But while my head was buried in code, some cool things crossed my desk… and some other things are still bubbling on the back burner.

First Up? A Cool Video (but hurry!)

IIf you get over to PBS’s website *TODAY*, you can still watch NOVA’s “Musical Minds” episode online.   It’s pretty darn fascinating stuff, featuring neurologist/author Oliver Sacks as he explores exceptional individuals and their astounding musical minds.  But the program goes offline tomorrow, so check it out before the day is over.  If you miss the video, though, some of the extras are still pretty cool.

Next, A REALLY cool interactive:
America’s Brain Health

This is neat, and deserved it’s own post, but..  I’d rather get the info out there now!  LifeDHA’s 2009 Index of America’s Brain Health a is a pretty incredible state by state breakdown of the US populations strengths and weaknesses when it comes to brain health habits.  It’s pretty revealing, and maybe even predictable: For instance, residents of Nevada get the least amount of sleep (all night casino habits are likely responsible for that!) And my own state of Texas could do with a few more libraries and a whole lot more reading - something I’ve unfortunately noticed in our local population, a lot of Texans seem allergic to reading.

There’s also a quiz you can take to assess your own strengths and weaknesses, though your results won’t affect the indexed results, so don’t try and game it to make your state look better

Go check it out. Really. It’s cool.

And Finally, Some Brain Fitness Updates:

I‘m almost done with my review of Cognifit’s Personal Coach.
No, really, I am.   Why’s it taking so long?  Well, I’m seriously quite impressed with the program, and wanted to do it justice with something witty and clever. Yes, I know.. you’d rather get the info (and they’d rather have the publicity) than wait for me to figure out some sort of amusing approach. But that’s not how things work around here, ok?  ;)  So if you’re that impatient, just head on over to Cognifit and see what they have to offer.  It’s a sweet set up, really.

FitBrains has what looks like a fun new feature…  their new “Brain Challenge”  allows even free-account members to compete against up to five of your friends and family members.  Now, I’m not much for competitions myself, and Fitbrains isn’t quite my cup of tea in general (being a little too gamey for my tastes) but some of the Brain Camp members seem to really like it.  Here’s the link to the challenge thing:  Challenge A Friend (Note: When I tried to sign up for a guest account, it sent me to an error page.  But my account still seemed to be registered, so just ignore the error)

And in case you still haven’t seen  the latest studies on caffeine and Alzheimer’s, I wrote about the buzz over on the Dakim sponsored blog - so if you’re a coffee junkie, hop on over there and so you can feel justified with drinking that extra cup.

So there you have it. Friday Ketchup, on Tuesday.
Better late than never, right?

1.Neuroplasticity Rocks.    

Although there’s no simple way to summarize it,  my deepening understanding of  how the neural pathways in the brain grow, strengthen, change and fade away has made a huge difference in my approach to… well.. everything.   The concepts involved have helped me to understand how both good and bad habits are formed, maintained and changed…   that new things are *supposed* to be hard, and being “smart” doesnt magically make new neural pop into existence without work. 

Neuroplasticity isn’t just an abstract concept to me anymore, it’s become part of how I approach life and learning as a whole, and I don’t think that would have happened if I hadn’t forced myself to look at the concepts more deeply, in order to write about them, and respond to reader comments and emails.

2.My Brain Really Does Work Differently.
(and so does yours)

No, I don’t have a series of scans, readouts or tests to confirm that I’m different than most folks…  But the more I’ve learned about the brain, the more I recognize that my mental function appears to be stoopidly sensitive to both internal and external influences, including allergens, glucose levels, heat, mood (both my own and others) the power of suggestion,  color, and lord knows what else.   I wish I knew how to make it a wee bit less sensitive, but for now, I’ll settle for knowing that it is, and that I need to be especially aware of the impact of environment, and that there are others out there like me, with unspecified, undiagnosed “differences”.

And just so you know I’m not totally self-obsessed -  I’m equally fascinated by how different and unique other people’s brains are, and I regularly try to understand just how some of the more peculiar neural pathways get built.

3.The Brain Fitness Community Is Awesome.

Yes, it’s a young community. Yes, we’re still splintered, scattered, sometimes competitive and sometimes confused. But I have to say that through this medium,  I’ve come into contact with some of the nicest, most supportive, friendly and genuine people I’ve met in 15 years of online activity, with positions ranging from from bloggers to authors to marketers and company CEOs. 

I’d list them, but there are just too many…  and I’d never get this post done.   (so I’ll save that for another day)

4.I Suspect I  Am A Neurogenesis Junkie

I’ve always craved new, in depth, engaging and stimulating environments - the feeling I get from them is akin to a cool fresh breeze on a muggy day.  When my spouse and I used to go for long drives as entertainment, I always wanted to go somewhere *new* and fresh, and if I go too long without something drastically new and fascinating in my world, I get depressed.  I need exposure to things I don’t know, or I get antsy.  

