Category Archives for "Brain and mind"

Take a look at the shoe above.  Then, answer these two questions:

1. Does a pair of these shoes cost more than $2000 per pair?

2. How much would you expect to pay for a pair of these shoes?  Write down the amount you come up with. 

While you think over the answers to those questions, I want to tell you about a very fascinating video I watched on YouTube of Leonard Mlodinow, who was talking about his newest book, titled Subliminal: How Your Unconscious Mind Rules Your Behavior.

During his discussion about the subliminal mind, he talked about how our brains are designed to patch various past experiences, prejudices, and other neurological aspects together to bring about what we perceive to be an experienced event.  The video was excellent at pointing out how our memories of what we saw or heard, or what we think we saw or heard may not really be what we thought it to be.

Through provocative and entertaining examples, you can see what images really look like to our eyes, how we fill in what consonants we think were spoken when covered up by a cough, and how we listen to records played backwards to hear odes to Satan.  It was quite interesting, and a remarkable eye-opener on how impressionable our unconscious mind can be!

One theme that Mlodinow hit on was especially appealing to me — when we think about how our brain patches together this information to create something that “is” but in reality “isn’t,” we usually think of this process as a negative — how we’re not really experiencing reality, or how we’re making things up but they really aren’t accurate representations of what really “is.”  However, I like how Mlodinow said that we can use this function of the brain to be a benefit to us.

When we are faced with a challenge, Mlodinow explains, we have an advantage, because we are capable of creating an over-inflated view of what we are able to do, or how “above average” we are.  He pointed out, for example, that in a survey of high school students who were asked if they thought they were above average, the results showed 100% of those surveyed thought they were above average!  We can take this over-inflated view of ourselves to change the way we treat incoming data.  Mlodinow points out this is called “motivated reasoning.”

What happens during this motivated reasoning is that when we are looking at data, our unconscious minds adjust the weight of the data, and then adjust the view of the methodology to confirm what pre-existing beliefs or desires we have.  In other words, we are really incapable of making an objective decision about something.  Our minds determine the viewpoint we want, and then we adjust the data to support the conclusion we desire — like a lawyer, sifting through evidence and constructing an argument for their client or position.

Who knew?  Our minds are like lawyers! 🙂  So, we can really use this aspect of the mind to our advantage — we can focus on what it is that we want, and then our mind will adjust whatever data we need to support what we desire.  This is a tremendous tool that can provide us with a tremendous advantage!

Another concept Mlodinow played with during his presentation was one called “anchoring.”  So, going back to the shoe example, what amount did you write down?

The cost of the pair of shoes was actually $34.95 at Payless.  How close were you?  If you inflated the price, it was because I “anchored” you to a higher number, even if you knew there was no way that pair of shoes was $2000.  Just another way the subconscious and subliminal mind can play tricks on us.

Please leave a comment to let me know what number you wrote down, and so we can see what other people thought the shoes were worth!  I’d love to see how this experiment worked! 🙂

If you are interested in watching the full video of Mlodinow’s presentation, here it is…

Are you ready to get down to business?

You are invited to take a seat and join me for my radio show on Monday, October 29 at 12:00 PM Central!

You can listen by clicking HERE!

I will be welcoming guest Melody Fletcher of Deliberate Receiving.

Melody is amazing.  She has such a profound knowledge of the Law of Attraction and she is an absolute expert when it comes to breaking down this law into ways that anyone can understand.  She joined me a couple of months ago, and we had such a great time that I wanted to have her come back — this time to discuss how we can use the Law of Attraction in business applications.

If you don’t know what the Law of Attraction (LOA) is, I can sum it up for you by saying that it’s a way of asking for help in turning your wishes or requests into reality.  When you know how to do this, you find that things start to happen in a way that makes your wishes and requests come true!  Wouldn’t that be awesome in workplace applications?  I think so!

What I love about Melody is she “doesn’t believe that spirituality or personal development have to be so damn serious all the time.”  Through tons of free articles, audios and blog posts, as well as her LOA Membership Site, she helps people to finally make some freaking sense of LOA, and to remember who they really are, so they can annoy their friends and co-workers with their new-found happiness.

She dares you to subject yourself to the pure awesomeness of her wisdom, by checking out her site at DeliberateReceiving.com.

If you are new to the concept of LOA, I invite you, of course, to listen to our interview, but I also highly recommend taking up Melody’s offer, and checking out her site.  There is a ton of information there, and you’ll find her blog posts to be invigorating, informative, and uplifting.

Join me today, and let’s get down to business (and some LOA)!

Don’t miss the interview!

