desertwind

Dr. Yoshiro NakaMats is Japan's greatest inventor, in fact, he's the World's most prolific inventor with over 3000 patents to his name. He's the guy that invented things like the floppy disk, the hard disk, and the digital watch! Why is this living genius able to come up with so many brilliant, zany ideas? What are his secrets?

Well, one of his best secrets for generating awesome creative ideas he describes humorously as: "swim till almost die!" What the hell is that? Let's call it the BrainBubbles technique because 1) it's going to cause your brain to bubble with new ideas and high IQ thinking and 2) it's all about forcing more and more oxygen into your brain so that you can think better!

The BrainBubbles technique consists of swimming underwater and holding your breath as long as possible. For safety's sake you don't need to push yourself to the point of almost dying (sorry Mr NakaMats!). Just swim underwater at your local pool (don't worry, as your IQ shoots up and the ideas start flowing you'll probably be moving to a place with your own pool soon!) and gradually extend the time that you can stay under.

Do you have to swim underwater to get the benefits of this technique? Can't you just hold your breath while sitting in a chair? Yes, you can do that and you will get benefits from learning to control your breathing and extend the breath.

In Yoga, there is the practice of pranayama, which basically means breath control. The Yogis of India are famed for their insight, wisdom and phenomenal mental powers, and pranayama is a fundamental practice to them.

You can also try breathing into a paper bag which is known as masking. You've probably seen people doing that to control panic attacks (I've only ever seen it on TV shows or movies!). This will also start the BrainBubble effect if you do it for 30 seconds every half an hour of your waking day for 2-3 weeks. Please seek the advice of your doctor or physician before practicing this.

However, the quickest and most effective method seems to be swimming underwater and holding your breath underwater. Hey, maybe that's why whales, dolphins and seals have such developed brains?

So what happens when you are holding your breath and under the water?

Well, you are shutting off the supply of fresh oxygen and the carbon dioxide content of the blood starts to increase. The body's automatic response is to expand the carotid arteries that feed your brain. They open wide to allow more oxygen rich blood to flow to the brain.

By practicing this BrainBubbles technique consistently for as little as 3 weeks, you can permanently expand the carotid arteries, so that more oxygen rich blood is flowing to your brain all the time. This activates areas of your brain that suffer from lack of sufficient blood supply and also slows the decay of brain cells. This will translate as a measurable increase in IQ points.

Dr. NakaMats, who is sometimes referred to as "the Thomas Edison of Japan", has systemised his creative process into 3 stages. He has actually created a physical enviroment in his home to reflect and stimulate these 3 stages.

The first stage takes place in his meditation or "static" room. He says: "When developing ideas, the first rule is You have to be calm." This room is very Zen with plants, rocks and running water. It's very peaceful but don't think that Dr.NakaMats starts OM-ing like crazy. He says he does just the opposite, instead of focussing on just one thing, he lets his mind free-associate, churning over ideas at random, just spitting out whatever comes to his mind. He describes this as, "my time to let my mind be free!"

The second stage moves to his "dynamic" room which is, "dark, with black-and-white-striped walls, leather furniture, and special audio and video equipment." Here he cranks up jazz music, moves to easy listening musak and then, "always end with Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. For me, Beethoven's Fifth is good music for conclusions."

The third stage is the swimming pool. Dr.NakaMats dives in and anchors himself on the bottom of the pool, and using a special plexiglass slate he invented for writing underwater, he brainstorms for ideas. This is how he generates so many amazing inventions and new products. "That's when I come up with my best ideas. I've created a Plexiglas writing pad so that I can stay underwater and record these ideas. I call it 'creative swimming.'"

So there you have it. Another technique in your armoury to help you release that inner genius that you are. So take Wily's advice and go and throw yourself in the nearest swimming pool; and don't come out until you've come up with some life-changingly brilliant new ideas!!

(Non-swimmers please use the shallow end! It's smarter to be shallow than end up 6 feet under... under ground that is!)

- Wily W. Walnut 

As a kid, when I was asked who I went out to play with, I would reply, "Me, Myself, and I." I thought it was a cute answer. Little did I realize then how profoundly true my statement was. You see, we are not one person, but three people.

The first is the person we were born as. That is, the person we were before our caregivers and others made us doubt our own power and worth. This person is our True Self, and you can see it in any infant. They, as you were, are filled with courage, trust and an adventurous spirit. This person represents your unlimited potential and is the kernel of the person you were meant to be.