Weird, eh?  My best guess: (and this isn’t really an educated guess) there’s something in the bio-chemical cocktail of neural growth that I crave.  I sometimes wish I had a neuroscientist next door neighbor who would let me borrow all that cool equipment they have, so I could see what really goes on inside my skull.  It’s weird, I’m telling ya!

5.What I Think (and say) Matters.
(but so does what you think and say)

Because it affects the neural pathways, making physical and real changes in my brain… and presumably, the brains of my readers. 

Which is kind of scary.  

Really.

So I’m going to go breathe, now, so I can quit fretting over how I changed your brain today

MindTweak:  “To know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived - that is to have succeeded”  -- Ralph Waldo Emerson

In the same town, my Grandmother (who determined long ago she should never be called “Granny” ) has opened up her empty next-door lot for a neighborhood garden.  My grandfather had always kept it planted with garlic, onions, corn, and so forth… so it’s been great to see it in use again, and the neighbors all cooperating on the project.

Even in the most urban areas, gardeners are learning to create and manipulate cracks in paved areas to create community “crack gardens”. And at the White House, Michelle Obama has planted the first vegetable garden since Eleanor Roosevelt, an act that has seemingly rejuvenated gardening as a hobby among younger generations.

But what’s any of this got to do with tweaking your mind?

Well…   Lots!  Gardening has everything to do with with mood balancing and brain fitness and general good attitudeness.

Look, I even made a list. (Ahem)

1.Gardening gets you outdoors and into the sunshine, helping the  body to produce Vitamin D, repeatedly linked to brain health.  Sunlight is known to reduce depression (which can actually kill off brain cells) and exposure to natural light helps reset and maintain the body’s natural clock - reducing a common cause of insomnia (Insomnia is another common contributor to poor cognitive functions)

2. Gardening gets you physical. Gardening is physically active - whether you’re digging holes and lifting bags of dirt, moving around small pots, or moving around the area with a water hose, it requires motion. And whatever your physical abilities, there are ways to garden within your limits - especially if you’re part of a community of gardeners, some of whom can always be recruited for heavy lifting.

3. Natural environments are good for the brain. Urban environments are naturally stressful, but introducing natural environments  into urban areas through gardens, parks or even indoor greenery helps reduce the stress. That relaxed feeling people describe when gardening? There’s scientific evidence to support the link.  For more information, check this out: How The City Hurts Your Brain

4. Gardening keeps you engaged with the world. There’s an increasing body of evidence that the more connected and engaged we feel to the world around us, the less likely we are to suffer stress and depression, the better our brain functions, and the less likely we are to suffer from cognitive declines and dementia.

5. Community gardens are social. Social activity not only reduces stress and depression, it stimulates our brains in unique ways. We’re built to be social creatures, and our brains are not only adapted for that purpose, but actually seem to need social contact and activity to stay healthy.

And even if your garden space is *not* communal, it’s almost impossible not to have some social contact as a result of it. Neighbors pop over, offering and asking for cuttings, offering advice, asking for help themselves.   And there’s something about being able to give friends, family, or neighbors a bouquet from your own garden,  pickles from the cucumbers and peppers you grew, or just a simple home grown braid of garlic.

6. Gardening encourages creative thinking and requires  visualization/imagination. There’s a lot of creativity required -  from problem solving for troublesome or small spaces, to full blown landscaping that requires you to consider plant shapes, textures, colors and heights not only as they are now, but how they will look a year from now, or two years from now.

7. Gardening encourages ongoing learning. The amount of  information available to soak up is overwhelming.. even if you only need to learn one climate zone, and one soil type for your location, there are always new varieties, hybrids and products to learn about.

8. Vegetable gardening encourages healthy eating. Even if you’re normally averse to veggies, there’s just something tastier about veggies you’ve grown yourself, with your own hands, through your own efforts.  And eating healthier is good for the brain.

9. Gardening can be meditative. Weeding, for instance, can be an almost trance-like experience.  Or check out this post about Weaving The Morning Glories; I know that the author (hi WriterDad!) didn’t specifically seem to see this as a meditation, but it could be. It’s certainly as disciplined as a meditation.   And gardening can also be combined with visualizations to create powerful imagry….plucking weeds, clearing out deadwood, trimming back branches can become a meditation on clearing and shaping thoughts and attitudes.

10. Dirt is an essential mind nutrient, and to be most effective, it must be absorbed from beneath the fingernails.  Or ( as my garden helper demonstrates in the photo to the right) it may be directly ingested.  It’s true, I tell you!  (Ok, maybe not… but I needed an excuse to show you the photo)

This whole thing, of course, is a thinly veiled justification for having played  hookey this week, while fussing with the plants here at home.  And I’m not even sure why this is titled “Community Gardens” because my own little landscaping endeavor isn’t a community effort, by any means… (unless you count my muddy helper, there) and whatever my original “community” idea for this post was,  it got lost along the way.

Still, the sun, wind, greenery and dirt did me and my brain a world of good, and I hope you all forgive my playing hookey.

