MINDRAMP PODCAST - THE QUEST FOR QUALONGEVITY

In this episode, we ask you whether you want to live to be 100 years old? Your answer tells you something about how you think about old age. Qualongevity is the term that describes not only living long, but also learning to live well as we age. We explore both aspects of this concept - longevity and quality of life. 

This episode reviews The Hero's Journey as described by mythologist Joseph Campbell in his classic book, THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. Campbell argues that every culture in the world has a core myth that speaks to the developmental transformations all human beings undergo in the course of their life. We connect the stages of the hero's journey with the stages you go through as you pursue your quest of Qualongevity - your quest to live long and live well. We find it a useful metaphor with multiple applications. This episode is based on a section from our book STRONG BRAINS, SHARP MINDS. 

Roger and I had the opportunity to be interviewed by Robin Gunn on her radio show in Oklahoma City. Robin is the editor of The Oklahoma Senior Journal in OKC, and since 2017 has hosted a Saturday morning talk show on KZLS The Eagle

This episode, excerpted from a radio interview Roger and I did with Robin Gunn in Oklahoma city, focuses on The Nun Study and the subsequent development of the cognitive reserve theory. Certain people seem to be protected from dementia in spite of having the plaques and tangles that are associated with dementia pathologies. The reserve theory posits that things like lifelong learning build up a reserve of healthy brain cells that can step in a take over the functions of brain cells that are dying or are compromised.   

Let's say you have decided to do some work to protect your brain from cognitive decline and dementia. What kind of programs or interventions should you use? This episode reviews MINDRAMP's analysis of the type of brain health programs that work and why. In short, the evidence shows that effective brain health interventions focus on: PREVENTION - effective programs take a preventive rather than a curative approach BEHAVIOR - they focus on behavior change and lifestyle managementRISK-MANAGEMENT - they work to lower risk factors and optimize protective factorsMINDRAMP'S RULE OF THE Cs states that effective brain health programs: CAUSES - Target the causes of decline and disease, not just symptomsCOMBINATORIAL - Combine multiple interventions to address multifactorial causes. CUSTOMIZED - Custom-tailored interventions to each individualCONTINUAL - Require continual behavior and lifestyle changes that can be sustained across the lifespan. 

MINDRAMP makes the seemingly audacious statement that you have the power to design your own brain. You have the power to shape the structure and function of your brain to be healthier, more resilient and better able to resist disease. You have the power to keep your mind sharp and to increase your mind's ability to think creatively and adaptively. What gives you this power? The enduring plasticity of your brain and mind. Your brain constantly changes its structure in response to what you experience, feel, do and think. Your mind can continue to learn and become wiser the longer your live. Your brain changes throughout life in both positive and negative ways. To prevent premature aging and to keep brain and mind healthy you need to minimize the negative plastic changes and optimize the positive changes. This is the core of MINDRAMP's Positive Plasticity Premise.   

In this Science Update episode, MINDRAMP reviews two new research reports. One adds to our understanding of why what is good for the heart is good for the brain. The second piece of research reinforces the evidence that higher levels of education provide protection against cognitive decline, even across racial lines.   

This episode starts a new series of podcasts that focus on the MINDRAMP's MAPS Method. The earlier Introduction to MINDRAMP series of podcasts introduced the concept of Qualongevity (longevity + quality-of-life) and reviewed the scientific theories that provide the foundation for the MINDRAMP Approach to brain health and mental flourishing. The MAPS series moves us from theory to action. The MAPS Method is a roadmap for turning goals and objectives into action. MAPS is an acronym for the four key steps you can use to turn your brain health and Qualongevity goals into concrete action Plans. MotivationAssessmentPlanning Skills for SustainabilityThis episode also reviews The RAMP Analogy. 

As discussed in the previous episode, you need big picture motivation to stimulate broad goals, like the decision to take action to protect your brain and nurture your mind. The core objective of the MAPS method is to motivate and empower you to develop your own brain health action plan, complete with specific strategies and tactics. Just as you need big picture motivation to set broad goals, you also need targeted motivation to encourage you to carry through on each specific strategy and tactic. This episode reviews some of the science about motivation. We identify core components of targeted motivation, discussing the difference between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation and the relative merits of motivation through reward versus punishment. You can shore up weak or dwindling motivation by recognizing which component has been compromised and addressing it.  Having each component in place gives you the strongest motivational push to initiate and sustain positive action.    

The “A” in MAPS represents Assessments. In this episode we do a quick review of Motivation, as covered in the first two episodes of the MAPS Series and discuss how motivation and assessments go hand-in-hand. To motivate ourselves to take action to protect our brains, we need to understand what strengthens and protects them as well as what puts them at risk. In this episode we focus on assessing eight behavioral areas have been shown to have a profound influence on plastic modifications to our brains. We discuss a risk-management approach to brain health that involves identifying then modifying risk factors. Using the same approach, we identify behavioral factors that make our brains stronger, more resilient and more resistant to disease and develop plans to integrate them into our lifestyles. 

In the previous episode we looked at how to assess risk and protective factors that impact brain health. In this episode we propose a similar system for assessing mental control and flexibility. We propose a set of disciplines that affect our ability to manage our minds. We begin by discussing the characteristics we would look for in an effective list of cognitive activities. We suggest that the disciplines should be recognizable, meaningful, evidence-based and prescriptive. Further, we should be able to manage these disciplines in the short-term and should be able to improve our skill and mastery of them in the long haul.  We offer the cognitive ability of metacognition as the first, over-arching discipline. The human ability to think about our own thinking is a prerequisite for managing our mental capacities. We can manage thoughts without knowing that we are having thoughts in the first place. We then move through a short list of disciplines that fit our criteria. They include attention, concentration, thinking fast and slow and thinking tight and loose. One discipline that we call “time travel” refers to our ability to take our mind to the past, the future and back to the present. The final discipline is mindsets, or frames of mind that structure how we see the world and how we make sense of who we are.  

The purpose of this episode is to encourage you to turn your good intentions into action. Don't just think about how nice it would be to protect your brain and optimize your mind – do something to make it happen! We assume that you are motivated to protect your brain and optimize your mind. What will it take to start making your brain healthier? What will it take to really start cultivating happiness and fulfillment? What has to happen? What has to take place?  What has to happen first? When are you going to take that first step?  We suggest two basic approaches to designing your brain health action plans. You can craft them yourself, or you can start out by implementing a set of “foundational action plans” that we recommend for everyone. In the MINDRAMP Playbook and in our brain health coaching sessions, we list five foundational action plans for each of the eight CogWheels of Brain Health. In this episode we review some of the foundational action plans and encourage you to pick one and start working on it.

How do you put together a plan to change habits and behaviors? We clearly are not very good at changing our evil ways or we would all keep our New Year's resolutions and progressively become more angelic with each passing year.  The science of behavior change has taken two basic approaches.   The first approach focuses on suppressing the bad behavior and bad habits.The second approach focuses on establishing and reinforcing an alternative behavior that is healthy and beneficial and then gradually allowing the new improved habit to replace the old, maladaptive habit.  Now that neuroscientists are getting a better idea of how the brain encodes habits and how they are reinforced through repetition it is clear why the second approach is more effective. In the simplest of terms, saying “Don't eat that donut!” only reinforces and strengthens the existing “eat the donut” neural network. What you need to do is to establish a strong alternative neural network – say, “eat raisins and almonds” – to compete with the donut network. If you consistently strengthen the raisin network and weaken the donut network you will eventually be able to make the healthier behavior your own. 

With episode we shift to the final section of the MAPS Method, the S section, which deals with Skills for Sustainability. The two skills we review in this episode are SMART-ER Goals and Willpower.  SMART is an acronym that is often used to describe the characteristics of effective goals. It stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound. MINDRAMP has added two more characteristics – Evaluated and Revised - to make your goals even SMART-ER. We also explore the nature of willpower and describe how it can be exercised and strengthened in basically the same way that you would exercise your muscles. Like a muscle, willpower gets stronger the more it is used. And, also like a muscle, the more a muscle is used in any one session, the more fatigued it gets. This suggests being strategic about how you schedule your tasks, tackling difficult willpower challenges when you are fresh and energize and avoiding heavy willpower tasks when your reserves are depleted  

When you start to develop a healthy habit or to learn a new routine, you are likely to face two immediate obstacles concerning motivation and mastery.  After an initial spurt of energy, your motivation to continue the practice is likely to diminish. That's your motivation hurdle. And, since you are a beginner, you are likely to struggle with the practice, find it difficult and experience some failures. This is quite natural, but it is discouraging and frustrating. This is your mastery obstacle. You need to work through both of these challenges to be successful. In this podcast we introduce you to two MINDRAMP tools to help you work through the motivation and mastery hurdles. Both tools recognize that motivation and mastery have multiple stages. They are not static conditions. There are different degrees and types of motivation, just as there are different levels of mastery. MINDRAMP has developed a Motivation Continuum that lays out stages of motivation that run from EXTRINSIC motivation (i.e. you are being told to do something) on one end to INTRINSIC motivation (you do it because it is fun) on the other end. As you work with your brain health practice, you move yourself along the continuum to progress towards the easier and more fulfilling end. The Mastery Continuum is a similar deal. You start out as a beginner and tend to suck at doing the new routine. But, that's okay. That's expected. Don't beat yourself up about it. Just keep doing the practice and gradually you will get better and become competent, then proficient, and the task will become more gratifying and even fun.  

