NEW BALANCE IN THE NEW YEAR

Happy new year to all!

Now that the holidays are slipping into the past it's time to step brightly into the future.  What will it look like for you?  What do you want it to be?  Often we look towards others for the supports and answers we think we need.  We do need support from others, this is one of the many amazing characteristics we share as human beings.  But we also need to cultivate an inner trust in ourselves primarily and then reach out to others perhaps second.

Inner trust is something many people struggle with for many reasons.  Often there is a history of failed attempts at success as defined by the individual.  The meaning and weight that we put upon events or situations occurring in our lives is often wrought with false beliefs and faulty thinking and hence behavior which generally leads one to dissatisfaction.  Relationships that have been less than healthy will often tear down ones sense of inner trust and willful intention as well.

I cannot stress the importance enough that people tend to create life from the inside out.  If the inside isn't balanced and thoughtful and compassionate then more than likely reaching out to receive guidance from others will sometimes collapse the attempt.  If the foundation isn't strong and stable, all the advice one can gather will often lead to something undesirable and unable to withstand emotional turmoil and great moments of challenge.

Having said that, hope springs eternal.  When the brain is operating at its best, meaning that it is able to endure situations and bounce back; be resilient rather than getting stuck in a pattern of shutting us down, causing a fear response as opposed to a response which spurs on creativity...then we are manifesting possibilities and generating that future of our choosing.

If you feel stuck you may need to take a look at how your brain is operating through Brainwave Optimization.  Please visit my website to explore more options.  www.mybalancedbrain.com.
Inner trust and flexibility are the keys to a balanced and harmonious 2014.

Often relationship issues are considered either one persons fault or the others fault. Either way it's looked at, the drive is to blame someone for the problems.  And yet, often relationship problems begin not with any one action, but due to many little actions or in-actions which layer upon layer, accumulate into a multi-layered mountain of challenges.

Through a careful and thoughtful approach to couples or marital counseling, these smaller issues often reveal themselves in the context of an honest dialogue within the safe, neutral space which is specifically created within the office of professionals.  Anxiety, deep-seated depression or tendencies towards depressive actions, challenges with focus or an unfortunate history of trauma can all lead to a relationship which is less than desirable but which can grow to become satisfying and loving.

In fact, very often individuals are unable to blatantly identify their internal emotional states leading to confusion and unwanted animosity towards those who generally care. This can be, and very often is very frustrating and debilitating.  It prevents a worthwhile dialogue from happening; It builds walls and resentments which fuels bitterness; It robs relationships and individuals of possibilities and opportunities yet to be gained.  In essence it prevents growth and compassion from rooting...denying love to blossom.

It's difficult to look at ourselves with an objective eye; looking with a critical eye is easy.  Self judgment and negative self-talk is easy and automatic. As individuals are unable to identify internal states i.e., "I didn't know I had anxiety or depression or trauma complications tend to muddy the waters of help resulting in a sense of helplessness and ultimately blame leveled at someone or another.

Through counseling and Brainwave Optimization these muddy waters are cleared as ones beliefs and STUCK brain patterns (yes! actually stuck electro-chemical patterns in the brain) get unstuck and are challenged.  Thus leading to healthy, rewarding relationships and a rich loving inner-dialogue causing mindful reflection and growth.  Please visit my websites www.graftoncounseling.com or www.mybalancedbrain.com to learn more.

Scientists call our ability to zero in on a single speaker amid a cacophony of other sounds the "cocktail party problem." Our brains, like those of many animals, are so skilled at tuning in to what we want to hear while ignoring everything else that we barely give it a second thought. However, the process of listening to a solitary voice in a noisy atmosphere is surprisingly difficult.

Segregating sound

To hear what your friend is saying amidst the party scene, your brain must first segregate the individual sound of interest from the intermingled and overlapping mixture of sounds entering your ears. At the same time, you have to focus closely on the sound even as people laugh and talk, and music plays.
"There are aspects of a person's voice that are distinct to the individual, and we focus our attention on those features" to track their voice in a noisy room, says University of California, Berkeley psychologist Frederic Theunissen, who studies how the brain recognizes complex sounds such as human speech and music. For instance, listeners may key into the pitch and timbre of the speaker's voice or his or her accent.
Even the way in which the speaker strings together the words of a sentence can influence a person's perception of speech in a noisy setting. Studies show that people are significantly better at identifying words if they form a coherent sentence than if they are randomly strung together.

How the brain tunes in

Because there's no way to effectively shut some sounds out from your ear while allowing others to pass through, all sounds in an environment enter the ear, where they are then translated into electrical signals in the brain. These signals move through several regions of the brain before eventually reaching the auditory cortex, the part of the brain engaged in processing sound.
While some researchers previously hypothesized the auditory cortex was the location where such signals are scaled up or down, it was only recently that scientists were able to directly record changes in activity as people listen to conversations.
In the study, Charles Schroeder, a neuroscientist at Columbia University, and his colleagues directly recorded the brain activity from electrodes implanted in epilepsy patients as they listened to short movie clips featuring two speakers reciting a short narrative. The study participants were instructed to pay attention to one of the speakers and ignore the other.
The researchers found the signals reflecting both speakers made their way to the auditory cortex. However, only the signals reflecting the speech people were focused on were detected in brain regions involved in processing language and attention control.
According to Schroeder, the findings demonstrate that while the brain still processes the sounds we intend to ignore, these signals — unlike those generated from the speech we are paying attention to — fail to reach our consciousness.

