Leveraging Neuroscience in HR Consulting: Boosting Productivity, Supporting Mental Health, and Reducing Turnover Rates

In today's rapidly evolving business landscape, the role of Human Resources (HR) has transcended beyond mere administrative tasks to becoming a strategic partner in driving organizational success. HR consulting plays a crucial role in supporting management by providing insights and solutions for challenges related to productivity, mental health, and employee turnover rates. By integrating the principles of neuroscience into HR practices, businesses can gain a competitive advantage in fostering a healthier and more productive work environment. In this blog, we explore how neuroscience can revolutionize HR consulting, ultimately leading to enhanced productivity, improved mental well-being, and decreased turnover rates in businesses.

1. Understanding the Brain for Optimal Productivity

Neuroscience offers valuable insights into how the brain functions and processes information. By understanding how the brain responds to different stimuli, HR consultants can tailor workplace environments and training programs that maximize productivity. For instance, optimizing work schedules, minimizing distractions, and promoting effective communication can align with the brain's natural cognitive rhythm, leading to increased focus and improved performance.

Additionally, utilizing neuroscience-backed training methods can help employees retain information better, leading to more effective learning and skill development. Implementing such practices can contribute significantly to the organization's overall productivity and efficiency.

1. Supporting Mental Health through Neuroscience-Informed Strategies

The importance of mental health in the workplace cannot be overstated. Stress, anxiety, and burnout can hinder employees' performance, ultimately affecting the company's bottom line. HR consultants, armed with insights from neuroscience, can design programs to promote employee well-being and reduce mental health-related issues.

Neuroscience emphasizes the role of emotional intelligence in managing stress and emotions effectively. HR consultants can incorporate training sessions that focus on mindfulness, resilience, and emotional regulation, equipping employees with tools to handle challenging situations in a healthier manner. By nurturing a supportive and inclusive work culture, businesses can create an environment where employees feel comfortable seeking help when facing mental health challenges.

1. Reducing Turnover Rates with Neuroscience-Driven Employee Engagement

High turnover rates can be a significant concern for businesses, leading to increased costs associated with recruitment and training. Neuroscience can offer valuable insights into employee engagement, leading to a more targeted approach in retaining talent.

By understanding the brain's reward system, HR consultants can design recognition and incentive programs that foster a sense of accomplishment and belonging among employees. Neuroscience also emphasizes the importance of social connections, which can be leveraged to create a strong sense of community within the workplace. Engaging team-building activities and open communication channels can strengthen relationships among employees, reducing the likelihood of turnover.

1. Leveraging Neurodiversity for Innovation and Creativity

Neurodiversity refers to the natural variation in how individuals' brains function, leading to diverse cognitive strengths and thinking styles. Embracing neurodiversity in the workplace can drive innovation and creativity. HR consultants can play a pivotal role in facilitating a culture that celebrates and accommodates different cognitive perspectives.

By recognizing and harnessing the unique strengths of each individual, businesses can create diverse and high-performing teams that approach problem-solving from various angles. This approach can lead to breakthrough ideas, improved decision-making, and overall organizational growth.

Conclusion

Incorporating principles of neuroscience into HR consulting can be a game-changer for businesses seeking to enhance productivity, support mental health, and reduce turnover rates. By understanding how the brain works, HR consultants can design strategies that align with employees' natural cognitive processes and emotional needs, leading to a more engaged and motivated workforce. Embracing neurodiversity and prioritizing mental well-being fosters a positive work environment where employees thrive, ultimately contributing to the organization's long-term success. As businesses continue to evolve, leveraging neuroscience in HR consulting is no longer an option but a necessity for sustained growth and prosperity.

Identity Crisis, Honest Truth of Finding your Purpose

I always thought that what I was good at was my life purpose. However after carefully making thousands of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches the universe did not open up for me to open a sandwich shop. So I must be a failure.

I must not know who I am, and certainty should collapse back into the existential dread of the safe path of a 9-5 job.

The brain seeks the safety of certainty, and will choose death by 1000 cuts (or days in a job you hate, but are good at) instead of the uncertainty of change.

Here is a little splash of what I’ve learned in this journey.

1. You must be willing to disappoint the expectations of the people that love you. They want what “is best” but because they love you (typically with some conditions) they want what might be safe.

2. Who you are and what your purpose is ARE 2 different worlds.

3. I was absolutely trash at speaking but was a skilled practitioner in my practice. Yet being in practice felt like a prison. So i leaned into that voice that said “do different”

4. The resistance you experience isn’t your intuition telling you stop, it’s your nervous system experiencing change.

5. You can find your why in your who. When I made space for me, it made it so much easier for my purpose to come through me.

Your life is your responsibility, grab it by the horns and enjoy the ride, giving yourself grace and ease.

#stressmanagement #stressrelief #selfcare #depressionrelief #anxietyrelief #highperformancehabits #neuroscience

Stress Management: Unleashing the Power of Self-Care, Productivity and Creative Expression without Burnout Using Neuroscience

Stress has become an integral part of our fast-paced lives, affecting our physical and mental well-being. As we navigate through the challenges of daily life, it is crucial to understand how stress impacts us and how we can effectively manage it. In this article, we will explore the science behind stress, the importance of self-care, and strategies backed by research to enhance stress management. Moreover, we will delve into the connection between stress, neuroscience, innovation, creativity, passion, burnout, self-regulation, and emotional intelligence, empowering you to lead a more fulfilling and balanced life.

The Science Behind Stress

Stress is a natural response of our bodies to demanding situations. When faced with a perceived threat or challenge, our brains trigger a complex series of physiological and psychological responses. Understanding the role of neuroscience in stress management can help us gain insight into these responses and develop effective coping strategies.

Neuroscientists have discovered that the amygdala, a key region in our brain responsible for processing emotions, plays a significant role in our stress response. When we encounter stressors, the amygdala activates the release of stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline, preparing our bodies for the fight-or-flight response. By studying these neural pathways, researchers have identified ways to regulate and manage stress more effectively.

The Importance of Self-Care

Amidst the demands of modern life, self-care often takes a backseat. However, neglecting our well-being only amplifies the negative effects of stress. Engaging in self-care activities is essential for replenishing our physical, mental, and emotional reserves.

Self-care practices can vary from person to person, but they commonly include activities such as exercise, meditation, adequate sleep, and nurturing social connections. By prioritizing self-care, we can build resilience and develop a solid foundation for stress management.

Strategies for Effective Stress Management

To effectively manage stress, we must adopt strategies that address its root causes and provide long-term solutions. Here are some research-backed strategies that can enhance productivity, reduce burnout, and promote overall well-being:

1. Prioritizing and Time Management

Managing our time effectively allows us to prioritize tasks, delegate responsibilities, and create a sense of control over our schedules. By identifying our most important and urgent tasks, we can allocate our time and energy accordingly, reducing stress levels and increasing productivity.

2. Developing Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence plays a crucial role in stress management. By enhancing our self-awareness, self-regulation, empathy, and social skills, we can navigate challenging situations more effectively. Emotional intelligence empowers us to understand and manage our emotions, fostering healthier responses to stressors.

3. Practicing Self-Regulation

Self-regulation involves the ability to control our thoughts, emotions, and behaviors in response to stress. Techniques such as deep breathing, mindfulness, and positive self-talk can help regulate our stress response. By cultivating self-regulation skills, we can mitigate the negative impact of stress on our well-being.

Unleashing Creativity and Innovation

Contrary to popular belief, stress can also be a catalyst for creativity and innovation. When we are pushed out of our comfort zones, our brains adapt and seek new solutions. By harnessing stress as a motivator and embracing challenges, we can unlock our creative potential and drive innovation in various aspects of our lives.