Developing new and more efficient brain health habits and routines requires a fair amount of creative thinking. Fortunately, all human beings are hard-wired to think creatively. But, just because we have the capacity to think creatively doesn't mean that we know how to use those skills or that we have developed our creative thinking skills to any level of proficiency.  In this episode we discuss the nature of creative. We define creativity and discuss how it operates. Creativity can be studied from three perspectives: People, Product and Process. What makes certain people more creative than others? What makes one product or idea more creative than another? And, finally, what do creative people actually do when they are producing creative product? It is this third perspective – the creative process – that we find most useful when it comes to practical advice about ramping up our own creative output.  The meat of this episode is the introduction of a MINDRAMP tool, The CreativeCycle,ã  that details the normal pattern and sequence of cognitive activities that creative people use when they are producing ideas and products that are both novel and useful.   

This episode continues to explore the dynamics and architecture of the creative process. We give more details about the phases and stages of The MINDRMP CREATIVE CYCLE. We give a practical example of the Creative Cycle in action by describing the creativity that goes into planning a nice dinner with a new neighbor. And, we give some advice on how to effectively work the creative cycle.THE MINDRAMP CREATIVE CYCLE  IMAGINATION InitiationSaturationIDEA GENERATION ManipulationIncubationIlluminationIMPLEMENTATIONManifestationImplementationVERIFICATIONEvaluationAlteration

In this podcast we discuss mindsets and the skill of performing "mindset resets." Mindsets are frames of mind, ways of organizing the world and our sense of self.  We observe that most mindsets are structured as dyads. That is, they have two opposing sides. They are a unity of opposites. One manifestation of a mindset will generally be positive and the flip side will generally be negative.  A “Mindset Reset” is the skill of recognizing when you are being obstructed or thwarted by the negative side of a mindset and flipping to the positive. Think of the mindsets of optimism/pessimism or the closely related mindset of positivism/negativism. In the midst of a creative project, you may find yourself bogged down by pessimistic feelings. “This is never going to work.” “I can't do this.” “I'll never get the support I need.” Rather than wallow in self-pity, you can learn to perform a mindset reset and adopt a positive or optimistic stance.  To introduce the nature and power of mindsets, we explore a couple of seminal pieces of research by psychologist Ellen Langer of Harvard. And explore Langer's thinking about the mindset dyad of mindfulness/mindlessness. 

This is the second episode that examines the topic of mindsets, providing examples of some common types of mental states that influence our behavior and out sense of wellbeing. Mindsets tend to operate as a unity of opposites, or as dyads. One mindset that is the easy to understand in this context is the Positivity/Negativity dyad. In broad strokes, we confront the challenges of life with either a positive attitude or a negative one. As discussed in the previous episode, once we recognize that we are operating from, for example, a negative perspective, it is easy to visualize how we could perform a Mindset Reset and flip to a more positive perspective. How would things change if we assume a positive, rather than a negative, outcome?Our investigation of the positivity/negativity mindset leads to a discussion of Positive Psychology, which strives to help people prioritize positivity and to develop the skills that promote happiness, meaning and purpose.  As part of this discussion, we explore the benefits of both negative and positive emotions.   We then go on to explore three more mindset dyads that we find particularly relevant to our quest for Qualongevity (i.e. longevity + quality-of-life). We discuss the: ·      The Growth / Fixed Mindset dyad·      The Asset-Based / Deficit-Based mindset dyad, and ·      The Pluralism / Monism dyad. 

This episode introduces a new series of podcasts that contribute to the overall understanding of the MINDRAMP Method for achieving Qualongevity – living long and living well. In this series of podcasts, we examine MINDRAMP's CogWheels of Brain Health. The CogWheels are eight areas of human behavior that have been shown to have a profound impact on the health and resilience of our brains.  How we move – Physical Exercise & MovementHow we think – Mental Stimulation & ManagementHow we relate to others – Social EngagementHow we cope with challenges – Stress ManagementHow we ingest resources – Diet, Nutrition, BreathingHow we rest and renew – Sleep How we cope with disease – Medical ConditionsHow we interact with the world – Environmental Factors Research has revealed specific and actionable risk factors as well as protective factors that are associated with each of these behavioral areas. These research insights lead logically to a risk-management approach to protecting your brain from premature aging, cognitive decline and dementia. If you want to reduce the amount of damage done to your brain, eliminate behaviors that have been shown to put your brain at risk. If you want to increase the health and resilience of your brain, adopt or reinforce behaviors that have been proven to strengthen your brain and enhance its ability to repair damage. This series of podcasts will examine all eight of the CogWheels and offer concrete advice on how to manage these behaviors to minimize risks and to optimize protections.  Episode #1 Chapters: (When you access the podcast, scroll your cursor below the green lines to the chapter icon – a stack of three dots and horizontal lines. Click to reveal chapters, then click on the chapter you want to hear.)   Introduction How MINDRAMP Organizes Brain Health Research Around the CogWheelsThe “Combinatorial” Nature of the CogWheelsA Behavioral and Lifestyle Modification ApproachThe Four C's of Effective Brain Health Interventions:  Causes, Combinatorial, Customized and Continual  Conclusion

The "Mental" Cogwheel is a very broad topic with myriad topics to be considered. To simplify the discussion, in this episode we will focus specifically on “mental stimulation.” In other words, we will explore the type of mental activities that have been shown to stimulate growth and resilience of brain structures. We will examine the kinds of mental activities that contribute most to the health of your physical brain. In a subsequent episode, we will examine “mental management,” which deals with how you use your mind; how to manage mental states and mindsets that influence how you feel and how you relate to the world. The core aspects of Mental Stimulation we review are: Diverse, Novel, Challenging, Meaningful and Complex.Episode #3 ChaptersIntroductionWhat Does Mental Stimulation Mean?DiversityNoveltyChallengeMeaningComplexitySummaryMental ManagementMINDRAMP Resources

It may surprise you that social engagement is one of the “essential” CogWheels of brain health until you remember that human beings are social animals. We survive and thrive as individuals, and as a species, because of our ability to cooperate with and learn from others. Positive social interactions are essential to our health and wellbeing. And, because we are such complex and conflicted beings, social interactions are extremely challenging and are fraught with peril. Negative social interactions that involve abuse, oppression, social isolation and loneliness can trigger a systemic inflammatory response, which leads to a breakdown of the immune system, which ultimately can lead to dementia.   In these troubled times it is essential that we heal our social rifts - for the good of our bodies and brains and for the good of the country and planet.Episode #4 Chapters·      Introduction·      The Fragility of Our Social Contract·      We are Social Animals·      The Dynamics of Social Risk & Protective Factors·      Risk Factors·      Abusive Relationships·      Isolation & Loneliness·      Protective Factor·      Conclusion 

Learn how to manage your stress. We've got plenty to be stressed about these days, from the coronavirus, to racial injustice, to climate change and the assault on democratic institutions. In this episode we examine the fourth of our eight CogWheels of Brain Health -  Stress Management. Chronic, uncontrolled stress can and does cause people to age more quickly and to die prematurely. But there is good evidence to suggest that our mental attitudes about stress are critical to whether stress harms us or helps us. Stress may be harmful in large part because we think it will be harmful. The danger arises, in other words, when we get stressed out about stress.In this episode we draw distinctions between different types of stress – good and bad - and also examine important research on how changing our mindsets about stress can help us to minimize the harm and maximize the benefits of our natural stress responses.Episode #5 Chapters IntroductionAcute StressChronic StressEustressStress Management StrategiesStress Got a Bad Rap (McGonnigal & Crum)Coping with Current StressorsConclusion

