Rewiring the Brain

In the blog a lot of attention is paid to new brain growth, to neuro-plasticity, to our capacity to influence the richness and growth of our brain.

At TED, the website I refer to so often, we are given this marvellous talk by Neuroscientist Michael Merzenich, who looks at one of the secrets of the brain's incredible power: its ability to actively re-wire itself. He's researching ways to harness the brain's plasticity to enhance our skills and recover lost function.



Michael Merzenich studies neuroplasticity -- the brain's powerful ability to change itself and adapt -- and ways we might make use of that plasticity to heal injured brains and enhance the skills in healthy ones.

TED indicates why you should listen to him:

One of the foremost researchers of neuroplasticity, Michael Merzenich's work has shown that the brain retains its ability to alter itself well into adulthood -- suggesting that brains with injuries or disease might be able to recover function, even later in life. He has also explored the way the senses are mapped in regions of the brain and the way sensations teach the brain to recognize new patterns.

Merzenich wants to bring the powerful plasticity of the brain into practical use through technologies and methods that harness it to improve learning. He founded Scientific Learning Corporation, which markets and distributes educational software for children based on models of brain plasticity. He is co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Posit Science, which creates "brain training" software also based on his research.

Merzenich is professor emeritus of neuroscience at the University of California, San Francisco.

"Merzenich is perhaps the most recognizable figure in brain plasticity and how one develops competence through experience and learning."Dominique M. Durand

Radio Program "Re-Wiring the Soul" May 2009

Once a month I post the current list of topics for my weekly radio show, live every Wednesday at Rewiring the Soul.

This is what the May 2009 schedule looks like:

• May 6: Susan Schenck: Acupuncturist and Raw Food Spokesperson. Susan is a licensed acupuncturist with a master's degree in traditional Oriental medicine from Pacific College of Oriental Medicine. She has experimented all her life with various diets, in a search for the perfect one that would provide optimum health. She was so inspired after trying the raw food diet that she felt compelled to write a book about it. The Live Food Factor, The Comprehensive Guide to the Ultimate Diet for Body, Mind, Spirit & Planet is now in its second edition. Click here for her website and here for her blog. Click here for a direct link to the show.

• May 13: Judith Poole: Shaman, Healer and Energy Worker. For over twenty years Judith's primary adventure has been learning how to live in shaman's body. Having served the apprenticeship of the wounded healer, there is nothing that delights her more now than sharing the tools that she has found most effective. The modalities Judith works with include Allergy Antidotes, Applied Kinesiology, Be Set Free Fast, Biogenesis Crystals, Brain Gym, collage, Cosmic Healing Qigong, crystals, Emotional Freedom Technique, Energy Psychology, Flower Essences, Healing From the Body Level Up (TM), the Healing Tao, Holographic Light Treatments, Kinesiology, the Lazaris Material, Neuro Linguistic Programming, Shamanic Journeying, Shamballa Reiki, the Sedona Method (TM), the Sound Current, T'ai Chi, Tapas Acupuncture Technique, Qigong, and writing. Join me to share in the inner wealth of this wonderful spirit! Click here for Judith’s website. Click here for a direct link to this show.

• May 20: Brenda Jenks: Tibetan Black Hat Feng Shui and the Afterlife. Brenda Jenks forms part of the cast of the documentary about the afterlife: The Path Series. She is also a Tibetan Black Hat Feng Shui practitioner. This sytem was developed by Professor Lin Yun and is easily adaptable to Western culture and architecture. Click here for The Path Series: The After Life. Click here for Brenda’s website. Click here for a direct link to this show.

• May 27: James Hyman: Deep Transformational Bodywork that will change your life. Los Angeles based Shaman, Healer and Master Teacher James Hyman brings his powerful gift of instantaneous healing. This work helps you to understand and experience yourself as infinite possibility and pure potential. James Hyman, founder of the Deep Emotional Release Bodywork, has spent the last 35 years of his adult life in the dedicated study of personal growth and the opening into higher consciousness. His new Quantum Healing represents the newest evolution of cutting edge work designed for this exciting time in human history. Click here for James Hyman’s website. Click here for a direct link to this show.