Passion is another powerful force that can emerge from stress. When we are deeply engaged in activities we love, stress becomes an energizing force that propels us forward. By aligning our passions with our pursuits, we can transform stress into a source of inspiration and personal growth.

Conclusion

Stress management is not about eliminating stress entirely but rather developing the skills and strategies to navigate its impact effectively. By understanding the science behind stress, prioritizing self-care, and implementing research-backed strategies, we can cultivate resilience, boost productivity, and enhance our overall well-being. Embrace stress as an opportunity for growth and unleash your creativity, innovation, and passion. Empower yourself with the tools to lead a balanced and fulfilling life.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. How does stress impact our brain?

Stress activates the release of stress hormones, which can negatively impact brain function and contribute to cognitive impairments. Prolonged or chronic stress can lead to structural and functional changes in the brain, affecting memory, attention, and decision-making abilities.

2. What are some effective self-care practices?

Effective self-care practices may include regular exercise, mindfulness meditation, maintaining a balanced diet, getting enough sleep, engaging in hobbies, spending time in nature, and fostering meaningful connections with others.

3. Can stress be beneficial for creativity and innovation?

Yes, moderate levels of stress can stimulate creativity and innovation. Stress prompts our brains to explore new possibilities and find alternative solutions. However, excessive stress and chronic burnout can hinder creative thinking and problem-solving abilities.

4. How can emotional intelligence help in stress management?

Emotional intelligence enables us to understand and regulate our emotions effectively. By developing emotional intelligence, we can navigate stressful situations with greater resilience, communicate more effectively, and build healthier relationships.

5. What are the signs of burnout and how to address it?

Signs of burnout may include chronic fatigue, decreased motivation, feelings of cynicism or detachment, and reduced productivity. Addressing burnout requires self-reflection, setting boundaries, seeking support from others, and prioritizing self-care activities that promote well-being and work-life balance.

How Stress Destroys Productivity: A Science-Based Approach to Getting More Done Without Sacrificing Your Mental Health

In today's fast-paced world, many of us struggle to find a balance between work and personal life. We often push ourselves too hard to meet deadlines, attend meetings, and complete tasks, leading to stress and burnout. Stress can have a significant impact on our productivity, affecting our ability to focus, think creatively, and get things done. In this article, we'll explore how stress destroys productivity and share a science-based approach to getting more done without sacrificing your mental health.

The Impact of Stress on Productivity

Stress affects our productivity in several ways. First, stress can make it difficult to focus on tasks, leading to procrastination and distraction. When we're stressed, our minds tend to wander, making it challenging to concentrate on work. Second, stress can impair our decision-making abilities. When we're under pressure, we tend to make hasty decisions without considering all the facts. Third, stress can lead to burnout, which can have a long-term impact on our productivity. When we're burned out, we lack motivation and energy, making it difficult to complete even the most straightforward tasks.

The Science of Stress and Productivity

Stress triggers the release of cortisol, a hormone that prepares our bodies for the "fight or flight" response. In small amounts, cortisol can be beneficial, helping us to stay alert and focused. However, when cortisol levels remain elevated for extended periods, it can have a detrimental impact on our health and productivity. Chronic stress can lead to a weakened immune system, high blood pressure, and even depression.

On the other hand, when we're relaxed, our bodies release endorphins, which help us feel good and reduce stress levels. Endorphins can improve our mood, boost our energy levels, and enhance our cognitive abilities, making us more productive.

How to Reduce Stress and Boost Productivity

To reduce stress and improve productivity, we need to adopt a science-based approach that focuses on our mental and physical health. Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Take breaks: Taking regular breaks throughout the day can help reduce stress levels and improve focus. Try taking a ten-minute break every hour or so to stretch, walk around, or meditate.

2. Get enough sleep: Lack of sleep can have a significant impact on our productivity and mental health. Aim for at least 7-8 hours of sleep each night to help you feel rested and energized.

3. Exercise regularly: Exercise can help reduce stress levels, boost mood, and improve cognitive function. Aim for at least 30 minutes of exercise each day, whether it's a brisk walk, a yoga class, or a workout at the gym.

4. Practice mindfulness: Mindfulness meditation can help reduce stress levels, improve focus, and enhance cognitive abilities. Try practicing mindfulness for at least ten minutes each day to reap the benefits.

5. Prioritize tasks: Prioritizing tasks can help reduce stress levels and improve productivity. Make a to-do list each day and prioritize tasks based on their importance and urgency.

6. Seek support: If you're feeling overwhelmed or stressed, don't be afraid to seek support. Talk to a friend, family member, or mental health professional for guidance and support.

Adopting these science-based strategies can reduce stress levels, boost productivity, and improve your overall well-being.

Conclusion

Stress can have a significant impact on our productivity, leading to procrastination, impaired decision-making, and burnout. However, by adopting a science-based approach that focuses on our mental and physical health, we can reduce stress levels, boost productivity, and improve our overall well-being.

Here are the links to the sources mentioned in the article:

1. American Psychological Association. (2017). Stress in America: The State of Our Nation. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/stress/2016/state-nation.pdf

2. Larsson, J., & Vinberg, S. (2019). The Benefits of Mindfulness Meditation: Changes in Emotional States of Depression, Anxiety, and Stress. Mindfulness, 10(3), 410-418. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12671-018-1006-y

3. McEwen, B. S. (2007). Physiology and neurobiology of stress and adaptation: central role of the brain. Physiological Reviews, 87(3), 873-904. https://www.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/physrev.00041.2006

4. Sattler, D. N., Boyd, S. L., & Kirsch, J. (2017). The impact of stress on cognitive functioning in healthy older adults. Neuropsychology, Development, and Cognition. Section B, Aging, Neuropsychology and Cognition, 24(2), 127-139. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/13825585.2016.1226713

5. Selye, H. (1956). The Stress of Life. New York: McGraw-Hill.

I hope this helps!

Thinking is the Cure for Overthinking?

The voice that tells you can’t isn’t your own…

I have a voice in my head, his name is Steve.

He’s an a$$hole. Constantly challenging my own intuition, worried about things that don’t even exist. The guy has no chill.

Steve is the voice of my overthinking and geez, with 29 years of practice Steve is a pro.

But Steve isn’t me.

Steve is designed in fact, perhaps the first artificial intelligence to have existed. Steve is a program, a self protective program.

He was written by nearly 100,000 years of survival training, it’s this programs job to make sure you feel afraid. To challenge novelty, to challenge anything that challenges the status quo.

Heck he even build himself a little home in that 3lbs of meat loaf that runs your brain.

Steve lives in the DMN or default mode network but nearly everyday in the afternoon he goes for a walk down the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex where based on a new meta analysis from NeuroImage says he creates depression, constantly.

So let’s talk about Steve’s home for a moment, the default mode network like many other networks of the brain has triggers this specific trigger for overthinking is lack of focus mixed with lack of positive stimulus.

”K, fancy words what’s this really mean.”

It means that when you look at your phone with constantly shifting topics that are designed for defocusing and eye strain it makes the perfect environment for triggering the DMN.

YOUR PHONE IS GIVING YOU THE PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR DEPRESSION….

So why does thinking make any sense for correcting overthinking? Like adding gas to a fire doesn’t fix the fire?

Yes and no.

Rumination and overthinking is automated thinking. It’s Steve, who’s a program, taking your head and changing what you focus on. You’re not the one in control, stress is, fear is.

Steve is doing his job, triggered by being bored for my neurodivergent people and sensations/memories for my neurotypical people.

HOWEVER, when we self direct our focus and think intentionally we are triggering our focus. WHICH is YOU not Steve taking control.