You are what you eat. You are what you ingest. To stay alive, you need to ingest elements from the world outside your body. These elements – food, water, air – provide you with the energy you need to stay alive and to do all of the exciting things you do to make life worth living.The problem is that you ingest a lot of gunk along with the good stuff. Your body has to work hard to sort out the good from the bad. It needs to integrate the good stuff and expel the bad. Unfortunately, the American diet and lifestyle does a bad job of this sorting process. There is a good chance that what you are eating – what you ingest – is making you sick. In this episode, we take a quick look at how the quality and quantity of what you ingest alters your health, your mood and your mind.Chapters:  Introduction – We ingest the outside worldChimpanzees on a fast food dietBrain Food: The Surprising Science of Eating For Cognitive Power – Lisa MosconeYour Brain on Food: How Chemicals Control Your Thoughts and Feelings – Gary WenkWhat We Should IngestYour Take Home Idea – You are What You IngestConclusion

We spend roughly a third of our life in a state of altered consciousness. In this state, our sensory connections to the outside world are dimmed and our ability to take physical action is paralyzed. We glide through different stages of sleep, alternating between wakefulness, light sleep, rapid-eye-movement (REM sleep) and coma-like deep sleep. Why do we sleep?  What a waste of time. Think how productive we could be if we spent those nightly hours doing things, learning, exploring - playing video games and binge-watching reality tv shows. Interestingly, our minds are far from silent and still during sleep. There is as much mental activity when asleep as there is during the day. What is going on? As best we can tell, there are four critically important activities going on in our brains when we sleep. While asleep, our brains:1.     Organize and consolidate what has been learned2.     Repair damage  3.     Restore homeostatic balance4.     Remove garbage. In this episode we examine the CogWheel of sleep. We explore the nature of sleep, why it is important and how to optimize the benefits of nightly slumber.     Sleep Chapters: TeaserIntroductionLet me check my sleep appWhy do we sleepREM Sleep & DreamingDeep Sleep Your Sleep Take-Home MessagesConclusion

Your health and medical conditions have a profound effect on your ability to live long and live well. You can't live a long life if you get sick and die. And, it is much harder to enjoy your long life if you struggle with chronic and debilitating diseases. In this episode we take a look at medical factors that influence your quest for Qualongevity. There are, basically, four ways to deal with disease and injury: prevention, diagnosis, treatment and prevention. Each is important, depending up your state of health. The most effective strategy, of course, is to prevent injury and disease from taking hold in the first place. While there are myriad age-related medical conditions that undermine health and happiness, we focus on two of the big ones in this episode: dementia and chronic inflammation. We examine the true nature of neurodegenerative diseases, like Alzheimer's and discuss sensible approaches to lowering your risk of succumbing to these conditions. Chronic inflammation has recently been identified as a major risk factor for dementia and a whole host of other diseases. Your ability to control and minimize chronic inflammation, therefore, is a highly effective way to improve your health and well-being as you age. Medical Factors Chapters: Introduction4 Approaches: Prevention, Diagnosis, Treatment & ManagementDementiaThe Nature of Neurodegenerative Diseases – Michael MerzenichTypes of Alzheimer's – Dale BredesenBrain on Fire – Chronic InflammationThe Jeckyl & Hyde Nature of InflammationThe Causes of Chronic InflammationStrategies to Avoid Chronic InflammationChange is Hard – So is IllnessConclusion

The Environment is the topic of the final CogWheel of Brain Health. Like all of the other eight CogWheels, there is robust research suggesting that the environment has a profound effect on our health and wellbeing. While other Cogwheels focus internally, the environmental CogWheel turns our attention outward to external factors and conditions. Any environmental condition that we ingest into our body or mind, whether voluntarily or involuntarily, has the potential to impact our health, our mood and our thinking. Environmental impacts can be both positive and negative. In general, exposures to enriched environments promote longevity, learning and happiness. Exposures to impoverished environments, dangerous environments have the opposite effect. They reduce our health, our happiness, our productivity and our ability to develop our potential. This episode encourages you to evaluate your environment and to avoid conditions impoverish your experience, while embracing environmental conditions that enrich your life. Environment ChaptersIntroductionNature/Nurture – genes or environmentEpigeneticsImpoverished EnvironmentsPollutionToxinsDanger & ViolenceOver-crowdingPoor SanitationScarcity of ResourcesPovertyEnriched EnvironmentsPhysical & Mental StimulationPositive Social EngagementLearning & Development Safety & SecurityAssessing Your Environment

Creative Maturity is creativity that blossoms because of age and experience. There is a pervasive myth that creativity is the domain of the young and diminishes with age. This is yet another ageist stereotype that needs to be dispelled. We discuss how creativity can be enriched by experience and the development of a full portfolio of useful routines. We discuss the role that Gene Cohen played in confronting the myth that “you can't teach old dogs new tricks,” and his development of the creative aging movement.  This episode is excerpted from an interview Robin Gunn, or the Oklahoma Senior Journal, conducted with MINDRAMP's Michael C. Patterson and Roger Anunsen.   CREATIVE MATURITY CHAPTERSWhat is Mature Creativity? The Value of ExperienceA Fixed vs. Growth MindsetThe Miracle on the HudsonThe Accumulation of Useful RoutinesCreativity = Novelty + RoutineGene Cohen – Creative AgingThe National Center for Creative AgingAlive Inside – Henry & MusicConclusion

This is a reading of an article written by Michael C. Patterson for the magazine 3rd Act: Aging With Confidence.  It explores why humor and mirth exist and how they strengthen our brains and minds.  

In this interview podcast I (Michael C. Patterson) discuss the article Blinded by the White with author, Victoria Star Marshall. It is a personal story in which Marshall reveals how the Black Lives Matter movement has helped her confront her own racism.  It is an honest and vulnerable look at how entrenched systems of white supremacy blind white Americans to the extent of racism and oppression that exists in this country. As Victoria puts it, “I have helped perpetuate racism not by what I have said and done, but by my indifference.”  Victoria's honesty and courage inspired me, helping me to realize that I too have spent most of my life sheltered within the safety and comfort of white privilege. It is time we all took off the blinders. The article, Blinded by the White appears in the most recent edition of 3rd Act Magazine, which is published by Victoria Starr Marshall. The vision of 3rd Act Magazine is to inform, inspire, and entertain older adults. https://www.3rdactmagazine.com/category/wellness/brain-health/I am a regular contributor to 3rd Act Magazine.  You can find my archived articles at: https://www.3rdactmagazine.com/?s=MICHAEL+C.+PATTERSON

Marilyn Olsen is the innovative Executive Director of Villages Oklahoma City (VOKC). She is redefining villages and developing new and innovative ways to serve older adults and to promote positive approaches to the aging process. In this podcast interview, Marilyn explains how she got involved in the Village Movement and how her approach in OKC differs from the standard. She describes two signature programs that are foundational to VOKC. One foundational program is the GIFT program – Gathering Information for Transitions. Members who take the GIFT workshop develop a notebook that gathers all pertinent information that might be needed in times of major , late-life transitions.  It is the information you will need when you may be incapable of thinking straight. The second major program is an ongoing brain health initiative that includes classes and workshops to help members understand how to minimize their risks for cognitive decline and dementia. Learn more about Marilyn's positive and optimistic approach to Qualongevity – living long and living well. Chapters: IntroductionThe roots of VOKCThe GIFT ProgramThe Brain Health InitiativeQualongevityConclusion

One in 3 people over the age of 65 suffer from hearing loss. After age 75 half of all people have trouble hearing. Hearing loss that goes untreated can get worse and can cause people to withdraw and become depressed. Hearing loss has been identified as a clear risk factor for dementia. Nevertheless, many people still resist going to an audiologist and wearing hearing aids. In this interview with audiologist Dr. Monika Sharma, we focus on the hearing loss. We discuss why hearing loss happens, different types of hearing loss and how untreated hearing loss can diminish quality of life and even lead to dementia. Dr. Sharma is licensed audiologist and a licensed hearing instrument dispenser in the State of California, and she is a member of the American Academy of Audiology and the California Academy of Audiology.  Dr. Sharma is my audiologist. #2 – Sharma (Hearing Loss)  Chapters: IntroductionWhat is Audiology? Hearing and Quality-of-LifeNegative Consequences of Hearing LossHearing Problems in a CrowdDr. Sharma's Hearing ProblemsHearing Loss & Dementia­­­­­Causes of Hearing Loss Kids & Congenital Hearing LossCochlear ImplantsTinnitus“Product of Culture” – South Asian ArtsRaising Awareness about AudiologyC­­­­­­­onclusion 

