Saturday, October 31, 2009

Brain Scans Reveal What You've Seen

By Brandon Keim / Source: CNN

Scientists are one step closer to knowing what you've seen by reading your mind.

Having modeled how images are represented in the brain, the researchers translated recorded patterns of neural activity into pictures of what test subjects had seen.


Though practical applications are decades away, the research could someday lead to dream-readers and thought-controlled computers.


"It's what you would actually use if you were going to build a functional brain-reading device," said Jack Gallant, a University of California, Berkeley neuroscientist.


The research, led by Gallant and Berkeley postdoctoral researcher Thomas Naselaris, builds on earlier work in which they used neural patterns to identify pictures from within a limited set of options.


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Friday, October 30, 2009

How To Remain Happy When the Financial World Crumbles

By Sonja Lyubomirsky / Source: Psychology Today

I’ve had a lot to worry about lately. On my personal list: Watching my mutual funds melt down, the increasing hassle (not to mention price) of my commute, my child’s weep downs, how to super-rush a visa to Brazil amid interestingly-timed “technical difficulties” at the Consulate, and (don’t even let me go there) Sarah Palin.


Sometimes I think our country has gone nuts. We have collapsing financial markets, unprecedented housing foreclosures, $4 gas, and an emperor without any clothes on perambulating in the of an incredibly critical presidential election. But despite everything, many people (myself included) have a remarkable capacity to maintain optimism and confidence and even some cheer – about ourselves and the world around us.


The label for the process by which we manage to survive – and even thrive – in the face of stress, trauma, and adversity is coping. It’s how we assuage the hurt, anxiety, or suffering caused by a negative event. There’s a massive – and I mean massive – literature in psychology on coping, but I will tell you about my two favorite findings regarding successful coping.


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Wednesday, October 28, 2009

Can We Really Read Minds?

By Digby Tantam / Source: Psychology Today

The belief in telepathy is deeply rooted in many of us, and not only science fiction fans. Mothers ring their daughters thousands of miles away, and their daughters say, "How did you know? I was just thinking of you". We walk into a room and we just get a feeling about someone: it is as if we knew what they were thinking, and what they will say next.


Professors of parapsychology--and there are a few--have been unable to replicate these results in the laboratory. Minds they have to conclude cannot pass thoughts or images to other minds directly.

Perhaps this should not be a surprise. After all, we do pass thoughts and images to each other pretty effectively by speaking, drawing, singing, and so on. More to the point, our minds are our own, and we want them to remain so. We fight to keep our original thoughts.

So is telepathy just wishful thinking, born out of our wish to be close to our loved ones and not feel that they have minds that will be for ever closed to us? Or is it a more general feeling against the scientists and others who seem to want to reduce everything to atoms without allowing for the connectedness that joins us to the universe?


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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

How Subliminal Learning Works

Source: Real Subliminals

Your regular conscious way of learning is through repeated experience and practice; through this process the new information will be stored deep within your mind on an unconscious level. This is how we learn to ride a bicycle, learn math, or even develop our confidence and establish self beliefs for example.


Subliminal learning bypasses this conscious experience and practice stage and sends information directly to your unconscious mind. If the same subliminal messages are sent frequently enough this will lead to the same outcome, i.e. a shift in your self beliefs. The only difference is that the shift comes naturally, from within!


We are all exposed to subliminal messages every day due to the massive amounts of information we are exposed to, and our limited capacity to consciously register it. As a result this may lead to small changes in our minds, or over time if you are exposed to the same subliminal information over and over then there will be lasting changes.


Listening to a subliminal messaging album is simply a way to counteract this and take control. By targeting subliminal messages consistently at your mind, in larger and focused quantities you can make positive changes in areas of your choice.


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Sunday, October 25, 2009

Children Can 'Imagine Away' Pain

Source: BBC

Children can be taught to use their imagination to tackle frequent bouts of stomach pain, research shows.


A relaxation-type CD, asking children to imagine themselves in scenarios like floating on a cloud led to dramatic improvements in abdominal pain.


The US researchers said the technique worked particularly well in children as they have such fertile imaginations.


It has been estimated that frequent stomach pain with no identifiable cause effects up to one in five children.


The research, published in Pediatrics, follows on from studies showing hypnosis is an effective treatment for a range of conditions known as functional abdominal pain, which includes things like irritable bowel syndrome.

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Saturday, October 24, 2009

Have You Got a Fat Brain?

By Kate Wighton / The Sun UK

Shocking pictures this week of the world's heaviest man divided opinion across the nation.

Some expressed sympathy for 70-STONE Paul Mason while others displayed revulsion, blaming gluttony for his size.


But scientists are now offering a new and highly controversial explanation for Paul, 48, of Ipswich, Suffolk, gaining so much weight that he is now classed as "super-obese".


They claim his brain may have been programmed from birth to want too much food, causing him to overeat all his life.


In other words, some of us have fat brains that make us crave high-calorie foods.