This is exceptionally powerful knowledge because …. guess what turns off the default mode network and turns on the task positive network to get you into action (which is evidenced as behavioral modification to be the best change for depression) FOCUS!!!!

That my friends is how thinking is so powerful for overthinking. It’s taking control of the runaway train and getting it back on the tracks. STEALING your focus back.

Again Steves job is to…. keep you safe and afraid. Which glued to your phone will do. Which helps explain why those with depression have challenge with addition and why those with ADHD have such a higher affinity for depression. They all play together to keep you as safe as possible.

”So… Asking for a friend… how do we apply this.”

Great question, let’s make this real.

Steve in my head strongly believes that loving myself or being vulnerable with others is EXTREMELY DANGEROUS. So he likes to protect me with thoughts of self lothing, not being enough or not deserving of pleasure, love. The essentials for level 2 of Maslows pyramid.

Stage 1: Recognize that Steve is attempting to derail my life and has stolen my sovereign ability to consciously direct my focus. (What an a$$)

Stage 2: Shame is cool, but you know what’s even more cool, loving your shame. So instead of calling yourself names or saying that Steve is right, stop him. Give Steve a hug, tell him thank you for protecting me, AND this doesn’t feel good so let’s change it up.

Stage 3: Focus your thoughts on a sensation. What do you smell right now? What do your shoes feel like? Are you holding something? Is it smooth? Soft? Direct your focus.

Stage 4: Is this true? Challenge Steve am I actually not worthy to receive love, is it really dangerous? Should I really feel like sh*t for taking an extra 10 minute shower today so I could just be? No, I am worthy to receive love, in fact I’ve done a lot of work on myself and I think my jokes are funny even when no one else laughs and I smile at myself in mirror. So no Steve, thanks but no thanks.

Stage 5: Affirm the facts, direct the truth into self awareness of the current moment. I know that in the past it might NOT have FELT safe to be loved because you were afraid of being vulnerable and showing your shadows but that’s not cool and smokey the bear doesn’t approve of this just as much as he doesn’t approve of not putting your ashes completely out with water. So armed with a healthy fear of cartoon bears and a willingness to love myself I shall go forth here open and expressive.

Stage 6: Prove the facts with actions. Nothing says I love myself more than actually practicing this is action. So today I’ll show I’m worthy of love by loving myself. I’m going to stop on my way home from work and get a latte, listen to true crime and smile like a fool the entire time. I’m worthy to spend money and time on myself.

BONUS: reflect that night on what a bad a$$ you are and see if you can remember the trigger that started Steve’s bickering.

Note is somewhere, then wake up and be amazing tomorrow.

These types of systems and protocols are extremely helpful for myself when it comes to creating healthy change and it’s mental mixed with behavioral changes the perfect storm for learning to self love through science!!!

If you like this type of content consider taking a look at our Stress Detox Course that’s a weekend course designed with sciece based self care strategies for expressing a healthier you, physically, mentally, emotionally and socially.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Non-Verbal Communication, Body Language and Stress Management

“if someone around you says “I’m doing my best” in a playful weird tone. They’re a sinking ship. They’ll say no, but do something nice for them anyway. We’ve all been there.”

— Dr. Chris Lee

Language is fascinating to me.

If you take a little time to look up its origins you'll see a few different theories.

However, the one I want to discuss here isn't an evolutionary intelligence language. Meaning we didn't develop it to pass down information to evolve and adapt.

It seems to be quite the opposite.

It's the language that counters what our biology so desperately desires, survival.

This is modern-day body language. More specifically cognitive dissonance in social settings.

The Wall Street Journal conducts the same study every few years letting us know what our most common fear to modernized men is.

No surprise... it's dying...

No wait, that's not right.

Falling?

Nope, not that either. (Awkward)

In fact, the number one fear for the last decade has been... Public speaking.

"People would rather be in the casket than give the eulogy." - Jerry Seinfield

In our modern world we break our biological drivers, psychological connections and social rules ON A DAILY BASIS.

Sometimes for fun!!!

But more than anything else we use language like "I'm okay", "I'm doing my best", and "great".

All wrapped up in cognitive dissonance.

Cognitive dissonance is when our thoughts, feelings, actions, and memories don't match one another.

Self-preservation of the self, isolation, and disconnection, all go against 200k years of homo sapien evolution.

To simply keep us "safe".

But who's safety is that?

Certainty not yours... Why would you perform such behaviors that keep you held back from expressing your true potential?

Well that's because your brain is a self-evolving, self-adapting supercomputer that.... drum roll, please!!!

Is actually faster than your mind.

Yup. Not even your mental willpower can save you here.

Research shows that the threat detection centers in the brain can be up to 10x faster than the frontal cortex, where our executive will and intentional focus lives.

So yeah, we are all screwed... good luck.

Wrong (thank goodness)

But before we let the genie out of the bottle you have homework.

How have you in your life taken a bad day and turned it into good?

I truly hope you took some time to reflect on this, when I ask participants in events I speak at this question without fail they find for themselves the solution for this breaking of biology.

It’s the simple fact that our brain is not designed for inactive discomfort.

When we create levels of uncertainty, pain, suffering or vulnerability we do so through actions. Which is exactly what the brain is designed to do.

The area of the brain that coordinates movements is yolked to another part that has the highest affinity for dopamine (pleasure chemicals) so we get rewarded for action. NOT for thinking or feeling.

The common phrase is:

“Mood follows action.”

In the midst of protecting the self with procrastination, perfectionism and all kinds of sabotaging behaviors we quickly realize the slow pain of intentionally suffering isn’t actually as bad as taking action towards the thing that will give us relief.

That’s because when fear and stress run the show we don’t function from logical thinking we function from survival mechanisms which DO NOT look for long term solutions. Which is why this area of the brain will self sabotage in hinder the immediate pain that action would cause.

The long story short here is that your nervous system under stress created adaptions based on it’s environment. Which now has the immediate and instantly distracting powers of technology. So with this brand new shiny tool your brain went to work carving out behaviors which would allow it to stop you from taking action and live peacefully in the slow sipping poison of distractions, sabotage and regret.

The cure to this poison is action. Plain old action.

It’s gaining clarity on what you’re disconnecting from that might bring you pain, and then building up endurance to face it.

Here is my process:

1.) What emotion am I experiencing?

2.) When did I first encounter this emotion?

3.) What was I doing, who was I with?

4.) Is the disassociating behavior logical?

5.) What’s the polarity of this emotion?

6.) When was the last time I experienced that emotion? What was I doing? Who was I with?

7.) Schedule that behavior into your week 3x.

8.) Use metacognition to reflect on how that emotion that you desire makes you feel, then use that chemical inertia to face the action that will actually solve the originally pain.

9.) Sip your coffee like a badass.

(sips coffee)

If you need more help building this out below I dropped my calendar link to see how if we can build you a badass schedule together.

Happy Healing!!!

The Not So Surprising Link Between Eating Disorders and Society

It’s driven by evolution, society, biology and we have to have it there in order to survive (literally) but for some of our family this elephant is consuming their lives, joy, purpose and self love.

So today we will share with the intention to let those who may be challenged by this that they’re not alone, we all have our own elephants suffocating us but this one comes with a heavy amount of emotional baggage.

Today let’s name our Elephant: Anxiety Induced Eating Disorders ❤️

There are multiple theories as to why eating disorders are so specific, in who they choose to haunt. Mostly women, mostly younger, mostly nearly always hidden.

At our most basic form we are a cluster of cells who’s job is to carry on our purpose, for most of the 100 Trillion cells of our body and another 40 Trillion in our gut that purpose is to adapt, reproduce and repeat.

A huge part of that requires food in order to perform.