“I believe that every single event in life happens in an opportunity to choose love over fear.” ~Oprah Winfrey

I just received an email, stating that my interview on the show “Spiritually Raw” is available online.  I was contacted and asked if I was interested in being on the show, and I thought, “Why not?”  I interview people all the time, and so it’s nice to be interviewed once in a while too! 🙂  I invite you to follow this link and check it out.  Vote for me when you’re there too, so I can be asked to be on again.  It was a fun time!

I was asked during the interview if it’s really that easy just to change your mind and change your life.  Can you really just “flip the switch” and make the change?

My answer was that yes, theoretically it’s easy to do, but in reality many people struggle.

So if you are confronted with a difficult situation — one that causes you to make a choice in how you approach and address it, what do you do?  It feels so good to let the other person “have it,” and give them a piece of your mind.  Research has revealed that the area of our brain that derives pleasure from seeing someone get a “taste of their own medicine” is the same area that gives us pleasure when we eat chocolate.

We also learn from observing.  If we’re surrounded by people who cope with discomfort by acting out or being aggressive, we passively accept that this is the appropriate way to behave, and without even thinking, we may tend to act in the same manner when we feel uncomfortable.

The reality is this — many people, when confronted with a difficult situation, resort to coping mechanisms that are built upon a belief system that is rooted in fear and scarcity.  This means that they are in a defensive physiological condition, which means they are engaged in (what is supposed to be) a short-term stress response.  They are acting out the “fight or flight” mechanism.  While our muscles are getting much of the blood that is distributed to our body, our brain gets deprived.  Now, not only are we trying to cope with our discomfort stemming from this difficult situation, but we also face the problem of a lack of a proper blood supply to the noggin.

Additionally, our reptilian brain is kicking in, emotionally hijacking the rest of our brain, so logic, rationalization, and positivity usually go out the window.

So what do we do?  How do we deal with this difficult situation?  The answer is to “flip the switch.”  Ask yourself three questions:

Question 1: How do I feel, emotionally, about this right now?

Question 2: Do I like how I feel about this emotion?

Question 3: If I don’t like this emotion, how would I like to feel, emotionally, about this right now?

The answer to question three is key.  This is the “switch.”  Yes, it can be done, just like that, but in reality, it is oh so hard to do it just like that.

“Flip the switch.”  Easier said than done, but if done, it can really change your life.  Think about what you intend to have happen, drive it with positive energy, allow that energy of the positive thought to grow in mass.  Remember, what you think about grows!

Grow positively.  “Flip the switch.” Be a “better” person tomorrow than today.  Choose what you know is more desirable for you — choose love and compassion over fear and scarcity.

That’s the “switch.”  Now go “flip” it!

Photo: Courtesy of http://www.rainerberg.de/

“You were put on this earth to achieve your greatest self, to live out your purpose, and to do it fearlessly.” ~Steve Maraboli

Why are we here?

It’s a thought that has crossed my mind several times in my life.  The funny thing is that I have always had the same answer, even though I have asked myself that question when I was very young.  My answer is and always has been (using a complete sentence), “We are here to go through various experiences so we can appreciate and get a ‘flavor’ for what it is to ‘live a life’ as a human on this earth.”

As the years have gone on, however, while my answer has not changed, the explanation and rationale for the answer continues to develop.  I keep adding layers, and it keeps getting more interesting.  The more I investigate and do my “detective work,” the more I find.  The encouraging news is that the prognosis keeps getting better and better the more I look.  I have more and more hope for humanity at a time when some have little hope.

Yes, we are here to “live a life,” in my humble opinion.  But, what life is that?  A life of suffering, so we can learn from the painful experiences?  Do we really have to suffer?  Or, can we simply get past the suffering part once we gain a certain perspective and experience certain experiences?

Do we have to deal with negativity?  Is dealing with and then overcoming negativity something that we are “obligated” to deal with on this earth?  Do we have to experience hate as part of the experience?  Can we just get past the negativity once we gain a certain perspective and experience certain experiences?

Life — the “human experience” — is not easy.  We all know that.  When life gets tough for me, I always go back to that simple question: “Why are we here?”  the next question is, “What am I supposed to learn from this?”

So, what have I learned up to this point?  What do I feel life is all about?  Here’s my two cents:

We are on this earth to grow — to realize the true greatness that resides in each of us.  Within each of us, there is an authentic being, covered up by the processes of the machine that is the human body.  Inside this exquisitely-designed body, we struggle to find ourselves.  We struggle to set aside the automatic functions of our bodies that were designed to make us more efficient and keep us safe.

Why are we here?  We are here to discover the awesomeness that lives within us.  Some of us are right there — living life and understanding that the sky is the limit and that we all are capable of being great.  Some of us aren’t quite there yet, as we are suffering and struggling through hardships.