Ways To Listen:

1. LIVE on the web here
2. Past episodes here (these episodes only include shows since Januray 14th, 2009. For prior shows see the next point). These clips are for listening when the show is no longer live, for downloading, etc.)
3. Listen to over 150 archived audio files on my website (in the past it has always taken some time for me to get new shows up on my website due to logistical problems. Now, with the new program Re-Wiring the Soul, new clips will be up in a matter of minutes, for re-listening or downloading ... for adding to ITunes or your IPod)
4. You can also listen to past episodes on my blog ... scroll down on the right sidebar to just below the photo of myself wearing earphones

Show Time & Equivalent Times in Other Locations:

(Locally: 12 noon CET: Central European Time) or go to http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/converter.html to convert from your time zone

- 12 noon (European Central Time) Paris, Berlin, Madrid, Rome (local: Marbella, Spain)
- 1 am Hawaii
- 6 am New York City
- 7 am Mexico City
- 1 pm Cape Town
- 2 pm Moscow
- 3 pm Dubai
- 4 pm Mumbai
- 7 pm Hong Kong
- 8 pm Tokyo
- 10 pm Sydney

Participating in the Show:

If you want to call in during the show, call this US number (646) 727-1281. You can also - at the show's website - "click to talk" online, with no need to make a phone call.

Alternatively, you can chat with me and other listeners online during the show by signing in once you are at the site of that day's episode (see above as listed at the end of each show's description).

Information About This New Show

Many changes have taken place at the local studio where I had been broadcasting for the past five years from 2003 - 2008, and they finally closed their doors to the international section of their station.

Hence, I am continuing to broadcast via another medium and under the name Re-wiring the Soul.

After five years of broadcasting a conventional radio show in Southern Spain about topics in the broad (and frequently eclectic) fields of integral psychotherapy and positive psychology, I wanted to venture further abroad. Thanks to my incredible interlocutor at the station, Brenda Padilla, we managed to produce 150 audio clips from that show and they are all available via my website or blog.

Re-wiring the Soul is the result of my desire for a change. Psychology per se is good, but we need to reach much further in our quest to create the balanced human being. The mission statement for this show might be “using all tools available via nutrition, fitness, psychology, cutting-edge empirical research, holistic therapies, spirituality, neuro-science, etc. to further the growth of the soul.”

This call-in talk show welcomes and interviews guests from all walks of life, although occasionally I will be speaking alone. Those of you who have listened to my past programs know that the main message I have always woven through the shows has consisted of the need for becoming aware and then making good choices from this position of awareness. On this show that will be our guiding dictum.

Turning 100 With Your Brain Intact

The BBC published an article whose content we can all take to heart. Use your brain and the chances of losing it to Alzheimer's will be hugely diminished.

Oldest Nobel laureate turns 100

Rita Levi-Montalcini received France's Legion d'Honneur medal in 2008.

The Italian scientist and oldest living Nobel laureate, Rita Levi-Montalcini, is celebrating her 100th birthday.

Despite her age, she still works every day at the European Brain Research Institute which she founded in Rome.

She is described as the grand old lady of the Italian Senate, where she became a senator for life in 2001.

Born in Turin in 1909, Professor Levi-Montalcini was forced by the anti-Jewish laws of the late 1930s to quit university and do research in an improvised laboratory in her bedroom at home.

"It was a great privilege because it gave me the chance to use my capacities to the full, which I wouldn't have done had I not been forced to stay in my bedroom working like that," she told the BBC World Service.

"And if it wasn't for this, then today I'd be an old woman - which obviously I am - but I think that difficulties can be really helpful in life."

'Not afraid of dying'

Prof Levi-Montalcini, a neurologist and development biologist, shared the Nobel Prize for Medicine in 1986 with Stanley Cohen and is currently writing a book on brain function.

When it comes to my mental state I'm more present today than when I was an adolescent
Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian Nobel Laureate.

She said she was not afraid of dying.

