OK thinkers…where does creativity and innovation live?  Where is the spark of genius?

If you stop…and UNthink, you might get a sense of it right now.  The illusive muse is sitting right next to you.  But the problem is the UNinnovation that dominates your sphere of influence.  The cacophony of sensory input and the busy intellectual output place us at a point where we are victims of our own DISthink.

In the final analysis, the soft, timeless reality that that fosters creativity and innovation is there waiting for us all.  It’s simply PERFECT.  This is PERFECT.  That is PERFECT.  When PERFECT is taken from PERFECT, PERFECT still remains.

Abstract?  Yes.  But PERFECT.

Our brain processes information in a vast and amazing way.  And only 1/1,000,000 makes its way to actual consciousness.  Yes, one part in a million. The rest is burried in our UN-consciousness.  It’s there…but just below the surface.

And there you have it.  Innovation lives in in that  ”neuro-emotional-soul” just below the surface of consciousness.  It’s there…not inaccessible at all.  But just waiting for the stillness of introspection that allows creativity and innovation to spring forth like a flower from the barren earth.

A while ago I introduced a new word—Onenessity.  It’s a new word, but very old concept. Here’s what I said…

Onenessity is the mind-resonance that occurs when our passionate spark of interest is ignited in thought. Sometimes it takes 10,000 hours and other times it takes much less to touch this level of success. This isn’t the easy way out either. It’s not a substitute to long hours of practice. But it’s an essential component to make the quantum leap to a higher level.

I was talking about the path to achievement that requires a significant amount of time (some use 10,000 hours as a benchmark).

I was talking about genius.

OK.  Here’s the big news:  Genius is our birthright and mediocrity is self-imposed.

This is the recurrent theme to THINKOLOGY and how thought is NOT the end product of intelligence, but intelligence springs forth from conditioned, focused thought!  The examples are commonplace and are best showcased in children. We all know the child who can name every car on the road, or every character (in great detail) of a TV show or video game.  This knowledge is worthy of cocktail party boasting and significant pride.  But, what’s the essence of this “baby genius”?  Is this just a smart kid who has a above average memory?  Does intrinsic talent just manifest as memory?

No.  I really don’t think so.

Of course, there is a bit of core talent being played out here…but that’s just a superficial issue that often upstages the bigger concept. At the very heart of this concept is the single-mindedness of task, or ONENESSITY.  It’s where the spark of interest is ignited and simple repetition of task becomes that mantra of intellect and takes form.  There is a sense of magic in introspective, inspired thought.

Prayer.

Meditation.

Focus.

Deep thought.

Creative play.

All these exercises of mind groom our our consciousness.  And, well, there you have it.

The flip side of ONENESSITY is the fractured world we live in. We multi-task at the expense of the genius that waits within. While we groom of lives with trips to the mall, to the gym and to the gourmet shops, we often fail to groom our consciousness.  What results is flat abs and empty heads.  We also strive to master many things and in the process build a skill set that is a mile wide but only an inch deep.  Of particular note, is the child who is overwhelmed with many activities—from music lesson to baseball to academics to whatever.  The relentless pursuit of so many things leads you to well-rounded mediocrity.  Find that specific spark…and let the intellectual fire rage on.  After that experience (or transcendence) the many and varied tasks of music lessions and baseball and whatever become richer and filtered through a mind tuned to a creative and profound frequency.

So, find your spark and indulge yourself in coherent, focused thought…and experience the magic of genius!

Take a deep breath.

Breath is life.  It is the very life force that sustains us and infuses us with a vital essence.  Just think about the relief of catching your breath or the joy a deep breath of clean, fresh air.

The Hindu text, the Upanishads (ancient and brilliant) called it Parana–a life-sustaining force.  A force that enters through the breath and flows to all parts of our body.  A similar notion is that of Qi, the well-established Chinese concept of life energy.