When Johnny is told he is a "bad boy," he has no idea that this statement is merely a tool to provide temporary relief to his young, inexperienced, impatient, and exasperated mother. Lacking the capacity for rational thought, young children, such as Johnny, simply accept what they are told as true. After several years of programming, Johnny comes to BELIEVE that he is bad, stupid, clumsy, worthless, and whatever other criticisms are hurled his way.

So, Johnny's True Self is now covered by another layer. This layer is his False Self. It is the incapable person he believes himself to be. The False Self is the second person we are. It is the image we hold of ourselves in our subconscious. We can also call it our Limited Self or our Wounded Self. Having a poor self-image is equated to having low self-esteem.

Now, here's an important point. You are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are. That is, you are not the weak person you think you are, for your True Self is powerful and has unlimited potential. Yet, because you BELIEVE you are weak, you are incapable of acting any other way. Incapable, that is, until you change your self-image. As you change your self-image for the better, you begin to strip away the layer of your False Self, allowing your True Self to emerge in all its splendor.

What is the third person we are? It is our Fake Self. It is the third layer of our personality. It is the mask we wear, the person we pretend to be. You see, the shame and guilt we feel for being the person we think we are (False Self), causes us to wear a mask to hide from the world the inadequacies that we believe we possess. So, for example, timid Johnny wears a mask pretending to be courageous. How ironic that Johnny has to pretend to be what he really is, but doesn't realize!

Not only is our potential limited by our False Self, but it is further limited by our Fake Self. This is because when we pretend to be what we think we are not, we are afraid of being discovered. We are afraid people will realize that we are weaklings after all. The shame and guilt we feel, as well as the fear of detection significantly depletes our energy, making us unable to reach our potential.

Well, then, how do we awaken to our True Self? It is by changing our self-image. For once we believe in ourselves, in our capacity to change and reach our goals, we no longer need to wear a mask. And as our False and Fake Selves fall aside, all that remains is our True Self.

But how do we change our self-image? All we have to do is do the things the person we want to become would do, and we then become that person. This is because we become what we do. If I kill people, I become a murderer; if I workout, I become strong; if I treat others with kindness, I become kind. Simple, isn't it?

Wait a minute! If I do what the person I want to become would do, isn't that just pretending? Isn't that the same as wearing a mask? No, it's not, for two reasons. First, our mask is created subconsciously, but doing what the person we want to become would do needs CONSCIOUS and deliberate effort. Second, the mask is based on a lie. It is created to hide the inadequacies we think we have. But acting like the person we want to become is the opposite. It is based on the truth. It is done to reveal, uncover, and expose our True Self, our powerful self. In other words, we deliberately create our actions and then our actions create us.

Let's look at an example. Leo is timid and wishes to restore the courage of his True Self. He decides to take a small step. He is unhappy with a recent purchase and decides to return to the retailer and ask for a refund. Despite his timidity, he acts confidently. He does what the person he wants to become would do. That is, he gently, yet firmly asks for a refund, fully expecting to get it.

And guess what? Leo gets his refund! As soon as he does, he can hardly contain himself with excitement, for he has made several startling discoveries. First, he learned he could obtain the same results a confident person would receive, merely by acting confident! Second, he learned that he can change his behavior and, therefore, change his life. Third, he felt great. He experienced a victory. Fourth, he experienced positive thoughts. These positive thoughts were not scripted affirmations, but genuine thoughts that burst into his consciousness. Thoughts such as, "Wow, I didn't know I could do it! This is great! I feel good!"

Leo took more small steps and continued to experience success. The thoughts, feelings, and positive results he experienced began to change his belief system. He no longer believed he was powerless. Before long he came to believe he was powerful. He became the person he wanted to be. Actually, he became the person he was meant to be.

When you understand that your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, actions, and positive results shape your self-image, you will have at your disposal the power to transform yourself. But before you can wake up and find yourself successful, you have to wake up and discover your True Self. Become aware of your three selves and take some corrective action every day, no matter how small. Doing so will bring you, bit by bit, closer to achieving your goals. And as you start to make progress, your rate of growth will speed up. Finally, I would like to share this Mexican proverb, "As you see yourself, I once saw myself; as you see me now, you will be seen."

