You know those ‘aha’ moments? Those epiphanies? Those moments where ideas just come flying smack-bang outta the blue?
Well - science boffins have figured out where they originate and how you can increase their likelihood.
How cool is that?!
If you’re an Aussie geek like me, you would have been blissfully nerding out at Todd Sampson’s new TV show called Redesign My Brain.
In each episode, Todd gets to practice super cool brain training exercises, undergo functional MRI tests, and talk to researchers on the cutting edge of neuroscience.
Yep - it’s a neuroscience fangirl’s wet dream.
It’s in his latest episode, Make Me Creative, that Todd gets to experience and measure first hand what an ‘aha’ moment looks and feels like.
They call it insight and I adore it as Insightful is one of my Core Desired Feelings.
You see insight involves the right anterior temporal lobe - the area that processes and connects distantly related ideas deep within the brain.
“A eureka moment forges unique connections in your brain.” - Todd Sampson {click to tweet}
Interestingly, when you’re trying to analyse a problem logically, it’s the frontal cortex that’s involved and it actually blocks those eureka moments. Guess what else blocks eureka moments? Anxiety.
So how do you boost the probability of having an epiphany?
According to Todd you need to learn to trust your insightful thinking.
But apart from going through the cool exercises that he goes through on Redesign My Brain, got any ideas of how else to reduce anxiety and increase insight?
If you guessed meditones than you comrade, are correct.
That’s because meditones stimulate the whole brain - balancing the left and right hemispheres - and help you form new relaxed neural pathways.
I’ve personally had quite a few bonza creative ideas whilst using meditones.
Of course the wonderful thing about brain training (including using meditones) is that it’s like exercise for your grey matter. It not only boosts creativity, innovation and insight - it keeps your brain young by forming new neural pathways.
See, years ago, the accepted theory was that you were stuck with the brain you were born with. Over time your brain just degraded into mush until you died.
Now, it’s known that the brain is constantly rewiring and this process is called neuroplasticity. There have even been phenomenal cases of people retraining their brain after strokes and traumatic head injuries.
One such example is the wonderfully inspiring Jill Bolte-Taylor. In a “one-in-a-million” story, Jill is a neuroanatomist who witnessed her own stroke.
She documents it in a powerful book called My Stroke of Insight and her TED talk is featured on my Top 10 TED Videos list.
So if you’ve been feeling like there’s no hope that you could ever change your mind about your body - take heart. You’re not as stuck as you think you are. Your brain certainly isn’t. It holds all the potential for new and unique experiences.
The science of neuroplasticity PROVES you can change your mind!
And you can actively tap into these experiences with creative brain training or effortlessly through meditones.
Remember - meditation isn’t just another thing to add to your to-do list. It’s the catalyst for change you’ve been yearning for.
Got a friend who could use a fresh perspective? Give it to them (with a large serving of hope on the side) by sharing this post.
~ Original photo by Mackenzie Brunson
Comments are closed.