Why is there resistance to wearing hearing aids? As a culture, we seem to have overcome the  stigma attached to wearing glasses, but for some reason wearing a hearing aid is still discomforting for many people. Is it because hearing loss is a sign of old age? Is it because hearing aids are a pain in the . . . ear? According to audiologist, Dr. Monika Sharma, modern hearing aids are vastly improved over the one's your parents used a generation ago.  And, she finds that younger generations are more comfortable with the idea of treating hearing aids as just another piece of technology that contributes to our quality of life. Dr. Sharma is licensed audiologist and a licensed hearing instrument dispenser in the State of California, and she is a member of the American Academy of Audiology and the California Academy of Audiology. Be sure to check out the MINDRAMP Podcast episode Hearing Loss, Aging & Dementia, in which Dr. Sharm discusses hearing loss in general. Hearing Aid Chapters:Why the Resistance to Hearing Aids?Can Hearing Aids Revive Hearing Loss?Hearing and Your BrainThey Don't Help If You Don't Wear ThemHearing Aids are Getting Better & BetterHow Soon Should I Get a Hearing Aid?How To Protect Your HearingWhat About Inexpensive Hearing Aids?How Often Do I Need to Upgrade?Tips for Enhancing the Quality of Your Hearing AidsConclusion. 

Dick and I are late-life buddies. He is the father of my son-in-law and lives in a house he bought a few years ago with his son and my daughter. I really got to know Dick after he packed up his life in Houston and relocated in Los Angeles. Dick is 10 years my senior at age 82. Watching how Dick copes with change, adversity and loss has been an inspiring lesson in creative aging. Earlier this year I wrote an article for 3rd Act Magazine called A Call To Adventure. In it I drew parallels between The Hero's Journey, as described by mythologist Joseph Campbell, and the structure of common late-life transitions, like retirement and relocation.  I used Dick as an example of a person who has confronted numerous late-life transitions and has risen to the challenge. I ended the article by noting that Dick is a hero to me. He is a late-life warrior who confronts the dragons and ogres that lurk in the wilderness of old age and not only survives, but thrives. In this interview podcast, Dick and I explore the late-life challenges he has faced and do our best to extract whatever pearls of wisdom and insight are available. Chapters:IntroductionTransitions: The Call to AdventureAn Unexamined LifeCarpe DiemImaginationLate-Life RealitiesLove Brought Us Together

Angel has a unique background that combines rigorous scientific research, psychology and the arts. She has worked on clinical trials searching for drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease and has an extensive background as an art therapist. In this first of two podcasts with Angel, she discusses her experience practicing art therapy, particularly with people who are experiencing cognitive decline and dementia.  We discuss why drug interventions have failed and why behavioral and lifestyle interventions can reduce risks for dementia and can be such an important aspect of any dementia treatment plan. Angel discusses her lifestyle approaches to achieving Qualongevity - living long and living well. Episode #3 Chapters: 01:11 - Art does not lie. 02:17 - A Child with Asperger's0 6:16 – Dan Cohen, Alive Inside11:59 – Becoming a Research Clinician13:25 – Why have AD Drug Trials Failed?16:18 – Art therapy for People with AD18:40 – Angel's Approach to Qualongevity20:30 – Angel's Podcast “N2Creativity”21:45 - Conclusion

Angel Duncan has a unique background that combines rigorous scientific research, psychology and the arts. She has worked on clinical trials searching for drug treatments for Alzheimer's disease and has an extensive background as an art therapist.  In this podcast interview, we discuss the failure of the drug industry to find an effective way to treat dementia and Alzheimer's. Angel explains why she believes that behavioral and "holistic" approaches can be effective approaches to lowering the risk factors of cognitive decline. ChaptersIntroductionAlzheimer's Drug Trials Have FailedThe Amyloid HypothesisLifestyle Factors; Risk-ManagementA Cocktail Approach SummaryConclusion

I recently recorded a conversation with Keric Morinaga who is a master teacher of yoga. In this podcast, I've pulled together the parts of the conversation that focused specifically on yoga and the process of aging. I started taking Keric's challenging online classes at the beginning of the pandemic shut-down and, at age 72. As a result of the practice, I've become stronger and more balanced. I supplement Keric's perspectives and insights with some of my thoughts on how yoga helps me work on many of the “CogWheels of Brain Health.” Chapters:  IntroductionMom Says “Just Keep Moving”What Yoga Does for MeMaintaining and Even Improving with Age Non-Competitive Yoga Yoga & MINDRAMP's CogWheels of Brain HealthStability Leads to Freedom­­­­­­Positive Role Models for Positive AgingConclusion 

Have you ever wondered what yoga was all about? Have you asked whether there is more to yoga than just putting your body into weird shapes? If you have been curious about yoga or want to deepen your understanding of what the practice is all about, you will want to listen to this conversation with master yoga teacher Keric Morinaga.   I study with Keric and, as I imagine happens with most yoga students, I listen to the instructions and do my best to intuit the philosophy and the guiding principles of what we are doing.  Every now and then, tentatively, I might ask a question about the purpose of a particular pose or ask for clarification of a particular instruction. Well, recently Keric was gracious enough to take an hour to patiently answer all of my most pressing questions about the yoga practice.This episode focuses on Keric's description of Anusara yoga, which is the discipline he teaches. We also ventured a bit into the realm of the esoteric. I'm always a bit flummoxed when people talk about spirit and spirituality. I know vaguely what people are talking about, but I sense it has different meanings for each person. I wanted to know what Keric meant by “spirituality.” His answer surprised me.  Chapters: Teacher of Teachers3 Core Elements of Anusara Yoga5 Principles of AlignmentEnriching the PracticeIs Yoga a Form of Meditation?What is “Spirituality?”Managing Body & Mind with Yoga

The brains of men and women are more alike than they are different. That said, there are some unique characteristics of the female brain that are highly significant.  When we fail to recognize these differences, we put women at greater risk for premature aging, cognitive decline and dementia. This episode is drawn from a radio interview Roger and I did with Robin Gunn, who hosts the Oklahoma Senior Journal radio show in Oklahoma City. We anchored the discussion around what I have learned from the book THE XX BRAIN by Lisa Mosconi, PhD. Mosconi is the director of the Women's Brain Initiative and associate director of the Alzheimer's Prevention Clinic at Weill Cornell Medical College. With this podcast we begin to explore how women's brains differ, how those differences affect their lives and their risks for brain health problems, and what can be done to lower the risks.  Chapters: IntroductionWhy should we focus on women's brains?Do women get equal brain health treatment?Genetic differencesHormonal differencesTransformations in a woman's lifeWomen's risk of getting dementiaArtificial and natural menopauseMenopause Hormone TherapyHow woman can lower risks and discomfortConclusion

The M in the acronym MAPS stands for Motivation. It takes motivation to initiate and then sustain the behavior changes needed to protect your brain and enhance your mental capacity. Therefore, the first step in your journey towards brain health is to ramp up your motivation to take action. In this episode we help you investigate your “big picture” motivation. The idea is to tap into your core values and life ambitions and consider how they are supported by a healthy brain and an active mind. Said another way, how well will you be able to achieve your life ambitions and live according to your core values if your let your brain deteriorate and allow you mind to get duller with each passing year. You brain is important. You only get one per lifetime, so it make sense to take care of it. Find the motivation you need to give your brain and mind the attention and care they deserve.

The year 2020 was dreadful. While there is hope and optimism associated with the inauguration of new leadership, the dangers of domestic terrorism and an unchecked pandemic continue, to say nothing of the existential threat of unchecked climate change. For my own sanity, I need to keep focusing on the positives and on reasons for hope.  This podcast is a reading of an article I wrote in the midst of 2020 for 3rd Act Magazine. My theme was finding hope in the midst of the dreadfulness of 2020. In essence, I think it is still pertinent in 2021. I believe that the human mind is gradually evolving in positive ways. Minds that are hard-wired for hate, revenge and violence are, ever so slowly, giving way to minds that are wired in more pro-social ways. I see the rage and violence of the domestic terrorist  groups as a last gasp expressions of a way of life - as a kind of primitive mind - that is being left behind.  Groups that have felt sheltered by white privilege and male dominance realize that the social structures that support these oppressive systems are eroding. They are terrified and are fighting like hell to hang on to their sense of privilege and superiority.  The terrorists are waging a losing battle, but it appears we must suffer through their final acts of outrage and destructiveness. Saner - more evolved - minds will prevail. But we must never forget that the human mind is plastic and malleable. The plasticity works in both ways depending upon the influences we exert on our minds. To keep the plastic change in human minds moving in the right direction, we need to protect pro-social institutions and cherish compassionate behaviors. As the metaphor of  good and bad wolves inhabiting our mind instructs, we must daily feed the good wolves and starve the bad. 