- Chuck Gallozzi

During this past month I have come across this information three times, which in itself tells me I need to pay attention to it. And after reading the study for yourself you may find yourself wondering what is reality and what do our brains tell us is reality?

In a very early NASA experiment, they placed convex goggles on astronaut candidates that turned everything they saw upside down. They wanted to test the effects of this spatial disorientation on the astronauts' body systems. Would it make them nauseous, have high blood pressure, etc.?

What occurred after three to four weeks was something they did not expect. Each of the astronauts' brains started to turn everything they saw back right side up; while they were still wearing the goggles!

After three to four weeks, each of their brains had formed enough new neural connections to turn this lie into the truth. They had literally re-created reality. They extended the experiment to learn more about this, and, interestingly, when they completed the experiment and the astronauts took off the goggles, everything turned wrong side up again!

They also found that if the goggles were taken off during that three to four week period that this event would not occur. It takes the brain this long to build the new neurons. If we stop the process during the three to four weeks then we need to start all over again.

As we learn new things new synaptic connections are formed in our brains, by repetition, association and emotion. And the more connections there are, the more likely it is that this memory will stay on our 'Important List' nearly permanently.

Sometimes we allow the connections to be 'forced' on us. For example, if you were to be asked where you were last Wednesday at 15.00 hours, chances are you wouldn't immediately recall. But if you were asked where you were when you heard the news about 9/11 you would probably instantly recall. This is because you have repeated this experience many times, via the TV, newspapers, conversations with colleagues and friends. Thus making more and more neural connections until it has become a permanent memory, it has become a reality in your life.

So in future why not pay attention to the people, places and events that you want to be part of your life, of your reality. It's simply a question of making a choice about the connections. Remembering at all times the choice is ours to make, we can choose what to pay attention to and therefore actually 'create' our own realities!

- By Alison Forster

Brainstorming is a much used and much abused process. "Let's have a brainstorming session" someone says, and before there are 4-5 ideas out on the table everyone is arguing about the merits of each, evaluating and judging every comment made.

It drives us mad, and it should drive you mad too. That's because there are fundamentally two different types of thinking:

The first is 'divergent', creative, imaginative, playful, fun, and great for generating ideas.

The second is 'convergent' analytical, judgmental, and a terrible basis for generating ideas (but good, of course, for evaluating ideas).

The point is that you can't do both at the same time. Brainstorming is about 'divergent' thinking. It is about being creative, playful and imaginative and having fun, while generating LOTS of ideas very quickly. After you have finished the brainstorming, and after you have 'cooled down' you can put your analytical hat on and evaluate the ideas.

2. Power naps: when you feel a dip in your energy during the day, take 10-20 minutes and give yourself a powernap. Thomas Edison used this technique to free his brain and access his superconscious mind for out-of-the-box ideas. He would sit in a comfy chair, clutching a handful of ball bearings, and go off to sleep thinking of whatever project he was working on. As he fell asleep, his hand would relax and the ballbearings would fall onto the floor with a clatter, waking him up. By doing this, he trained himself to be able to stay in that most creative alpha state between wakefulness and sleep. Many of his most brilliant ideas and insights came to him this way.

3. Dream journal: The Talmud says, "An unexamined dream is like an unopened letter." So keep a journal by your bedside and immediately note down your dreams when you wake up. At first, you may only remember the odd snatch of a dream. But soon you will find yourself remembering more and more, and your dreams will be rich with detail. This practice gives your unconscious mind the message: "I'm listening!". It'll start to work with you, giving you valuable insights and symbols that can help you in your waking life. Remember the subconscious and unconscious minds are like eager servants, they are there to help you and are thrilled when you take notice!

Paul McCartney dreamed a whole song. He woke up, wrote it down, recorded it, and it went on to become one of the all time greatest hits and helped build his massive fortune.

"My most known song is called "Yesterday," and I woke up having dreamed that song. I didn't sit down and think about it, and it is the one out of all my songs that people have played. More than three thousand people have covered that song, so l must start to think that there is a paradox here. You know, I should have sat down for three weeks and slaved over something that successful, but I just woke up one morning and had dreamed it."

Mozart used to wake up with whole symphonies playing in his head, which he would write down.