"I've never worried about this," she said.

"It's the body that dies, not the person. For the moment, my mind is still alive. When it comes to my mental state I'm more present today than when I was an adolescent." read entire article here

EFT World Summit ... Online and Free!

Participate in the EFT World Summit as a Virtual Event Online event using an Online Audio Player

You will have access to each of the expert presentations by online audio for free.

On the day of the presentation, you'll be given a webpage that will contain all the information you will need to participate, including a website to our online Virtual Event Room.

For nine consecutive days starting Monday, April 20th, through Tuesday, April 28, there will be 2 hours of interviews every night.

These sessions will be available for ONLY 24 HOURS for free after their initial broadcast.

The reason Nick Ortner, organizer of the event structured it this way is because he wants everyone to be able to access this information regardless of time zone or financial ability.

It is all available for FREE...


In his documentary film about EFT, "Try It On Everything," Nick Ortner showed how this amazing tapping process can have an astounding positive effect on virtually everything you apply it to, from physical pain to emotional trauma, even removing blocks to success...even things you wouldn't imagine, like procrastination...or allergies...or weight loss...you name it...

As with many things, the EFT World Summit started as a glimmer of an idea...bring in some experts, teach people about EFT, make a difference in the world. He could barely imagine how this event would unfold...

* Over 22,000 people worldwide just like you have registered (all for free)

* THEY HAVE CREATED THE BIGGEST EVENT IN EFT HISTORY!

Here's where you can go to learn more: ==> http://www.eftworldsummit.com/

The Monroe Institute

I recently interviewed Monroe Institute Executive Director Paul Rademacher on my radio show Rewiring the Soul. Paul Rademacher, also participed in The Path Series documentary "The Afterlife". For over 25 years Paul Rademacher has been studying the connection between spirituality, consciousness, and religion. His upcoming book, "A Spiritual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe: Travel Tips for the Spiritually Perplexed" is scheduled for release in May 2009.

Click here to listen to the interview.

Genetic Link to Disease Remains Unexplained

Amazing! On the front of the New York Times is an article titled Genes Show Limited Value in Predicting Diseases. Basically it expresses the disappointment experienced by researchers thus far, that the connection between disease and genes has not yet been found in the way that was hoped.

"Since the human genome was decoded in 2003, researchers have been developing a powerful method for comparing the genomes of patients and healthy people, with the hope of pinpointing the DNA changes responsible for common diseases"

[...]

“With only a few exceptions, what the genomics companies are doing right now is recreational genomics,” Dr. Goldstein said in an interview. “The information has little or in many cases no clinical relevance.”

Little or no clinical relevance?

"Unlike the rare diseases caused by a change affecting only one gene, common diseases like cancer and diabetes are caused by a set of several genetic variations in each person. Since these common diseases generally strike later in life, after people have had children, the theory has been that natural selection is powerless to weed them out."

[...]

"Most of the genetic link to disease remains unexplained."

It would appear that this may be the time that Bruce Lipton's work, a cellular biologist who has been saying for years that we are not genetically predetermined, needs to be looked at under a more powerful microscope by the scientific community that thus far has been eschewing Lipton's empirical findings.

“In pointing at everything,” Dr. Goldstein writes in the journal, “genetics would point at nothing.”

Lipton, the author of The Biology of Belief, has many articles on his website, and a number of highly illuminating full-length videos available via Google Videos.

In Mind, Growth & Matter on his website, Lipton says "The old vision was that genes are selfactualising (turn on and off). But current data reveals that there is no such thing as an on/off function for a gene because genes are blueprints (plans) to make proteins, which are the building blocks that give shape to the structure.

The significance of this shift in belief is vast in that the original view led to the notion that we are victims of our biology. Whereas the ‘new’ sciences show that we are actually masters of our biology.

The new understanding of how genes work is that [...] genes are actually blueprints that are read.

In an interview (on his website), Lipton is asked who or what does this reading.

