Wednesday, July 14, 2010

Neural Connections.

Okay,

So I'm only partway through this article, but brainsssss are amazing. How our neurons make connections with each other: pretty exciting stuff!

http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/39/25/31709587.pdf

Although I disagree with the author on something: I do not believe we are at the mercy of our circumstances. We are not powerless. It is not merely the things that happen to us that determine our neural connections or our brain chemistry. The Cognitive Therapy exercises and experiments in an awesome book called "Brain Lock" support me in disagreeing. I haven't read "Learned Optimism" all the way yet, but I suspect it also agrees. Thoughts I run through my head continually are going to affect the neural connections I make... and activities I choose, what I dwell on, repeating truths that help, stuff like that. Believing what my Maker tells me about myself. I am transparent about my emotions because of my wiring... argh... but other people must face similar demons sometimes, too.

Tip: Stuart Brown, M.D. teaches that playing, trying new things, and doing your favorite kinds of recreation are some of the best ways to connect those neurons in new, exciting ways.