- excerpt from > http://www.wilywalnut.com/sleep_to_succeed.html 

1. Breathe and get into state!

You are a genius. You have a human brain that is more powerful than any known computer. Stand up, walk around and get into the mindset and physiology of someone who is confident, creative, and quick-witted. Notice how a confident person breathes, how they occupy their body and space, how they move with flair. You are a genius, so move, breathe and act like one! It’s easy for someone like you to generate ideas – you are an Ideas Person!

2. Draw a mind-map!

Grab some coloured pens and paper. Draw a circle in the middle and write your challenge inside it. Let your brain start making connections. Draw branches out from the central idea. Using coloured pens note your subsequent thoughts. Use little drawings where you can. This is an idea map you are creating. Let it flow from one thing to the next.

3. Get some ingredients!

To cook a tasty dish, you need to mix different ingredients together. It’s been said that all creativity is the act of putting old things or old ideas together in a new way. For ideas within a specific field, look at the old ideas within that field or related fields. Ask how you can put them together in a different way, a new format or perhaps the opposite way. If you are just looking generally for ideas, then you can reach out and let anything be the thing that starts off your creative idea storming process. Just look to combine the old in new ways…

4. Grab a friend!

When you combine minds, the ‘computing’ power grows exponentially and is more powerful than the sum of its parts. The truth is that you only need 1 brain to get creative – yours! However, it’s a lot more fun when you utilise the spare brainpower of friends and workmates. The extra stimulation of their thoughts and ideas could be just what you need to trigger The Ultimate Idea that changes your life forever… 

5. Don’t be yourself!

Take on a role. Do your thinking as James Bond, Napoleon Bonaparte, Martin Luther King, Albert Einstein or Dolly Parton! You are an immensely creative being. By acting as someone else, you free yourself to access other parts of your mind. Try it – if nothing else it’s fun!

6. Close your eyes!

Shutting your eyes immediately transports you into the world of the subconscious – and you can tap into its extraordinary non-stop thinking power. Associate closing your eyes with elevator doors closing – as soon as you close your eyes, you start going down into the depths of your subconscious and unconscious mind. Here you can access million dollar ideas with absolute ease. Allow yourself to relax, make the journey down and think about your challenge at a deep inner level. Return when you are ready, feeling refreshed, renewed and ready to fire up your ideas.

7. A little Divine Inspiration!

Here’s an energy exercise much favoured by the hottest Hollywood stars. Imagine that there is a golden circle of light right in front of you – this is your spotlight – your place to shine! Step inside that circle of light and feel the energy and confidence that it gives you. Ask your Higher Self,  God or the Supreme Intelligence of the Universe to fill you with energy, inspiration and ideas. Imagine a little door or vortex opening at the crown of your head – your crown chakra – and then a beam of bright white light shining down from the universe and into the top of your head. This is an incredibly powerful beam of positive energy and information that should rock you to your shoes! Soak in the good feelings of being saturated by this loving positive helpful energy … Close the crown chakra and step out of your golden circle when you are ready and get on with your tasks.

8. Rob a bank!

Grab sackfuls of quality ideas from an ideas bank and run with them! There are various idea banks on the Internet, as well as thousands of blogs, message boards and chatrooms where ideas are mooted. You can also get books full of ideas. Let’s say you are looking for an idea for a new business. You could go to Amazon, order a copy of something like the “Entrepreneur's Ultimate Start-Up Directory: 1,350 Great Business Ideas!” and you could plunder that bank of ideas directly or indirectly by letting it stimulate you or by recombining its ideas into more formats.

9. Milk your brain!

Milk will only flow from a cow when its teats are squeezed under pressure. It’s the same with your brain! To milk your brain for a bucketful of crème-de-la-crème ideas, you have to squeeze your brain and put it under pressure. The way you do that is to create a target, a deadline, a reward and a forfeit. Let’s say you set the target as 10 workable ideas, to be set down within 20 minutes. If you succeed, the reward is you spend $20 on yourself; if you fail, you give the $20 to someone who doesn’t deserve it and that you don’t like. Everybody is different, so set up a rewards and forfeit scheme that motivates you.

10. The Inquisitive Inquisition!

The brain is a stimulus and response bio-machine. The best way to stimulate it is to ask questions. Questions awaken your creative responses. Remember, the meaning of your communication is in the response you get. So, if you are getting lousy answers, you need to ask better questions. Interview and interrogate your brain to get the flow of ideas you want.

http://www.wilywalnut.com/10-things-to-do-when-you-need-new-ideas-fast.html