He replies: Exactly. That was the question. Suddenly the emphasis shifted and the issue became, who the heck is reading them? It transpires that the reader is the mind. So the mind becomes the all-powerful contractor of the body. The mind tells the cells what it anticipates and the cells go into the blueprint – the DNA – and create what the mind is anticipating.

So it follows that what you do with your mind is all-important with regards to your genetic development. Lest you believe that this then answers it all, let me hasten to add that it obviously does not. Once this is understood, the individual must begin to work with himself. Mind - body - spirit. This can be done in a number of different ways, and mindfulness (Jon Kabat Zinn, see his videos also) is a great way to start. Lipton recommends energy modalities of which there are many.

Doubt Your Limitations

I love this concept ... doubt your limitations!

This afternoon a friend mentioned the recession to me. His tone was low, he sounded defeated (and he is in fact, in quite a good position financially). When I encouraged him to speak differently, he admonished me, saying that it is not responsible to not consider the difficulties this recessions brings to most of us on an ongoing basis.

I begged to differ, arguing that concentrating on all these negative thoughts, brought no one any good.

• Being responsible has nothing to do with thinking dire thoughts about the potentially dire things that could happen.
• Being responsible does have much to do with taking responsibility for every moment of every day.
• Being responsible also has much to do with understanding that your inner well being depends on what you do with your emotions and your thoughts.
• Being responsible further has much to do with recognizing that even when you are in dire circumstances (e.g., cancer diagnosis, bankruptcy, your daughter is an addict, a hurricane is on the way to your city, etc.), you are not being more responsible by spending more time thining about the dire circumstance. Being responsible means doing your due diligence, brain storming, trying to find solutions, but then letting the matter be until the next day.

If your thoughts go to your limitations, and the limitations of your circumstances (currently for many of us the recession), then you will most certainly not be creating inner well being. If your thoughts go towards doubting your limitations, you are on the road to departing from your comfort zone, to growth, to expansion, and to thinking out of the box. That is being responsible.

Doubt your limitations.

It Is Our Humanity and All the Potential In It That Makes Us Beautiful

TED always offers such enriching talks ... many between 10 and 20 minutes long ... that can be viewed as video clips on the website.

This one is by Aimee Mullins, and the title of this post is the sentence with which she ends the talk offered here today.

As TED states, here is why you should listen to her:

Aimee Mullins was born without fibular bones, and had both of her legs amputated below the knee when she was an infant. She learned to walk on prosthetics, then to run -- competing at the national and international level as a champion sprinter, and setting world records at the 1996 Paralympics in Atlanta. At Georgetown, where she double-majored in history and diplomacy, she became the first double amputee to compete in NCAA Division 1 track and field.

After school, Mullins did some modeling -- including a legendary runway show for Alexander McQueen -- and then turned to acting, appearing as the Leopard Queen in Matthew Barney's Cremaster Cycle. In 2008 she was the official Ambassador for the Tribeca/ESPN Sports Film Festival.

She's a passionate advocate for a new kind of thinking about prosthetics, and recently mentioned to an interviewer that she's been looking closely at MIT's in-development powered robotic ankle, "which I fully plan on having."

"the most amazing part [of MIT's h2.0 conference] was a talk by aimee mullins, an athlete, a model and an actress with both legs amputated below the knees. she compared prosthetic legs to eyeglasses, and in the same way that we wear designer eyeglasses she has designer legs (she was wearing her 4-inch heel legs for the talk). she made it clear that with enough attitude you could pull off anything as she left the crowd dumbstruck with her presence." http://www.hyperexperience.com/

Watch Aimee Mullins here:

Keep a Steady Heart

Here are some wonderful words to ponder on in the Easter spirit:

When people speak badly of you,

you should respond in this way:

Keep a steady heart and don't reply with harsh words.

Practice letting go of resentment and

accept that the other's hostility is the spur to your understanding.

Be kind,

adopt a generous standpoint,

treat your enemy as a friend,

and suffuse all your world with affectionate thoughts,

far-reaching and widespread,

limitless and free from hate.