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Wednesday, October 21, 2009

How to Tap the Enormous Power of Your Subconscious Mind

By Brian Tracy,
The League of Extraordinary Minds


You have available to you, right now, a power like a supercomputer that can enable you to solve any problem, overcome any obstacle and achieve any goal you can set for yourself.


This power has been used throughout history to take people from rags to riches, from poverty and obscurity to success and fame, from unhappiness and frustration to joy and self-fulfillment. And it can do the same for you.


This power has been called many things by many people in many places. It is the fundamental principle of most religions, philosophies and metaphysical teachings. It underlies much of psychology and is the cornerstone of all success and achievement.


In its simplest terms, it is called the "subconscious mind," although this is a misunderstanding because the true subconscious mind is merely a memory bank of senses and impressions that reacts automatically based on your previous experiences.


It has also been called the "universal subconscious mind" and the "collective unconscious."


The great Austrian psychoanalyst, Carl Jung, referred to this as the "superconscious mind." He felt that the collective wisdom and knowledge of all the ages was contained in this superconscious mind and was available to everyone.


Ralph Waldo Emerson referred to it as the "oversoul" and wrote that, "We live in the lap of an immense intelligence that, when we are in its presence, we realize that it is far beyond our human mind." Emerson, the great American transcendentalist, felt that all power and possibility for the average person came from using this mind on a regular basis.


Napoleon Hill, perhaps the greatest researcher on success of the 20th century, called this power the "infinite intelligence." After spending more than 20 years interviewing 500 of the most successful men and women alive in America at that time, he concluded that, without exception, their ability to tap into this higher form of infinite intelligence was the primary reason for their great success in life.

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Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Surreal Experiences Boost Brain Power

By Kate Melville / Source: ScienceAGoGo

Psychologists at the University of California - Santa Barbara and the University of British Columbia have found that exposure to surrealism, by say, reading a book by Franz Kafka or watching a film by director David Lynch, enhances the cognitive mechanisms that oversee the implicit learning functions in the brain. The research was reported in the journal Psychological Science.


"The idea is that when you're exposed to a meaning threat - something that fundamentally does not make sense - your brain is going to respond by looking for some other kind of structure within your environment," said researcher Travis Proulx. "And, it turns out, that structure can be completely unrelated to the meaning threat."


Meaning, explains Proulx, is an expected association within one's environment. Fire, for example, is associated with extreme heat, and putting your hand in a flame and finding it icy cold would constitute a threat to that meaning.


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Saturday, October 17, 2009

Scientists develop 'brain to brain communication'

By Andrew Hough / Source: The Telegraph

A system that creates “brain to brain communication” has been developed by British scientists, it has been claimed.


The system, developed by a team at the University of Southampton, is said to be the first technology that would allow people to send thoughts, words and images directly to the minds of others, particularly people with a disability.


It has also been hailed as the future of the internet, which would provide a new way to communicate without the need for keyboards and telephones.


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Thursday, October 15, 2009

Is Remote Viewing New Age Voodoo?

By Michael Jura / Source: Remote Viewing Project X

Nope, no matter what the stereotypes are or what people are saying, remote viewing is not some kooky, nut job, "new-age voodoo play."


It's simply a way to tap into a resource or database of information. Like googling a topic or going to the library. That's all it is.


Yet here we are and people still think it's just for weirdos. So I'm finally putting my foot down and after 3,5 years of running my remote viewing blog I think it's finally time to let the rest of the world in on the secrets of the remote viewing community...


RV Project X Secret #1: ANYONE can remote view


RV Project XSecret #2: Remote viewing is based on scientific fact


RV Project XSecret #3: There are practical applications for remote viewing for your everyday life. Like improving your health, getting a job, or locating lost objects.


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Wednesday, October 14, 2009

What Is Mind Force Hypnosis?

By A. Thomas Perhacs, Creator of Mind Force Hypnosis

Many people have been asking the question "What is Mind Force Hypnosis?". First off, Mind Force Hypnosis is much different than anything you've seen before.


These tactics and techniques can instantly transform any person into a walking time bomb of hypnotic power. Mind Force Hypnosis teaches you formerly unknown mental tricks that will allow you to change someone's mind immediately upon meeting them.


You've simply never seen anything like it. This never before revealed knowledge has helped thousands of people achieve more sales, more happiness, and get what they want out of life. Sure regular hypnosis works. But not like this. With Mind Force Hypnosis you'll learn extremely important persuasion techniques like NLP, Social Engineering, and seduction.


Never before was this level of "Hypnotic Influence" even possible.


CLICK HERE TO LEARN MORE...

Saturday, October 10, 2009

The Disease of Self Improvement

Dr. Robert Anthony,
Creator of the Rich Mind Life Strategy


Have you purchased self-improvement programs or read self-improvement books that you thought were going to change your life – but nothing really changed after your purchased them? You are not alone.

Self-Improvement is a False Concept


Billions of dollars are spent every year on self-improvement books
and programs. Why do we purchase these types of materials in the first place? It is because we are suffering from “The Disease of Self Improvement.”