In this podcast I  read an article I wrote recently for 3rd Act magazine  on the importance of balancing the influence of our right and left hemispheres. One of the most provocative books I read in 2020 was THE MASTER AND HIS EMISSARY by Iain McGilchrist. It was first published in 2009 with the expanded edition - which I read -coming out in 2019. McGilchrist explores recent research on the different ways the two hemispheres of our brain relate to the world and influence our behavior. Our mind works best when our two hemispheres contribute equally and share their unique perspectives.  McGilchrist argues that  our left hemispheres - the hemispheres of language, symbolism and exploitation - dominates and throw our minds out of kilter. Much of what ails us can, plausibly, be traced to  this chronic imbalance.  I find McGilchrist's ideas provocative and potentially very useful.  It suggests that a powerful way to manage our minds is to find ways to rebalance he influence of our two hemispheres. Exploring this exciting approach to mind management will be a focus of MINDRAMP's work in 2021. This podcast is an opportunity to start the conversation about this complex, but important, subject.

In this  podcast  you will hear about an exciting new  project called THE MINDRAMP ACADEMY that MINDRAMP has launched in partnership with Villages Oklahoma City.  The Academy is our next bold step forward in the development of a comprehensive brain health initiative for the people of Oklahoma City.You will hear from Marilyn Olsen, the Executive Director of VOKC on why she is working with us, how we have helped  VOKC develop a full brain health initiative for the Oklahoma City area, and why her members wanted an ongoing, sequential course that would teach them how to keep their brains healthy and their minds sharp.By the way, as Marilyn mentions briefly toward the end of the podcast, that VOKC received recognition from the Mather Institute as an honoree of the 22020 Promising Practices Awards.   It's a prestigious award that recognized true innovation in the service of older adults and we are quite proud to have help VOKC make it happen. VillagesOKC was recognized for the work they have done with MINDRAMP to bring Brain Health education to the Community.This podcast is pulled from a radio interview Roger and I did with Marilyn Olsen for Robin Gunn and her Oklahoma Senior Journal show on Oklahoma's KZLS, The Eagle, 1640 on the am dial. .

Marilyn Olsen is the  Executive Director of Villages Oklahoma City (VOKC).  On this short podcast, Marilyn discusses an exciting partnership with MINDRAMP Consulting, the launch of The MINDRAMP Academy. The short excerpts explore: Why Marilyn and VOKC are working with MINDRAMP, How VOKC and MINDRAMP developed the concept for an ongoing brain health initiative for Oklahoma City, andWhy the VOKC members wanted an ongoing, sequential brain health curriculum. Marilyn's comments are pulled from a radio interview she did with Robin Gunn for Robin's  RISE & THRIVE radio show in Oklahoma City.   ·     

Savant brains are severely compromised. Yet some savants have, as neuroscientist V.S. Ramachandran says, "islands of astonishing talent." A few such savants have astonishing musical talents. Others show an awesome ability to replicate what they on paper. Others have amazing mathematical skills. I recently wrote about Savants in the most current edition of 3rd Act Magazine. I explored a set of hyper-activated abilities that seem to explain how savants achieve their super-powers. The list of hyper-skills (suggested by Alan Snyder of the Brain & Mind Centre at the University of Sydney) are all skills possessed by the average human brain. In the article, I suggest that cultivating these set of skills might help those of us with "normal" brains to ramp up our cognitive performance. 

Greg Finch is a good friend and a successful executive coach, so he was the first person I thought of when I decided to do some podcasts about the value of personal coaching and the role it can play in our effort to promote brain health.  I am convinced that coaching can be a valuable boost to any brain health program.  Even when we  have a plan to keep our brains healthy, it is  difficult  to sustain the effort long enough to get the full benefits. This is when a coaching relationship can be most helpful.  As legendary football coach Tom Landry said, (I'm paraphrasing) a coach's job is to help people to do what they have trouble doing so that they can become the people they want to be. I think this podcast will be of interest to you if you are new to coaching or are already familiar with the multiple benefits of a dynamic coaching relationship.  

If you are a dedicated rock climber you may already know of Madeleine Sorkin. She has made quite a name for herself as one of the premiere rock climbers in the world.  Madaleine has recently founded an organization called the Climbing Grief Fund, which is dedicated to helping climbers cope with grief, PTSD and tragedy. Too many of Madaleine's friends and associates have experienced the tragedy themselves, or know of someone who has died or been injured while practicing their dangerous sport.  Too often climbers have suffered in isolation and struggled to recover on their own.  Madaleine experienced her own scrape with death when equipment failed and she fell 50 on to a life-saving ledge. Madaleine talks about her own struggle with what she now recognizes as post-traumatic stress syndrome and shares insights gleaned from her efforts to find communal ways to cultivate resilience in the face of overwhelming grief. 

My partner, Roger Anunsen, learned the power of play years ago when he was unexpectedly hired as an Activity Director at an assisted living community.  He was assigned to run a Sit & Be Fit class and his elderly students seemed bored out of their minds. To liven things up, Roger got them reciting an elaborate tongue-twister (One hen, Two ducks, etc.) that his nana used to play with him.  Sit & Be Fit was never the same. This early foray into mental stimulation got Roger interested in the brain and how to design cognitively stimulating activities for older adults.  This led to his invention of MemAerobics and eventually to teaching brain health class and joining me to found MINDRAMP Coaching & Consulting. In addition to telling roger's story I talk about why play is an important developmental tool throughout life.  Play is an effective way to keep mature minds health and  sharp. Be sure to listen at the end for a full rendition of One Hen, Two Ducks. You can test your own memory and articulation skills by echoing the increasingly elaborate and bizarre descriptions.The text for this podcast first appeared as an article in 3rd Act Magazine. 

I started doing yoga on a regular basis at age 65. Brandee Goatcher was my first teacher and she helped me to embrace the practice and become a regular practitioner. For Brandee, the essence of yoga is "falling in love with our bodies and all they can do." What a lovely idea. And being able to fall in love with our bodies as we age is incredibly important. Too often we  bemoan the little and persistent ways that our bodies begin to betray us as we age. We focus on the aches and pains and indulge in what my buddy Roger calls "the organ recital," the recitation of all of the organs that have begun to work improperly. I still have the aches and pains, but yoga has helped me to explore what my body is capable of doing. And, I have been able to expand my movement repertoire. I am stronger and more flexible at age 73 than I was at age 65. Use it or lose it. Brandee and I discuss yoga and her style of teaching. 

The FDA recently approved the first new drug for Alzheimer's in the last 18 years. .   Why are we not celebrating? Because there  are a slew of concerns about the approval decision. Ten out of eleven members of an independent review board voted against approval. The eleventh couldn't decide.  At least three of these reviewer have resigned in protest. In this podcast I review four of the main concerns about the FDA approval of Aduhelm. 

Jesse Wiley of Sage Bionetworks talks about his involvement with TREAT-AD, which is an exciting open-science, community approach to developing data-drive hypotheses that may lead towards new kinds of treatments for Alzheimer's disease.  These new approaches will go beyond the amyloid hypothesis that has dominated research and drug development approaches over the last two decades, yet failed to produce any effective drug.  

Jesse Wiley discusses his work on the TREAT-AD project and their attempt to identify new candidates for drug development to protect against Alzheimer's. Jesse explains that he and his team have identified 15 biological domains that are associated with the development of Alzheimer's (not 18 as I say in the podcast).  Intriguingly, Mitochondrial malfunction and chronic immune response rose to the top of the list of domains. Jesse also explains "pseudotime" which is a new tool for tracking the trajectory of disease development. Our discussion of mitochondrial malfunction led us to discussions  of epigenetic factors,  and the role of behavior and lifestyle interventions. 

Bad habits are incredibly hard to break. But the process of replacing bad habits with good ones can be much easier if we follow tips from behavioral psychologists who study the process. One of the best researchers in the field is Katy Milkman, who offers her insights in a new book called HOW TO CHANGE. Inspired by this book and my investigations of behavior change, I wrote an article for 3rd Act Magazine called Make Today "Start a New Habit" Day. I offer 15 evidence-based tips that will make your efforts to break a bad habit much more successful. 