Buddha

Ridding the Body of Trauma and Stress

Yesterday I interviewed David Berceli, Ph.D., and Riccardo Cassioni, Ph.D. on my radio show. After working with thousands of trauma victims in 19 countries over a period of 15 years, David came to some realizations about how the body can be induced to deal with past or present trauma and stress.

He and Riccardo furthermore not only share this information via workshops, but also via books and a DVD on their website. In other words, this can be learned by anyone, on their own, at home, and then utilized over and over again, in order to maintain a stress-free body. This does not require a costly therapist working with you over and over again.

A stress-free body will have much greater difficulty in getting ill, or in developing any of our feared, 21st century, terminal diseases, not to mention that a stress-free body will make its owner much more susceptible to a joyous, energetic life.

Please listen to the interview on my radio show Rewiring the Soul, by clicking here

Intuition is Your Connection to the Divine

This voice inside of you ... that so often you pretend not to hear. This knowing inside of you ... that so often you ignore. This knocking at your inner door ... that so often you turn away from. This thing that pursues you over and over again, talking to you, making you think about whatever it is that you continue to turn a deaf ear to, this thing is your intuition and your connection to the divine.

Caroline Myss says that self esteem is essential in order to be able to listen to one's intuition, that it is imperative that one hones one's self esteem if one wishes to come into contact one's own divine self, and that seems to make a lot of sense. Consider that we are rarely encouraged as we go through school to pay attention to our intuition. Rather, our rational mind is extolled, and in its continual exaltation over emotions and intuition, we quickly learn to distrust emotions and intuition, and hence, in order for us to even begin to listen to our intuition, we require rather great resolve and self esteem.

In recent years much fascinating work has been done in the world of neuroscience and social psychology (see the related articles below) indicating that our erstwhile haste to disqualify the non-rational world of emotions and intuition was perhaps not well-advised because inter-disciplinary work by scientists is beginning to indicate that emotions and intuition are not only valuable adjuncts to our rational intelligence, but possibly even prime stars themselves in our quest for a balanced understanding of our world and ourselves.

But why is intuition our connection to the divine? What is the divine? Is it not the eternal part of each of us? Is it not the part of us that connects us not only to all others, but also to all creation? And if that is so, then isn't it logical (if I may use such a word in such a context) that somewhere inside of each of us there must be a connection to this divine part?

Joseph Campbell, the great mythologist, very much a Jungian at heart, wrote this:

The divine manifestation is ubiquitous

Only our eyes are not open to it.
Awe is what moves us forward.

Live from your own center.

The divine lives within you.

So we must be able to connect to this divine part. Meditation is one method. Listening to our intuition is another. (And there are others as well).

We know that for most of us things don't come totally naturally. They have to be learned and practiced. And so it is with listening to our own intuition. Begin listening to that voice, to that knowing, to that knocking, to that thing that connects you to yourself in a way that reaches far beyond your physical body.

Related Articles:

• Introducing Our Second and Third Brains: We Do Think With Our Heart and Instinct
• Attitude & Our Psychological Well-Being and Physical Health
• Are You in Alignment with the Real You?
• On the Road to Inner Freedom
• Candace Pert on Larry King: Change Your Mind, Change Your Life
• Are You Lost In The Woods?
• Have You Recognized the Symbols in Your Life?
• How Your Thoughts Change Your Body
• Giving Birth To Yourself
• Our Own Rejected Thoughts
• Intuition Has Great Value After All!
• Intuition and Healing and Dreams

Anger Is Like Drinking Poison Expecting the Other Person to Die

What is anger?

Among other things, it's a very negative emotion inside of you which is generally (but not always) about someone or something outside of you ... for whatever reason. In theory, what you want, is for the other person to pay in some fashion, for something they have done or said, or not done or not said.

As you get angry, heat may suffuse your body, you may find it hard to think, your vision may blur momentarily, your heart beat may increase, your fists may ball, acid may accumulate in your stomach, your mouth may feel dry ... in other words, you may experience one or more uncomfortable physical sensations to go along with your uncomfortable emotional sensations.

So we might say that as you have allowed yourself to become angry, you've taken a drink of figurative poison ... but you want the poison to have an effect on the other person.

