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Welcome to this edition of the Voyages of Discovery Newsletter, the newsletter that is all about you and your voyages of discovery of your genius. If you missed our previous newsletters, get them here from our archives.
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Your Reticular Activating System
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 Are you tuned in to your cerebral Radio Station?
Everybody knows what an amazing organ the human brain is and how flexible it is too in adjusting to whatever circumstances and situations it confronts. It is unlike and far superior to any super computer a human could ever hope to create.
These are however the commonly known facts about the brain. The brain has numerous tricks up its sleeve.
Automatic Goal Seeking Mechanism
One of the least known prowesses of the human brain is also one of its most powerful. History stands testimony to the relentless march of human endeavors in every conceivable field. But it is only rarely that an ability is embedded into every individual's brain to accomplish feats of impossibility. It is like the exception becoming the role. Such an ability is your Reticular Activating System.
What is the Reticular Activating System and what is all the hulabaloo about?
Reticular Activating System
Nestled within the awesome circuitry of your cerebral organ is a small section known as the Reticular Activating System (RAS). It is your in-built cerebral Radio Station for goal seeking and achievements.
The RAS consists of a bundle of densely packed nerve cells located in the central core of your brainstem. This area of tightly packed nerve fibers and cells contain nearly 70% of your Brain's mind boggling (pun intended) estimated 200 billion nerve cells.
It is the attention center of the brain and it is the switch that turns your brain on and off.
Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon chose to call the use of RAS as Psycho Cybernetics in his path breaking book. He preferred to use the phrase: "Automatic Goal Seeking Mechanism."
During the course of performing plastic surgery on many of his patients for a better nose, or mouth or chin and so forth, Dr. Maltz was puzzled why even after these reformative surgeries, his patients still "felt the same about themselves" as before the surgery. Investigating further into this intriguing phenomenon, he discovered that no matter what external or cosmetic improvement is made to one's physical features, if they are not in sync with one's self image, it made no difference. It is what you feel about yourself, tell yourself and focus on. It is what you pay attention to.
Pursuit of goals is one of the primary purposes of the sub-conscious mind. Every external incoming impulse or internally generated thought goes through the Reticular Activating System (RAS) within the brain. By setting a goal, imagining it as if already accomplished, the RAS will automatically instruct your conscious mind to work toward achieving that goal. Dr. Maltz developed his findings into the universally acclaimed Psycho Cybernetics or the working of the RAS.
Watch this stunning video interview with Dr. Maltz here.
How does RAS WORK?
If you analyze and think about how humans have progressed so much in various fields and conquered so many frontiers, it is not too difficult to understand why, when you are bequeathed with something as awe inspiring as your RAS.
The RAS is that part of the brain that decides which bits of information get in and which are ignored. Knowing the trillions of bits of information we are confronted with every minute, the RAS functions as a "filter" to sort through all that information.
Focus is paramount
Why is this filtering important? Because the RAS is deciding for you what you are focusing on and paying attention to. Quantum physics has already proved that our intentions and our attention focused on our desires actually work in harmony with the energy of the Universe to manifest our reality.
Without this filter, we would all be over stimulated and distracted by noises from the environment around us. The RAS is like a filter between your conscious mind and your sub-conscious mind.
In a way, learning to invoke your RAS to visualize your dreams is the beginning of the process of creating them.
How RAS works
Let me give you an illustration of the application of this amazing RAS.
Have you ever wanted so very much to go on a fantastic holiday to the Bahamas - the salubrious sunshine, golden beaches, spectacular seascapes, bluest of blue water, swaying palm trees and tranquility everywhere - wow, that is heaven!
You kept thinking about it and before you know you suddenly see a Bahamas holiday advertised everywhere - on television, in the newspaper or magazine you read, on internet websites as a pop up, on your phone, my god, it is everywhere. Not just that, it seems the holiday is being offered at reasonable, affordable prices. This is too good to be true. Someone is reading your thoughts.
Well, that someone is you and that is your RAS working its magic. Amongst all that plethora of information you get bombarded with every second of the day, your faithful RAS collects, organizes, collates and delivers just the information that you need to fulfil your dream of going to the Bahamas. Who knows, you will get a GROUPON Coupon on your App on your phone at 40% OFF. That is nirvana. It is uncanny, surreal and scary. But I am sure you are not complaining.
Or for that matter, if you are sitting in a seminar bored because the person speaking is not engaging enough, your RAS will turn off and treat the person as irritating background noise. You will still see the person speaking and hear their voice but you will not retain the information.