Maybe some day I’ll even start my own little community garden in the park    across the street.  I’m sure the puppy would love to help.

MindTweak: My green thumb came only as a result of the mistakes I made while learning to see things from the plant’s point of view.  ~H. Fred Ale

We must abandon the idea of creating a brand entirely, and instead focus on creating a personality for an imaginary human being.

If our brand was a person, how would you describe them? Would you be their friend? Would you help them move? Would they help you? How do they feel about themselves? How do they speak to others? Instead of asking “What typeface represents this brand best?” ask how the brand would write their own name. How does this new entity define themselves? Answer that, and the branding becomes clear.

Well. Huh.

Before I’d finished reading, the inside of my skull had become a projection screen/sketchpad and my “Brand” was revealing it’s form:

An amorphous semi-glowing blue living rock thing. Shaped sort of like  a brain, but not exactly.

Um. Yeah. Ok.

It  looked a bit like it’s out of an episode of Twilight Zone (one of the remake episodes, with the  pricier special effects) and not exactly something anyone wants to build a relationship with.  Not good.

But as I watched, it… moved.  Evolved.  Uncurled, unfurled, and looked less boulder like, more origami-cabbage-folded-out-of-granite-ish.  It  lifted a humanoid sort of head from between the leaves, and I stared.  (Can you stare inside of your own mind? I’m not really sure of the mechanics of this stuff sometimes…)

I pondered the marketing implications, and saw a few problems.

People might be intrigued by a semi-amorphous-blue-granite-cabbage-with-a-head. They might tune in to marvel at it, or watch with hypnotic horror.  But most people would be unlikely to form a relationship with such a thing, even if it is vaguely brain like. (maybe especially if it’s vaguely brain like)

The branding solution seemed pretty obvious….  it (I) needs to stop curling in on itself, unfurl its wings, and just go ahead and become whatever it is going to become.

“It would be far less threatening,” I thought, “if it weren’t a vague-monster-mutant, but was a specific monster-mutant, maybe with a friendly face.”

So yesterday I dug out a scrap of watercolor paper, and let the thing pick one form, to see what that might tell me.  Mind you, this isn’t necessarily the final shape - and it certainly isn’t the only shape, but I thought it would be interesting to draw it, and see what it could tell me.

You can click on it for the enlarged version, if you like…  but mostly it just looks messier that way.

I added the antlers for my own amusement, they don’t really seem to be a natural part of the creature itself, but I like the idea of it picking up TV reception with them, and being sensitive to customer vibes.  I included drawings of the cabbage-rock-brain-things, too… so you can see that they are really pretty disturbing and vaguely threatening.  I was amused by the curled up things tails, making them appear more brain like.

Considering the grown-up Brand-Mutant turns up some interesting insights.

For one thing, it only has one eye…. a single large focus.  It definitely has a long-tail.  There’s a lot of energy and uplift involved, and the appearance of motion in many directions, even as it  seems to be flying only in one.  (I’m tempted to go in and add a propeller to it’s head, turning it into a helicopter. It likes that idea of being especially mobile)

Though you can’t really tell, there are others of it’s kind in the background, suggesting it is a social sort of thing, part of a community, maybe a little flock network.  It’s not clear if those are maybe secondary products, or related sites/companies, but there’s definitely a network aspect to it, making the adult Brand  more like a neuron than a complete brain.

Oh, and it has claw/feet - but they’re tucked up under its feathers. It uses them for grasping ideas and concepts.

While consistent with my own style of layered colors and drips, drawing is curiously influenced by the HugsforMonsters design, and likely reflects my sense of kinship with the little I’ve seen of Joe’s approach.   I haven’t seen enough of him yet to know if he’ll be annoyed by that, but… there it is.

As for the questions Joe suggested…

If your brand was a person, how would you describe them?
Quirky.  Both grounded and flighty, in different phases.  Expressive.  Transparent (more in the human sense, not the business sense) Trustworthy and Trusting.

Would you be their friend?
Sure, though it would be an odd sort of friendship, I think.  Very cirque.

Would you help them move?
Sure, but it can do more heavy lifting than I can!

Would they help you?
I think so.  I have this image of it flying-flitting around my head, whispering in my ear.  Maybe zooming off to find readers, customers, networking…. oh I get it! It’s more hummingbird than monsterbird!

How do they feel about themselves?
It doesn’t spend a lot of time in self reflection. It leaves that to others: me, my readers, my customers.

How do they speak to others?
Hums, whirs, and by playing messenger, delivering notes, books, information from others.  I think it can project images with its mind, too. (yes, I know this is getting weird, but I dont want to censor at this stage!)

Instead of asking “What typeface represents this brand best?” ask how the brand would write their own name.
If forced to write, it would be in a sort of handprinted scribble in crayon.  But it prefers to present it’s name as a series of images, projected directly into people’s minds. (Freaky)

How does this new entity define themselves?
Answer that, and the branding becomes clear.
I don’t think it does define itself.. prefering to let others draw their own conclusions.