So let’s move forward from 3,000 years ago.  Forward from ancient wisdom to modern medicine.  It seems that breath and its vital power can play a key role in regulation physiology and disease.  Everyone knows, or at least senses the connection between anxiety and breath and how breath can relax and control “the jitters”.  Public speakers know the trick of breath control as a device to steady their physiology and help improve thought and presentation.  But we can even take this further…

It seems now that two major disease can be treated (at least in part) by simple breath!

The first is hypertension.  There are much data to suggest that breath regulation can actually LOWER blood pressure.  If you want the lofty description, here it is in a nut-shell: Slow Breathing Improves Arterial Baroreflex Sensitivity and Decreases Blood Pressure in Essential Hypertension ((Hypertension. 2005;46:714.).  The key word here is SLOW.  A slow, modulated breath has a physiologic calming effect that results in lower blood pressure.  But I would imagine that there is a wide range of systemic benefits far beyond blood pressure and far beyond the immediate numerical effect on systolic and diastolic numbers. The trick is the time between breaths!

The second is asthma.  Asthma, in the United States seems to be getting worse, not better.  Patients are fixed to their rescue inhalers and steroids–never leaving home without them.  But an interesting body of evidence that comes our way from Russia suggests that breathing itself can be a powerful therapy in controlling this disorder. A shallow-breathing technique developed in 1952 by Konstantin Buteyk can dramatically reduce the frequency of attacks and the need for medication.  The idea behind this technique is that “over-breathing” or hyperventilation can make asthma worse. This “over-breathing” can result in lower levels of carbon dioxide–which can result in the dreaded “broncho-spasms” and their dire consequences.  Jane Brody has a great article in the NY Times about this old technique that’s getting some attention both in the US and abroad at http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/03/health/03brod.html.

Again, the  secret here is not just breath, but controlled,  slow breath.

As we groom our consciousness with introspective thought (prayer, introspection, meditation, etc) we often use the “ping” of our mantra to guide us to a place of deep relaxation or even to experience our true nature revealed in transcendence.  Our breath is the companion to this process that is always there–like a shadow that never leaves.  Breath is life…and this breath is an essential tool that we must embrace and use wisely.

Think on…and, of course, breath on!

I’m always fascinated by the connection between god (or is it God?) and science.  Particularly in the area of quantum mechanics and intelligent design.

Let’s talk about the mysteries of our quantum universe.  OK, we have void, nothingness, synchronicity and singularity to name a few interesting words that bridge that gap from factual science to religious mysteries. But it there really a connection?  Is the Buddhist void (sunyata) really the pre-singularity universe?  I tend to think not.  And that these accidents in language create the basis for a direct linkage that  appear to validate each other. So, we use physics to find our Buddha!?  But you have to ask yourself, if the physics principle is then proven wrong, does the Buddha lose his enlightenment?

Now, we have the wonders of the universe.  The flower, the visible band of the electro-magnetic spectrum, the computer navigation of a 747 and the laptop computer I’m now typing on.  All arriving by the random action of genetic mutation and survival of the fittest!  But some might argue that this just “can’t happen” this way….and that the splendor of this accident must be guided by the hand of the creator.  And the proof…the speculation (as it often the case is science) is a retrospective analysis. Yep, retrospective.  It’s not invalid, but certainly suspect and needs some greater level of confirmation. That’s just good science and good thinking.

Let’s consider this magical event: I’m on the way to the store to buy milk.  However, on the way I have a car accident that results in a power failure at your house and you are prevented from sending an essential e-mail.  You can see where I’m going here.  A string of events that result in a variety of unforeseen consequences.  Now, let’s look at this in the reverse direction (like intelligent design).  The essential e-mail wasn’t send because the power went off JUST AT THE RIGHT TIME.  And my car just happened TO HIT THE RIGHT POLE WITH A TRANSFORMER that resulted in the power failure.  And the route that I took was JUST RIGHT.  And the time that I left the house (after a wide variety of activities) WAS JUST RIGHT too.  Any thinking person MUST see the profound hand of the creator guiding my actions.  What are the odds of all this timing, direction and synchrony for all this to happen? Astronomically small!  Even this extremely simple example can begin to play the “retrospective odds game” and point toward an abstract force guiding action and forming result.  Of course, it only works when you play the game of retrospective analysis.

