I almost didn't get this article written. There was a saber tooth tiger lurking about.


COME ON! ARE YOU NUTS?


Well Cheap Ryan Anderson Jersey , in a way. Here's the rest of the story.


The human brain is actually three brains working of the time. Each has its own relatively unique set of functions and has acquired and refined its skills over millenia.


The oldest of these brains is often called the reptilian brain. It's located at the brain stem and actually does look like the brain of an alligator. It is about five hundred MILLION years old. Its main concern is literally the basics. It wakes you up, puts you to sleep, keeps your heart gs like that. One of its primary functions is simply survival.


The youngest portion of the brain is called the Cortex. It's a relative child at about one hundred million years of age, but it's taken of the time. It likes to write books, compose music and dabble in science. As Barry Manilow might say, it writes the songs. It has the leisure to do this because the other two parts of the brain take care of the simple stuff.


I got those out of the way because I wanted to talk about the midbrain, or mammalian brain Cheap Eric Gordon Jersey , and a particular structure within it. The midbrain's age is between the other two, at about three hundred million years. Its tasks are a little more complicated than the brain stem's. It has to control your temperature and fiddle with your emotions for example.


Within the midbrain is a structure called the AMYGDALA. The amygdala is responsible for the "Fight-Or-Flight" mechanism you may have heard about. We generally hear about Fight-Or-Flight in relation to physical fitness and exercise these days, but it also impacts the thought processes, especially those involved with creativity, through this Fight-Or-Flight mechanism.


If you are not familiar with Fight-Or-Flight, in a nutshell it is a system found in animals and humans where the body and brain, when faced with danger Cheap Chris Paul Jersey , shut down some nonessential activities, move blood around to where it's needed, ramp up some hormones, damp down some others in order for the Fight-Or-Flightee to survive. We'll come back to Fight-Or-Flight in a couple of minutes.


Almost every day, I get one or more great ideas for an article, or poem, or essay. You would think that my cortex is responsible for this. Well Cheap Trevor Ariza Jersey , it is, but every once in a while, other portions of the brain create some static while trying to do their job.


Back in the days when I worked for somebody else, I would sit at my desk having great idea after great idea. However, when I pick up my pen to write down these great and wonderful things which seemed to be almost fully developed in my head, or when the boss turned to me in a meeting and said, "What do you think?" I would often go totally blank. In fact Cheap Hakeem Olajuwon Jersey , simply looking at a blank piece of paper and realizing that some positive outcome is expected of me subconsciously, at least, poses a threat and my brain reacts as if saber tooth tigers were in the area.


What has happened is that my midbrain has perceived a threat, and my Fight-Or-Flight reaction has been activated. You see, that reaction is hard wired in for survival purposes. Unfortunately, the system which controls it is incapable of distinguishing between saber tooth tigers and a blank sheet of paper that is just daring me to put fresh, new ideas on a boss who has just turned to me in a meeting. So what happens? The reptilian brain Cheap James Harden Jersey , which is tasked with survival, tickles the amygdala which turns on the Fight-Or-Flight mechanism, and, as shown above, one of the items considered "nonessential" at that moment is creative thinking. That's why our minds go blank at moments of crisis. Remember, the portion of the brain controlling this makes little or no distinction between an attack by a saber tooth tiger, the demands of our job or boss Cheap Houston Rockets Hats , or many of the stresses of modern life! Our caveman ancestors, for example, didn't have to worry about the IRS, nuclear war, or terrorists. They also weren't reminded of these things every day when they turned on CNN, and they certainly didn't have to drive on modern city streets during "rush hour".


So, having seen how Fight-Or-Flight can affect creativity Cheap Houston Rockets Hoodies , what can you do about it?


Almost anything that lets you relax is of value. You will often find me on the patio, sipping a Miller Lite, watching the neighbor's horses, or just daydreaming as I gaze over the pasture. Within reach is a small hand-held tape recorder. When a thought comes to me, I grab the recorder and murmur a few words into it. Years ago, before hand held recorders, people were advised to keep a pencil and paper nearby and record ideas as they popped up. Ever wake up in the middle of the night with an absolutely fabulous idea only to find it gone in the morning? Some of the great "thinkers" have written those ideas down before going back to sleep.


You see Cheap Houston Rockets Shirts , one of the tricks is to grasp the kernel of the idea at the moment it occurs, which is almost never the moment at which you need it. However, if you have the basic thought available, that will give you the springboard you need to get past the initial fear or uncertainty, and to go on to complete the project.


Meditation, or similar relaxation techniques, is another means of initiating creativity. While the mind is wandering about fields of flowers and butterflies Cheap Houston Rockets Jerseys , a portion of the brain is hard at work sifting through ideas and coming up with all sorts of possibilities. If you get into meditation, you will often find that during and immediately after meditating you seem to have quite an insight into problems and quite a few "new" ideas.


Oddly enough, by the way, research seems to show that "creativity" doesn't hinge that much on new ideas. What is happening is that our brain is putting old ideas and images into new patterns and contexts. That is one reason to remain intellectually involv

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