As cells build community they create the ability to collaborate in order to support the needs of the entire system so everyone thrives.

The more cells the more complex the system becomes and eventually we need something organizing these organizing systems and tada a little spark of consciousness develops from our ability to focus.

But with so much possibility to focus on how do we know what’s important?

So nature gave us “will” to break natural law when it doesn’t give us that “gut” instinct.

Again we are faced with the problem however that I don’t have eyes in the back of my head and more people coming together builds more focus, less work so we build community.

And now that single cell created beautifully complex systems to support its evolution! However we don’t play to the rules of the most simple, we must play to the rules of the most complex.

Which is why I truly believe that this anxiety induced disorder has roots in our ever evolving inability to create deep community with meaningful connections.

One of the neurological drivers of eating is for us to relax and connect, I’m from a Lebanese home where when things were going wrong we cooked and ate together, this built trust, communication, safety, understanding and compassion.

When surveyed our global family with this challenge often report that they’re feeling alone, unsafe, need a decompression, or that they’ve often lived in this perfectionistic model of life where they don’t think they’ll be loved if they don’t look and make OTHERS feel a certain way about them.

As I dove into this world I see a broken community, I look to these stories to hear young woman, sometimes young girls who are never told they’re accepted, loved and witnessed for how they are right now. Beautiful, whole and worthy. So they grow up into women, who’s models of acceptance lie inside of never being enough for people who will never be enough…

The literature supports this theory as well with some of the most effective support networks and treatments coming from groups, Maudsley models, and helping establish healthy relationships for these parts of our people.

What if the eating disorder was just a symptom to an underlying cause of lack of acceptance, fear of shame, not feeling enough, and a deep desire for a real community that loves you no matter what and who you show up to be?

Inside lives that little boy who isn’t strong enough and develops body dysmorphia to be accepted, and the little girl who doesn’t feel pretty enough like the women on the magazines and develops eating disorders.

Lack of acceptance, fear of judgement at the core, all standing on our ever connected but dissociated global community.

Never before have we been so seen and never before have we been so utterly alone in the crowd.

This topic is also why we designed our Wired for Worthy Community. In a world that’s disconnected we have weekly accountability and book club talks to help you better understand who you are, why you are and how to be it.

For more info:

CLICK ME ❤️

Using Co-Regulation During a Crisis to Take Purposeful Action

“Co-Regulation: on the days that you can’t, find someone who IS and spend time wiht them”

Yea… I F*cked Up…

Ah, crisis... what an opportunity for growth.

Come on a little storytime adventure with me.

Yesterday I was on a little road trip up to Savannah, one of my favorite places.

A massive car accident in central Georiga has everyone stuck in a 2-hour traffic jam where people were out of their cars playing catch.

So they started redirecting traffic to the next nearest exit.

Google had her own plans and my common sense had more trust in Google despite my spidey senses tingling.

So when Google said right a turn down this "dirt" road for a little cut around that literally zero other cars had taken I said "let's go".... Mistake #1.

After catching air and bottoming out Frank (my Ford Escape) a few times my spidey senses were tingling they were having a stroke.

Cut through this mud patch? Sure? How deep is that small river? Eh can't be that deep...

"anything is possible with the power of love..."

Welp we put that to the test, I am a scientist of course.

On mile 5 of following this journey, a white-knuckled journey with weeds hanging from the side of Frank, mud flying, I see a turn coming and it was at that point I knew... not only was I f*ck but I was in the middle of a Georgia swamp on a "road" that wasn't for street cars like Frank, it was for tractors...

So I head into this turn with a full head of steam... and surprise I bury Frank up to his headlights. (pics in story)

Blessed with service I see that I'm yes indeed as I am In the middle of f*cking no where.

Like if nowhere got lost that's where I was.

I was 3 miles direct walk from the next GRAVEL road. Or a 5 mile walk back the way I came...

The insurance company gave me the ol "atta boy" but you're screwed and this is a rescue mission that your full coverage doesn't cover... which to be honest yeah, you're right, this one is on me.

I'm freaking out, a thunderstorm has come in and now a small river has formed.

CRISIS MODE ACTIVATED so I did what I always do when I'm freaking out... I call Nick.

Nick is my big brother, a Taurus. The most solid human being on the planet and my touch tree... I call with the classic...

"hey, I F*cked up..."

(⭐️CONT. FROM SOCIAL⭐️)

Nick who’s been blessed with me as his little brother has gotten this call… too many times.

I “cooly” inform him that “I’m drowning in a fcking swamp in the middle of f*cking nowhere. I’m about to die, it’s destroying my credit score and now I have highblood pressure on top of getting bald spot, I think I have an autoimmune condition… Tell Phoenix I love her I’m dying….”

Calm as a cucumber…

Sweet solid Nick, has played this game with me too many times.

He asks if I’m safe, and asks me what’s actually going on.

I send him the picture of where I’m currently at. I show him the pin I dropped and that I’m dead to rights out here waiting to be killed by the swamp people.

But he’s steady, knows me. Knows that when I start to catastrophize the situation that I don’t need to be heard, witnessed or validated I NEED LOGIC.

( I’m a logically driven person, so I regulate with a plan)

My logic-driven people don’t process in the moment of crisis we thrive on execution.

So we build out a plan of action, 5 minutes later I no longer am telling him I’m worried about the new bald spot that’s forming on my head or my declining credit score.

I’m as relaxed as I can be, but I’m in a state of homeostasis that would allow me to actually take action in a direction that makes sense.

I aligned my action plan, and dove into my todo list.

2 hours later the choice had been made to abandon the car in the woods and pack up everything I had to get out.

The safest route that wouldn’t let the woods swallow me up was to follow the path forward.

Again we aligned and I “borrowed” his logic and reason to help me take action.

That is why coregulation is so powerful. This is why having people who are in your corner for greatness is so frogging important.

Co-regulation is the reason we created Wired for Worthy, even if you just spend time around regulated people you’ll start to feel its mirroring effects of it. You’ll hear the playful connection, and in groups, you’re able to mirror the people that match your values.

To finish story time, I walked 3 miles to the nearest road where a State Trooper Officer Steven picked up a soaking wet, muddy neuroscientist with 3 bags a long board and graphic T-shirt. Gave a new meaning to the walk of shame.

Officer Steven had a friend Mike, who by all means was a good ol boy. At the ripe age of 61 Mike had the confidence of a man who had lived life to the fullest and promised me he in his 4x4 would go get frank out.

We drove back for an hour to where Frank was and the entire time Mike is asking me “you didn’t think to stop and turn around?”

Mike who’s a gentleman, properly called me the dumbest smart person he’s ever met but also thanked me for taking him “muddin” on a Monday.

He looked at Frank and goes… “yup, stuck. “

Then did an expert turn, told me to get out and hook up the chains to frank and sit in the driver seat of Frank and “enjoy” the ride.

30 seconds later Frank was free with out a scratch on him.

Little muddy but he likes being ridden hard anyway.

We drove the 5 miles out the way we came and Mike did a full side of the road check of Frank. No leaks, no flats.

Paid the man and we went on our way.

When you ask for good people you’ll be surprised who drops into your life.

I’m over the moon grateful for Nick, Steven and my good ol boy Mike.

Today I woke up with a smile on face and feeling blessed to have people in my life that CHOOSE to deal with my crazy.

Stop Obeying: Start Creating

I've got to share something that's been bugging me.

I'm typically a level headed guy, calm, peaceful, and relaxed but something has been grinding my gears. (Yeah we went to gear grinding)

 I continue to see this brand creating contented shirts and hoodies that say "Obey" on them, anyone else seeing this? It drives me up the wall. OBEY! OBEY WHAT?