So there you go.  A visualization experiment in branding.  I don’t think it’s quite what Joe from HugsforMonsters meant, but… I got a lot out of it, including one really concrete message to take away…

Spread your wings and fly.

Even if you look like a granite cabbage, the flying is the thing.

So, what do you think?
Would YOU buy anything from Brand-The-Flying-Cabbage-Brain?

Today, I’ve decided to shamelessly steal-borrow-adapt one of Havi’s other ideas - a weekly post that she calls  her Friday Chicken/Checkin.  It’s essentially a place and time where she rambles waxes eloquently about her week - the good, the bad, the painful, the beautiful.   But because I’m me, and I have to be different  even from the different, I’ve opted for a condiment cliche instead of a poultry pun.  There’s a reason for my changing it up, too… it’s a reminder to me to catch-up on all of the things I should have told you about this week, and didn’t.

So here goes, your very first edition of Friday Ketchup!

First up? Some linkage for you:

1.The Sharp Brains Guide to Brain Fitness
Alvaro Fernandez and Dr. Elkhonon Goldberg of SharpBrains have released a book wittily titled ” The SharpBrains Guide to Brain Fitness”. (Who’d have thunk it? )

And while I haven’t read it yet,  based on my trust in SharpBrains, I feel totally comfortable recommending it sight unseen.  That’s a first for me, and says a lot about my high opinion of SharpBrains as a whole. So check it out.

2. This Old Brain.Net
I really enjoyed this  two-parter from Mike Kirkeberg over at  ThisOldBrain.Net  (Plus, he has a totally amusing header graphic)

• The Myth of Positive Thinking, Part 1
• Myth of Positive Thinking, Part 2 - Should You Fire Your Mind?

3. BrainTraining 1o1: Brain Games
And have I ever directly pointed you towards the games hosted by my friend Erin Matlock, of BrainTraining1o1?

Check out her mind boggling collection of mind boggling brain teasers, twisters, puzzles and games here:  Brain Training 101: Online Brain Games

And In The Category Of Things I Really Should Have Told You About Ages Ago?

4.The 7 Keys to Brain Fitness Blog
(alternately titled Vibrant & Healthy Living)

As if writing for Brain Camp and this blog weren’t enough, I had to go and start another writing project! It’s  a site much more tightly focused on brain fitness, with a side helping of successful aging.

The whole thing is sponsored by Dakim, a company that produces a sort of Rolls Royce of brain training products that runs on its own hardware with a touch screen and about a gazillion games, I’m told!  I haven’t had time to even think about reviewing Dakim’s product, but Erin should be giving it the once over soon, and I’m waiting eagerly to see her take on it.  The sample games on their website are really fun, though sadly the pricing puts it way out of my reach. I can definitely see it having a solid place in a brain gym setup.

The blog is sort of a team effort between me and their PR team, and I’m admittedly having a lot of trouble finding my balance over there.  Still,  I have come up with a few posts I’m particularly proud of, like this one:  Living With Alzheimer’s: A Spark of Self & Humanity I’m hoping to do a MindTweaks interview with Annie from that post… so make sure and check it out, and let me know what you think.

And My Head-Hanging Shame:

Ok, here’s the biggie.  I may have written the worst post ever in the history of MindTweaks.  Seriously. It’s dreadful, and no, you wont change my mind.

I’m referring, of course, to that rambling mess the other day about spirit animals and illusion.

Usually, when I think I’ve written a horrible post, I come back a day or so later, and realize it’s not so bad.  This time? It really is pretty dreadful.   Too many ideas, too much info, too much rambling, and overall, it’s horribly forced. Blah.  It’s so bad that I might take it down entirely, re-write it from scratch, or head for confessional and hope for some sort of penance  And no, I’m not going to link to the post…  It’s that bad.

Why did I produce such a monstrosity?

Simple - I’m over extended with my writing.  I love writing, I really do.   But I’m used to doing it on my own time, on my own schedule, and according to my whims.   Brain Camp is really rewarding, but the content is challenging to produce.  Add the Dakim site into the mix, and I’m just burnt out.  Too much writing on too many similar subjects, and my poor brain is starting to blow fuses, I’m afraid.

Something has to give, and right now, it seems to be my writing ability. Bummer.

Which is why I’m asking myself…
“Where’s the relish?”

Where’s that extra bit of refreshing enjoyment gotten off to?  I’ve already checked behind the baked beans and potato chips, and it’s seemingly no where to be found…

MindTweak: “I was never unusually squeamish; I could sometimes eat a fried rat with a good relish, if it was necessary” -  Henry David Thoreau

When I was in my wacky lets-learn-all-about-spiritual-secrets-and shamanism phase, I became fascinated by the way shamans could use tricks of illusion and magic as part of ritual and surprisingly effective medical treatments.   Indigenous spiritual practices are full of manufactured  illusions that are treated as reality, even by the practitioners themselves - but that’s another post.

