This is a "reprint" of an entertaining and educational article from Dr. Jeff Carmen, who created the pirHEG system I write about on my website and in other blog posts. With his permission I'm re-posting it here for those of you interested in:- HEG - the frontal lobes - learning to put the brakes on yourself ;-) He talks primarily about the prefrontal cortex -- for those of you who read my blog (and thanks for that! ), that will be roughly what I talk about more loosely as the "frontal lobes" or the "executive system" -- that area of the brain sitting behind your forehead. He also refers to the frontal lobes/prefrontal cortex as being primarily "inhibitory", meaning that instead of the activity of the executive system being dedicated to Getting Stuff Done (e.g., movements, sensory activity) it tends to be more actively Stopping Unnecessary Stuff (e.g., distractions, impulsive actions, attention-wandering, anger outbursts, emotional extremes...). So I'm hoping you can see how important it is to have those frontal lobes in gear to get you where you need to be! Anyway, enough from me. Here he is....
Mind Science from Dan Rather Reports
What Does Change Feel Like?
I joined a conversation over at the Shift in Action website which was hosted by a member named Rod Sherwin. He posed a question about how we can know when shifts in consciousness -- personal or societal -- are happening. How can we know when we experience not just big dramatic shifts in our ways of being, but even the little movements that might take us from 3 out of 10 on some scale of change to 3.5 out of 10?In working with people's brains using nonlinear methods of feedback, it is very common indeed that people experience changes - shifts in their ways of being, thinking, feeling, and/or acting - that they are just not aware of at the time of the shift. Every neurofeedback practitioner I speak to has stories of people changing in all sorts of both subtle and dramatic ways, but not seeing the change themselves or not realizing how big or important a shift it is. I think this is partly...
Brain Training Without Equipment: Mindfulness Meditation
Imagine yourself sitting back for a nonlinear neurofeedback session....That means that your brain is going to have a "conversation" with itself (which I recently described in my newsletter, Not Just Neurofeedback, as the brain looking at itself in a mirror - let me know if you want to be on the list and have access to back copies like this). Your conscious mind doesn't really have anything specific to do in order to "make" something happen on purpose". In fact, the best thing you can do is to get out of the way. ;- ) But what does "get out of the way" mean, exactly? How do you "get out of the way"?
Is Neurofeedback just a "placebo effect"?
I had a great question the other day from a reader:"My question is this: What objective proof will I have that these treatments are doing what's intended as opposed to any ''placebo effect''." This is such a common worry, either for people considering the use of neurofeedback or from other professionals that know very little, if anything, about neurofeedback that it seemed a good idea to share part of my answer with all my readers...
Why Haven't I Heard of Neurofeedback Before?
I get this question -- Why haven't I heard of neurofeedback before? Why didn't anyone tell me? -- all the time from my clients and people calling or writing to me to find out more about neurofeedback.The really frustrated ones are the individuals who have worked with me to decrease their migraines, stop panic attacks, stabilize their mood and who want to know why their physician never told them about this option. I never have very good answers for them. Today I read an article --
Quotes for Neurofeedback: What Happens When Your Brain Changes?
Everything has its own place andfunction. That applies to people, although many don't seem to realize
it, stuck as they are in the wrong job, the wrong marriage, or the
wrong house. When you know and respect your Inner Nature, you know
where you belong. You also know where you don't belong.
Benjamin Hoff from the The Tao of Pooh
I love this quote because it so nicely describes what I see happening with people when I work with them using nonlinear neurofeedback.
They may start off thinking that the Problem is their health condition, or their relationships, or their mood, or…whatever.
But as they work, they start to feel a renewed Connection with themselves and it gets harder and harder to do things that don't respect that Inner Nature, as Hoff says. So they just naturally start to make different decisions, react differently to people and events around them, take care of themselves differently…they uncover who they really are and their world changes.
Navigating the Brain: Lessons from the Hawaiian Navigators
I was watching a program on the native navigators from the Hawaiian Islands some time ago (and it is a stunning place. Now on my list of places to visit.As I understood it, these navigators actually used a process very related to the brain’s functioning and why our brain and CARE works: 1) They learned the patterns of waves in and from different directions and destinations so they could recognize each one. ...