12.27.2007

Brain Functioning and Body Awareness

I’m currently reading The Mindful Brain by Daniel Siegel. Last night I was reading about the functions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. I’ll share what I learned with you in case you’re curious and then below are some fo my morning reflections.

Right hemisphere functions
  • better at seeing context and the whole picture
  • holistic
  • nonverbal
  • visuospacial
  • integrated map of the whole body
  • autobiographical memory
  • raw, spontaneous emotion
  • initial empathic nonverbal response
  • stress modulation
  • mediate distress and uncomfortable emotions
  • nonverbal imagery
  • somatic sensations
Left hemisphere functions
  • linguistics
  • linearity
  • logic
  • literal thinking
  • detail oriented, detail monitoring
  • in-depth
  • analytic
  • problem focused
  • fact accumulating process
  • mediate positive affective emotions
  • conceptual facts
According to Siegel, creativity is the integration of the functions of the two hemispheres.
“With the left and right hemisphere physically separated and functionally differentiated, we have the opportunity to achieve more adaptive function if we come to integrate them into a whole. This is how, I believe, creativity emerges not from one side or another, but from their integration.”
At them moment I'm curious about the interplay between my "integrated map of the whole body" and "in depth, analytic, problem focused" awareness.

From this morning’s writing: As I sense into my body right now, my attention goes to all of the places that 'aren't right'. The soreness of my neck and back from sleeping with a pillow that's too big, blemishes on my face that I don’t know how they’re forming (and it concerns me that they are), etc. As I listen deeper, I feel other areas of my body, but without judgment. I notice strongly the areas that are not in balance but I don’t seem to register with emphasis the areas that are in balance. So I wonder:

How do I invite my attention to notice and feel the places that are alive, fluid, healthy?
What does aliveness feel like in moments within my self?"

I would love to hear any personal stories that you have to share on this:
What is your sensing feeling of your body like?
Do you notice patterns around what you do or don’t register in your body?
How do you recognize health, wellness, aliveness, clarity, congruency within your self?
Is it different on the physical plane than in emotional, spiritual, social, or intellectual realms?

Thanks... curious as ever....

Labels: , , ,

posted by ashley

12.19.2007

Centering


Center the mind in stillness
Center the heart in love
Center the body in breath



Quote from 13-moon natural time calendar
Stone circle at Story House

Labels: , , ,

posted by ashley

12.17.2007


"There is a voice that doesn't use words. Listen." ~ Rumi


photo by kiri :D

Labels: , ,

posted by ashley

12.14.2007

What is safety on the soul level?



Finn talking at Rivendell last November. Chris sitting nearby. Two of my mentors.

What is safety on a soul level?

Labels: ,

posted by ashley

12.12.2007

Leave the familiar for a while

Today I open a gate, inviting myself into a journey where I hope to learn more about some of my habitual patterns of relating... relating with myself, relating with others, relating with the internet, relating with time and space.... this list could go on and on... so much relating!

I am entering an inquiry. I am experimenting through a practice of shifting what is known and comfortable so that I may better feel what it's like to sit with the unknown and to be with myself in discomfort. If some of the habits and routines I have grown to depend upon are shifted, how will I respond? How might I come to better know and relate to myself ? to others? Where have I used these habits to help me feel whole? How might I grow towards wholeness through new ways of facing and relating with myself and others?

I've recently returned to referencing a 13-Moon Natural Time Calendar. I enjoy seeing when my day resonates with the tone and glyph of this calendar. Below is part of today's description... feels in alignment!
"With deep roots into the earth and broad antennas into the sky, receive the medicine your soul needs to endure life's transitions and discover trust in the unknown."

"As we release that which no longer serves, we make way for new opportunities and understandings to emerge. Setting us free from expectations or definite notions, Spectral energy breaks us out of routine, releasing us into the spectrum of possibility, provoking us to see aspects of our wholeness that may be yet undiscovered."

~from 13 Moon Natural Time Calendar
As part of this shift I am inquiring into my relationship with the internet. I don't know how regularly I'll be posting in this coming time. I leave you with another poem that caught me sweetly today. I found this one at Rich Life Cafe.

Leave the familiar for a while.
Let your senses and bodies stretch out

Like a welcomed season
Onto the meadow and shores and hills.

Open up to the Roof.
Make a new watermark on your excitement
And love.

Like a blooming night flower,
Bestow your vital fragrance of happiness
And giving
Upon our intimate assembly.

Change rooms in your mind for a day.

All the hemispheres in existence
Lie beside an equator
In your heart.

Greet Yourself
In your thousand other forms
As you mount the hidden tide and travel
Back home.

All the hemispheres in heaven
Are sitting around a fire
Chatting

While stitching themselves together
Into the Great Circle inside of
You.

Hafiz – 14th century Sufi mystic and poet

Labels: ,

posted by ashley

12.05.2007

Is this the theory of everything?

I don't understand this video that is a theory from Garrett Lisi that may reveal the link between gravity and the other fundamental forces of nature, but as Amy said: "It certainly is beautiful."

posted by ashley

12.01.2007


M74: The Perfect Spiral
Credit: NASA, ESA, and the Hubble Heritage (STScI / AURA)- ESA / Hubble Collaboration
Acknowledgment: R. Chandar (Univ. Toledo) and J. Miller (Univ. Michigan)

Labels:

posted by ashley

Absolutley Amazing - Time to Fly

I just learned about wingsuits... and this new sport of flying. Please enjoy this video,

and don't miss my absolute FAVORITE so far that is here. Allow yourself to be swept away.

Labels: , , ,

posted by ashley

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?