We are here to discover we always have a choice — our lives are not scripted.  The book is not written.  Just because it has been doesn’t mean it will be or has to be.  We have the power to choose — we always have the power to decide whether we want to serve the ego and live out of fear, or if we want to turn the page and serve others and live out of love and compassion for others.  We always have a choice.

The good news?  We all possess the potential to be great.  We all possess the raw tools necessary to transcend the suffering and the negativity, and to bring out the great person we were meant to be.  We all have the potential to realize who we know, deep down, we would love to be.

Why are we here?  We are here to figure out who we are, and who we were meant to be, free of the physical and neurological restrictions of our physical bodies.  We are awesome at the core — we just have to find it.  

Because I believe in us, and because I believe in the potential within us all, I will continue to work to help people discover how great they can be.  I’ll tell anyone who will listen.  It’s my mission, and I am sticking to it.  I believe in us — I believe in you.  I believe that we were meant to be great!  We all possess the potential.

We are here to be great.  That’s my two cents. 🙂

Do you have an opinion as to why we are here?  Please comment below with your thoughts!  I would love to read them! 🙂



Photo source: freedigitalphotos.net

“Listening From Not-Knowing frees you in the moment from automatically conditioned responses.  You move from Success to Mastery.” ~Dianne Collins

On Tuesday I was on the phone, conducting an interview for an upcoming radio show broadcast with Dianne Collins, author of the book, Do You Quantum Think?  I had Dianne on my show before, and between our conversation and her book, I have learned so much about quantum thinking, quantum physics, and the characteristics of the mind.  I knew I just had to have her on again.

This time, I was going to make sure I asked her one question — and get her response: “Why is it that we know that living out of love and compassion is the way we want to act, but we struggle so hard acting upon it?”

The answer turned into a conversation that lasted well over an hour!  Don’t worry — I captured it all, in case you want to hear the totally awesome conversation.  I was just stunned and in awe over the information she shared with me during that conversation, and I walked away having learned so much, and wanting to still know more!  One of the things we discussed was the concept of “mastery” of our minds, and using this “mastery” to choose our relationship to the thoughts that enter our minds, and thus allow us to embody the type of life we know we want to live (one that is rooted in love and compassion).

One technique or strategy that Dianne recommended to achieve this “mastery” was to practice “Listening from Not-Knowing.”  She explained that if you have a conversation with someone, especially someone you have a long history with and in which you know pretty much everything, it’s easy to come into that conversation as if you already know “what this person is, what she or he is going to say, or you are listening as if you already know ‘the answer.'”

She continued to say that if you approach the conversation instead from a position of “not knowing,” then a couple of things happen…First of all, you allow for a space to develop that the other person can fill with information and insight; secondly, by being receptive and open to everything they are saying, as if you hadn’t known this before, you exchange an energy with the other person that conveys that you are “locked in” and fully engaged in the conversation.  It decreases the stress placed upon the other person in the conversation.  I thought this was a great tip.

I shared how I was eating lunch with my daughter at her school right before our conversation, and one of her classmates was sitting next to me pointing out various objects in the cafeteria, and sharing with me what she thought the objects were.  For example, she pointed to something hanging from the ceiling, and she was telling me how she believed it was a camera that the principal used to “spy on the kids” when they were eating to make sure they weren’t causing any trouble.  Instead of correcting her or shutting her down, I simply accepted what she said, from a position of not-knowing.  This allowed her to feel comfortable continuing the conversation and communicating further.

Dianne also stated in her book, “When you listen from Not-Knowing you connect to the realm of creativity, of ingenuity, of the ability to dance with what reveals itself to you.  There is excitement in the air.  Just doing this consciously brings you into a highly present state, into the ‘now’ moment.  Then instead of being stale, you will be fresh.  The moment will be alive.  This is what gives you access to your own Mastery.”

I love it…So true…

So beyond simply trying to embody what you know you want to be, by listening from “Not-Knowing,” you can accomplish a couple of things — number one, you can deepen your relationships with other people (your lover, spouse, child, friend) by being a better listener, and, number two, you can develop a state of Mastery, where you can become more creative, innovative, present, and alive.

I see no downside to this!  Give it a try today!  Practice listening from “Not-Knowing” and see if you (or those around you) notice a difference! 🙂

Photo source: freedigitalphotos.net

This article discusses a study that showed that we are likely to be more forgiving of those people we like than people we dislike, even when they are observed doing the same thing.  Very interesting…

Read more here:

Brain Judges Actions of People We Dislike, Differently: Study : Health : Counsel & Heal.