I heard an interesting question the other day about whether anyone even notices the impact of a single person. Does it matter what we as individuals do? Can we really make any difference at all? Although the question wasn't directed to me, I had an answer anyway (this may not surprise those of you who know me ). And this seemed like the perfect place to show the beginnings of that answer, although I just might find myself inspired to create a longer version of these thoughts -- if you'd be interested in this, just let me know. So here we go.... The short answer is yes, each of us does make a difference. The long answer involves a few different lines of research about how you feel and what you do.   more »

I received an email the other day from Bernard Ertl, the creator and moderator of the Coping with Epilepsy website and forum. When I had a chance to visit his site and read about the experiences he and his wife, Stacy, have had with neurofeedback, I knew I wanted them to share some of their story with my readers. I often get requests from folks who find my website, Brain and Health or blog to share what "typically" happens when someone receives neurofeedback training. I'm not allowed by my professional regulations to ask my own clients to share, so when I find someone who is willing to share their story, I really want you to be able to hear it from their mouth (keyboard?). Even though there really isn't one "typical" pattern, I know it helps to hear about what others have experienced. So first let's let Bernard and Stacy share their story, then I have a couple of comments. And just for the record -- apart from these preliminary comments and the ones that will follow, this is a completely unedited version of what Bernard so graciously sent to me...   more »

Here is an fun little video of 30 seconds. So, what does this have to do with the brain?Well, although this is intended to be an amusing video, it is a fun explanation of a principle of the physics of nonlinear systems -- what is popularly called the "butterfly effect". That sounded like a bit a mouthful, so let's back up just a bit...   more »

I came across this 5 minute video of Rae Tattenbaum talking about optimal performance coaching and the use of neurofeedback. I thought you might enjoy it as it shows what the process of neurofeedback using the CARE model looks like and talks about the importance of learning to be Present to our own experiences in order to be in Flow more of the time.   more »

Here is an interesting and accurate pair of YouTube videos of how memory works and how you can train yourself to use it better. First, let's watch them - they'll take about 8 minutes (part 1 and 2 -- it was a bit long for just one video)   more »

Question: "I have been told that we only use 10% of our brain's capacity. Not sure all the reasons why we cannot access the other 90%. I want to. I wouldn't mind having a better memory!" Answer: There are differing opinions on this. Some say it's true and it's the result of a built-in redundancy. Not available until something goes wrong. I personally am in the "I don't think so" school and there are a number of lines to evidence to support me on this.   more »

I had a horrifying experience recently. All my email disappeared -- I mean everything, addresses, archived emails, new messages, to-do's, messages I was waiting to hear back about...everything. Why am I telling you this, other than to share my woes and elicit some sympathy?   more »

There's a fascinating discussion going on over at Dawud Miracle's blog about whether we have "parts" of ourselves or whether we are a "whole" misled by our language and habits of thought into thinking of ourselves in parts. (This guy is not just another web designer, eh?) I had to join such a conversation, but of course I approached the question from the perspective of the brain. (I couldn't help myself -- you'll understand ). To follow the whole conversation (or is that to follow all its parts??), you'll need to go catch up on Dawud's blog, but I thought I would share my thinking on this for my brain aficionados. (That's you.) So -- Why do we seem to have "parts"?   more »

I came across this YouTube video called "The Simple Path" -- a lecture by S.N. Goenka. It is part of series of broadcasts on Vipassana meditation, also called mindfulness meditation -- "seeing things as they really are". What caught my attention in his talk was the notion of working at deep levels in Vipassana meditation vs making surface changes in some other meditative techniques. It brought to mind the kinds of techniques people are often initially fascinated by when they start exploring ways of training their brain for better performance. These techniques may include...   more »

Well, I'm impressed. Dr. Sarvenaz Zand, a physician wrote an article for ABC News about "Treating Migraines Without Painkillers" -- and there are biofeedback and neurofeedback -- front and centre! How well does it work? According to Dr. Barry Schwartz, director of the Headache Center in New Orleans, about 85 percent to 90 percent of patients with chronic headaches respond positively to biofeedback. "Biofeedback also serves as an excellent bridge in assisting patients wean off medications," he said. Of course, I do have a few thoughts about his presentation of neurofeedback...   more »

Apologies -- I've gotten temporarily distracted from my agenda of posts on creating self-change by more posts from Rick Cockrum's Shards of Consciousness. This week he's writing a series of articles on Happiness and I wanted to do a quick article about his first in the series: Happiness, Emotion, and Fulfillment - Part 1. One of Rick's conclusions was that happiness can't be found outside ourselves, an insightful interpretation he made of the studies he reviewed. This is absolutely one of the take-home messages of the positive psychology approach -- the way your world (and you) appear is highly dependent on how you're looking at it. Look at your world as half-empty and you'll see half-emptiness (or worse) all around you. Look at it as half-full and likely to get filled up and you'll be experiencing that fullness. Research has shown that optimism is good -- from the perspectives of your physical health, your emotional resilience, your personal growth, your relationships, your work....and on it goes. And here's an interesting addition to his point:   more »

I happened to come across this ABC 7 News Medical report on using neurofeedback for migraines and thought I would do a quick post just to share.

See...it's not just me that thinks it's an amazing option ;-)

Is "lack of willpower" a problem for you? At New Year's did you lay out a number of changes you were going to make "this year" and then start finding yourself "without the willpower" to make them happen? One of the most common reasons people give for failing to change something about themselves -- or for not even trying to change -- is that they just don't have enough "willpower". But the idea that large doses of "willpower" is the most important characteristic you need for change is just not true.   more »

I've discovered an interesting blog by Rick Cockrum called Shards of Consciousness: Explorations in Personal Development . He writes about disliking the biological approaches to human life, but I hope he won't mind my comments on his post. This is an older article from his blog, but I like some of the things he had to say and I wanted to elaborate a bit on why. I've extracted some of the bits that got my attention:   more »

You may have heard about the practice of using aluminum foil as a way to block the reading of your brain waves by nefarious technologies. But does it work?...... Here's a study from MIT that thoroughly explores that question:   more »

Someone sent me this story today. I have seen it before and perhaps you have as well, but I thought it was worth sharing as another way to think about heart coherence. ... Two Wolves   more »