Kind of silly, isn't it? Why would you drink poison if you wanted it to affect someone else? So why not consider the words of the paragraph before this one ... as you have allowed yourself to become angry ... because the fact is that you have allowed the anger. I don't mean the first flash of it ... that may have been involuntary ... but from that point on, you fan the flame, you continue to drink from the poisonous glass ... and that is indeed your choice that you can do something about. Not by pretending the anger is not there, but by choosing to look elsewhere, by refusing to allow your anger to control you, by choosing to go back to a place within yourself where you can feel better than this momentary flare of anger would allow you to ... all of this can be your choice.

So, look at your intention: do you choose to drink poison, or do you choose to look at your alternatives?

For more information about your anger and how to develop an attitude that will help you create a state of inner well-being, see my new book: Rewiring the Soul: Finding the Possible Self

Early Reviews:

"A revelation of insight into the foundations of human suffering & transcendence. It not only lays out essential steps for inner freedom & joy but illuminates the way to true human potential. Dr. Kortsch is a spiritual master for our time." Paul Rademacher, Exec Dir, The Monroe Institute; author: A Spiritual Hitchhiker's Guide to the Universe

"The masterwork of a profoundly gifted healer of the soul. Dazzling, challenging, wondrously useful." Peggy Rubin, Director, Center for Sacred Theatre, Ashland, Oregon; author:
To Be and How To Be, Transforming Your Life Through Sacred Theatre

"The instruction manual on rewiring the soul. An in-depth guide on life, love, spiritual evolution & our integration within the universe." Michael Habernig & April Hannah; Producers:The Path- The Afterlife & The Path 11 Documentaries

"Rewiring the Soul is one the best introductions to the spiritual life I've ever read. Not esoteric but real-world & practical. The implications are profound." Peter Shepherd; Founder Trans4mind.com; author: Daring To Be Yourself  

"The human being's directory to the soul. A breakthrough for those seeking practical assistance, those of a more mystical bent & every soul awaiting discovery." Toni Petrinovich, Ph.D.; author: The Call: Awakening the Angelic Human

"In Rewiring the Soul, Gabriella Kortsch shows us in very practical ways how to lead a soul-guided, soul-infused life. With the wisdom of one who has traveled far and learned much, Dr. Kortsch blazes a path for all who have the courage to follow. The rewards for walking that path are great: an understanding of why we are here; an expanded awareness of who we really are; a new or heightened sense of purpose and meaning; and a deeper appreciation of life's many blessings. Highly recommended." Robert Schwartz, author, Your Soul's Plan: Discovering the Real Meaning of the Life You Planned Before You Were Born (yoursoulsplan.com)

 

Related Articles:

• Who Pushes Your Buttons?
• You've Got Mail ... It's From Your Body
• Baby Steps to Take When Pain Overwhelms You
• Using the Tools
• The Language We Use Matters
• Environmentalism and Being Concerned With What You Eat
• How Do You Choose To React?
• Not Minding What Happens
• My Wealth Does Not Embarrass Me
• Looking For Solutions
• Emotions: Your Road to Freedom
• Keep Your Eye on Your Choices
• Tending Your Inner Garden
• Gratitude, Choice, and the “Why Did This Happen to Me?” Syndrome
• Existential Digging
• Where Are Your Habits Leading You?
• Who Needs Your Approval?
• Are You Living the Life You Want to Live?

Photo: The Alhambra in Granada, Spain

We Are All One

This video, from the Global Oneness Project shows us what it would be like if we were truly all one.

Here's what the producers of the film have to say (which you can not only see in numerous languages, but which, if you so desire, you can help to translate to languages that are not yet included):

What Would It Look Like?

What if the world embodied our highest potential? What would it look like? As the structures of modern society crumble, is it enough to respond with the same tired solutions? Or are we being called to question a set of unexamined assumptions that form the very basis of our civilization?

This 25-minute retrospective asks us to reflect on the state of the world and ourselves, and to listen more closely to what is being asked of us at this time of unprecedented global transformation.



25 minutes