii] Narcissistic Personality Disorder by Dr. Daniel Amen https://www.amenclinics.com/conditions/narcissistic-personality-disorder/
[xiii] What Brendon Burchard learned about 2 brain traumas https://www.instagram.com/p/BjP5NKFBawh/?hl=en
[xiv] From narcissistic personality disorder to frontotemporal dementia: a case report published by Michelle Poletti, 2011 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21606578/
[xv] Peter Attita https://twitter.com/PeterAttiaMD/status/1529823436196835329
[xvi] Narcissistic Relationships and Dementia Dr. Ramani Published May 13, 2021 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJMzDBJssGA
[xvii] Gray matter abnormalities in patients with narcissistic personality disorder Published October, 2013 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23777939/
[xviii] Dr. Amen 5 Signs You Are in a Relationship with a Narcissist Oct. 16, 2019  https://www.amenclinics.com/blog/5-signs-youre-in-a-relationship-with-a-narcissist/