This Is That Post (and yes, it’s stoopid-long)

Ahem.

For a few years during my spiritual insanity, I had an actual-real-live-official mentor amid all the wackiness.

And yes, he was more than a wee-bit-wacky himself, but he was also quite smart, knowledgable and insightful, and a good sort of mentor (at least so long as you remembered he was basically a bit wacky.  I did forget, every once in a while)

But anyway.

A frustrated actor, he loved being in front of groups of people and doing rituals, and the more dramatic the better.  One of his favorites was a version of what folks involved modern Euro-American Shamanism call “spirit animal retrieval”.  The exact details are tough to explain without a lot of background material, so I’ll just skim the surface and trust that you won’t decide I’m any crazier than you already think I am.

An Introduction to Spirit Animals and Soul Retrieval

Now, most indigenous cultures have quite a different concept of spirit/soul than we do, here in the West.  In fact, this whole one-soul/spirit thing seems to be a relatively modern concept.    Older traditions refer to many different types of souls or spirits.  Similar to how Sigmund Freud divided our psyche into the ego, id, superego and libido, these traditions see natural separations in the various non-physical parts that make us who we are.

And like Carl Jung’s take on the collective unconscious, some of those soul-spirit parts are shared among ancestral family groups, trade groups, tribes, etc.

A common form these parts of self and soul and community take is of animals, and a common thread is that they provide teaching and guidance, shape our personalities, and provide us with energy, drive, a thirst for life, and a connection to the natural world and the cycles of life.

At times, these parts of our spirits may wander off, or be driven off, leaving a gap in who we are.  Part of a traditional shaman’s job in the community is to  help restore or reconnect those spirits to us.

The idea of these “soul retrievals”  is fairly simple… the shamanist and their client both go into a trance state, usually aided by a drum or rattle.   The practitioner then shifts their vision inward, moving into the subconscious world of symbolism, and interacting with it as though it were physical (the experience is akin to a very real-feeling dream.

In that state, they track down the missing spirit, and bring it back with them into their awareness. Then in a state of consciousness that bridges dream-state and waking-states, they transfer the spirit back to the client… sometimes by blowing it directly into their body, sometimes by blowing it into a stone, crystal, or other talisman which is then given to the person to meditate on, in order to deepen and maintain the connection.

The Western Challenge

When the  folks in the West began exploring shamanic beliefs in the 80’s & 90’s, this whole soul-retrieval bit  grabbed a lot of attention.  Maybe it was attractive because it was akin to some of the “inner child” work that was popular in previous decades. Maybe  because we were that hungry for connection to the natural world, maybe because animal spirits didn’t seem threatening or demonic, or maybe it was just because it seemed exotic or fun to have a sort of spiritual pet hanging around.

Regardless, the idea quickly gained ground with alternative religious folks, and it was quickly adapted and adopted by modern practitioners, including my mentor.

But it wasn’t so easy to get through Westerner’s psychological defenses so that they’d allow the soul retrieval to go on.

I remember the first time it was done for me (not by my wacky mentor, but someone I’d known long before) - and I was afraid I’d have to dance around a fire naked, chanting to a dead chicken or some such.  The skepticism and caution is part of our culture, and it’s especially useful in a blended society like America. So it’s not always possible or even wise to put aside our critical, doubting ways and accept something outside of our world view just because we want to play around with some new spiritual healing ritual.

Thus, even though someone might really see the psychological (if not spiritual) value in a soul retrieval, they might not be able to accept it on the deep level they needed to, to get the full benefit.

Which Brings Me Back To My Mentor And Magic…

Along with being a frustrated actor, my mentor was also a frustrated magician with a wee bit  of skill in sleight of hand, which he used to good effect in his own soul-retrieval rituals among  groups.

To begin, he’d pull out a volunteer as the first subject, have them lay down in the center of the group, then explain the process to everyone,  letting them know what they could expect to experience. He’d explain about rattles and rhythms and shamanic trance inductions.  He’d explain the known visual and sensory effects of such trance states (most notably the sensation of going down a tunnel). These days, he’d probably talk about the specific scientific knowledge of brainwave states, and the exact brainwave frequencies found in shamanic trance.

Next, he’d show them a small stone, carved in the shape of a bear.  He’d pass it around, let them touch it.  He’d explain that his own animal spirit was a bear, and that it would journey with him when he went into trance and into the spiritual worlds.

Once there, he and the bear would find the person’s lost animal spirit, and blow it into the stone, to bring it back to this world.  He’d let them watch as he placed the little stone bear between his lips, and then he’d begin to use his rattle, gradually falling into trance.

At the end, he’d lean over the current participant, and blow so that the stone fell from between his lips and onto their belly or chest.

He’d tell them what their animal was… (a buffalo, for instance) and explain that it’s spirit was now in the stone.   Invariably, magically, when that first person picked up the stone to examine it, it would have transformed. The talisman was no longer in the shape of a bear, but the shape of a buffalo.