Gerontology professor Mario Garret offers a straight-forward, no-nonsense critique  of current approaches to Alzheimer's research, particularly the overwhelming focus on addressing the Amyloid Cascade Hypothesis. Garrett proposes that we broaden our understanding of the true nature of the dementia syndrome and consider psychological as well as biological causes. Chapters Include:We don't understand dementiaHistorical perspectives on our Alzheimer's muddleWe call everything dementia, blunting our understandingThe many causes of dementiaWe need a more nuanced definition of the dementia syndromeSummary: consider psychological causes of dementia 

This second podcast interview with Mario Garrett [See    ] focuses on Garrett's ideas about the social and psychological causes of dementia. In essence, he believe that our mindsets about dementia, our"isomorphic representations, can cause attitudes and behaviors that contribute to cognitive decline. 

This episode continues our conversation with gerontologist and psychologist Mario Garrett. In this part of the discussion Mario describes his priority to put care over cure. He argues that American society puts far too much emphasis on searching for a cure to Alzheimer's and much too like time, energy and money into actually addressing the needs of people who suffer from dementia and their caregivers. 

We can increase our emotional intelligence by expanding our vocabulary for emotional words.  This is the core idea of the theory of emotional granularity put forth by neuroscientist  Lisa Feldman Barrett. During a road trip through southern Utah and western Colorado my wife and I expanded our ability to articulate our feelings of wonder and delight.  We invented the word "awe-gasm" to describe the visceral ecstasy evoked by the natural splendors of the mountain west.  This podcast is based on an article of mine that appears in the Winter 2021 edition of 3rd Act Magazine. 

Chris Palmer has been a wildlife filmmaker, an environmental activist, a teacher and an author. He has taught classes and written extensively on how to design a good life. In this podcast, Chris shares his early struggles and how he overcame them by learning to design the kind of life he wanted to have.  Now, at age 74, Chris maintains a detailed Longevity Mission Statement that charts his course into the future. He calls his personal mission statement, FINISHING STRONG: Creating a Fulfilling and Meaningful Life as I Face Mortality. 

Chris Palmer has, by all measures, lived a great life. He now wants to plan for an equally great death.  In this short segment of a longer interview, Chris outlines his thoughts on both important topics. 

I find myself in the surprising position of being the eldest male in my immediate family.  In these troubled times, As such i should be a positive role model for my family and could think of no better role model for myself than Fred Rogers of children's television fame. I met Mr. Rogers when I worked for PBS and got to see the man in action in a variety of settings. No matter where he went, he exerted a positive influence on the environment and magically made everyone become their best selves.  This podcast shares some stories about my times with Mr. Rogers and speaks to the power of compassion, love acceptance. A print version of this podcast appears in the most recent edition of 3rd Act Magazine. 

I once read a sound piece of advice that said we need an "avocation" to provide us with a sense of meaning and purpose when we retire. As I was writing an article about this idea I realized that - for me - an avocation is required, but not sufficient. In addition to an avocation, I need an audience. I need someone who shares my passion and interest in the art and science of aging. My MINDRAMP colleague, Roger Anunsen fills this role for me. This podcast is a reading of the article I wrote for Rebecca Crichton, Executive Director of the Northwest Center for Creative Aging. 

What causes dementia? Demented political and economic systems.  This is the thesis of Peter Whitehouse's new book AMERICAN DEMENTIA: BRAIN HEALTH IN AN UNHEALTHY SOCIETY. Peter J. Whitehouse, MD-PhD, is a prevention oriented, intergenerational neurologist. His current main academic and practice focus is on ecopsychosocial models of brain health and aging and the role of the arts and humanities in health. He is currently focusing on new conceptions of wisdom and quality of life. Whitehouse  has a primary appointment as Professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve, with secondary positions as Professor of Psychiatry, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Organizational Behavior.This is part 2 of my discussion with Peter. In the other podcast we talk about his first book, THE MYTH OF ALZHEIMER'S.

What are the myths of Alzheimer's discussed in Peter Whitehouse's book?  That Alzheimer's is unrelated to aging. That it is a single disease that can be "cured" by biomedical science. That it results in irretrievable lost of self and imposes inevitable despair on caregivers.  Peter J. Whitehouse, MD-PhD, is a prevention oriented, intergenerational neurologist. His current main academic and practice focus is on ecopsychosocial models of brain health and aging and the role of the arts and humanities in health. He is currently focusing on new conceptions of wisdom and quality of life. Whitehouse  has a primary appointment as Professor of Neurology at Case Western Reserve, with secondary positions as Professor of Psychiatry, Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and Organizational Behavior.Whitehouse is also the author, with Danny George, of  AMERICAN DEMENTIA: BRAIN HEALTH IN AN UNHEALTHY SOCIETY, which is discussed a subsequent podcast.  

The Great Generation benefited from a whole raft of social safety bets and social support systems that improved living conditions and overall health. As a result, even though more people were living longer, the actual percentage of older people who suffered from dementia went down! Yes. Rates of Alzheimer's and other dementias were on the decline. But the social conditions that stimulated these improvements in brain health began to be dismantled in the Reagan administration, and the ascendence of hyper-capitalism and market-driven policies has accelerated. Medical anthropologist Daniel. R. George explains that  dementia is yet again on the rise. By placing profits above the welfare of the people, these "neoliberal" policies have create huge inequalities in wealth, in access to healthcare, education and healthy food. They have undermined the infrastructure of the country and poisoned the environments in which we live. All of which undermines the health of our bodies and brains. 

In AMERICAN DEMENTIA Part 1, medical anthropologist Daniel R. George discussed how market-driven policies and practices are amplifying our vulnerability to cognitive decline and dementia. In this episode, Part 2, we focus more on potential solutions.  George makes it clear that our political and economic decisions have a profound impact on the collective health and wellbeing of our bodies and brains.  Unless we address the pathologies of current practices, we condemn future generations of older adults to ever-increasing levels of dementia. What can be done?  

Judy Rubin is a pioneer in the field of art therapy, In Part 2 of my conversation, we speculate about why art can have such a profound effect on us and what the NeuroArts Blueprint Initiative means for the future of art therapy. I also asked Judy to think about the aging process and to share whatever words of advice she had on how to age successfully.  She summarized her hopes for a successful aging with the phrase, "a good run and a soft landing."

Dr. Judy Rubin a pioneer in the field of art therapy. In Part I of my discussion with  Dr.  Rubin, she explains how she "stumbled into" the emerging field and gradually figured out how to harness the synergistic benefits of the arts and psychotherapy.  Early in her career Judy appeared with Fred Rogers as "the arts lady" on the PBS series Mr. Rogers Neighborhood.  Her training brought her into contact with the renowned developmental psychologist Erik Erikson  and with Benjamin Spock who wrote the hugely influential parenting guide that was the bible for my mother and millions of other parents in the 1950s. Judy, now in her 80s,  is still active, creating and curating documentary films about art therapy.In Part 2 Judy and I asked Judy to speculate about the power of the arts and then shifted gears to for her advice on aging well. 

Medical Anthropologist Daniel R. Georg and I discuss the resurgence of research on the benefits of psychedelics. 

Psychedelics are mind-altering drugs. What does it mean to have your mind-altered? What is actually going on in the brain when we set off on a psychedelic trip. Johns Hopkins University researcher Albert Garcia-Romeu talks about his research into psychedelics and reviews sciences current understanding about how psychedelics improve mood, limit depression, alter our states of mind and give us a feeling of transcendent insight. 

Albert Garcia-Romeu does research on psychedelics at Johns Hopkins University. In this first part of our discussion I asked Al why older adults should be interested in psychedelic research. How could psychedelics help us to enjoy a more successful longevity?  We also delve into the subjective experience of a psychedelic trip. What do people taking psychedelics in a clinical setting report feeling, and how what kind of benefits does the trip provide? 

Why would a 74 year old man want to experiment with the psychedelic drug psilocybin? Initially, it was because of the apparent ability of psilocybin to mitigate the fear of dying and death. But, as i did more research, I discovered that psilocybin offers a number of therapeutic benefits for older adults. This episode is based on an article I wrote on psilocybin for  3rd Act Magazine. The phrase, "the antipodes" is from Aldous Huxley in his  book THE DOORS OF PERCEPTION. I discuss the therapeutic benefits of psychedelics and also the intriguing possibility of visiting unexplored areas of my own mind. The transcript also includes a short review of the current legal status of psilocybin. 