The Disease of Self Improvement is the false notion that somehow
we are “deficient” and in order to be happy and successful we have to “improve” ourselves. The very act of trying to improve ourselves causes us to believe that there is something wrong with us in the first place.

The idea that there is something wrong with us is simply not true. So before we go any further -I want you to understand that – you cannot “improve” yourself because there is nothing wrong with you.

The only thing” wrong” is your beliefs ABOUT yourself and about the way life works.

CLICK HERE TO READ THE FULL STORY

Friday, October 09, 2009

A Mediterranean Diet Can Lower Depression

People who eat a Mediterranean diet rich in fruit, vegetables and cereals may be less likely to develop depression, Spanish researchers have found.

The prevalence of mental disorders is lower in Mediterranean countries than in countries in Northern Europe. Dietary differences, such as use of olive oil, may be the reason, the researchers said.


To find out more, Almudena Sánchez-Villegas and colleagues at the clinic of the University of Navarra, in Pamplona, studied 10,094 healthy Spaniards who filled in questionnaires. Participants were followed for an average of 4½ years.


Those who followed the Mediterranean diet most closely had a more than 30 per cent reduction in risk of depression compared with those who ate diets with the fewest hallmarks of the Mediterranean diet, the team reported in the October issue of Archives of General Psychiatry.


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Thursday, October 08, 2009

Why Meditate?

By Kevin Schoeninger / Source: Secrets of Meditation

The research is pouring in on the profound benefits of meditation practice. Science now confirms what practitioners have known for centuries: Meditation is a powerful tool for human evolution.


How could sitting quietly “doing nothing” possibly make such a difference in your life? The truth is found in many dimensions. We’ll explore some of the most important points in this brief article. Of course, to fully understand, you’ll have to meditate for yourself. If you need some inspiration or re-motivation for that venture, read on.


Let’s talk about the benefits of meditation in four dimensions of our being: physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Meditation in its best forms is a truly holistic practice; it works on all levels of your being. It has the power to improve your health and immune function, increase your emotional sensitivity and emotional balance, clear and focus your mind, and strengthen your sense of spiritual connection. Let’s go through each of these in turn.


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Sunday, October 04, 2009

Touching Money Can Relieve Pain

Who cares if money can't buy you love? It can still be your BFF.

That's one of the surprising findings in a new Chinese-American academic research paper, "The Symbolic Power of Money," published in the journal Psychological Science.


Like any best friend forever, money demonstrated to researchers its ability to soothe us, reduce our sense of social exclusion and even lessen life's painful moments.


As researcher Xinyue Zhou of the psychology department at Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, puts it, money acts as a substitute for another of life's pain buffers: love.


"I was surprised," says Katherine Vohs, co-author and marketing professor at the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. "The findings were surprising because no one had connected the symbolic meaning of money to pain. The money wasn't buying the subjects more friends or a soothing cream; it was only psychologically helpful."


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Saturday, October 03, 2009

10 Mind Tricks to Quit Smoking

By Valerie Dawson
Creator of Stop Smoking Fast & Easy


Have you decided to stop smoking? It doesn't have to be hard! One of the keys for breaking the habit once and for all is to tap into the power of your mind. Here are some tips to help you succeed.


1. Make quitting smoking your number one goal. Rather than having a long list of different goals, make quitting smoking your number-one top priority. By focusing on quitting smoking as your most important goal, you increase your chances of success.


2. Keep the end result in mind. Focus on how much better your life will be as a non-smoker. Think about how you'll be able to breathe better and your energy level will increase. Imagine all the things you can do with the money
you'll save each year by not purchasing cigarettes. And most importantly, focus on how you'll add many; many healthy years to your life, so you can do all the things you've wanted to do, spending time with people you care about. Make a long list of all the positive benefits of being a non-smoker!

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Friday, October 02, 2009

The Science of Serendipity

By Luke McKinney / Daily Galaxy

The luck of science might sound like the worst contradiction since kosher bacon, but we wouldn't be where we are today without fortunate accidents.

It'd be a significantly more boring world without the fantastically poor lab practices of Sir Alexander Fleming, the clumsiness of Edward Benedictus, or the suicidal carelessness of Alfred Nobel (resulting in penicillin, safety glass and gelignite).


That's why we have the word "serendipity" instead: it combines the accidental inspiration (or explosion) of luck with a mind capable of comprehending it.


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Thursday, October 01, 2009

Free will is not an illusion after all

By Anil Ananthaswamy / Source: New Scientist

In 1983, neuroscientist Benjamin Libet asked volunteers wearing scalp electrodes to flex a finger or wrist. When they did, the movements were preceded by a dip in the signals being recorded, called the "readiness potential". Libet interpreted this RP as the brain preparing for movement.


Crucially, the RP came a few tenths of a second before the volunteers said they had decided to move. Libet concluded that unconscious neural processesMovie Camera determine our actions before we are ever aware of making a decision.


Since then, others have quoted the experiment as evidence that free will is an illusion – a conclusion that was always controversial, particularly as there is no proof the RP represents a decision to move.


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