It was a sweet little magic trick, though it wasn’t hard to figure out, either.  Before he’d show them that first bear, he’d hide a buffalo stuck inside the handle of his rattle, a bird in one cheek, a second, slightly different bear in the other cheek, and so on.   Not everyone got a stone representation of their animal, just a few of them…  just enough of them for the trick to work.

The seeming transformation of the stone did a little number on their brains,  and just enough of a chink  formed in their skepticism to allow them to get a deeper experience and benefit from the rituals.

There Was Something Marvelous In That Trick, For Me…

It somehow seemed an honest trick, in that he showed them what he  was doing, and he didn’t pretend that the stones just appeared.  And  it was a simple trick, one that wouldn’t have fooled anyone if they’d been at a magic show and expecting it, but the simplicity didn’t matter…  the  trick was enough to get the subconscious skepticism about “spiritual mumbo jumbo” out of the way.

This struck me as significantly different from the spiritualist-rapping and cold reading scams that have been so popular throughout the last two centuries in the West.  With those, there seems to be so little honesty, and little if any real benefit to the participants.  Their goal is, invariably, to separate the client from their billfold.

But in this particular illusion, the goal was just to trick the participant’s mind into being a bit more open to the experience, an experience which (even if you fully dismiss the idea of spirit animals running around you) can have a powerful and helpful psychological  impact.

I went back, and re-evaluated many of the other scams I’d read about over the years, from psychic surgeries to zombie powders.

In the process, I realized how intermingled the spiritual, psychological, and stage illusion aspects of the rituals were.   Yes, some were performed in ways that they were flat out scams, designed to defraud customers or increase political power.   But other rituals really did seem to be all about helping, healing and guiding clients.   And it wasn’t all about the people being simple, rubes, or gullible - they saw reality differently, and the “tricks” (if revealed) weren’t seen as deceptive.

It brings to mind the use of placebos in modern Western medicine - and our growing understanding of the power of the mind and that belief in a treatment can be crucial.

But the most important bit, for me?  The realization that not all tricks and illusions are deceptions.  Sometimes, what we in the West see as tricks, other cultures recognize as a different sort of truth and reality.

And while I don’t advise we all run out and try to adopt the views of traditional, indigenous cultures (they really dont fit well in our society, anyway) it’s a great mental exercise to try to grasp those views and perspectives.

Mind you, this isn’t the post I set out to write, but it’s what spilled onto the page, so here it is.  No tricks, no illusions, no deceptions.  And maybe not even much reality

MindTweak: Any priest or shaman must be presumed guilty until proved innocent .                                                                    - Robert Heinlein

Hey, I was only 3 years old, my powers of observation were limited. But I’ve always loved stage magic, and the mental jolt of “HEY! That’s not right, how’d that happen?”

And when I was in my wacky lets-learn-all-about-spiritual-secrets-and shamanism phase, I became fascinated by the way shamans could use tricks of illusion and magic as part of ritual and surprisingly effective medical treatments.   Indigenous spiritual practices are full of manufactured  illusions that are treated as reality, even by the practitioners themselves - but that’s another post.

This post is about what illusionists can contribute to neuroscience, and a fascinating article on the topic, published last year in Nature Reviews and co-written by Teller, of Penn & Teller.

See, stage magicians make their living from an intuitive understanding of human perception and attention.  By studying their tricks, a lot can be learned about how the brain perceives and misperceives the world around us, how visual illusions work, and even how our brains decide what’s important to pay attention to, and what isn’t…  mental loopholes that reveal the core workings of our brain.

Check out this clip from Penn & Teller’s Vegas show:

And here’s what’s most fascinating to me about magic (and which especially fascinated me in my studies of shamanism):

It doesn’t matter one bit that the audience knows they’re going to be tricked.  In fact, in some cases, it doesn’t matter if the audience knows the *exact* nature of the illusion - it still works, because it doesn’t just fool the mind, it exploits the brain itself.

Now, I’m feeling a bit lazy this morning, so.. presto, change-o, I’ll divert your attention with the link to the article in Nature Reviews, as I wander off to fix my breakfast.

Attention and awareness in stage magic: turning tricks into research

There, see? You didn’t even notice I was gone, did you? Ok Ok, so your skills of observation are a bit better than mine were at age 3…   HEY, where’d those poker chips come from?

Disclaimer:  No poker chips were harmed in the production of this article.

MindTweak: When you’re watching Psycho, there’ s that moment when you have a visceral reaction to watching someone being stabbed. And then you have the intellectual revelation that you’re not, and that’s where the celebration comes in.         –   Penn Jillette

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Here’s the thing. I have a new bloggy web crush. Her name is Havi Brooks. No, she doesn’t know I exist, and yes, that is a rubber duck on her shoulder.

More on the duck, later.