 Some tend to think and believe that our world is falling to pieces and that we need to follow our "leaders" to a better future.

I say that kind of non-sense thinking (or lack there of) got us into this "help us" mindset. We live in a safer world than ever, despite what the news and media might say.

Crime rates continue to fall as does harassment and social in justice. What on the rise? News coverage of negativity and it's well planned out. You become addicted to drama and negativity because when the brain has no direction it runs to default survival mode where anything that might challenge our well being is remembered. It's time to step out into the light.

"You cannot "OBEY" your way to change. Be the Change"

 Be courageous enough to share your gift with the world not matter what it may be. Someone out there is craving and searching for your unique idea's. I can attest to the fear of being ridiculed by my friends and family for stepping into what I loved and what was I met with?

Nothing but love and support. I can still remember the day I got an email from a random human halfway across the world saying that a single blog post had saved his life and he thanked me for igniting a lost purpose. You never know who needs what you have but you'll never find out if you keep your idea's to yourself.

 Expand, Create, Contribute. 

Actually, smarter people use less of their brain. Here’s why.

Like most adult humans I thought for the longest time that we only could access 15% of our brain at a time. And thanks to the movie “Lucy” and Jim Kwik’s Podcast intro I constantly hear the voice of God “Morgan Freeman” voice constantly saying those words.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roTwspCJ_mg

(To the Hippies and Manifestors from the Quantum World- Scroll until you see the Unicorn)

But is it actually true???

Nope….

It’s not… at all.

And that’s the end of this Blog…..

If we were only using 15% of our brain at a time we would be considered clinically brain dead. This concept is build on an old neuology theory that is focused on the wiring of single neurons that literally light up like a string of Christmas lights.

Luckily we evolve and grow.

Our new theory on the brain is that it fires in a web-like distribution pattern. Which if you ask me makes a lot more sense.

Considering the neurons of the brain and central nervous system fire and wire based on Electro-Magnetics which are non-linear in my own crazy concept of the brain I like to think that single thought is the dropping of a pebble in a still lake and the ripples of the energy radiate around the surrounding areas.

Luckily I’m not 100% crazy on this one and it’s a pretty well supported theory. Just take a look into this and it’ll give you good look into what it looks like.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-DbeM2AgXUs

Why this Matters

The single neuron theory was good but the Neural Net theory opens the door to possibility and actually explains a lot of spontaneous healing of stroke victims and neuroplasticity in general(the brain’s ability to change).

Based on this theory we can recalibrate our brain based on associated Neuro-Anatomy function.

No worries on the big words I don’t understand most of them myself so let me break out the Purple Crayon for myself and give a whirl at explaining this thing.

Purple Crayon Explanation

Using the brain is like throwing a water balloon filled with Green Paint at a Dot on the wall and knowing that yes you’re going to hit that Dot but you’re also going to hit everything in the splash zone.

With this understanding you can strengthen your creativity mindset and the firing of the RIGHT BRAIN by using your left half of the body for something like throwing and catching a ball.

The motor(MOVEMENT) input from this action comes in from the body and actually throws paint filled balloons at the motor cortex of the opposite hemisphere of the brain allowing firing of that side of the brain.

In the same way, we can use specific parts of the brain linked to specific functions to fire off local brain areas that might be sleeping.

ONWARD

Purple crayon time over I hopes that cleaned up some info for you. If not hang around because there is more to come.

For example, right now I’m typing on my computer, drinking coffee and listening to Brain.fm.

I know that when I write I want to smash together unique and creative ideas as to place myself into a state of FLOW:

Flow is a neuro-biological state defined as:

“An optimal state of the psychological state that people experience when engaged in an activity that is both appropriately challenging to one’s skill level, often resulting in immersion and concentrated focus on a task.”

This means that for the majority of my writing I want to be in this state.

I mean who wouldn’t want Optimal Performance in all aspects of life.

For more on that check out the book “Rise of Superman”

To access this state I throw a ball at the wall with my left hand while performing 4-second hold square breathing.

I know for a fact that I’m lighting up my Right sided Motor Cortex and Connecting it to my Brain stem.

I’m then “Binding” the two of these actions by performing them together which stresses my brain into doing something it doesn’t typically do. I thus send my brain into a stressed signaling brain state called BETA. In this state, my body is in a state of stress which means that has hyper focus.

We have a common assumption that the Signal wave that comes from Beta is Bad. Which is kind of like saying Pizza is bad? Which anyone who’s ever gone through a bad break up knows to be an absolute lie to even speak. Pizza for every meal for years is bad. In short doses, it’s cheesy, carb-loaded hugs are a welcomed expression of all that is good in the world.

Being inside a Primary signal that is BETA sends is one that we associate with FEAR. Which fun fact is my 2nd Favorite 4 letter “F” Word. I’ll let you figure it out.

Design or Default

Fear is great… and you all are thinking Chris is Crazy. However, give me a moment to explain myself. Fear like pizza is a fantastic tool WHEN USED PROPERLY. Fear is simply a mixture of hormones that redirect the lens of which we interpret our reality. When in this state Evolution and nature has built in a Switch Box for survival called the Amygdaloid complex.

Purple Crayon Explanation

I know I know big words came back with. Let’s drop some simple knowledge truths to digest.

Along the evolutionary lines, we built in this Switch box so we can stay alive. We have inside of us 3 different brains. See below.

Each of these different brains has switches in order to access them as a means to survive. Why??? Because of 100,000 years ago when we first saw the “Neocortex” come around. We also were living in caves and trying to survive. So being chased by a Lion and having the ability to use Logical reason and feeling of Love are pretty useless. You need hyperfocus and the ability to use our Instincts to run, hunt, to Live.

The amygdaloid complex is the switch between these 2 brain systems. However in our world today we have no tigers or bears chasing us. (Unless you have some really extreme hobbies #tvtagwithwildlife) Our top triggers in today’s world are …. Deadlines, Traffic, Social Media(yes research shows social media triggers firing of Beta and signals from the Fear Brain) Emails, Our kids, Wife, spiders, and getting your order wrong at Starbucks.

While this seems all negative we have finally circled the roundabout enough times to get back where we need to.

When we trigger the signal from our environment that what is happening could be dangerous to our survival we actually SHUT DOWN most of the brain……. What???

Shutting Down to Fire UP!

Let’s meat and potatoes this thing.

So what the heck does all of this mean? Why all the explanation ???

Fear is the greatest Nootropic Biohacking Phenomenon we could manifest in our brain chemistry ever imagined…. When Trained….

When we can tap into this brain state where we begin to fire off signals of fear we know that all this does is GIVE US HYPERFOCUS. Know where to go because the Lion is trying to eat us.

But there is no bear or lion.

When we can learn to harness this state of being we actually access a state of

Flow….

Flow classically defined is a state of optimal performance.

We’ve all been in this state in some capacity.

Writers become one with words, Athletes see the perfect pass, Musicians close their eyes and dance with the tones. We connect and can feel the world pulse around us.

It’s one of the most addicting experiences we can access as humans and you’d imagine that the brain is actually firing in huge capacity.

Wrong…

We actually shut down a large portion in the brain in our optimal state… Yeah, I’ll say it again.

When you are at your Peak Performance you’re literally using less brain power….

There are those marbles I lost…

It’s true though.

When you are in an optimal state of being your brain has used the Hyperfocus of the Chemical mixture of fear and took that cocktail of neuroendocrinology to make you for a moment in time to drop down all fear and you MERGE with your work.

At this point in time, you’re using about 3% of your brain consciously. That again doesn’t mean that the other parts are dead they’re just running under the radar. The autonomic nervous system took over ( our natural autopilot.)

On average during the day, we can actually use upwards of 16–20% of our brain power and it’s those times where we are more tapped out of our actual world than Focused.