A gorilla of a problem

The ability to focus on some things at the expense of others is crucial for functioning in a complicated world. But studies show there can be a downside to this focus — too much attention to one thing may make us seemingly "blind" or "deaf" to other stimuli in the environment.
Polly Dalton, a psychologist at Royal Holloway, University of London, along with research associate Nick Fraenkel, had people listen to short audio recordings that featured two simultaneous conversations: one shared between two men and the other between two women. Before the recording took place, participants were asked to pay attention to either the conversation between the men or the women. Halfway through the recording, a new male voice begins, repeating the phrase "I'm a gorilla!" for 19 seconds.
The researchers found that up to 70 percent of the participants engaged in the listening exercise failed to notice the gorilla statement during the recordings, depending on the conversation they were focused on and how close the additional voice was to the other speakers.
"This research demonstrates that we can miss even surprising and distinctive sounds when we are paying attention to something else," Dalton explains. She adds that this likely happens because of the push-pull nature of attention: When you concentrate on one task, your brain prioritizes those signals, and it filters out other information to avoid being distracted.

Helping machines become better listeners

Some scientists are interested in understanding how the brain separates and filters out unnecessary noise for its potential use in technology, including hearing aids and devices with speech recognition capabilities.
People with hearing problems often have a hard time separating voices of interest from background noise. While hearing aids can amplify sounds, turning up the volume doesn't solve the issue of segregating sound. Similarly, automatic speech recognition technologies, such as Apple's Siri, struggle to make out voices in loud environments.
To overcome such technological limitations scientists first need to learn more about how the brain separates mixtures of sounds into individual sound sources, explains Josh McDermott, a cognitive scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
"We don't quite understand yet what it is we're paying attention to when we focus on one voice at the expense of another," according to McDermott. "It's probably some representation of voice quality, but figuring out exactly what goes into that representation will help us design machines and software that can do the same thing."

"The brain's ability to observe itself is the key to the world's transformation into a peaceful and loving planet. When people begin to view the world through the lens of love rather than fear, the world itself becomes a better place. An optimized brain begins to see the potential for an optimized world. Humanity begins to reach for its limitless potential."

- excerpt from Limitless You by Lee Gerdes, Founder & CEO, Brain State Technologies®
             parent company of Central Massachusetts Brain Integration Center

In many ways the brain resembles a symphonic orchestra.  The orchestra contains various sections; the wind, brass, string and percussion etc.  As each section plays, it does so with a tempo and volume which resonates across the field of musicians creating a melodic and harmonious symphony of beautiful rhythm.  Similarly, the brain appears to work better or more optimally when all lobes and regions are playing well together.

When one area of the brain is dominating and playing to loudly other areas specializing in diverse functions, are unable to be "heard", meaning that their overall effect is subdued resulting in any number of pathologies: sleep disturbances, problems with focusing and attention, unable to be spontaneous, & problems with digestion to name a few.

I mentioned this in a previous blog, but want to emphasis the need to create balance not only in our life, but our brain requires the same kind of nurturing to achieve a similar balance as well.

Happy balancing!

On a beautiful day it's easy to appreciate the value of sunshine, warmth and the company of friends and family.  But what if you were depressed or had anxiety.  Depression and anxiety are the two most common afflictions across these United States and for those who suffer under their weight, the beautiful day simply passes by like clouds across the sky.

And all too often an individual feels as though it's his/her fault, that somehow they are to blame for this unfortunate condition which prevents them from enjoyment and satisfaction.  Well it's NOT!

The brain is a tricky creature, like a zoo it houses many differing species of neurons.  They each have unique functions and are designed to get along and play well together.  However, this is not always the case, hence depression and anxiety.

Imbalances throughout brain regions are related to these two debilitating conditions.  When one area of the brain is over or under activated in relation to other areas, depression and anxiety are often the result.  It's like having a bully in a school yard and you are just trying to get to the lunch room.  You move towards the door but the bully won't let you through.  Anxiety and depression come about when communication between neurons and brain regions breaks down, thus stirring all kinds of neuro chemistry leading to emotional states like depression and anxiety.

Brainwave optimization can help to quite that bully by balancing out those areas of the brain which are too active or under-active.  Like telling the bully to pipe down so others can express themselves too.  Learn more click here

A child’s brain is developing until their early 20s, and depending on the kind of learner the person is, may continue to develop until death. Poor focus or concentration ADD or ADHD isn’t due to the child’s inability to sit still; because they are just too young; because they have some insurmountable learning problem; or because they just aren’t smart enough. A child’s ability to learn is directly related to how clear their brain pathways are between sensory (intake) and execution (performance).

Over two thirds of our brain is based on sensing or input; one third is based on execution.  Meaning that 75% of our brain is just doing its' thing while maybe 25% (me and you) is actually making conscious choice and decisions.  If we have trouble focusing or concentrating, it is generally because the pathways between the sensory and execution network areas are not clear.  Said another way, our brain isn't able to communicate efficiently with itself.