I have a crush on her because Havi does things on the web the way I used to do them  before I started learning how I’m supposed to do things on the web, got all self conscious and mucked it all up.  See, her marketing approach is to be shamelessly, unrelentingly, and blatantly herself, wearing her issues and quirks on her sleeve.

She also has a wicked sense of intuition, humor, and creativity.  Sound familiar?

Havi has a number of projects and courses and e-books on the market, with witty names like “De-stuckification”  and “The Procrastination Dissolve-o-Matic” and “Getting The **** Over Your Fear Of Success.”

I really, really want to own everything she’s released.    See, her style speaks to me on a deep level  –   frankly,  I think it will speak to a lot of you, too… since if you like my style, you’ll probably love hers.

And next week, she has a teleclass with someone named @Pistachio about.. well… here’s how Havi describes it:

The Strategy of Not Being Strategic

The antidote to all of those annoying classes about “how to get 10 zillion followers and become a kajillionaire on Twitter”. We’ll talk about what we don’t do and how intentionally not being strategic has helped us grow our businesses like crazy. Focus is on using Twitter and social-media-ey stuff to do well without being all gross about it. Awesome.

Wow, do I ever need to attend that class.

I’ve been pretty public about my Web2.0 social media struggles - public enough that I wrote a whole darn series on the topic last year.    For those of you too lazy to click the link, I declared that I *sucked* at social media, and pretty much accused social media of sucking, too.  (A year later, I still suck at it, by the way. How are you all doing with Web2.0isms?)

A big part of my problem is that I automatically model people I’m exposed to…  and the people we see the most of on social media?  They’re unrelenting in-your-face types.  Unlike Havi, who makes a much better model.

(Curiously, I only found Havi recently, so the similarity between our writing styles is weirdly coincidental,  though i did model my sales page after hers)

Anyway, I want-need-must-take this teleclass.

That’s right, want-need-must-take; I crave this class enough that I’m willing to string ridiculous numbers of words together with dashes.

The best part?  If you, me, or we sign up by Saturday May 16, it’s only $39.

Three. Nine. Dollars!!  In the world of Internet marketing classes, $39 is as stoopid low as my initial $19 fee for Brain Fitness Boot Camp (Which trust me, was pretty stoopid)

But the thing is… I’m broke.  And every dollar that would make me not-quite-so-broke is going back into Brain Fitness Boot Camp.

I can’t justify the $39 dollars at the moment.

Unless, of course, I sell a few more memberships, really quick like.

So I’m going to be really stoopid, again.

So for just these two days…   you can get a Brain Fitness Boot Camp membership for the original price of $19.95

And yes, you’ll get the full access to the forums, all the course materials as they go up, and the brain fitness product discounts coming next week.

Best of all, you’ll get the bonus unique pleasure of knowing you’re sending the Deaux to a class on how to be strategically non strategic - a class she desperately needs.

Sound good?  Ok.

If you somehow aren’t really sure what Brain Fitness Boot Camp is all about, here’s the sales page and some FAQ type questions.  Just be sure to come back here for the discount button.

Oh, and I promised to tell you about Havi’s duck, didn’t I?  The duck is Havi’s business partner.  No, really.   The duck’s name is Selma, and she stays stuck on Havi’s shoulder, where she can conveniently whisper insights into Havi’s ear.  And you thought I was weird for having antlers?

Btw, you can follow  @Havi on Twitter. You can follow @Pistachio too… and, of course, me… @MindTweets. I don’t think Selma has an account, but I could be wrong.

Now, here’s the special super douper discount button.

Brain Fitness Boot Camp

And in case you’re wondering, yes!  I’m all signed up for  Havi’s class,

AND enough of you signed up that I can take care of a few extra BootCamp expenses…
So a big thank you to those who registered for this special offer!
This was a very fun and successful experiment.

Well, I do!

Sometimes I speak in a self conscious, half silenced and stammering voice.  Other times, I speak with confidence, humor and certainty. Occasionally, I speak in images, lines and colors, messages formed with paintbrushes rather than vocal cords. And when I speak to God, it may be in syllables of untrained dance rhythms and motion.

Sometimes I speak too much.

Often, I speak too little.

And every once in a while, I find myself speaking silence, silence that might be rooted in   sacred zen stillness or a neurotic need to fade into the shadows.

But What Does It All MEAN?

“Speaking” for me, translates to finding and using my “voice”, my personal expression of self, vision, purpose, and momentary whateverness.

Voice has played a curious role for me in life…  I always wanted to sing, but allergies play havoc with my voice, and so I mostly just whisper along to the music, never quite sure when my dulcet tones will be reduced to a tone deaf frog’s slippery balladeering.    And I can be dreadfully shy about speaking up without disclaimers and explanations, with a nearly phobic fear of my well-intentioned, casual words being held against me in a court of law; somewhere, some how I’m certain I’ll be judged by them, and given no chance for further clarification.

This fear of the consequences of my own voice has caused me to largely keep my artwork private, prevented me from taking music or dance lessons, caused me to freak out at film horror images of mouths sewn or otherwise sealed shut,and it is, no doubt, largely responsible for my suffering with privaticus neuroticus.