Bottom line:  it’s not that easy.  The magic of the universe certainly does exist.  But the connecting the magic to man leaves much to be desired…and our human desire to find purpose and reason can push us to find…the truth…and the nonsense.

Keep thinking…and be careful how you drive.  You might run over God.

Halloween is just around the corner, I thought it might be fun to talk about the burst of fright that so closely follow that BOOOOOOOO from a ghost or goblin.  We all know it…and we have all experienced the terror that rocks our bodies.  A rapid heart rate, a sinking feeling and a strange displacement from time and space that we interestingly fear and (sometimes) enjoy.

Ok, it begs the question.

Can you be scared to death?

Yes.  There are lots of data to suggest that the response to BOOOOOOO can be ventricular fibrillation.* Well…sometimes.  The physiologic response is well studied and the surge of catecholamines (adrenaline) have a direct and powerful impact on many aspects of your body, including your heart.  For one, it lowers the threshold for the heart to experience an arrhythmia (or beating abnormality).  And sometimes this can actually be fatal.  More commonly in hearts that are already abnormal…but nevertheless, a burst of fear can be lethal!  Now think of all the times and places in life where this fright phenomenon occurs.  An amusement park, while driving, a stressful office meeting or even the sudden shock of an alarm clock! (Side bar:  the morning is the most common time for heart attacks and in-hospital cardiac arrests!!).  It surprised me that more folks aren’t dropping dead.  Or perhaps we don’t recognize the role these “bursts of fear” can play in sickness, disease and death.  Chronic fear is just an other word for stress.  And we all know how that plays out…

So, next time you hide behind that couch or around that dark corner, think twice about just who you scare the heck out of!!

BOOOOOOOOOOO!

*Localization of the neurally mediated facilitation of post-infarction arrhythmias. Somberg & Nosta, Circulation (The Journal of the American Heart Association) 1981.

Those of you who have taken the time to read some prior entries have seen my interest in the brain (and the very short leap to THINKOLOGY).  But let’s start off with some exercise—say a 100 yard dash.  What comes to mind?  Breathlessness, fatigue and particularly muscle pain in the legs.  Some  people call it “the burn”.  This is a straight forward physiologic process where lactic acid builds up in the muscles…and it hurts.  Got it?

Now, let’s do a neurologic 100 yard dash!

Ready, set, THINK!

Feel the burn?  Feel the lactic acid building up?  Nope.

Here’s the remarkable insight.  The brain doesn’t fatigue.  I would argue that it has an almost infinite capacity for thought!  And here lies part of the magic of your minds—a profound capacity for deep and rich thought.  Now, don’t mistake boredom and being lazy for brain fatigue.  Everyone knows about the late night of work or studying where it seemed almost impossible to push on.  But this isn’t fatigue at all.  Now contrast this with the engaging conversation with a new friend or on a interesting topic.  It seems that you can “talk all night” or “lose track of time”.   Hum….that never happens to our 100 yard dash sprinter!  She feels the pain, no matter what.

Thinking is a defining aspect of our humanity.  And this brain is the conduit via which we express ourselves and our true nature.  Genius is only a thought away…and it’s your birthright to experience and enjoy it.

There’s nothing stopping you, not even lactic acid.

Yea, it’s a bit of a controversy, but I find this “accident of language” to be very interesting.

It’s the abortion pill.  It’s commonly known by its developmental name RU486.  This is a standard practice for pharmaceutical companies to have letters representing the company name and a numerical sequence that reflects the compound in development.  For RU486, the RU was for Roussel Uclaf.