Our minds become muddled with conflict and confusion when the two hemispheres of our brain fail to collaborate. The MIND OVER MUDDLE podcast series explores a range of historical and contemporary disciplines - from mysticism, to meditation, to psychedelics - that are effective when they are able to restore hemispheric balance and collaboration. This episode introduces the series, articulating - in broad terms - how our minds get muddled and outline a strategy for effectively managing our minds. To paraphrase Alan Watts, we often need to get out of our heads to come back to our senses!

The MINDRAMP mission is to learn how to live long and live well. To live LONG, it helps to keep our brains as healthy as possible.  But what do we do to live WELL?  What do we do with our healthy brains? To live WELL, we need to effectively manage our minds in ways that minimize the negative aspects of our life, (alienation, conflict, confusion), while amplifying positive feelings and behaviors. We need to cultivate contentment, curiosity, compassion, creativity and equanimity.  We need to amplify our  sense of belonging and our ability to collaborate with others in a spirit of love, play and fun.  How do we go about doing it?I believe that the body of knowledge and scholarship embodied in the "hemisphere hypothesis" provides us the tools we need to develop effective strategies for manage our minds.  This is what we will explore in the MIND OVER MUDDLE series. Iain McGilchrist's "hemisphere hypothesis" is simple to state:  "“The bi-hemispheric structure of the brain makes possible attending to the world simultaneously in two otherwise incompatible ways.”  The implications and ramifications of this revelation are vast and profound.  Problems occur when one hemisphere, the more delusional one, takes over and starts running things by itself. McGilcrhist explores the incredibly broad and deep ramifications of the hemisphere hypothesis in his two seminal books on the topic, THE MASTER AND HIS EMISSARY (2009) and THE MATTER WITH THINGS (2019). In this episode I will give you a brief introduction to his hemisphere hypothesis and offer some hints about how I hope to make use of his ideas.  In subsequent podcasts we will investigate some of the important ramifications of McGilchrist's scholarship  and will also explore their practical applications. How, in practical terms, do we get our two hemispheres to collaborate effectively?

We continue to explore how the two hemispheres of our brain influence us in different ways. In this episode I borrow a story from Iain McGilchrist who, in turn, borrowed it from Friedrich Nietzsche. McGilchrist uses his story - The Master and His Emissary - as the title for his book that first introduces his "hemisphere hypothesis." The two main characters in the story represent the Right Hemisphere (The Master) and the Left Hemisphere (The Emissary). It tells of their relationship and of the destruction of their realm that follow the Emissary's usurpation of leadership from the Master. I have taken the liberty to change the gender of the leader to a woman and to add some embellishments that I believe help illustrate McGilchrist's full thesis. The essence of his idea is that the two hemispheres have different ways of relating to the world. When they cooperate, under the guidance of the Right Hemisphere, things go well. But when the Left Hemisphere dominates - as it does in modern culture - our minds get muddled and the culture starts to unravel.  

We are exploring the hemisphere hypothesis, which states that the two hemispheres of our brain present us with very different perspectives on what's going on. In this episode we are going to explore what it is like to experience the world exclusively through Right Hemisphere modes of perception.What happens when people, because of disease or injury, lose use of the left hemisphere and are forced to rely exclusively on the right hemisphere. This is what happened to Jill Bolte Taylor whose story is the focus of this episode. As she describes in her wonderful book MY STROKE OF INSIGHT, she had a massive stroke in her left hemisphere and lived for eight years in what she called the "silent mind" of her right hemisphere.  What was that like? Her story gives us unique insight into the unique ecosystem of the right hemisphere.  

This new episode continues the story of Jill Bolte Taylor's left hemisphere stroke and her life, as experienced through her Right Hemisphere. We focus on her recovery process and  restoration of the use of both hemispheres of her brain. Although Jill Bolte Taylor found life in the silent world of her Right Hemisphere to be seductively blissful, as though she was “enfolded by a blanket of tranquil euphoria,” she recognized that she needed, and wanted, to return to her “normal” life. To do so she needed to will herself out of her state of near paralysis and restore use of her left hemisphere function. Her path of recovery began with a little rock forward. Then another. She rocked & rocked & rocked some more. 

In this episode we examine what happens to the mind when it loses the perspective of the Right Hemisphere  (RH) and is forced to rely on the Left Hemisphere's (LH)  interpretation of the world.  We will use the example of the well-known case reported by Oliver Sacks of the man who mistook his wife for his hat. We are exploring the hemisphere hypothesis that states that the two hemispheres of our brain have two dramatically different ways of relating to the world and that our minds get muddled when the perspective of one hemisphere (usually the LH ) dominates and suppresses the other (usually the RH).  We can learn to recognize the symptoms of LH dominance by studying the lives of people with dysfunctional RHs, such as Dr. P  who, among other things, lost his ability to recognize faces.

A rose loses its "roseness" when perceived only through the Left Hemisphere perspective. The man who mistook his wife for his hat  had trouble identifying a rose.  When Oliver Sacks presented him with a rose, Dr.P described it as "About six inches in length. A convoluted red form with a linear green attachment." He went on to observe  that the perplexing object "lacks the simple symmetry of the Platonic solids,  although it may have a higher symmetry of its own." Dr. P suffered from a Right Hemisphere (RH) dysfunction that forced his mind to rely almost exclusively on his Left Hemisphere (LH) . Robbed of the unifying and organic perspective of the RH, Dr. P saw the world as a collection of abstractions, the LH perspective.Our minds get muddled when our LH dominates and relate to the world through abstract representations of life, rather than on on direct experience.

In this episode I preview some of the practical ways we can begin to un-muddle our minds.  We can use our growing understanding about the different nature of our two hemispheres to re-balance the influence of our left hemisphere (LH) and our right hemisphere (RH).  Since LH dominance causes distortions of reality, we should search for strategies to control LH influence.  At the same time, we should find  strategies to  pump up engagement with RH perspectives.  Strategies we will begin to explore include: MEDITATION - How can meditation balance the influence of the two hemispheres?THE USE OF LANGUAGE - How does the language we use push our minds towards the perspective of one hemisphere or the other?METAPHORS - How do some metaphors encourage LH modes of thinking while others ground us in RH perspectives? WORLD VIEWS - How do our philosophies favor one hemisphere over the other? PSYCHEDELICS & MYSTICISM - Can psychedelic and mystical experiences jolt our minds out of LH dominance and restore hemispheric balance? 

Why did the two hemispheres of our brain evolve to have such different perspectives -  such divergent ways of attending to our world?  In this episode we explore evidence that the evolution of the human brain has evolved along three axis: Bottom-to-Top; Side-to-Side; and Back-to-Front.  Each evolutionary development enhanced the capacity and complexity of a different part of the human brain and exaggerated the divergent roles of the two hemispheres. 

There are intriguing similarities between the way the condition of schizophrenia and a brain with a dominant left hemisphere can distort our perceptions of reality. In this episode we examine those similarities using the inspiring story of Elyn R. Saks, who tells about her lifetime struggle with schizophrenia in her wonderful book THE CENTER CANNOT HOLD.  Iain McGilchrist, in his monumental work THE MATTER WITH THINGS, suggests that modern western culture is dominated by left hemisphere thinking. Could this orientation be muddling our minds and causing the unique kind of madness we find in contemporary culture?

We struggle to prevent and treat dementia because the need for researchers to publish positive results, coupled with the urge to put profits over people, leads to fraud, corruption and quackery. We end up with bad research and misguided public policy. This podcast is a reading of a recent article of mine for 3rd Act Magazine in which I give recent examples of fraud, corruption, and quackery that have made it harder for us to prevent and treat dementia. 