But even in that fear, I speak  because that fear itself compels me to speak for those I fear have no voices themselves, or who have yet to find the way to shape their thoughts into expressions.

Deaux, Get To The Damned Point Already…

Ok, ok…  I’m sure you’re wondering just what brought on this rambling exposition, and what inspired me to turn speaking into a soul-summarizing declaration of identity and purpose.

Funny you should ask, because it’s all part of the Craving Balance workshops  run by Lisa Gates and Beth Gordon, two women who don’t seem to have much trouble speaking, themselves.

They call what they do “Fabulousy sensible goal setting for smart women” and it boils down to a wonderful productivity and organizational system specifically for women’s lives and brains; a very different approach from the male-dominated Getting-Things-Half-Done  and Too-Damn-Many-Folders productivity systems we’ve seen in the past few years.

Rather than building your life around externally imposed business structures, Craving Balance is all about finding who you are, pinning down your personal values, and letting your life organization flow from within,   They’re starting a new session up in June, and the introductory teleseminar is… wow, tonight!  May 13th (Oops. Way to be on the ball, Tori!  If you happen to read this before 4pm Pacific, you can sign up for free here. )

Last month…

I had the chance to play lab rat in their very first teleseminar series, and it was pretty darned interesting  Mind you, it would have been more beneficial if I hadn’t wound up with a product launch right in the middle of it, causing me to lose balance and miss the final web-class, but even so, the concepts really did help me to rebalance and recenter.   There was work on finding values, assessing tasks, working with calendars…

And the biggest take away, for me?
You guessed it.

“I Speak.”

A personal, guiding declarative statement that serves as  a description, a safety net, a guide and a goal that helps restore my balance.

How does it help restore balance? Because it doesn’t say “I speak confidently” or  speak meaningfully”  or “I speak well and clearly”  or even “I speak words that make people like, respect and throw money at me.”

There’s no value judgement, no restrictions, nothing to stifle my voice or  limit my expression.

It’s a simple, unadorned, statement of expression and intent - no, it’s less pretentious than that even… it’s a statement of fact.

So…. I Speak.

What do you do?

To learn more about the Craving Balance teleclasses, check this out:
Group Teleclasses: Sensible Goal Setting for Smart Women If you’re in the Santa Barbara area, you can attend classes in person.   Or you can just pick up the workbook for $19  and get a bonus of a 30 minute free session AND a discount on the courses themselves. (Egads, that’s a steal.  And Lisa said the Brain Camp price was too low?)

Flipping through it, I decided to steal  adapt one of his “Whacks” for a Tweak.  He’s all about creativity and inspiration such, so I figure he won’t really mind inspiring me (Especially if I  plug his stuff.  Repeatedly. Did you know he has a blog  chock FULL of “whacks”? Check it out: Creative Think )

But on with the Tweak !

On page something or another of his book, A Whack on the Side of the Head , Roger asks a series of example “What if” questions, intended to help spur you to better creative thinking.   One of them caught my attention; he asks:  What if humans had seven fingers on each hand? How would that affect our lives; what would it be like?

Then he muses a bit about if we’d have two thumbs, how it might affect typing, our number system, and musical instruments.

Being me (the overachiever from hell) I couldn’t just suggest you consider a potential finger mutation. No!  I had to personalize it.

See, it’s all about the Antlers.

In case you haven’t noticed, my nom de plume is “Deaux”.. pronounced “Doe” - Doe, as in “Doe, a Deer”

It’s a name I’ve used online in various places for a long time (so long that I’ve forgotten why I first chose it). Over the years, I’ve built up an entire repertoire  of deer jokes  and routines, most of them having to do with I have antlers ( I don’t have antlers, of course.  They’re just jokes.  And no, you don’t want to hea them. Trust me just this one time, k?).

So anyway…. when I started thinking about Roger von Oech’s “What if” , and spontaneous weird mutations in humans ….  my mind (being my mind) naturally (or unnaturally) dismissed something as simple as having seven fingers ….  and wandered to .. well… antlers.

What if humans suddenly sprouted antlers?

What would human antlers be like?   How would they look?  Would they serve an evolutionary purpose? How would they affect our lives, our culture, our fashions?  What adaptations would we have to make?

And that, my devoted readers, is This Week’s Tweak.   Explore the “what ifs” of having… antlers.

Have fun, and please, PLEASE share your thoughts in the comments. I really want to hear this one!

(And did I mention that Roger von Oech has a new Whack App for the iPhone? And that the X-Ball magnetic creativity toy thing looks REALLY cool and I want one? You should want one, too. Really.  ‘Cause if you  all buy one, he won’t be mad at me. Ok, at LEAST go check out his corgi puppy, Wally, as he learns to navigate the stairs. Ouchy cuteness! I wonder if Wally would like to sign up for Brain Fitness Boot Camp? )