In 2000 we thought that the Movers and Shakers of the world were accessing more of their brains than the average human the Truth…..

They were using much less. But …. They’d trained themselves to take action in these brain states.

Below I’ll give you some of the best hacks for training this optimal state of being.

It’s here that we need to talk about some of the fluffy non-science because let’s be honest some of my favorite people on this planet are the fluffies who don’t need any science. I am one of those people at times.

Fluffy Bunnies Arise

Hello Misfits. This is for you.

As many of you know I’m a big fan of smashing Neurology together with the Fluff to make sense of what’s going on in this world.

So we smashed some science. How about some fluffy for my people!!!!

*** For my nonfluffy bunny homies: Grab a chair and some popcorn you’re about to get a look into what the heck that Monkey with the Cymbals in my head is actually doing most of the day.

Using Intuition is a skill that most of us STRIVE TO USE CONSTANTLY because we know that when we can take out the cognitive and educated mind we get the greatest insights and have the ability to download information from our Quantum Field and tap into our highest self to better serve the world.

The best way to do this???

Harness that state we call fear and use that hyper focus as a means of jacking into new realms of focus.

The Waves our brain sends out shuts down our rational mind, in other words, that inner critic goes silent for a period of time and you can use this period of time CONNECT with higher periods of insights.

Sorry bunnies we need some science for a second….

Our brain runs on an AC current (Alternating Current) this is a Theory of why we have a brain wave pattern because we are constantly interrupting our 6 senses to make a better understanding of what’s going on around us.

Our Peripheral Nervous system (Everything else but the spine and brain) runs on a DC current. Direct Current. Which is a stream of energy at all times?

When we train ourselves to tap into the intuition of the Emotional Brain (Limbic System) we use our hormones to express a feeling into the body.

JUST GET TO THE POINT!!!!

I know I know just let me nerd out sometimes.

This matters because when we are in the state of tapping into our emotional Intelligence we actually are primarily interpreting our environment based on the DC current of our Peripheral nervous system which …….. Is the same current that the “QUANTUM FIELD” is running…..

Drop mic.

Want to download out of the quantum world. Speak to ghost and be the best channel for greatness that your field can translate bump up your emotional intelligence and train the hyperfocus to tap into the BODY instead of the brain.

The brain only can make rational interpretations based on the past history of our experiences. The emotional system is Nonlinear it’s like a dog chasing squirrels which is why when it’s not properly trained people become “Bliss Junkies” and constantly live HYPER-EMOTIONAL lives. You know who I’m talking about.

I’m a businessman, father, and Teacher of the brain and I’ll be the first to admit I tap the system of Quantum intelligence for inspiration but I don’t live there.

Use this as a tool for focus and if you’re interested check out the FLOW GENOME PROJECT. For the top 20 triggers for FLOW.

Training the Fear

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0EygqL--RW4

Be like water.

If you ended up floating through the Unicorn section you probably picked up some good titbits.

More than anything realize that in this state of high performance. You rational mind that keeps your focused is shut off!!! Which means we need to Train FOCUS!!!

Best Way to train focus in my Experience….

Square Breathing.

10 minutes per day.

Not only is this one my Favorite meditations it’s also awesome sauce to boost focus. Every minute has a reminder to get back to your breathing.

At least that’s what I needed.

Tapping Flow is Unique for everyone and while I love the science behind it the Team at

http://www.flowgenomeproject.com/

Are the wizards at truly tapping into this incredible state of being.

3 Steps I use to Get Into Flow

Flow isn’t black and white. It’s a rainbow of greatness that can be an optimal performance that you can drive like a NASCAR driver in rush hour (don’t deny it you’ve been shifting gears running in traffic like a mad man) to just being able to write your thoughts down.

When the moon is right and Saturn is Aligned with the 3rd moon in Jupiter and you hit full blown flow like you’ve been training to do. Have a game plan.

Don’t use it to organize your book Shelf. Or clean… Maybe clean…

Use it for what you’re good at.

I know for a fact in Full Blown Flow I can read at around 36,000 words per minute and It’s when I create my best content. Words flow, Videos I create are coherent and if I’m caring for someone on my Table I Know I can use this to help them connect better to themselves.

But I always have a plan of action and triggers to access this states so I don’t use it to wash dishes like a professional.

The brain without direction will drift into space.

1. Schedule Your Time

• Give yourself space and time to create and practice accessing these states.

2.) Have triggers

• I have specific breathing methods I use to access brain states and a journal Practice I use to tap into higher states of being. My breathing technique is 30 Deep and slow Breaths and 30 squats. Followed by a brain map journal exercise. Which is tapping into the system. Every idea that comes into my brain is written down and if more come I write. Throw enough spaghetti and something will stick. After I find something that feels right. I meditate on Gratitude and use a specific visualization to get full blown FLOW. All of this takes around 10 minutes and FLOW last for an hour to 2 hours.

3.) Setting Is Key

I use the special brain state to create unique content. Once I know I’m in I sit in meditation to get into another brain state that mixes the excitement with unique connections. Introduce me throwing the ball against the wall.

Noise canceling headphones and dubstep. Once I’m in and have given myself direction and a vision of what I want to do I ensure that I’m making my mark and getting everything on the table. I shut down the brain as much as possible to ensure that all the sensory I would have running around normally is off. Headphones, hat, and simple seat with coffee or water that is it.

Like meditation, you want a place to sit and be. Let the run after that.

Don’t Waste the GOLD

Without direction the brain will run wild, this is why I’m such a freak about scheduling my life out. I give my brain tasks and times to do it.

I highly recommend scheduling life out to the best of your ability. As a full-time Father, Business Owner, Student of life, Coach and partner to an awesome Lady living a balanced life is a challenge but one I welcome with open arms and nightly scheduling session.

Don’t waste your focus time in social media land.

Dive in, dive deep and enjoy the ride.

Easily Distracted? (Was that your phone?) Read this...

As I sit in what I was hoping to be a peaceful Sunday night meditation and reflect on my performance in the past week I was “gently” reminded about distractions.

The cool spring evening and my spearmint tea had plans for journaling and connection. However, my new 20-year-old neighbors across the road had other plans. With disco light spinning and what I can only assume was “get lit” radio playing my late night “quiet time” was a faint memory. Their colorful music had also awakened a fellow neighbors dog whom in what I can only describe as the sound of a mule being branded, did not like the light night “get lit” station of choice.

I sit there still attempting to connect with universal wisdom as the lights flash by my eyes and the trumpets of that poor K-9 echo through the night so I did what anyone would do.

Got pissed.

Bro… It’s fucking 11 pm at night on a gosh damn Sunday, who in the fuck decides to throw a 10 person banger in a 1-bed apartment. I’m half tempted to call 911, not for noise control but because it must take someone having a fucking stroke to string together the events you’ve decided to construct this evening, Lemony Snicket would be proud. I hope you young bloods have some bottom shelf tequila and wake up tomorrow morning with a hangover that’ll have you making the same promise that you did last week to God, that if he makes it go away you’ll never drink again.

After dismembering these fine young adults in the safety of an ancient torture chamber I made up in my mind I came to a quite profound realization. One that stopped the dismembering on flat bill cap with the sticker still on it #4 and gave me some beautiful insight that made me think “shit maybe I was connecting with universal intelligence after all.”

Distractions Will Always Be There

As someone who takes my own personal inner work seriously, it took these hoodlums to make me realize that the intention of the reflection wasn’t to make me better at reflections it’s to allow me the ability to increase self-awareness so that I can create a better week, next week. The distractions will always be there but ask any meditation expect it’s not the moments of profound silence and 20 minutes straight of following the breath that allows for breakthroughs it’s the recovery from the distractions. The music is found in between the notes, and it’s the flaws in character that let the light shine in.

