[vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828693396{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Key Facts About Your Brain:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828702484{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]• Shaped by evolution, especially of emotional and relational capacities; for example, the bigger the primate social group, the bigger the brain

• 3 pounds, 1.1 trillion cells, including 100 billion “gray matter” neurons

• Always “on” – 2% of the body’s weight uses about 25% of its oxygen

• Average neuron has about 1000 connections (synapses), 100 trillion in all

• Synapses fire 1 to 100 times a second; quadrillions of synapses activate each minute[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]• Brain regions linked by neural pulses synchronized within a few milliseconds

• Highly interconnected network full of circular loops: awareness of awareness…

• Number of possible brain states: 1 followed by a million zeros

• The most complex object known in the universe[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828702484{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Your Mind Changes Your Brain:

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]• Both temporarily, in electrochemical waves lasting mere milliseconds, and permanently, as existing synapses get strengthened and new ones get made

• As circuits get used, they strengthen their connections; “neurons that fire together, wire together.” Your experience matters, leaving an enduring trace behind.

• London taxi drivers have thicker regions that create visual-spatial memories.

• Mindfulness and concentration meditations activate different parts of the brain.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]

Your Brain Changes Your Mind:

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]• Brain activity generates mental activity (mostly forever outside awareness).

• Trauma shrinks the hippocampus, which becomes less able to create new memories.

• More active left frontal lobes foster positive emotions.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828693396{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]

You can use your mind to change your brain to benefit your whole being.

For example, meditation and related practices (such as mindfulness-based stress reduction [MBSR]):

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828702484{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]• Trigger patterns of neural pulsing that produce relaxed alertness

• Activate positive emotion circuits, building resilience and resistance to depression

• Increase serotonin, a neurotransmitter that supports mood, sleep, and digestion

• Thicken the anterior cingulate, strengthening attention and self-observation[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]• Thicken the insula, strengthening internal sensing and empathy for others

• Stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) for relaxed well-being

• Strengthen the immune system, improve cardiovascular health, dampen chronic pain[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828693396{margin-bottom: 30px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Ways to activate brain states that support meditation:

[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css_animation=”” row_type=”row” use_row_as_full_screen_section=”no” type=”full_width” angled_section=”no” text_align=”left” background_image_as_pattern=”without_pattern” css=”.vc_custom_1540828702484{margin-bottom: 50px !important;}” z_index=””][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]• Establish frontal lobe direction through forming an intention for your meditation.

• Activate the relaxing PNS through full exhalations, relaxing specific muscles, etc.

• Reduce external vigilance by evoking a sense of safety and security

• Increase concentration (and support motivation) through opening to and even calling forth positive emotions such as gratitude, happiness, contentment, or tranquility[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/2″][vc_column_text]• Register wholesome experiences in emotional memory by savoring them

• Encourage release of self through giving up conscious control of breathing

• As needed, increase stimulation by sensing the whole body breathing, walking, etc.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]