The sound of holding back greatness

Posted on July 5, 2013

I cannot. Cannot tell you about the amazing conversations I had yesterday, just say that I had. Just say that magic never has been more clear or vibrating in others. I have seen it in shocked eyes, unusual movements and habits broken.

An alive connection, an umbilical cord filled with nutritious experiences that bind us all together. Our stories are the blood vessels that keep it connected through every storm. The cord doesn`t stop transferring, only we do. We clip it, pinch it or send something poisonous away, or we don`t shield it from what it needs to keep pulsing. It needs iron for the blood, steadiness to not twist and food to build its walls. When we neglect given ourselves energy, we neglect being alive. Lack of self-preservation have the direst consequences people can think of.

Not getting what you need is like putting the shiny film over your eyes that blinds you even if it`s transparent. Your children are there, tugging your leg, and you pat them on their head, while that shine cuts away any other thoughts or feelings. It`s better that way, it’s better to avoid it all. Just not for the child, seeing the vacant look that so skillfully create small holes. When there is not enough space, for more of them, they devour each other. Black holes inside black holes. That`s when the amazing thing happens, that`s when magic comes. Magic has the power to find plugs that stop energy from leaking out of the holes. It might even reverse the process, since a filled hole will brim over, spread its contents and neatly cement other cracks.

Coincidence or not, the power of new experiences and daring to jump into a different carousel, one that goes slower, is more controllable, and might even give time to watch what`s going on, is like nothing else. Wind is a powerful as the speed in which it proceeds, and it won`t help for me to blow any more life into it. It happens inside the weather system, the trick is not holding back. Inhibitions and fear, the mountains that push your existence away, can be crushed. Again with magic hammers and explosive that was in your pocket all along. Just find them, install the dynamite and let it blow, until you fly with your flapping wings.

If you need inspiration: Start learing. Everything. Expansion is part of the explosion, and the expansion of a mind can really move mountains.

Jane Austen‘s Mansfield Park is a complex, challenging novel read by millions. And now a recent collaboration between Stanford neurobiologists and English Postdoctorate Natalie Phillips suggests that complex novels such as Mansfield Park can activate key brain areas.

Casual versus critical reading

Researchers from the Stanford Center for Cognitive and Neurobiological Imaging took brain scans of several literary PhD students as they read a chapter from Mansfield Park. First, the PhD students were asked to read the book casually, for fun. Then students were asked to switch to a critical reading mode similar to how they might analyze it in a literature classroom This switch in reading modes created a significant shift in brain activity patterns on fMRI scans. Casual reading activated pleasure centers while critical reading increased activity in the prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for the executive functions heavily involved in attending to tasks like reading.

Executive function and the brain

Executive function is responsible for more than just attentive reading: this brain function helps moderate how you divide your attention, use your working memory, and generally direct your brainpower. It plays a powerful role in decision-making. While the findings of the Stanford study are preliminary, they make a good case for further research on the impact of reading on cognition. Philips posits that critical reading could serve as a type of training, “teaching us to modulate our concentration.” There is other evidence that reading can be good for your brain. A 2007 study from the Center for Occupational and Environmental Neurology found that avid readers benefited from increased cognitive reserve. Cognitive reserve is the concept that challenging intellectual activity — like reading or brain training — can protect the brain against negative cognitive impacts later in life.

Related articles

• Brain stimulation at any age can slow memory decline (usatoday.com)
• What is Executive Function? (engageadhd.org)
• Active Brains Slow Cognitive Decline (medindia.net)