It was somewhere between “Baby Got Back” and Lil Waynes “Be like Me” that I had the realization the I was going to take this massive distraction that was in front of me as a means of training my brain to find gratitude in any moment.

So I started thinking hard about what to be grateful for at the moment. A true moment of Jedi training. I let the thoughts float and before I knew it the memories of my best mates came flooding to me and the realization that these fine young lads and ladies were making the same life long memories that I once did and I suddenly had this smile on my face. These young leaders were probably thinking about how they were going to ding the universe or change consciousness because a half gallon of bottom shelf vodka will do that you do. Mission accomplished. I ended up doing this practice for another 30 minutes, with the dog who was moaning like a mule, the fire truck going by. My downstairs neighbor who likes to rev his engine when he pulls in, everything. But here’s the beauty of this practice. It was more than likely the richest environment I could have provided my brain with to train it for optimal performance. The distractions will always be there but my ability to be in the moment, flow and groove with the emotions that were coming up for me is what really set me up to wire my brain to do this in everyday life.

Next Day Update:

The next day was an absolute bliss off my rampage of midnight gratitude my brain was in seek and destroy mode for everything that might have held a negative charge to my existence. The poetic part happened later that night when it was one of the most silent night I can remember in my neighborhood and as I sit on my deck I almost missed those “darn kids” smashing beer cans on their undeveloped frontal lobes.

Transcending Stimulants in the Workplace. Upgrading Coffee with Neuroscience.

The Boston Consulting Company runs an analysis every year looking at the skills that thriving individuals and companies share. In the last 8 years, there have been 2 skills that have always made the top 3 spots.

1. Innovation

2. Creativity

Unfortunately, if you’re not a neuroscientist, local biohacker or aura reading psychic you like the thousands of others have no idea how to sharpen this skill. Luckily for us, science is giving us a helping hand and we can take a look into the data for a helping hand.

Shall we sharpen our blades?

Your Brain on Stress

Good news your here and alive (hopefully), the bad news is that you have a supercomputer in your hand but a caveman in your head. Which makes a mismatch as you might expect.

Our beautiful age of technology has given us a lot of things, connection across the world, incredible photos at our fingertips, smashing candy skills, flying birds in slingshots, yes indeed if we look at the book 1984 by George Orwell I can say “we’ve made it.”

But what’s the unlikely gift that all this new tech has given us?

High blood pressure, headaches and despite our modern advancement in healthcare we have had a steady growth in average sick days taken.

There are many factors to point the finger at but we are going to generalize all of it into everyone’s favorite word.

STRESS

Stress does 3 really great things for you.

1. Makes you stupid: stress draws blood and energy away from the frontal cortex where creativity is drawn from as well as making you focus on negative outcomes instead of bad ones.

2. Makes you sick: stress places focus on next second survival, not long term immunity.

3. Makes you slow: despite our perceived notion that time is actually passing more quickly, we are accomplishing in that time much less, because our brain and body are multitasking. To both accomplish the work at hand and survive whatever is stressing us.

Silence is the new Coffee

With this chronic stress in our lives, we have officially become the “tired, wired and stressed culture” not a title I’m extremely proud of.

The good news is that neuroscience has shared a solution that we’ve known about for thousands of years.

Introducing…. Silence.

Before you run for the hills let me explain.

When I say silence what I’m really pointing the finger at is meditation. Simply said meditation is the process of focusing the mind on a singular mundane task and returning our focus to that task for a period of time. The most commonly used task is to focus on breathing.

Sound too easy?

Try it out before you sit atop your high throne.

Set a timer for 5 minutes and focus on breathing. How many seconds went by before you forgot about it?

Your focus has been hijacked by our world. Fortunately, we have tools like this to get it back.

The Neuroscience of Silence 101

While I’m sure a riveting textbook explanation about the process of vasodilation, shifting neural pathways, shrinking your amygdala and many other fun lecture-like presentations would have some of you crazies out there jumping for highlighters, we are going to keep this functional.

When we quite the mind we give it a chance to process information, our brain acts like a supercomputer, constantly scanning the environment and looking for things that may harm it our benefit survival such as food. It then stores that information in interesting and weird ways until it can be processed. The caveman way would have been to have a high-intensity moment followed shortly by rest and processing of the event. Nowadays we don’t have that time.

So we continue to compound and save this information until we lose the ability to even store any more information and things like depression or anxiety come in. All signs the brain is shutting itself down so that it can integrate and process life.

Meditation gives you the ability to integrate and process at superhuman speeds, faster than you could naturally if we still had the caveman lifestyle.

Here’s how.

When you direct your breathing you drop your high-stress brain state into something called relaxation, think about your significant other playing with your hair. That feeling you get when your eyes are rolling back in your head and you are a zombie just breathing.

You can naturally turn on that form of relaxation and inside of that relaxed period of time you give the 95% of your brain that you don’t have typical control over, the ability to get to work.

Suddenly all that power that was going to keeping you alive is turned toward integration and unwinding stress patterns which are stored in the body. Can you say bye bye neck and back pain.

When you continue to do this for a period of time you train your brain and body to have a larger bandwidth of experience so that every time you get an email from your boss you don’t suddenly get hives. The switch is subtle at first but with regular and highly recommended reflection time the results are incredible.

What to Expect

Research shows a lot of potential for meditation, from thickening the connection between the hemispheres of the brain which allows for more innovation and novel ideas. To increased activity in the frontal cortex, which means less anchoring to ideas and more creativity. Less reactive teams, heightened immunity, less sick days in offices when properly implemented, better eating habits(when you’re not stressed you want better food). All with 10 minutes a day of some breathing.

Sounds too good to be true, but the literature is abundant and coming out at exponential rates.

Here’s how to get started:

How to breathe

Like the creation of all new skills, it takes time to get better at it.

I recommend starting with just 5 minutes per day of square breathing. This method is simply:

1. Breathe in for 4 seconds

2. Hold for 4 seconds

3. Breathe out for 4 seconds

4. Hold for 4 seconds

Repeat for 5 minutes.

This exercise is a short break in the action which gives you a chance to integrate life and get back on top. Studies also find that this form of breathing can be 10x more restful than a nap!

Reflection is vital to combine with this strategy. When we are making changes to neurons it’s hard to physically see. Keeping a journal and doing a daily reflection on how your mind, body, and spirit feel on a scale of 1–10 was a great start to my journaling obsession. This way you’ll gain insights to changes and literally have data to graph improvement.

Increase your time 5 minutes every week. Your results will show you when you’ve reached your threshold. Even today having done intensive neuro and biofeedback for 3 years my limit is around 30 minutes but the results of that 30 minutes last all day.

The big take away is to realize that your caveman brain needs time to breathe and integrate life. When it doesn’t you body and relationships suffer. The quick solution is breathe.

_________________________________________________________________

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Talking to my Inner Child: Healing Guilt, Shame and Regret with Science.

Today’s my birthday.

Every since I can remember my birthday has been weird, I always get these weird feelings and since becoming an adult I’ve isolated myself on my birthday 5 years straight of isolation on a day of celebration.

This year was no different either, as I write I sit alone in a Coffee shop in Denver hundreds of miles away from family, my daughter, and my loved ones.

Last night I decided to do something about it.

Asking the Hard Questions

“never go to sleep without requesting something from your subconscious mind” — Thomas Edison

Last night I sit in my nightly reflection meditation and those familiar feelings of shame, guilt, and insecurity that I’ve always associated with my birthday came up.

For those of you that don’t know I wear a Biostrap and measure my biology so I can make improvements because I know that my brain will lie to me to keep me safe but data won’t.

