“What is there to know of the mind? The mind is not to be learned about. It is to be forgotten about. ” Sri Swami Sai Premananda

I read a great article online from ABC News Where Do the ‘Big Ideas’ Come From? Researchers Say the Brain Acts Differently Just Before a Moment of Revelation.  They raised some interesting points as per below:

So John Kounios of Drexel, and Mark Jung-Beeman of Northwestern, along with a team of researchers have been looking inside the noggins of volunteers to see if there’s any difference in how their brains are working just before an “aha” moment, and just before a bit of plodding. And the results suggest there certainly is a difference.  Why can we be creative one moment, and dull as a fencepost the next? Scientists have sought the answers to questions like those for centuries, because human creativity is as mysterious as it is important.
“If you are going to solve a problem with insight (creativity), there’s a characteristic pattern of brain activity even before the problem is presented,” says Kounios, a professor of psychology at Drexel. “When it’s going to be solved by a more methodical, analytical approach, there’s a separate characteristic of brain activity that is different.  ”That suggests that a person’s brain state, or frame of mind, determines which strategy he or she is going to use to solve a problem when it finally does appear.”  The brain scans revealed that insightful thinking was marked by increased brain activity in temporal lobe areas associated with conceptual processing, and with frontal lobe areas associated with cognitive control.  The methodical approach involved increased activity in the visual cortex at the back of the brain.

“What the mind attends to, the mind considers. What the mind constantly considers, the mind believes. What the mind believes, the mind eventually does.” Unknown

But if that’s so, is there anything we can do to make our brains more creative, or more methodical?  Kounios says their research doesn’t completely answer that, but “we have some good reason to believe that some of these aspects are under a person’s control.”  The work “suggests,” he adds, that such things as cognitive exercises, like yoga, might help make a person more creative, since they direct the attention inward, which appears to be tightly linked to creativity. But much more research is necessary to fully answer that, he says.
The brain scans revealed that insightful thinking was marked by increased brain activity in temporal lobe areas associated with conceptual processing, and with frontal lobe areas associated with cognitive control.  The methodical approach involved increased activity in the visual cortex at the back of the brain.

“In the beginner’s mind there are many possibilities, but in the expert’s mind there are few.” Shunryu Suzuki

Let’s have a bit of fun so check out this picture and identify which way the girl is moving, then look again to see if changes?  Check out this link to find out whether you are Right Brain or Left Brain.  Clockwise – you are more right brain function (feeling) and anticlockwise – more left brain function (logic). For all those who can see both – good work – you have access to both sides which helps in life & relating.  I’ve linked to this image in a very early post a couple of years ago but decided to use it again cause it is fun & interesting to investigate the dominant side of your brain.  On GooHackle you can see the result of a poll done regarding this figure.

“If you’ve made up your mind you can do something, you’re absolutely right. If you’ve made up your mind you can’t do something, you’re absolutely right.” Unknown

I am licensed in the Hermann Brain Dominance Indicator which identifies which segments of the brain are developed in individuals – interesting stuff! See diagram below for summary:

This model helps to understand the types of careers you may be attracted to or have talent for as per the diagram below:

I’ll leave you with a funny video called ‘Psychiatric counsellor’ from ‘Red Dwarf’, BBC comedy.  Make sure your seat is screwed on properly & enjoy….

Click here to view the embedded video.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Happy Days: Living in the Moment (happydays.blogs.nytimes.com)
• Right brain vs. left brain: Which side are you on? (lift-magazine.com)
• Are You Right Brain Dead? (ducttapemarketing.com)
• How to build a bigger brain (scienceblog.com)

• Review of Perfectmatch.com's Relationship Assessment Today I am back to reviewing the online dating sites with the focus on Perfectmatch.com's Duet.  Their claims on the website are as per below: "Finality is death. Perfection is finality. Nothing is perfect. There are lumps in it, said the Philosopher." James Stephens The Duet® Total Compatibility System identifies......
• circling around the heart of a matter do you ever find yourself circling around the heart of a matter, finding it difficult to get a definite connection to what is going on in your mind or feelings?...
• Review of PlentyofFish.com's Relationship Assessments PlentyofFish.com has two assessments to support better relationships for their members. The initial assessment is a Chemistry Predictor & then you can complete a Needs Assessment. PlentyofFish is a free site created by Markus Frind and these assessments are also free. PlentyofFish.com quotes re their Needs Assessment: This assessment is......
• extrovert or introvert matches? are you an extrovert or an introvert and how do you match with others? This is an important question that needs to be clarified and understood before matching with another person. Carl Jung focused on these two types of personality in his psychological work and these days many people have...
• review of be2 relationship assessment Today I'm going to review be2.com relationship assessment The questionnaire is short, easy to complete & not too taxing to the gray matter! The only information that I could find on their website regarding their profiling tool is as per below: In order to find out who is compatible with......

• Taxpayers Crushed by the Destructive Push for Home Ownership Stakeholder Industries Push the Myth that Home Ownership is for Everyone  Everyone agrees that that the current crisis in the financial markets is caused by the billions of dollars in mortgage loans that are in default, and by the reality that the amounts owed exceed available equity in the associated real......
• The elusive nature of happiness, part 4 [One] You can't change your genes, but you can tinker with the essential wiring of your brain. Selective serotonin reuptake [this is such an interesting word to me...and has some spiritual parameters, even the next word, 'inhibitors'] inhibitors, such as Prozac, Zoloft, and others work to prolong the action of......
• Back to Basics 101: Aerobic and Anaerobic Exercises Sometimes it's good to review exactly what goes on inside your body when you exercise. You might gain some insight on how to approach your workouts, and that will just give you an extra edge to becoming fitter! So, let's go back to the basics and review the differences between......
• Getting A Loved One Into Treatment: When They Don't Want To Go I was searching the Internet for some ideas on getting people into addiction treatment And found the following article. How to Get a Resistant Alcoholic Or Drug Abuser In Treatment By Mike Shery There are compelling reasons why people become addicted to alcohol and drugs. Psychological factors are extremely powerful.......
• Friday inspiration: Learning to invest & paying attention to personal finance This is part of a series of interviews with people who are either working to improve their financial situation or who have already reached their goals. This week's interview is with Kevin from No Debt Plan. He is working on becoming more focused on personal finance and investing. Could you......