Here’s where it gets interesting…

When you read this out loud…RU486…it sounds like “ARE YOU FOR 86?”

ARE YOU FOR…what?  What does 86 mean?  Simply put, it commonly means “to get rid of”.  (As in the expression “86-it”.)

So the drug name,  RU486–the abortion pill–means “ARE YOU FOR GETTING RID OF IT?”

OK.  No judgment here. I’m not taking stand  in anyway.  But I just think it’s an interesting observation…that makes you think!

Keep thinking….

What’s your favorite flavor? I’m not sure what mine is but raspberry is usually on the list. Flambeed bananas with a raspberry sauce or just picked off the vine…raspberries are delicious.

Now, lets go to the center of our milky way galaxy and taste what scientists have found–ethyl formate. This is a very simple compound composed of 3 carbons, 6 hydrogens and 2 oxygens. These 11 atoms come together to create some of the cosmic dust that lingers in space. But it also is the chemical that is responsible for the flavor of raspberries!! Sugar, by the way (another carbohydrate) is composed of 6 carbon, 12 hydrogen and 6 oxygen atoms.

So…our “milky way” makes way for a few raspberries to create our delicious cosmic delight.

It’s a tasty tough, isn’t it?

Beauty.
It can move us.
It can move us to tears.
But can it make you crazy!!

It very well may. Enter Stendhal Syndrome. A clinical syndrome defined as “momentary insanity in the presence of great beauty.”

The syndrome was named after the French writer who experienced this “condition”during his 1817 visit to Florance Italy. Further, he wrote about it in his book Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio.

From music to sculpture to nature…beauty can be our muse…and our medical condition. Beauty provides an interesting “resonance” that can enhance our experience and can even push us to transcendence in a way that can destabilize our emotions. I believe we have all had a bit of Stendhal Syndrome from time to time. Perhaps it’s this very destabilization that allows us to see and feel in a broader and deeper way.

Recently I saw a inspiring sculpture by Rodin entitled “Thought”. It’s a beautiful, masterful and engaging rock that comes to life…and well…can make you crazy! I thought the image and the name was just right for this blog. Here are two photographs to get a better perspective: http://www.humanitiesweb.org/gallery/225/16.jpg and http://kybele.psych.cornell.edu/~edelman/Psych-531/Rodin-thought.jpg

Seek out the beauty to inspire…and keep thinking!

Some of you might remember grade school when the teacher told you that you can NEVER have a zero in the denominator of a fraction. You just can’t. Later…maybe in high school or college you might have hear a that the “equation blows up” if the bottom part of a fraction is zero.

Hum. I guess we should blame the ZERO! But this over-simplification hides a wonderful and rather profound concept…

OK–A side bar. The actual number zero was introduced by the early Indian culture around the year 600. The first discussion of zero was in the Brahmagupta and was very cool indeed. This text captured many advanced mathematical concepts and was entirely in verse!! Its translated name is “The Opening of the Universe”. Wow! Dose that conger up some thinking that can easily put someone on the fast track to Divinity!

Now, let’s get back to nothing. Ahhh…I mean zero.

0/x = 0 (as long as x isn’t zero).

Consider n/x, where n is any number great than zero and we let x approach zero, but never quite get there. For example: 1/2, 1/1, 1/.5, 1/.1….etc. What’s happening is that the result is getting larger and larger. The smaller we make the bottom of the fraction, the bigger the result! We can go as small as we like…and the result is a bigger and bigger number….a number that approaches….ready….infinity!!

So we see…dividing by zero allows us to have a mathematical articulation for the infinite! The equation certainly blows up…but in a rich, intellectual way.

Talking about infinity…well, is conceptually infinite. The association with time, distance, and the metaphysical is a very accessable path to touch the hand, dare I say, of the Creator.

I’ll have much more to say about this in future posts. But this is a good place to stop…and think!

Hey…didn’t Seinfeld do a show about zero?