The instant those feelings came up my HRV (heart rate variability) dropped to nearly zero. Which means my nervous system thought I was about to die and was doing everything short of defecating to ensure survival.

I start to sweat, my heart rate sky-rocketed, my palms got sweaty, and I jump out of meditation. Upset, frustrated, confused and motivated for answers.

As I lay in bed doing ujjayi breath control the solution hit me like a truck.

We know the brain has this natural default setting of “survive” and that survival brain does one thing incredibly well.

Take the current circumstances and environment, compare it with our emotional history(our memories) to predict the future.

That was precisely what my brain was doing at this exact moment. It was taking the impending doom of another birthday comparing it with some kind of emotional history in the past to create this anxiety I had been feeling for years about my birthday.

Laying in bed I set the intention for my brain to show me the memories that had created these emotions I was experiencing and project them into my dreams.

Simply creating the intention I began to feel better, I knew I was on the right track.

1st Grade and Popsicles

Photo by Donald Tong from Pexels

“ Ask and you shall receive” — Matthew in THE BIBLE

Last night was a rough night, turns out when you give a supercomputer like a brain a binary code command it searches the entire history and then delivers the goods.

A lot came up, all kinds of embarrassing moments from my childhood came flooding into my memory.

I got up at 6am crying which turning into laughing because that was exactly what I had asked for.

Great, so these memories were pulled from my emotional subconscious brain now it was time to do something about that.

Kids in Court

From the age of 3 until we hit puberty our emotional centers of the brain are lit up like a Christmas tree, that’s because we in the process of creating “Laws for Life”.

Research shows that as children when we are faced with highly charged emotional events we create a biased towards that experience and for the rest of our lives when the circumstances recreate that environmental trigger our brain runs the program we created and ta-da we have paradigms or laws that we live our entire lives through.

Here’s the issue, that childhood programming that all of us are still using was created with a brain that wasn’t fully formed.

Specifically, we lacked development in an area of the brain called the frontal lobe, which does a really important function, creates logic and reason.

Photo From Medical News Today

Anyone seeing the issue.

We literally created Laws for our Existence with the power of logic. Which makes us have these super weird bias towards certain things. Like, oh I don’t know birthdays… (light bulb)

The memory that stuck to the surface after my night of reliving young Chris was when in the first grade. I have a summer birthday so I never got to celebrate with all my classmates. So being the super cool mom that she is my sweet mother got popsicles for me to take in so we could celebrate my birthday in September.

Only we didn’t.

After lunch, the popsicles had arrived for all my classmates to do some birthday celebration but instead of getting some birthday love the popsicles were seen as just a gift for the class on a hot day from a random parent.

I had been so excited to be celebrated and enjoy this moment that when it was completely ignored all these emotions flooded my system with guilt, shame, and insecurity about my birthday.

I was 6 when this happened.

Literally 20 years to the date it surfaced. I created a law in that moment that whenever I was to be celebrated that I would run a program of not deserving it for the shame of wanting to be celebrated and everything else that followed. Not logical in the slightest, not serving to my highest good but in my childlike brain, it made total sense.

The good news? It surfaced in a time in my life where I kindly refer to myself as a Jedi Knight Ninja of the Mind.

Image From Snapwire

Let the Healing Begin

The lack of strategy is what keeps these memories alive and those paradigms strong. It maintains those neural circuits because of Hebbs Law, the more you use something the stronger, more myelinated it becomes, faster stronger. For 20 years I’ve been making some really you serious neural pathways

The fascinating fact about memories is that when we revisit them we relive those memories as if they are still happening in the present moment. Our brain lights up as it is happening right now. PTSD functions in this fashion, we have a challenging memory that doesn’t have the strategy, brain-width (bandwidth + brainpower) to integrate those experiences.

(Enter stage right) Meditation

Meditation has a lot of really incredible research coming out around it and it’s one of the few fields where the research being done in the last decade is literally growing at an exponential rate.

The section of it we are going to focus on today is about brain waves.

Our natural memories tend to maintain a focus on the negative because that bias keeps us alive. That negative bias creates a brain wave pattern of high beta which causes disorganization and chaos in the brain. Not exactly a functional state of healing.

What meditation does really well is drops you from that really busy, scared, survival brain state and places you into coherent alpha brain wave state. Where the two hemispheres of the brain can focus on the present moment being instead of constantly searching for the next thing that could kill us.

Inside this brain state, you begin to activate that frontal lobe and instead of reliving memories as if they are happening again we can look with an outside perspective.

This is exactly what I did to connect with my inner child, only I took it to the next level and incorporated visualization which will stimulate a new level of consciousness called theta wave.

Inside of theta we begin to communicate with the subconscious mind and we can take both the new perspective, logic and reason to begin to see those memories as something new.

Walking with 6-year-old Chris

Image from Pexels

This is the realness of this process. The brain inside of visualization cannot distinguish reality from the visualization, which is why it is such a powerful tool to have.

I got up and got to work. What follows is my personal process for this memory.

I sat down and set an intention for deeper clarity from these memories then began to breathe.

After a few moments, I transported myself to the old memory. To relive it as the child that was hurt so many years ago. I could feel the desk I sat at and the excitement as the popsicles were delivered. I allowed all the memories and emotions to flood in. I sit in my 26-year-old self crying for a younger version of myself.

After the memory was complete I needed to reorganize my memory and step one is to structure the chaotic brain waves. So began a simple 10-minute square breathing protocol, listening to a live feed of my HRV thanks to Heartmath’s Inner balance.

Once I had gained coherence I jumped into a visualization.

“I’m in the hallway of the school holding the hand of my younger self. I look down at him and smile, I tell him who I am and what we are going to do this together. He holds my hand tighter and nods.”

“We walk into the room together where another version of us sits in anticipation of the popsicles to be delivered. I talk to him, let him know we are watching this memory like a movie. I can feel his hands getting clammy as the door opens and the school secretary drops off the package. I kneel down with him and hold him tight in a hug, on his level.”

“The teacher makes the announcement that someone has brought us a present, it has no name with them and she assumes it’s just from someone parent not knowing that it’s from my mom to celebrate me. We watch as those crushing words hit us, we all feel it and cry together.”

“I hug him tight and we begin to talk, I ask if he’s ready to go, he nods and we leave. I take us to our safe place, a soccer field. We sit in the middle of the field and I just let him express everything he’s feeling.”

“I simply let him process because we can now reason the circumstances, I let him know that this memory is a small fraction of the beautiful life we create, we continue to talk about it.”

“We connect about how much the class really enjoyed the awesome chance to have a break on a hot summer day, to talk and laugh over the random gift. We begin to make a transition from shame and guilt into a moment of laughter thinking about how silly it really was. (frontal lobe activated, logic and reason changing that negative polarity literally changing my neurochemistry)”

“We sit together for a long time, picking at the grass and talking. I finally ask if he feels complete, he just nods, and with a big smile, gives me a hug, high five and walks off into the woods of our safe space.”

“I open my eyes from the workshop, with a huge smile on my face and warm tears on my cheeks”

Was it real?

Was any of that really happening, nope, none of it. Did my brain care? Nope.

I had the highest HRV score of my entire life and it maintained for 15 minutes as I just lay on the floor laughing and enjoying the newly found happiness, pride, joy and self-love I had created.

You see that’s the power of the mind, it has this ability to create, the natural function survives, stagnate, stress. But we can transcend that and use it that beautiful energy for greater things.

The choice to change will always come down to having the knowledge to do something than taking the action.

I hope with this message you remember how powerful you are.

“happy birthday younger Chris, it all turns out alright” — older wiser Chris.

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