Sometimes you are driving down a freeway day dreaming until you awaken suddenly to discover that you missed the exit or you have already reached home. You do not remember anything during that journey (my god, that is scary). It's because day dreaming is considered "self-talk" which shuts down your RAS and prevents you from remembering.
If you ever watch an impassioned Tony Robbins motivational speech you will hear of him talking about this RAS to manifest all your dreams in life. It works and works well if you provide the fodder that the RAS thrives on.
Let me now leave you with this question:
Would you not want to manifest your deepest desires in this lifetime with your own Dream Concierge, your RAS?
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| Never Give Up your Dreams |
Do you know your Tenacity Quotient?
What is a Tenacity Quotient?
It is nothing more than a measure of how long you will persist with your dreams and efforts? How much of pain can you take before you give up and throw in the towel?
According to Napoleon Hill, the iconic author of the evergreen classic Think and Grow Rich, "There are no permanent failures in life, only temporary defeats. Every failure brings with it a seed of new opportunity according to him.
This should be encouraging news for those of us who tend to give up at the first sign of difficulties, obstacles in our path. Mind you, I am talking about those who have all their limbs intact, who are intelligent, healthy and physically fit. With all those strengths and advantages bestowed on us, if we are able to give up and admit defeat at the first sign of trouble, what would we be like, for instance, if we did not have some or all of those advantages, say like the loss of a limb. We would be absolutely devastated in mind and spirit and have thrown in the towel.
Let me then acquaint you with somebody who will make us feel ashamed of our defeatist attitude even with everything going well for us. Somebody who will give true meaning to the phrase: "not giving up." On the other hand he enthusiastically cocks a snook at what is considered impossible.
No arms No Legs No worries
Meet Nick Vujocic - the man with no arms, no legs and no .......worries, as he likes to introduce himself.
Watch this video and decide for yourself whether failures are merely for those feeble of spirit. Nick has a phenomenal tenacity quotient. And that is why when we watch Nick in action, while we are stupefied and speechless, we only get to see the spirit that is so alive within this individual. You can be pardoned if you never noticed his lack of limbs. He seems to have vanquished beyond trace what we humans would term as a handicap.
You will never be the same after watching this video.
Mental attitude
So, what makes us embrace a defeatist attitude? Is it that we consciously want to consider ourselves a failure?
That is not true considering that all of us would like to better ourselves, be successful, achieve things and generally be happy. What then is standing in our way?
The foremost reason for this "loser" mindset begins with how we see ourselves (remember Dr. Maxwell Maltz's "self-image in the article on your Reticular Activating System). In other words, how we create a self image of ourselves. We assume boundaries, we place limitations and we shackle ourselves.
For instance, watching Nick surmount real obstacles that you and I take for granted - like eating, dressing up, picking up the telephone and so forth, we can learn a great lesson not to assume that we cannot do things. If Nick would have to adopt that approach, he would starve to begin with. And therein lies a phenomenal clue. There is nothing at stake for us or we do not want to risk failure. Notice that I said "risk failure."
Everybody has gone through life meeting some failure or the other at various points of time. But the key message is not to equate "having a failure" with "being a failure." The former is just an event or circumstance while the latter is a mind set. The former is one bad day out of 365 days in a year, the latter is tainting the entire year with a failure philosophy.
Thomas Edison the holder of the highest number of patents ever credited to a single individual is said to have tried and failed at least 10,000 times before he hit upon the solution to the successful working of the incandescent bulb. Imagine the resilience in the mental wiring of Edison which refused to give up even after a humanly impossible ten thousand failed attempts. It is mind boggling. Edison just did not know what failure meant. In fact he is reported to have expressed his ten thousand failures as ten thousand different solutions that did not work. If he could do it you and I can too.
Next time you hit a snag, come across a stumbling block, face pain, a seemingly hopeless situation, a failure, do yourself a favor and remember Nick and take it as a temporary stop in the path to your dreams and success. It will present you with an entirely new perspective on success and happiness.
Let me leave you with a question to ask yourself:
Would you want a temporary setback or even a series of those to cheat you of your dreams and what you rightfully can claim as finding the purpose in your life?
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| Next Issue (see you in September 2012) |
 | | The road to your passion |
Did you know you can learn more effectively when you laugh? Humor is one of the most powerful educational tools available to a human. It is however majorly underutilized. Read why and how.
You need to be out of the box first to think outside it? Are you?
and many more......
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