When you think of brain cells, you probably think of neurons. That's perfectly understandable.  Discussions of the brain almost always focus on  neurons. But there is another family of brain cells, (glial cells) that, by some estimates, outnumber neurons by 10 to 1!.  Even if the the percentage is more like 50/50, that's a lot of cells - billions!Based on what I have read, I have a sneaking suspicion that glial cells are in charge of the brain!  Yup. Neurons are the work horses, but glial cells hold the reins. In this episode, I discuss the mysteries of glial cells with Dr. Jeff Darling. We discuss the four basic types of glial cells and what they do - and why I think they are running the show. Click on Chapters (above) to see specific topic ares. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

The indictment of Donald J. Trump for alleged crimes related to a conspiracy to disrupt the normal transfer of power and to keep himself in office in spite of losing the election to Joe Biden is perhaps the most important legal case in the history of our country. As such, it is important that all citizens understand the full extent of the changes and the evidence being levied against Mr. Trump.  Since I wanted to read the full document for myself, I decided that I should also record it and make it available for anyone who wanted to listen. This podcast, Part 1 covers the first 27 pages of the 45 page document. I will record and post the rest of the document tomorrow. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Neuroscientist Dr, Jeff Darling and I discuss various aspects of aging, including" Why is the topic of aging of interest to a young neuroscientist?How to define aging.the "wear-and-tear" hypothesis of aging.What is inflammageing?How to age successfully?Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Are men's and women's brains different. Yes!  The brains of men and women are more alike than they are different, but there are differences.  Not better, or worse, but different. Neuroscientists, Dr. Jeff Darling and I discusses a range of topics related to  sex differences in the brain , including; Why it is important to study sex differences in the brainHow women's brains differ from men's.The effect of hormones on  brain developmentMenopauseSex differences and drug developmentWhy the study of sex differences is controversial.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

A mystical experience, similar to the "enlightenment" described by Buddhists and other contemplative practices, involves a disillusion of self and a sense of unity with something grander than ourselves.  We  describes this something-grander-than-ourselves, in various ways - as God, as Tao, as the natural order and so on.  In this episode we explore the following topicsCommon characteristics of a mystical experienceIain McGilchrists hemisphere hypothesisAn account of a mystical experience from Clare Booth LuceIntroverted and Extroverted types of unityThe power of metaphors: "The Kingdom of God," as an exampleNo Self: the disillusion of self. Mathieu Ricard and Wolf Singer's book Beyond The SelfDifferent approaches to enlightenment, Buddhist, mystical and hemisphericUnity with God (etc.) is a process of becoming. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

What do people undergo when they have a mystical experience, and why would a mystical experience help us to un-muddle our minds? In this episode I explain how mysticism is an expression of what I call hemispheric gelassenheit. I use first person accounts of mystical experiences from neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, the philosopher jiddu Krishnamurti and the primatologist Jane Goodall to explore the common characteristics of a mystical experience and to speculate how it reflects an adjustment of the way the two hemispheres of our brain interact with each other. Take a look at the chapter headings. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

In this episode I introduce a new term I am using - "Hemisphere Gelassenheit." It is a combination of the german word, "gelassenheit," coined by the medieval Christian mystic Meister Eckhart and the hemisphere hypothesis as expounded by the contemporary scholar iain McCilchrist.Gelassenheit is a process of letting go. The full process involves a letting go from one thing and an opening up to something else.  Combining this with the hemisphere hypothesis gives us the strategy for un-muddling our mind and escaping from the distorting effects of left hemisphere dominance.  The hemipshere gelassenheit strategy is to let go of left hemisphere modes of perceptions and an opening up to a more realistic, holistic and integrated perspective of reality afforded by the right hemisphere. Click the CHAPTERS tab above to access a list of chapter divisions within the podcast.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

In this episode I explore how we can use Buddhist psychology - specifically the Four Noble Truths - to help us un-muddle our minds. Buddhism's Four Noble Truths suggest that our minds get muddled because we are too often afflicted by suffering and frustration that is caused by attachment and the desire to resist inevitable change. The Four Truths suggest, therefore, that we can un-muddle our minds by learning to cultivate a more equitable disposition that diminishes our attachments. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

In this episode of the MIND OVER MUDDLE series we begin our look at the role EMOTIONS play in muddling our minds and how emotional regulation can help in the un-muddling process. We introduce the important concept of EMOTIONAL GRANULARITY. Neuroscientist and emotions expert Lisa Feldman Barrett expounds this idea, which suggests that emotions are constructed and that we only feel those emotions that we can name. A such, we are emotional illiterates, making use of a limited range of basic emotions like Happy,  Sad and Mad.  Barrett suggests that we can  expand our emotional range - our emotional literacy and regulation - by expanding our vocabulary of emotion words. By, in other words, being more "granular" in our choice of words to describe what we think we are feeling. We also focus on the important and healing emotion of AWE. I introduce a new emotion word - a neologism - to describe the ecstatic feeling we get when exposed to something awesome. In such instances, we have AWEGASMS!  And we explore the psychological evidence that awegasms are good for your health and your happiness. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

This episode, the first of three episodes on music, explores the purpose and power of music. MINDRAMP's mission is to provide evidence-based information that can help you to live long and to live well. We focus on keeping our brains healthy and on managing our minds to promote happiness and equanimity. Can music play a role in these goals? Yes, it can!  Music can help us keep our bodies and brains healthy. Music helps us to develop the capacities we need to survive and thrive in our environments.  We provide a number of framing ideas that make it easier to understand the evolutionary purpose of music and easier to understand how music has the power to change our physiology.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

How does music promote the health and development of our brains?  Learn how music can engage  the protective factors associated with  MINDRAMP's eight Behavioral Roots of Brain Health .  MINDRAMP favors a "risk management" approach to brain health, which involves minimizing behaviors and conditions that put your brain at greater risk and adopting behaviors that make your brain stronger and more resilient. We organize the scientific research around eight behavioral areas we call the Behavioral Roots of Brain Health. In this episode we review the risk and protective factors associated with each of the Behavioral Roots of Brain Health and explore how music can play a positive role in amplifying the protective aspects of nearly all of the areas.The Behavioral Roots of Brain Health: Physical exercise & movementMental StimulationSocial EngagementStress ManagementDiet & NutritionSleep Medical CareEnvironmental FactorsSupport the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Our mind becomes muddled when our two hemispheres fail to cooperate and when  left hemisphere perspectives dominate our thinking. I believe that music can help us restore balanced cooperation of our hemispheres by strengthening right hemisphere perspectives.  Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Dan Cohen is the Johnny Appleseed of personalized music. While the fabled Appleseed traveled the country planting apple seeds, Cohen travels from coast to coast bringing iPods, headphones and customized music playlists to people with dementia. Cohen's work was featured in the award winning documentary ALIVE INSIDE. I spoke with Dan about how he got started in this mission to promote the benefits of music for people who are institutionalized. We discussed the amazing successes he has witnessed and the surprising disappointments he has faced.  Dan concludes this episode by describing his three goals for the future of personalized music.Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

Learn how to  create and use  personalized music to promote physical and spiritual healing for you and your loved ones. Dan Cohen has championed the use of personalized music for people with dementia, in fact, personalized music does wonders for anyone who is institutionalized. Dan has seem dramatic evidence that listening to one's favorite music - often music from one's childhood - has a magical affect on people's moods and even their physical well-being. But, the therapeutic power of personalized music only works if we have access to our our favorite tunes when and where we want to listen. In this episode Dan suggests that we all consider taking time now to  putting together our own music playlist, so that is available if and when we need it.  Further, we should help our loved ones to put together lists of their favorite music. Dan the ins and outs of compiling your own personalized music playlist. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

In the introduction to the 25th anniversary edition of her  important  book, MINDFULNESS (1989), Harvard psychologists Ellen J. Langer makes the following observation.“In the 1970s, as social psychology was experiencing what was called ‘the cognitive revolution,' studying the kinds of thoughts people were having, I began to wonder whether people were thinking at all. Decades of research later, I have found that the answer is a resounding 'NO.'  Mindlessness is pervasive. In fact I believe virtually all of our problems - personal, interpersonal, professional, and societal - either directly or indirectly stem from mindlessness.”Mindlessness is just as prevalent today, in 2023, as it was 50 years ago. What can we do about it? In this podcast I review Langer's prescription for overcoming mindfulness and learning to think more mindfully. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

The indictment of former president Donald J. Trump related to his attempts to overthrow the 2020 election is, arguably, the most significant trial in American history.  We are all witnesses to history and should understand the full extent of the charges against Trump and the nature of the evidence being offered to back up those charges. To that end, I hope this reading of the full indictment makes the text more accessible to more people. NOTE: For those of you who listened to the previous podcast that went through page 27 of the indictment, you can pick up the thread at around the 1 hour mark of this podcast with the heading, "Defendant's Attempt to Leverage the Justice Department to  use Deciept . . . "Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.

In this podcast I offer a full reading of the Mar-A-Lago indictment of Trump and Nauta. I believe it is important that we all understand the full scope and gravity of the charges and recognize that the Justice Department is not likely to make allegations in an indictment unless it has ample evidence to back up the allegations. Of course, Trump, Nuata and their lawyers will have every chance to refute the allegations when the case goes to trial and a jury will determine their guilt or innocence before the law. Please check to Chapter listing to access specific segments of the indictment. Support the showSupport our work to promote creative aging. Subscribe to the MINDRAMP Podcast.